Question about Jose Parica

[JAM]

In this match in the 1988 World Brunswick Open Efren seems genuinely pissed at McCready throughout this match

Your YouTube video is not available. Dead link. Sorry, Charlie. Keith was performing. I've seen this match many times. If you listen to the commentator, Steve Mizerak, he knows what Keith is doing. Efren and Keith battled in action during this era quite often.

It's amazing how one person can ignite a firestorm of falsehoods based on their opinion when, in fact, they do not know the people involved whatsoever. Railbird chatter!

Again, I will repeat, Keith and Efren were, are, and always will be good friends. Keith does not have a mean bone in his body. Those who know him well can attest to this. Every time we would run into Efren, the two of them smile broadly at each other. Keith is more close with Jose Parica than Efren, but believe me, he has a great deal of respect for Efren. He calls him "Effie" today. But Keith has a nickname for everybody, even me. It is all in good fun!

 

[JAM]

To steer the thread back to the subject matter, here's a cute story about Keith in battle with Ramil Gallego at the 2002 U.S. Open. .

Ramil and a few of his Filipino comrades came to the States to compete in this event. I had never heard of many of the Filipino champions at that time. The only Filipino player I did know well was Jose Parica, as he and Keith were good friends. They traveled together, gambled together, went to the horse track together. In fact, when I met Keith for the first time, he was on the road with Jose.

At any rate, at the Open, Keith was scheduled to go up against Ramil in an afternoon match. Back then, I was so enthusiastic about pool. I loved everything about the U.S. Open and all of the players. It was like a Who's Who in pool for me, seeing all the super stars up front and close.

When match began, the score between Keith and Ramil went back and forth. Meanwhile, a whole slew of Filipinos sat right in the front row to show Ramil support, and, of course, Jose Parica was one of them. But he was sitting next to me too.

Normally, Keith doesn't get too rattled, but during this match, Ramil was really putting the heat on Keith. Keith's nerves began to get frayed, and a la Earl Strickland, he was hearing voices in the front row of the audience, and the loudest voice he could hear was, of course, his good buddy Jose Parica speaking in a Filipino language to his friends. Keith gave Jose a long and hard stare a few times, but eventually, he couldn't contain himself and spoke out directly to Parica, "Jose, I can hear you."

Ramil continued to remain stoic and quiet, while poor Keith was truly struggling to keep up with him. Every time Keith missed a shot, he looked over at Jose as he returned to his chair, talking to himself. Jose wasn't doing anything wrong, and when Keith would look away, Jose winked at me, knowing Keith was feeling the heat big time.

I think soon Keith realized his doom was near. Again, Ramil never uttered a peep the entire match. Finally, Ramil made the game-winning ball, and this gentle quiet man immediately cracked a big smile. He runs right over to Keith's designated chair with cue stick in hand. Ramil proceeded to jump up and down like a mighty warrior, screaming at the top of his lungs, "PHILIPPINES, PHILIPPINES, PHILIPPINES." The whole crowd cracked up. Everyone enjoyed it, except Keith, of course! It only hurt a little bit for Team McCready.

After the Ramil v. Keith match, I snapped a pic of Jose and Keith with a forced smile on his face at the 2002 U.S. Open! I soon learned when and when not to take a photo of Keith when he's at a pool tournament. Asking for a pic after a loss isn't a good time. Hahahaha!

 

[cueman]

Parica was the better 9-ball player, even when Efren was selected to square off against Earl. Jose was the most feared money player in the 1990s and told me at the time that nobody would play him a ten ahead race at 9ball.

Efren, of course, was the better all-around player, but he was never the favorite over Jose at 9ball in the years in which they were both in their prime.

I watched Johnny Archer run over him 2 sets in a row at the Wagon Wheel. I never saw Efren match up with anyone. Efren was more feared in the tournaments than Parica late 80s and early 90s. Parica once walked into the room at a big Pro Tournament and offered the whole pro field the 8 except Johnny Archer and Buddy Hall.

 

[maha]

and he could have given it to them. but of course at those levels of play the 8 means nothing to very little game by game and rarely will make a winning set because of it..

 

[gambler67]

Your YouTube video is not available. Dead link. Sorry, Charlie. Keith was performing. I've seen this match many times. If you listen to the commentator, Steve Mizerak, he knows what Keith is doing. Efren and Keith battled in action during this era quite often.

It's amazing how one person can ignite a firestorm of falsehoods based on their opinion when, in fact, they do not know the people involved whatsoever. Railbird chatter!

Again, I will repeat, Keith and Efren were, are, and always will be good friends. Keith does not have a mean bone in his body. Those who know him well can attest to this. Every time we would run into Efren, the two of them smile broadly at each other. Keith is more close with Jose Parica than Efren, but believe me, he has a great deal of respect for Efren. He calls him "Effie" today. But Keith has a nickname for everybody, even me. It is all in good fun!

from an outsider who has never met either gentleman it appeared he didn't care for Keith, also the filipino who commentates some of his career moments, under legend efren reyes, infers that Reyes was irritated by McCreadys antics

 

[pt109]

To steer the thread back to the subject matter, here's a cute story about Keith in battle with Ramil Gallego at the 2002 U.S. Open. .

Ramil and a few of his Filipino comrades came to the States to compete in this event. I had never heard of many of the Filipino champions at that time. The only Filipino player I did know well was Jose Parica, as he and Keith were good friends. They traveled together, gambled together, went to the horse track together. In fact, when I met Keith for the first time, he was on the road with Jose.

At any rate, at the Open, Keith was scheduled to go up against Ramil in an afternoon match. Back then, I was so enthusiastic about pool. I loved everything about the U.S. Open and all of the players. It was like a Who's Who in pool for me, seeing all the super stars up front and close.

When match began, the score between Keith and Ramil went back and forth. Meanwhile, a whole slew of Filipinos sat right in the front row to show Ramil support, and, of course, Jose Parica was one of them. But he was sitting next to me too.

Normally, Keith doesn't get too rattled, but during this match, Ramil was really putting the heat on Keith. Keith's nerves began to get frayed, and a la Earl Strickland, he was hearing voices in the front row of the audience, and the loudest voice he could hear was, of course, his good buddy Jose Parica speaking in a Filipino language to his friends. Keith gave Jose a long and hard stare a few times, but eventually, he couldn't contain himself and spoke out directly to Parica, "Jose, I can hear you."

Ramil continued to remain stoic and quiet, while poor Keith was truly struggling to keep up with him. Every time Keith missed a shot, he looked over at Jose as he returned to his chair, talking to himself. Jose wasn't doing anything wrong, and when Keith would look away, Jose winked at me, knowing Keith was feeling the heat big time.

I think soon Keith realized his doom was near. Again, Ramil never uttered a peep the entire match. Finally, Ramil made the game-winning ball, and this gentle quiet man immediately cracked a big smile. He runs right over to Keith's designated chair with cue stick in hand. Ramil proceeded to jump up and down like a mighty warrior, screaming at the top of his lungs, "PHILIPPINES, PHILIPPINES, PHILIPPINES." The whole crowd cracked up. Everyone enjoyed it, except Keith, of course! It only hurt a little bit for Team McCready.

After the Ramil v. Keith match, I snapped a pic of Jose and Keith with a forced smile on his face at the 2002 U.S. Open! I soon learned when and when not to take a photo of Keith when he's at a pool tournament. Asking for a pic after a loss isn't a good time. Hahahaha!

View attachment 749056

I was at that match….also when Keith beat Alex. They were a pleasure to watch.

 

[jokrswylde]

To steer the thread back to the subject matter, here's a cute story about Keith in battle with Ramil Gallego at the 2002 U.S. Open. .

Ramil and a few of his Filipino comrades came to the States to compete in this event. I had never heard of many of the Filipino champions at that time. The only Filipino player I did know well was Jose Parica, as he and Keith were good friends. They traveled together, gambled together, went to the horse track together. In fact, when I met Keith for the first time, he was on the road with Jose.

At any rate, at the Open, Keith was scheduled to go up against Ramil in an afternoon match. Back then, I was so enthusiastic about pool. I loved everything about the U.S. Open and all of the players. It was like a Who's Who in pool for me, seeing all the super stars up front and close.

When match began, the score between Keith and Ramil went back and forth. Meanwhile, a whole slew of Filipinos sat right in the front row to show Ramil support, and, of course, Jose Parica was one of them. But he was sitting next to me too.

Normally, Keith doesn't get too rattled, but during this match, Ramil was really putting the heat on Keith. Keith's nerves began to get frayed, and a la Earl Strickland, he was hearing voices in the front row of the audience, and the loudest voice he could hear was, of course, his good buddy Jose Parica speaking in a Filipino language to his friends. Keith gave Jose a long and hard stare a few times, but eventually, he couldn't contain himself and spoke out directly to Parica, "Jose, I can hear you."

Ramil continued to remain stoic and quiet, while poor Keith was truly struggling to keep up with him. Every time Keith missed a shot, he looked over at Jose as he returned to his chair, talking to himself. Jose wasn't doing anything wrong, and when Keith would look away, Jose winked at me, knowing Keith was feeling the heat big time.

I think soon Keith realized his doom was near. Again, Ramil never uttered a peep the entire match. Finally, Ramil made the game-winning ball, and this gentle quiet man immediately cracked a big smile. He runs right over to Keith's designated chair with cue stick in hand. Ramil proceeded to jump up and down like a mighty warrior, screaming at the top of his lungs, "PHILIPPINES, PHILIPPINES, PHILIPPINES." The whole crowd cracked up. Everyone enjoyed it, except Keith, of course! It only hurt a little bit for Team McCready.

After the Ramil v. Keith match, I snapped a pic of Jose and Keith with a forced smile on his face at the 2002 U.S. Open! I soon learned when and when not to take a photo of Keith when he's at a pool tournament. Asking for a pic after a loss isn't a good time. Hahahaha!

View attachment 749056

How cool is it to have folks like Jay, JAM, Island, Joey, etc. to share actual first hand accounts of these legendary characters? Thanks to all for sharing your stories. Like bygone eras tend to do, I fear that the days of slipping out the back and jumping in your buddies 'vette, holding a fat roll, have all but disappeared.

 

[JAM]

from an outsider who has never met either gentleman it appeared he didn't care for Keith, also the filipino who commentates some of his career moments, under legend efren reyes, infers that Reyes was irritated by McCreadys antics

How does it go again? PLONK!

 

[gregcantrall]

How cool is it to have folks like Jay, JAM, Island, Joey, etc. to share actual first hand accounts of these legendary characters? Thanks to all for sharing your stories. Like bygone eras tend to do, I fear that the days of slipping out the back and jumping in your buddies 'vette, holding a fat roll, have all but disappeared.

Cole told of a situation in the deep south. Cole, the white boy from Oakland. Pretty sure that's how he told me he got his name. Anyway so he has the Homeboy(perhaps owner) stuck real deep, when he sees the pickup with gun racks and too many occupants pull up to the front door. He turned to the opponent and inquired, "how about if I just give you your money back and leave?"
No answer.
"How about if I give you your money and all of mine....and I just leave?"

 

[gregcantrall]

Reyes was irritated by McCreadys antics

The best part about being friends is that you can become irritated in a moment.
I can't count the times I have irritated or been irritated with a friend.
In the end we are still friends.

 

[Cornerman]

I was at that match….also when Keith beat Alex. They were a pleasure to watch.

The “put this on the internet” match?

 

[pt109]

The “put this on the internet”

The “put this on the internet” match?

Dunno…..saw ‘em both live at Chesapeake.

 

[jay helfert]

How does it go again? PLONK!

Almost all the pool players liked Keith. He was so damn entertaining and so damn good at the same time. The shots he could pull off while making it look effortless got everyone's attention and applause. Keith would look at a shot that looked damn near impossible, tell everybody what he was going to do, and get right down and swish it like no big deal. I would hear whistles, cheers and OMG's from all around the room.

Off the table Keith was equally as engaging. He had a very direct and often humorous way of looking at pool and the world in general. Kind of reminded me of Fats that way. Keith was never at a loss for words. Why do you think all these years later, people keep asking Keith to come back. It's like Shane in that movie of the same name. "Come back Keith, please come back. Please Keith Please!"

 

[L.S. Dennis]

Almost all the pool players liked Keith. He was so damn entertaining and so damn good at the same time. The shots he could pull off while making it look effortless got everyone's attention and applause. Keith would look at a shot that looked damn near impossible, tell everybody what he was going to do, and get right down and swish it like no big deal. I would hear whistles, cheers and OMG's from all around the room.

Off the table Keith was equally as engaging. He had a very direct and often humorous way of looking at pool and the world in general. Kind of reminded me of Fats that way. Keith was never at a loss for words. Why do you think all these years later, people keep asking Keith to come back. It's like Shane in that movie of the same name. "Come back Keith, please come back. Please Keith Please!"

This may be dating us a bit, but I remember that movie (Alan Ladd?) and the line from that movie!

 

[gregcantrall]

Almost all the pool players liked Keith. He was so damn entertaining and so damn good at the same time. The shots he could pull off while making it look effortless got everyone's attention and applause. Keith would look at a shot that looked damn near impossible, tell everybody what he was going to do, and get right down and swish it like no big deal. I would hear whistles, cheers and OMG's from all around the room.

Off the table Keith was equally as engaging. He had a very direct and often humorous way of looking at pool and the world in general. Kind of reminded me of Fats that way. Keith was never at a loss for words. Why do you think all these years later, people keep asking Keith to come back. It's like Shane in that movie of the same name. "Come back Keith, please come back. Please Keith Please!"

My favorite story on Keith is when he placed partners with Harry Platis in Vegas. Can't be sure but I seems like a six pack when the bet got to 10,ooo a man.

 

[JAM]

The “put this on the internet” match?

Yep. I was sitting next to Buddy Hall on the rail. When Keith missed that ball after saying, "You can put that in the internet," I cringed. The entire room broke out in laughter and cheers. Sally Timko of InsidePOOL replied, "We will." Everybody loved it except me. I turned to Buddy and said, "What am I going to do?" Buddy said, "Hope he gets another shot," which he did. Whew!

Meanwhile, on the live stream table, Efren and Busty were in a match. They started watching Keith and Alex, as were the entire audience. Efren started laughing. They eventually had to actually stop playing until The Keith and Alex Show ended. Johnny Archer was on the next table, and he also quit playing until Keith and Alex's match ended.

Across the room, high in the bleachers. Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat laughed so hard that Marcus fell out of his bleacher seat. Everybody was having a good time except me. You could fry an egg on my head at that moment.

Billy Incardona and Jim Wych commentating for Accu-Stats. Billy Incardona: "Don't write a check with your mouth that you can't cash when you're at the table."

Check it out. I put it at the counter mark where it starts. You can hear Keith chirping in the background, and soon the cameras zoom in on their match:

 

[btal]

and he could have given it to them. but of course at those levels of play the 8 means nothing to very little game by game and rarely will make a winning set because of it..

If he offered the whole field as cited the wild 8, including the break, that would be a different matter. IMO

 

[pt109]

Yep. I was sitting next to Buddy Hall on the rail. When Keith missed that ball after saying, "You can put that in the internet," I cringed. The entire room broke out in laughter and cheers. Sally Timko of InsidePOOL replied, "We will." Everybody loved it except me. I turned to Buddy and said, "What am I going to do?" Buddy said, "Hope he gets another shot," which he did. Whew!

Meanwhile, on the live stream table, Efren and Busty were in a match. They started watching Keith and Alex, as were the entire audience. Efren started laughing. They eventually had to actually stop playing until The Keith and Alex Show ended. Johnny Archer was on the next table, and he also quit playing until Keith and Alex's match ended.

Across the room, high in the bleachers. Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat laughed so hard that Marcus fell out of his bleacher seat. Everybody was having a good time except me. You could fry an egg on my head at that moment.

Billy Incardona and Jim Wych commentating for Accu-Stats. Billy Incardona: "Don't write a check with your mouth that you can't cash when you're at the table."

Check it out. I put it at the counter mark where it starts. You can hear Keith chirping in the background, and soon the cameras zoom in on their match:

Alex wore an unfortunate choice of shirts….it looked suspiciously like a white flag.

 

[Cornerman]

Yep. I was sitting next to Buddy Hall on the rail. When Keith missed that ball after saying, "You can put that in the internet," I cringed. The entire room broke out in laughter and cheers. Sally Timko of InsidePOOL replied, "We will." Everybody loved it except me. I turned to Buddy and said, "What am I going to do?" Buddy said, "Hope he gets another shot," which he did. Whew!

Meanwhile, on the live stream table, Efren and Busty were in a match. They started watching Keith and Alex, as were the entire audience. Efren started laughing. They eventually had to actually stop playing until The Keith and Alex Show ended. Johnny Archer was on the next table, and he also quit playing until Keith and Alex's match ended.

Across the room, high in the bleachers. Mika Immonen and Marcus Chamat laughed so hard that Marcus fell out of his bleacher seat. Everybody was having a good time except me. You could fry an egg on my head at that moment.

Billy Incardona and Jim Wych commentating for Accu-Stats. Billy Incardona: "Don't write a check with your mouth that you can't cash when you're at the table."

Check it out. I put it at the counter mark where it starts. You can hear Keith chirping in the background, and soon the cameras zoom in on their match:

 

[jay helfert]

My favorite story on Keith is when he placed partners with Harry Platis in Vegas. Can't be sure but I seems like a six pack when the bet got to 10,ooo a man.

They were partners against Grady and the Airplane Man. At the time it was one of the all time biggest pool scores (won by Harry and Keith) of all time, a healthy six figures all paid in cash.