Why isn't there a bar table hall of fame

JAM said:
Ask Joe Salazar who he thinks is the best bar table player he's ever seen. :smile:
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I have asked Joe...(this to my best ability is what he said). Tracy Joe is quite a bit older than Keith and was a bar box demon before Keith had come to age.

He said he gave Keith the 7...for a while (I think he said Keith was like 12-13?)

Then the 8 .... for a while.

then even ..... for a while.

Then got weight....for a while.

Then wouldnt play him, that Keith might just run out the set and he wouldnt get a shot. (Now that would suck wouldnt it?) I think Joe said that this was when Keith was like 18 +.

Like many from that area .... he spoke about some great players. He told me that there was TONS of bar box action at that time.

Joe told me a story and I cant remember if it was Cole or Keith that had the "broke down" car in front of the pool hall. Tracy Joe is great for stories. I even learned why he is called Tracy Joe, and his mother didnt give him that name....:rolleyes:

And finally how old does Keith have to be for the people quit calling him "Little Keith"?

Ken
 
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SouthernDraw said:
I guess we could ask the same, why isn't there a 9 or 10 foot table hall of fame. Just saying that there were (and still are) great players at each of those venues. But I do understand that the popularity is with pros playing on bigger tables. BTW, many of those mentioned (like Matlock) also played sporty on the big tables.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment!
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Dont agree.

Matlock on 9 foot = great.

Matlock on bar box = close to unbeatable. I understand he had a standing offer to play anyone for $10K in Kansas City. Not many came away with the cheese (As Freddy says).

JMO

Ken
 
Bambu said:
No disrespect here guys, but if I was really good at mini golf, I would try the real game. I mean for this to happen, we may as well have a softball hall of fame too.
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Most all played jam up on the big tables. It is just there was a period of time when bar tables pool was big money and almost every player played on bar tables, even world champions. These guys we are mentioning just had the knack to play on the tables above everybody else. They were not just bar players, most grew up playing on big tables. I saw many matches personally. I saw Salazar give a current at the time world champion the 7 on a bar table and murder him.

The champion offered the 8 to Joe if he would play on a big table. At the pool room they played the rest on the night like a 10 hour session and were about even. The champ would not play anymore unless they played even and that was it. I am not sure you have a concept of the players we are talking about. These are guys with enormous talent at the game on every table but made names for themselves on the bar tables.
 
JAM said:
Ask Joe Salazar who he thinks is the best bar table player he's ever seen. :smile:
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Joe is a very humble guy so I am sure he will not say himself but I have a guess who you are referring to. You would be right although when you get to that rare atmosphere there were a few who it would be hard to pick from as far as best. For sure though, everybody else regardless of the closet full of trophies could not get there with those guys with the exception of Hopkins and maybe a couple of others, but not many.
 
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Rusty C said:
There were alot of great players back in the 70's through the mid 90's,that primarily was forced to play on bar tables,because that was the best way to make a living.It would be a shame to see these players forgotten in time.And if so who would be your first inductee.
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I forgot to mention Ronnie Sypher. Although not quite in the class of say Salazar, he snapped of champions on those small tables and was highly regarded as a very good one pocket player on the big table. But the bar box was where he became well known.
 
Well, here's a cute Tracy Joe pool tale, told to me by Joe himself, and it goes like this:

A young Keith made an appointment to play the legendary Tracy Joe at a bar that was off the beaten path in California.

Keith and a couple of his buddies drove out to the joint at the designated time. When they walked in, there was Tracy Joe waiting for him. The place was packed with curious onlookers wanting to sweat the match. Tracy Joe had his own fan club there in full force, too. :cool:

Before the first game, it was agreed that the post monies would be placed on top of the overhead light, a nickel each totalling a thousand bucks. It wasn't 10 crisp C-notes, though; father, it was a bunch of tens and twenties. I'm sure both players must have been playing on committee monies. ;)

Tracy Joe and Keith wasted no time and began to battle. It was like one of those neck-and-neck horse races. When one of them got close to the finish line, the other one would catch up. They were tight races. Back and forth they went until the wee hours of the morning, and then Keith caught a gear, defeating Tracy Joe several races. :smile:

Keith and his entourage were the strangers in town and wanted to get out of there as quick as they could with the cheese. So after the last set, they didn't want to hang around and mingle. They immediately exited the premises.:embarrassed2:

The night sky was pitch black in the parking lot. Keith and his buddies piled in their car to begin their journey back home. Within minutes it seemed, the driver of Keith's car saw headlights behind him, coming towards their car at an extremely fast pace. The driver of Keith's car figured they were going to get robbed and started to step on it, hitting speeds of close to 100 MPH. Keith said he was frightened. :eek:

Soon the car behind them made a move on this two-lane highway and pulled up right next to their car on the left. Keith and his buddies looked in horror when they saw this car full of the bar's patrons and wondered how they were going to get out of this trap. :frown:

