The Argonne Poolshooters began weekly play with eight (8) teams and became members of the American Poolplayers Association (APA) in September, 1993, utilizing the APA rules and handicap system. Along with providing the American Pool League with our weekly dues, we paid for our own table time at Le Cue on Cass Ave.
Due to various reasons, including local control over how our weekly dues were spent and a general lack of interest in traveling to compete in state and national tournaments, the majority of team members voted to drop participation in the APA and become an independent league competing against our own Argonne teams. Thus, the Argonne Pool League (APL) began in January, 1994, with ten (10) teams. League officers Debbie Mounce and Tim Klosowski along with Dean Bass developed software, scoresheets, team rosters, rules, and a handicap system.
In the fall of 1996, the league moved to Topspin Billiards in Lemont and the league stayed there for two sessions. Topspin Billiards relocated in the summer of 1997, and that fall the League moved to Cricket’s in Bolingbrook. Also in the fall of 1997, Debbie left ANL and turned over the league management duties to Vince Battaglia. Vince, along with fellow APL member Ron Shepard, designed a new handicap system that overcame some of the previous systems shortcomings. However, Vince’s League management career was short-lived. Due to a job opportunity in Washington DC, Vince left Illinois halfway through the fall 1997 session and handed over the APL management responsibilities to Stephan Wegerich. Stephan updated the scoresheets as well as implemented new software to track player performance and team statistics. In the fall of 1999 the league moved to Q-Billiards, which was at the previous Le Cue location but under new management. Art Kahaian took over operations of the league from the fall of 1999 through the spring of 2001. Bob Finch was the League Operator from the fall of 2001 through the spring of 2003. Chuck Batson was the League Operator from the Fall of 2003 through the fall of 2004. Kevin Beyer was the League Operator from the spring of 2005 through the spring of 2013. In the Fall of 2012 the league moved to Q Billiards on 63rd Street in Downers Grove. In the Fall of 2013 Q Billiards raised table fees to $60 and restricted table access after 10pm. At that time, Kevin shortened the handicap match-ups and increased league dues to $10 and weekly fees to $8. Only 4 matches were played per team per night. Dean Bass and Dave Stevens have been operating the league since the Spring of 2014. In the Spring of 2014, Dean and Dave utilized the 5th table to play 5 matches per night. League dues were returned to $5 and weekly fees were lowered to $7.
The league has enjoyed two bouts of national recognition. In January 2002, the National Geographic Channel in conjunction with the New York Times sent a camera crew to Argonne to interview our league members and to video tape one of our league nights. This footage was combined with video of trick shot artist Mike Massey, the late actor and pool player Jerry Orbach, professional player Jeanette Lee, and Billiards Digest columnist and physicist Michael Shamos, and edited into a feature about the physics of pool. This was broadcast several times through the summer and fall of 2002 beginning on the July 15 edition of Science Times on the National Geographic Channel. Our second round of national exposure came in November 2002 when the managing editor of Billiards Digest, Mason King, visited Argonne and interviewed several of the league members. The resulting article, entitled “Maybe it IS Rocket Science” was published in the January 2003 issue of Billiards Digest on pages 70-74.
