Lets bring pool back to the glory days

T

thall

Registered
Many years ago, back in the 80's there were pool rooms all over the nation, every town had one. Every town had their own best shooter, the guy that everyone was convinced was the best shot in town. Pool has had its ups and downs over the years. By the late 50's pool was in big decline, rooms were closing up all over the country. Then came Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason in the movie The Hustler. Huge hit and pool was brought back to life. ABC featured matches on Wide World of Sports and pool was breathing new life again. Today once again pool is in decline. Sadly today we have the best equipment ever made to play the game yet there are fewer people playing today. Money has dried up in the game and its a shame. There are pro players today with so much skill at the game that are barely making a living. Prize money for big open invitation matches is what the players put up to play in the matches. Can you imagine any other sport where the players have to pay to play and if they don't win they go home with nothing. When was the last King of The Hill match where the prize money was $200,000 to the winner, 2005 I think. As crazy as Strickland is he said it best, there is no money in pool, we're all broke.

I think a movie featuring the life story of Willie Mosconi on the major screen would wake up the game, rooms would open up, people would be playing in droves.

Lets hear your ideas and hopefully someone somewhere will pick up on them and invest in our game again an bring it back to the glory days.
 
Sorry, I changed my mind as I realised it would do no real good.

I don't have any answers.
 
To many people want to be hustlers not enough want to play for the fun of the game.
 
ENGLISH! said:
I don't have the stats but I would guess that there are more people playing than ever before. They are just playing in bars on coin tables in leagues instead of pool halls. How many females played pool back in the day vs how many are playing today?

It's not that part of the game that needs help. It's the pool halls with the bigger non coin tables & the Pro game that needs help.

I don't think a movie about Mr. Mosconi would do much for those parts of the game that need the help. But... who knows. It might get some newcomers into some halls but I doubt that they would not quickly migrate to leagues. Maybe the movie proceeds could go in some way to help get The Halls & Pro Players back on their feet

One needs to understand what leagues do. They put about a dozen people or more into a bar on one or two tables on the slow weekday nights. In a hall there would be maybe 5, 6, or 7 tables being used by that number.

Some ask why should the amateur aspect of the game do anything to support the Pros.

The only way the amateur ranks should support the Pros is to pay to watch them play at a level that most amateurs can not.

Do you think the NFL could be paying the salaries that they are paying players if the only revenue for the owners were the stadium ticket sales?

It's the television rights & the money that the networks pay for those broadcast rights & all of the sales from jerseys, license plates, car magnets, flags, etc. & the licensing rights to manufacture & sell those goods.

Some say the current game of 9 ball has been diluted to the point that there is no real display of what Pros are truly capable & hence do not showcase what they can do. That may very well be true & hence who other than the die hard fans would want to pay to watch & what television network would want to pay to broadcast such & indeed even if they did who would they pay? A tournament promoter? And what about the players?

I did not see much of Bonus Ball but it was an idea that may have been able to work. I think it may have been able to garner public interest in time but with most new business ventures they lose money before they make money.

IMO the old pros of the past made a large mistake by not taking matters & the future of their game into their own hands the way the Old Pro Golfers did when they formed the PGA of America, Professional Golfers Assoc. of America.

Hence we are where we are today. No ranks of a formal association of Pro Players that can control anything regarding themselves as a group.

I'm sorry for the rantings... but you asked.

I have no solution that I know would be doable. CJ Wiley as eluded to something he has brewing & I think we all should wish him & whatever it is success.