The driver's side window of the other car was rolled down, and there was Tracy Joe. He had a bunch of greenbacks in one hand, pointing at it with his other hand, and screamed, "Keith, you forgot the post monies on the light." :p

Keith's driver pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Tracy Joe walked up to Keith's car and handed him the cash. Keith's driver was relieved, as were the rest of the occupants. On the way home, they all enjoyed a good chuckle. They were so intent on leaving, thinking they could get robbed, that they forget to grab the post on top of the light, and the would-be robbers turned out to be the good guys, only wanting to do the right thing. :grin-angelic:
 
Bambu said:
No disrespect here guys, but if I was really good at mini golf, I would try the real game. I mean for this to happen, we may as well have a softball hall of fame too.
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Every player mentioned also played "the real game." And they do have a softball HoF. Why wouldn't they?

Freddie <~~~ not a member
 
Bar Table Hall Of Fame

Rusty C said:
There were alot of great players back in the 70's through the mid 90's,that primarily was forced to play on bar tables,because that was the best way to make a living.It would be a shame to see these players forgotten in time.And if so who would be your first inductee.
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Off the top of my head these are the best bar table players I've ever seen play pool with my own "EYES" and many others that I didn't SEE play that maded a living at it from the 70's through the 90's. If you liked your money you certainly steered clear of any of theses players for they all were bar table specialist of the day!

All these guy's made a living gambling at pool on a bar table!

David Matlock, Buddy Hall, Erman Bullard, " Billy Johnson" Wade Crane, Mike Sigel, Allan Hopkins, Sergio Vargas, Weldon Rogers, Louie Roberts, "Country Calvin" Harcrow, Danny Medina, Paul Turner, "EarthQuake" Keith McCready, Billy Weir,Terry Bell, Jack Hynes, Jack Cooney, C J Wiley, Bobby Leggs, " Hawaiian Brian" Hashimoto, Nick "The Greek" Valhos, " Tracy Joe" Joe Salazar, Earl " Wade" Kellum, Reed Pierce, John Shupet, Steve Gumphrey, " Atlanta Danny" Danny Greardon, Brian Atchley, "FlyBoy" Jimmy Spears, James Christopher, Denny Searcy, James Waldon, Eugene Browning, Scotty Townsend, Jerry Brock, Tony " Fargo" Ferguson, Gary "C" Seay," Fat Ralph" Cortez, "Little Al" Mason, Marco Marcus " Marquez", Ted Copeland, "Jumpin" Joe Lawrence, " BushWhacker" Gary Nolan, Louie Lemkie, Jay Swanson, "Fat Randy" Wallace, Ronnie Sypher, Gene " The Machine " Cooper, " Gabby " Larry Brown, John Brumback, Peru Paul, Tommy Sanders, Jimmy Sanders, Larry ' The Iceman" Hubbart, Bakersfield Bob, Mexican "Cannela" , Jimmy Reid, Ed Gigor, Charlie " Left Handed Charlie " Jones, Glen Atwell, Willie Munson, Dallas West, " Cigar" Tom Vanover, Bob Vanover, Billy Steele, Franco Javier, Nick Varner, Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Billy Kuykendall, " San Jose" Dick Mc Morran, John Hager Sr., Mark Wilson, Billy Incardona, Joey Spaeth, Clyde Childers, Mike Massey, Steve " The Cookie Monster" Cook, Kim Davenport, " Good Time" Charlie Ownes, U.J. Puckett, Cole Dixion, Veron Cole, " Handsome " Danny Jones, Junior Norris, Don Ballard, Don Watson, Bill Stacks, Lenard " Rip" Johns, Vernon Elliott, " Strongarm" John, Cliff Joyner, Bill Meacham, Richie Ambrose," Surfer Rod" Rod Curry, " Pretty Boy" Floyd, Jose Parica, David Howard, " King James" Jim Rempe, Robert LeBlanc, " The Ghost " Baltimore Danny, Jr. Harris, Toby Sweet, Curtis Payne, San Seabastian and many others I can't think of right now.

I would add Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer but they mostly played tournaments for a living, Hall, Sigel and Hopkins did too but they gambled alot during this time.

UPDATE: I'm going to add Earl & Johnny to my list, hell the've played tons of pool on the bar box.


David Harcrow
 
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catpool9 said:
Off the top of my head these are the best bar table players I've ever seen play and make a living at it from the 70's through the 90's. If you liked your money you certainly steered clear of any of theses players for they all were bar table specialist of the day!


