gregcantrall said:

Well for sure you have had the opportunity to observe all the best. I gotta wonder why Mike Masey doesn't get that nod. Shrug. His table length draw on a full ball jump shot still comes to my mind. It was executed in 84 or 85 at the Tahoe tournament and a diagram of the shot made it into a Robert Byrne book. They called him Tennessee Tarzan for a reason.
Oh and what about the description of Efren's stroke? Early on, I remember someone calling it "A Pump Handle Stroke". It sure worked for him though.

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Mike did have a super powerful stroke and was a very good player. But his power did not translate as well to winning tournaments as did Steve's. Steve was the dominant American player of the 1970's and 80's until Earl dethroned him. Mike was always a good player and a threat to beat anyone, but was a full speed under Steve.

Earl and Parica deserve mention for both having the most repeatable strokes. They basically looked the same on every shot, in full control of the cue ball and object balls. The two best players overall of their era, with only Sigel, Buddy and maybe Varner in the same conversation.

Efren and Bustamante were outliers. It was impossible to categorize them. No one had ever seen two such good players with such weird strokes. People made fun of them while they were robbing everyone. I saw some great players ridicule them while making games and get very quiet after they got drilled. Yep!

I'll throw in Keith because people always ask me about him. No one before or since played pool like Keith. He had more stances and bridges than all the rest of us put together. He would twist, bend and shape his body into all kinds of positions while shooting. Nothing he did was in any instruction book or video. He played pool like a great guitar player played the guitar. You never knew what you were going to see next. And he made it work! That made all the other players afraid of him. He was a freak of nature! And a lovable one at that. But pool was only one of his many vices. Keith tasted everything the gambling life had to offer.

muskyed said:

I've got some Tomahawk coming as it had great recommendations also, and it was the 1st material I found when ordering. Have to say, even though I ordered on the weekend, I called the 1st thing this morning to try and add another rod to my order and it had already been put in the mail. They are a 1st class operation for sure, great service. Now I just have to wait for the epoxy as the stuff I had I didn't like as it took forever, days, to cure. While I'm never in much of a hurry, I would like to be able to work it the next day.

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I’ve always had great service from Kelly. I ordered some Hydex recently to try out. Not as white as Tomahawk. If I like it can be a good alternative when I don’t want a bright white ferrule.

My slow cure epoxy is getting low so I’ll have to look into the T-88

Joss had Cole's specks on file and he could just call and ask for another. He was particular with the shaft and might go through a few made to the same dimensions to find one that was just right. The time he borrowed against his cue with me he had at least 4 shafts and 2 butts. Well one butt had been rebuilt having been cracked as Cole draped it over his shoulders with hands resting on opposite ends. Too much vodka that night

Bob Jewett said:

A small nit here... Oliver Ortmann won the US Open 14.1 (Mizerak 2nd) in 1989, which surprised pretty much everyone. He won a second one in 1993.

On the other hand, in 1975 there was a German in the US Open (14.1) who was unaware of how safety play went since he was an eight ball champion. There was also a lone Japanese player. Neither had a chance.

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Thank you Bob. I do remember that U.S. Open 14.1 in Chicago. I was there and did the TV commentary with George Fels on both final matches (Men and Women). I wrote a story about it in Pool Wars. Mizerak was so certain of victory in the finals with Oliver that he made the mistake of arranging delivery of the Gold Crown table going to the winner before the finals was even played. Oliver got wind of that and the rest is history.

JolietJames said:

Did you all see the post from Dennis Hatch?
I haven't verified it so no copy pasta but what I read was he wants to be the coach and has a plan.
I like the idea.

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LMFAO. Everyone wants to suck at the Matchroom teat.

Mid day humor since one minute it's windy , the next windy and rain , then the next wind driven snow Ma Nature is once again off her meds ! Ha ha

Looks like only 20 Americans were able to earn MC points. Not sure how many tried to earn points.

I’d be more interested in the bank/combo he made early in the first match. Strictly a showy trick shot no straight pool player would ever consider trying in a real game. I have to wonder how many takes it took, as it was one of the few that wasn’t actually made by Mosconi. I’ll bet they had to mark the cushion so he knew where to aim.