Best @ You & All,
Rick
Click to expand...
Awesome post, you bring up alot of good and valid points. It just irks me that there are so many great players out there that aren't getting the reconition for the skills they pocess. There was a time when such players where the envy of all those that shot pool, today they are hardly known, no one seems to care. Today you ask a guy 25 years old that shoots alittle now and then if he ever heard of Mosconi, Lassiter, Fats, the old big names in the game and they will say who. Ask a kid 10 years old if he ever heard of Babe Ruth, oh yes. I guess the game for whatever reason just doesn't hold the attention span of other sports yet the skill it takes to play it well is more so than other sports. Ali kept boxing alive, hasn't been much after he faded from it. Maybe thats it, pool needs a Ali, someone who can peak interest in the game, make people want to see it. Fats, as sorry a player as he was did promote and keep people interested in the game. Maybe pool needs a promoter, someone who can shoot the lights on the table and play the viewers as well. Pool needs something, ESPN ignores it like a plague, all networks do. Its a shame for its such a great game to watch when played by those that really know how to work the table. I watched Reyes kill Mike Sigel in the King of The Hill. That was a match made for TV but where is it, YouTube, sucks. The game is being ignored, such a shame..
 
I think a movie featuring the life story of Willie Mosconi on the major screen would wake up the game, rooms would open up, people would be playing in droves.
Click to expand...


Hey we could call it " Free Willie" .....oh wait.

Ok how about " Willie wonka".....oh wait..

Ok how about " Willie Make it " ....

Greenleaf would be a better subject actually. Its the classic " man vs himself" theme , as opposed to man vs man etc. With a little love story thrown in for good measure. ( gotta cater to the women to gain market share.)

All you need is a good screenplay ala JD Dolan, and a million or so to start shooting.
Easy peezy
 
As eloquent as your plea was, thall, we've all discussed this topic before, and were no more able to reach an equitable conclusion then as we are able to now.
Everything has a life, my friend. A beginning, a middle, and an end. Pool, as we knew it, is nearing it's end and there isn't a thing that any of us can do about it. It is what it is.
Better, in my opinion, to rejoice in what we had, and to make the most of what we have left, than to bemoan the future.
And, since you're new here, welcome to the forum. Enjoy what's left of the ride. :smile:
 
Tramp...I have to respectfully disagree with you on this. There are 400,000 amateur league players playing every week in nationally sanctioned pool leagues across the USA. There are 10x that many playing in their little "local" leagues in small towns across America. It's hard to find a bar that doesn't have at least one pool table. If we ever figure out how to tap into the really "local" league player, pool here will skyrocket. Pool is hardly dead or dying.

The economy has been in a freefall for nearly a decade, and equipment sales trend along with it. Diamond can barely keep up with demand. Cue companies like McDermott and Viking are thriving. China, with it's BILLION people is so interested in creating league pool there, that they have hired Randyg as a consultant to help them get things going. He and I are involved in an effort to train Chinese instructors to help facilitate the emergence of widespread desires to learn to play.

The DCC garners 1000+ players every year to it's events. The APA, VNEA, TAP, and BCAPL leagues draw tens of thousands of participants every year to their national tournaments. The biggest consumer pool show in the country is about to begin it's annual spate of "pool everything" that draws tens of thousands of enthusiasts every year. Pool is alive and well...it's just some people notions that it's dead or dying.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Tramp Steamer said:
As eloquent as your plea was, thall, we've all discussed this topic before, and were no more able to reach an equitable conclusion then as we are able to now.
Everything has a life, my friend. A beginning, a middle, and an end. Pool, as we knew it, is nearing it's end and there isn't a thing that any of us can do about it. It is what it is.
Better, in my opinion, to rejoice in what we had, and to make the most of what we have left, than to bemoan the future.
And, since you're new here, welcome to the forum. Enjoy what's left of the ride. :smile:
Click to expand...
 
Here is a thought, crowd source our own movie. We can also do this for matches.

Super Troopers came out like 13 years ago, and apparently only $2 million dollars is preventing a sequel from being made all these years ago. $2 million is like an accounting error on a hollywood film budget. I was surprised at how low budget these guys needed. Broken Lizard were smart enough to get their movie crowded sourced; they raise $3.2 million so far.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/super-troopers-2#home
 
Just as Paul Newman came back as fast Eddie in the color of money Tom Cruise should make another pool movie and come back as Vincent . We need another big box office hit to revitalize our sport. Just my opinion.
 
We don't need to make a movie guys....

