JAM,
FWIW, I would have loved to have played Keith way back when I had the chance, but I never got the opportunity. I lived in Riverside, CA for 3 years (1976-79) and I heard his name quite often and LOTS of people told me that I should match up with him. I never made it to San Diego and I never saw him playing anywhere near where I was.
I don't know who would have won at the time, but it would have been fun playing. Back during that time, I played a lot like Keith...aggressive and I liked working the crowd. There used to be more people watching me play than anybody else in the pool halls and bars I played in.
I didn't go looking for anybody to play and didn't frequent any place in particular. I would just "wander" into pool halls and bars and see what happened from there. I played in places that most people were afraid to even go in...biker bars, dives, etc. One of my favorite places to go were Mexican bars,where I may be the only non-Latino in the place. Not the safest places, but I never had any problems because I never tried to "hustle" anyone. I just played, gathered the cash if I could, smiled, entertained, and left. Usually, I was alone...sometimes people would want to go with me to stake me, but I preferred going by myself. I knew I could control myself and my money and I knew I couldn't control other people and their money, so I didn't want them starting anything where there would be trouble. Earlier in my life, I had more than my fair share of having to fight my way out of a place after arguments over me winning all the money so I tried to avoid that.
No matter if I won or lost, people were more entertained by me than they were the pool game. I could run racks, play the jukebox, dance and joke and talk $hit at the same time...same as Keith. Boy, I miss those days. I'm too old (60) blind, and out of stroke to play very well anymore and I only play once a week for a couple hours, but I still can make a few balls when I get lucky...I had a 6-pack not too long ago.
Aloha.
uttahere:
