Those who are veteran AzB-ers have probably read this pool tale I shared about Keith McCready and Joe Salazar, but I feel like it belongs in this thread because it speaks about Joe's integrity.
A young Keith made an appointment to play the legendary Tracy Joe, which was Joe Salazar's pool name back in the day, at a pool room that was off the beaten path. Keith and a couple of his buddies drove out to the joint at the designated time. When they walked in, Tracy Joe was waiting for him. The place was packed with curious onlookers who wanted to sweat the match. Tracy Joe had his own fan club there in full force.
Before the first game, it was agreed that the post money would be placed on top of the overhead light, a nickel each, totaling $1,000. It wasn't 10 crisp C-notes, though. It was a bunch of tens and twenties. I'm sure both players must have been playing on committee money.
Tracy Joe and Keith wasted no time getting down to business. The match was like a neck-and-neck horse race. Whenever one of them got close to the finish line, the other would catch up. Tight races. Back and forth they went late into the night. Then Keith caught one of those infamous Keith McCready gears and put it into turbocharge, defeating Tracy Joe in several races.
Keith and his entourage were the strangers in town, and they wanted to get out of there with the cheese as quickly as possible. So, after the last set, they didn't hang around to mingle. They immediately headed for the door. The night sky was pitch-black in the parking lot. Keith and his buddies piled into their car and started their journey home.
Within minutes, the driver noticed headlights behind them, coming at an extremely fast pace. Keith's driver figured they were about to get robbed and stepped on it, reaching speeds close to 100 mph. Keith said he was scared to death. Then, on this two-lane highway, the car behind them pulled out and came alongside them on the left. Keith and his buddies looked over in horror. The car was full of patrons from the pool room.
Then the driver's-side window of the other car rolled down. And there was Tracy Joe. He had a bunch of greenbacks in one hand and was pointing at the money with the other. He yelled, "Keith, you forgot the post money on the light!" Keith's driver immediately pulled over onto the shoulder. Tracy Joe walked up to Keith's car and handed him the cash. The relief inside that car must have been enormous. What they thought was a highway robbery turned out to be Tracy Joe and the boys simply trying to return Keith's money.
On the way home, they all had a good laugh about it. They had been so intent on getting out of town after the match that they forgot to collect the post money sitting on top of the light. The would-be robbers? They were actually the good guys, and one of them was the opponent who lost, Joe Salazar.
