Faces of the APA:
Young at Heart

Lee Lepor, 76, of Sunrise, Fla. has been an avid APA member for 11 years. “I moved from Brooklyn to Florida after retiring in 1991 and I just fell in love with the game,” said Lepor “I used to play in Brooklyn, but we just shot the balls around; we didn’t know what we were doing.” Lepor found the APA in Florida and has been hooked ever since.

“I love these kids I play with,” she said. “When I go there, I’m like a young person. All my health comes back to me. People who don’t know me, they look at me when I walk into the pool room and they say, ‘You’re not going to shoot pool are you?’ and I say ‘That’s why I have my cue with me.’ Then they see me make my shot, and they applaud.”

“I love playing with young people, they make me feel young and it helps me with my lung condition.” (Lee suffers from a chronic lung condition) “Sometimes I wear a mask when the smoke gets too bad, and sometimes I ask Sal (the bar owner) to open the curtains on the windows. I put a chair outside so I can watch the games. The kids are very respectful to me and they take my illness into consideration; they don’t smoke around me.” Lee plays out of Hot Shots, owned by Sal Pisani, in Coral Springs.

Lee credits her poolplaying ability to the guys in her retirement community for helping her become an accomplished player. Lee and her husband Morris have been married for 52 years; they also enjoy dancing and work as ushers at the Office Depot Center. “I’ve seen Elton John, Celine Dion, U2, The Backstreet Boys—everyone who’s played at the center, I’ve seen.” Despite her lung condition, Lee likes to stay busy and meet new people, playing pool and ushering helps her. “I don’t let anything get in my way, when I’m active I stay healthy.”

This article orginally appeared in the Summer 2005 issue of The American Poolplayer Magazine produced by the American Poolplayers Association.