Danny DiLiberto
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States| Personal information | |
|---|---|
Nickname | "Buffalo Danny" |
| Born | February 19, 1935 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 11, 2025 (aged 89) Cape Coral, Florida, U.S. |
| Pool career | |
| Country | United States |
| Turned pro | 1960 |
| Pool games | Straight pool, one-pocket, nine-ball, eight-ball |
Danny DiLiberto (February 19, 1935 – February 11, 2025) was an American professional pool player, professional boxer and billiard commentator nicknamed "Buffalo Danny".
The last living veteran player from the Johnston City era, a teacher, an author, and previously working as a commentator for Accu-Stats, DiLiberto was an active member of the pocket billiards community. He was inducted to the One Pocket Hall of Fame in 2004 for his "outstanding contribution to the legacy of the game of one pocket"[1] and in 2017 he was inducted in the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.[2]
Before DiLiberto became interested in pocket billiards, he was a professional boxer from 1957 to 1959 with a 14-0-1 record, with 12 knockouts, until he was forced into retirement after breaking his hands four times. Muhammad Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee remarked that “Danny was a heck of a fighter”, “Whoever I put in front of him he knocked out. If it weren’t for his brittle hands, he would have been a champion." In 2006, he was inducted into Buffalo's Boxing Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in the sport[2][3] and in 2017 Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.