I have a neighbor (I live near St Louis) who was a champion level foosball player in the 80s/90s. (I didn't even know that was a thing, but apparently it was) and my neighbor was a state champion, and had come close to winning some kind of world championship.
Anyway, he had no idea I played pool, and all I knew about him was that he owns a business and is extremely religious, and straight laced. A really nice man. Well, we got to talking about pool and he started sharing some of his history. Apparently he was much wilder in his younger years (who wasn't). Back in the day Mark Tadd came to St Louis gambling with everyone, at everything. Well, the pool room owner called my neighbor, to sneak him in and bust Mark playing foosball. Which he did easily but, they became really good friends.
My neighbor said that he would drive Mark around and they'd go on road trips. He said that he was in amazement at just how talented Mark was at everything he tried. He had a real core belief in himself too. But also, that he was simple person and wasn't flashy. He liked wearing plain t-shirts and nothing fancy. But loved gambling and was really good at it (pool or poker). He said for a short time they were really good friends. He did try to catch up with Mark years later, but Mark is elusive.
