Although
three-cushion billiards was popular in the United States at that time, most of the American players competed in the World Championship staged in their country where the likes of
Willie Hoppe and
Welker Cochran were the dominant contenders. Edward Lee, however, was the only American three-cushion player at the time to win the
UMB World Three-cushion Championship, defeating fellow American Eugene Deardorff for the title in 1936. son of
the famed Cuban World Champion, 50–27 in the 73rd , despite de Oro sweeping 16 innings in a row at one point in the . Lee was also a top amateur long-distance swimmer. ==References==