We can just make a few t.v. commercials.. One could be of a walk around of a pool table with sad music being played ( in the eyes of an angel).

The next could be a catchy pool song..
 
thall said:
Awesome post, you bring up alot of good and valid points. It just irks me that there are so many great players out there that aren't getting the reconition for the skills they pocess. There was a time when such players where the envy of all those that shot pool, today they are hardly known, no one seems to care. Today you ask a guy 25 years old that shoots alittle now and then if he ever heard of Mosconi, Lassiter, Fats, the old big names in the game and they will say who. Ask a kid 10 years old if he ever heard of Babe Ruth, oh yes. I guess the game for whatever reason just doesn't hold the attention span of other sports yet the skill it takes to play it well is more so than other sports. Ali kept boxing alive, hasn't been much after he faded from it. Maybe thats it, pool needs a Ali, someone who can peak interest in the game, make people want to see it. Fats, as sorry a player as he was did promote and keep people interested in the game. Maybe pool needs a promoter, someone who can shoot the lights on the table and play the viewers as well. Pool needs something, ESPN ignores it like a plague, all networks do. Its a shame for its such a great game to watch when played by those that really know how to work the table. I watched Reyes kill Mike Sigel in the King of The Hill. That was a match made for TV but where is it, YouTube, sucks. The game is being ignored, such a shame..
Click to expand...

Ali kept boxing alive, hasn't been much after he faded from it. Maybe thats it, pool needs a Ali, someone who can peak interest in the game, make people want to see it


Boxing was hurt by to many sanctioning bodies and having to many champions in each division and never having a recognized champion in each division. When it was just the WBA and the WBC , the two title holders could fight and solidify the champ. When the IBF came along it threw another wrench in the works.
 
I really think another big movie would do wonders for the game.

That and less handicapped leagues.. I'm all for amateur leagues but the APAs structure doesn't promote growth individually. A lot of people here don't want their teammates to get better due to the "23 rule" BS.

If they were getting better and better they would aspire to more.


I'm probably wrong though so I don't know.
 
pool isn't dying, it's changing. the era of the gambler is (finally) coming to an end, and IMO it can't come soon enough. those of you stuck in those old ways of thinking can die with it.
 
Alive and well here in SF bay Area with League play growing at a rapid pace and a new 38 table room opening in Fremont anytime adding to the established 2 others within 30 minutes of where I live that are getting action.

I am seeing allot more excitement about the game in the last few years here where I live. Not sure about other parts of the World.


-Kat
 
Scott Lee said:
Tramp...I have to respectfully disagree with you on this. There are 400,000 amateur league players playing every week in nationally sanctioned pool leagues across the USA. There are 10x that many playing in their little "local" leagues in small towns across America. It's hard to find a bar that doesn't have at least one pool table. If we ever figure out how to tap into the really "local" league player, pool here will skyrocket. Pool is hardly dead or dying.

The economy has been in a freefall for nearly a decade, and equipment sales trend along with it. Diamond can barely keep up with demand. Cue companies like McDermott and Viking are thriving. China, with it's BILLION people is so interested in creating league pool there, that they have hired Randyg as a consultant to help them get things going. He and I are involved in an effort to train Chinese instructors to help facilitate the emergence of widespread desires to learn to play.

The DCC garners 1000+ players every year to it's events. The APA, VNEA, TAP, and BCAPL leagues draw tens of thousands of participants every year to their national tournaments. The biggest consumer pool show in the country is about to begin it's annual spate of "pool everything" that draws tens of thousands of enthusiasts every year. Pool is alive and well...it's just some people notions that it's dead or dying.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Good grief, it's worse than i thought. Mind you, mystery solved as to why the chinese invasion has stalled.
 
Keith Jawahir said:
pool isn't dying, it's changing. the era of the gambler is (finally) coming to an end, and IMO it can't come soon enough. those of you stuck in those old ways of thinking can die with it.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I cringe when i read threads like this.

Whatever the solution to pool's woes is, it WON'T come from old people.
 
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