Back in the ’70s, all the bars in my neck of the woods had big balls on the coin-operated pool tables. 25 cents a game. Ah, those were the days. I actually learned to play pool with the big cue ball.
Keith McCready mastered the art of mudball, big balls, red dot, blue dot, and polka dot cue balls, and he’s certainly not a one-trick pony. He can play all games and adjust to equipment faster than most. That’s a skill that was mandatory for road warriors during pool's golden years. You learn to play whatever is in front of you, good, bad, or downright ugly.
I remember a Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour tournament at Ultimate Billiards in Berlin, Connecticut, where the brand-new tables had the fastest cloth ever, Gorina Basault. You barely tapped the balls, and they rolled forever, like they were on ice. Everybody struggled with it. Everybody except Ronnie Alcano and Keith.
And they end up, no surprise, in the finals. The side bets were mounting, and most of the money was on Ronnie. I was one very Nervous Nellie when the race to 9 began, but Keith went 9–0 in less than 15 minutes. It was the fastest race-to-9 final I’ve ever seen in my life. And if they’d been playing with mudballs, I think Keith and Ronnie still would have been in that final. Ronnie went on to win the World Pool Championship in Philippines versus Ralf Souquet a few years later.
Ronnie and Keith both had the ability to adjust quickly to unfamiliar equipment, and it is a skill set in pool. When Keith wakes up, I'll ask him for a few tips on how to play with the mudball. Keith likes to use english, and his cue of choice is a wood shaft, so his advice might be outdated, but you never know. Stay tuned!
Here’s Keith and Ronnie with their beautiful trophies, presented by Ultimate Billiards owner Pete Genovese, who was a pretty darn good player himself!
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