If you could go back in time and watch just one player...

M

Mensabum

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
jay helfert said:
There are no wrong answers on this thread. I consider myself fortunate to see all the great players that I have seen play in the last five decades.

As for Jimmy Moore, he got knocked for finishing second so many times. But second place against all those great players ain't so shabby. One quick story (that I witnessed) from Johnston City. Just about every night they would have a Ring Ten Ball game, open to anyone. Yes, they played Ring Ten Ball 40-50 years ago! And it was a helluva game to watch, with guys like Cornbread, Ronnie, Taylor, Jersey Red, Shorty, Jr. Goff, Danny Jones, Detroit Whitey and on and on. Many nights I feel asleep in the bleachers watching this game. The reality is that it was usually 20 a man (that's $100 if you win in a six handed game), and that was very good action back then. Occasionally some backers would get involved and they would play for 50 a man. But that was rare. Even at 20 a man, a player could make a $1,000 score, serious money in the 60's.

Two nights in a row Jimmy Moore absolutely pulverized the game, running racks and taking names. He won over a grand each night! On the third night Cornbread wrote his name (Moore) on the little blackboard they used sometimes for money games. No one knew why.....until Jimmy walked in and asked to get in the next game. Red told him that anyone who's name was on that board was BARRED! There was only one name on the board, Jimmy's! Jimmy didn't like it and wanted to play, but all the other players agreed with Cornbread and he was barred.

Now about Mr. Eddie Taylor. He may have been the greatest banker of all time, with only Bugs and Cannonball in the same league (I don't really know enough about Vernon Elliott). Of the three mentioned I was most impressed with Taylor. He hit every bank right at the hole and never missed by more than inches. Bugs was great and Cannonball had the most powerful and sweetest stroke you ever saw, but Taylor was other worldly when he wanted to turn it on. There is no one today in his league! Every bank that Eddie could see, he made look like a hanger! Yes, it was damn exciting to see someone play Banks like that. I actually watched him warm up for an exhibition in Dayton (back in the 60's), throw all 15 balls on the table and bank them all in! First try too! If you think running out in Rotation is good (ala Efren) then see who can bank all 15 balls. You may wait a lifetime to see that happen. I saw it happen exactly once!

As for as entertainment value, Ronnie and Keith are at the top of the list, with Louie Roberts right behind. All three of these guys had a special charisma that endeared them to fans. They were the three who could pack an arena every time they played. Only Alex today has that kind of magnetism. Ronnie never shut up, carrying on a constant dialogue with his opponent and the audience. He was brilliant and entertaining at the same time. Watching him play One Pocket one handed was a real treat. How he did it, running eight and out, I'll never know. No one wanted to play him two handed without a huge spot (he gave 10-6 to top players). Only a handful of guys could play Ronnie close to even (Jersey Red, Kelly and Shorty) and only two would play him dead even (Taylor and Bugs). At Ronnie's peak I don't think even these last two really wanted to tangle with Ronnie.

Keith was simply hilarious, with more original one liners than any comedian on TV. All the while he was roasting someone on the table he was playing to the crowd as well. He would prance around the table shooting one great shot after another and keep you in stitches the whole time. What was most amazing is how he did it. He could make the toughest shot look easy, with a stroke that was unmatched then or now. It was effortless the way he played the game. He had many battles with Louie and I got to see a couple of them. What a great rivalry that was! No one before or after could cut balls in the pocket like Louie. Not Buddy, not Mizerak, not Sigel, not Earl, not anybody! If Keith reads this I'd like to see what he has to say. Louie would rifle long thin cut shots down the rail and the object ball would make a perfect straight line right to the heart of the pocket. And these shots had no room for even the slightest error!

Well enough for now. I was a fly on the wall for many years before I ever became a tournament director.

P.S. Someone mentioned Denny Searcy and his beautiful stroke. So true! The sweetest strokes I ever saw belonged to Denny, Ed Kelly and Marvin Henderson. There is no one today who plays the game as pretty (and great) as these three guys. Kelly moved around the table like a ballerina, he was so graceful with every movement. Watching him play was like poetry in motion. And he was only the best player alive back then! He could play any game at the highest level. Denny did things with the object balls that no one today can do. He seemed to coax them in the hole in mysterious ways that maybe only Efren could have understood. I sure couldn't. Marvin's stroke may have been the most beautiful of them all. It should have been framed for future generations to see. What a beauty he was!
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Thanks Jay.
 
arnaldo

arnaldo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'd love to travel back four centuries and see how this game went:
____________________________________________________________________________
William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, ACT II, SCENE V

Alexandria. Cleopatra's palace.
Enter CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, IRAS, and ALEXAS.

Att.
The music, ho ! Enter MARDIAN the Eunuch.

Cleo.
Let it alone; let us to billiards: come, Charmian.

Char.
My arm is sore; best play with Mardian.

Cleo.
As well a woman with an eunuch play'd
As with a woman. Come, you'll play with me, sir ?

Mar.
As well as I can, madam.
______________________________________________________________________

Arnaldo ~ Even then -- 400 years ago -- they hustled (sore arm) talked smack, and sharked. Hilarious!
_____________________________________________________________________________
 
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L.S. Dennis

L.S. Dennis

Well-known member
stevekur1 said:
That would have to be Mr Mosconni.

and if i could pick a particular day it would be the day that he set the record. for 2 reasons. 1st off to shake his hand for a job well done and 2nd for arguing with him why is he just gonna stop like that !!!!

-Steve
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Actually he didn't just 'stop like that', he actually missed the 527th ball.
 
S

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Willymakaball said:
Walter Linstrum , just unreal ablity to control both balls for postion.
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i've never gotten into english billiards, straight rail or other old school billiards discipline where nursing is possible. but i've understood one needs a massive patience both to watch it and play it.
 
DaWizard

DaWizard

Well-known member
I would want to see the rise of Alex Lely. If I recall correctly he started playing quite late, aged 16.
Plus he's a fun personality with a bit of attitude. Would've been cool to see him venture off and slay hero after hero.

Anyone got a story about him rising up the ranks?
 
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