David Matlock, Buddy Hall, Ermon Bullard, Mike Segal, Allan Hopkins, Sergio Vargas, Louie Roberts, "Country Calvin" Harcrow, Danny Medina,"EarthQuake" Keith McCready, Billy Weir,Terry Bell, Jack Hynes, Jack Cooney, C J Wiley, Bobby Leggs, Nick "The Greek" Valhos, Joe Salazar, Earl Kellum, Reed Pearce, Steve Gumphrey, Brian Atchley, "FlyBoy" Jimmy Spears, James Christopher, Denny Searcy, Eugene Browning, Scotty Townsend, Jerry Brock, Gary "C" Seay," Fat Ralph" Cortez, "Little Al" Mason, Marco Marcus, Ted Copeland, "Fat Randy" Wallace and many others I can't think of right now.

I would add Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer but they mostly played tournaments for a living, Hall, Segal and Hopkins did too but they gambled alot during this time.


David Harcrow
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You forgot one or two,lol Paul Turner and Peru Paul or tall Paul as I have heard him called. Heck of a list you came up with.I ran into most of them guys at one time or another.
That was back in the good ole days,action where ever you went. John B.
 
Interesting question and the first thing that came to my mind was I can't believe it wasn't JohnnyT who started this thread. :D
 
John Brumback said:
You forgot one or two,lol Paul Turner and Peru Paul or tall Paul as I have heard him called. Heck of a list you came up with.I ran into most of them guys at one time or another.
That was back in the good ole days,action where ever you went. John B.
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I only got to see Peru Paul play once. Big old boy, played pretty freakin strong.

Ken
 
Ken_4fun said:
Dont agree.

Matlock on 9 foot = great.

Matlock on bar box = close to unbeatable. I understand he had a standing offer to play anyone for $10K in Kansas City. Not many came away with the cheese (As Freddy says).

JMO

Ken
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I agree with you Ken. A great player on 9 ft can be unbeatable on the other...and vice versa.

But my point is there isn't a hof for 9 ft's either. Or 10's. And the unbeatables deserved hof, no matter what the table size or game (9ball, 1hole, straight etc). To me there is no differentiation. One is no more worthy of a game than the other. But, it's still fun to debate the best of bb'rs. :)

Respect, Courage, and Commitment!
 
macguy said:
Most all played jam up on the big tables. It is just there was a period of time when bar tables pool was big money and almost every player played on bar tables, even world champions. These guys we are mentioning just had the knack to play on the tables above everybody else. They were not just bar players, most grew up playing on big tables. I saw many matches personally. I saw Salazar give a current at the time world champion the 7 on a bar table and murder him.

The champion offered the 8 to Joe if he would play on a big table. At the pool room they played the rest on the night like a 10 hour session and were about even. The champ would not play anymore unless they played even and that was it. I am not sure you have a concept of the players we are talking about. These are guys with enormous talent at the game on every table but made names for themselves on the bar tables.
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Additionally... I think many AZ folks around the country don't realize that throughout the MidWest and the Southern belt, bar table pool halls were very prevalent of several years. Events like the Music City Open in JoB Billiards in Nashville as well as the Tennessee State Championship in Chattanooga were all bar table events at one time.

Freddie <~~~ can't pass the bar, so I won't ever be a lawyer
 
Bambu said:
No disrespect here guys, but if I was really good at mini golf, I would try the real game. I mean for this to happen, we may as well have a softball hall of fame too.
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Try going from a 5x10 to playing on a diamond barbox with tight pockets. You have much less room to to move the cb aboud, so you can't really ever use your full stroke. Ever wonder why Steve Davis got pounded on by Rempe and the rest of those guys when he played on a 9 footer?

I respectfully disagree with this statement.
 
Of the modern players, I would think that Jason Kirkwood and Shane Van Boening would be future Bar Table HoFers.
 
John Brumback said:
You forgot one or two,lol Paul Turner and Peru Paul or tall Paul as I have heard him called. Heck of a list you came up with.I ran into most of them guys at one time or another.
That was back in the good ole days,action where ever you went. John B.
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Your right John, I forgot Paul Turner, he was a monster on the bar box, he told me once while at a tournament at the Rack in Memphis that he ran 26 racks of 9-Ball on the bar box gambling the night his mother died, he was in the middle of about a 10 rack run then practicing when he told me this.

I'll add him to my list, there are lot's of guys that should be in a Hall of Fame for bar box play that were head and shoulders above all other players on that table, several I haven't seen play, but I've seen plenty of um, never had the pleasure of watching Peru Paul play.

David
 
Cornerman said:
Additionally... I think many AZ folks around the country don't realize that throughout the MidWest and the Southern belt, bar table pool halls were very prevalent of several years. Events like the Music City Open in JoB Billiards in Nashville as well as the Tennessee State Championship in Chattanooga were all bar table events at one time.

Freddie <~~~ can't pass the bar, so I won't ever be a lawyer
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Thats right Fred, most all the poolrooms in the south at the time and even now consisted of all bar tables with maybe just one or two big tables, and most of the 9-Ball action during that time was in the south.

David
 
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