About Rodney

“Rocket” Rodney Morris was born in Anaheim, California in 1970, but grew up in Hawaii where most of his family lived. As a kid in Hawaii, he spent most of his days at the beach. In 1986, at 16 years old, Rodney and a couple of friends walked into Hawaiian Brian’s Billiards to play foosball. The line for foosball was too long so he asked his friends to play pool while they waited, and just like that he discovered a love for a game that has lasted his whole life. One day Rodney was watching some people play pool when the legend himself, “Hawaiian Brian” Hashimoto asked him why he wasn’t playing. Rodney explained that he didn’t have any money. Brian told him that if he helped by picking up trash around the place that he would let him play anytime for free. Once he started playing, he couldn’t stop. He would go after school and stay until late at night. When school was out, he was at Hawaiian Brian’s from the time he woke up until he went to bed. Rodney spent 16 to 18 hours a day practicing. It didn’t take long for others to start noticing his immense talent. 

He played really fast, not wasting any time going from shot to shot. The number one player in Hawaii at the time, Roy “Young Roy” Horihata nicknamed him “The Rocket”. Barely anyone knew his name at the time, but they all knew the kid that ran around the table like a rocket.

After about a year, Rocket was the best player in the state. In 1989 he left to play pool for the first time outside of Hawaii. It was a great learning experience, and it was a huge test to see if he really wanted to pursue the game of pool as a career. Soon, The Rocket was introduced to Tony Catucci, in Toms River, New Jersey. He started playing money games with anyone that would play. In 1996 when it was getting tougher to find anyone that would play him for money, he decided to join the men’s pro-tour. Thus was the beginning of his professional pool career. From that point on “Rocket” Rodney Morris has carved out a highly successful career culminating in his induction into the BCA Hall of Fame in 2016.

Today he travels the world doing exhibitions and teaching others. He genuinely enjoys sharing his knowledge and love for the game, while making friends and connections with everyone he meets along the way.