Adam Savage - Mythbusters Fame - Pool Player

Benward452

Benward452

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We always talk a lot on the forum about famous folks who are into pool and I thought this was an awesome video of Adam Savage, of Mythbusters fame, talking about growing up with the game. He also shares some fun pool hall/bar memories.

His terminology isn't always on point, but he seems to know a lot and is a great storyteller.

He says his high run in straight pool is 28, which is better than a lot of people out there. Even mentions watching and playing one pocket and knows what last pocket 8-ball is.

Fun watch.

https://youtu.be/Gb2FLvZi_DQ?t=6m48s

-Ben
 
Boy, we are a tough crowd.

Here we have a celebrity who is enthusiastic about the game, goes to pro events (he says), reads books on pool, knows about and plays games other than 8 ball and would appear to be able to play at a decent level and we are busting his balls because of his knowledge of straight pool high runs or his choice of pool books (and I'm not sure what is wrong with recommending Byrne's book).

Gideon
 
gideonf said:
boy, we are a tough crowd.

Here we have a celebrity who is enthusiastic about the game, goes to pro events (he says), reads books on pool, knows about and plays games other than 8 ball and would appear to be able to play at a decent level and we are busting his balls because of his knowledge of straight pool high runs or his choice of pool books (and i'm not sure what is wrong with recommending byrne's book).

Gideon
Click to expand...

fully agree.
 
Like when Pool Dawg posts cool photos of celebs shooting for fun and people critique their stroke. Gah!!
 
I wonder if anyone listened all the way through? Adam is GENUINELY knowledgeable about pool. This is a great podcast about pool and should be spread far and wide by all of us who want to see pool grow.
 
Sounds like a cool video. I'll have to watch it later unfortunately as it doesn't seem to work on my current device.
 
GideonF said:
Boy, we are a tough crowd.

Here we have a celebrity who is enthusiastic about the game, goes to pro events (he says), reads books on pool, knows about and plays games other than 8 ball and would appear to be able to play at a decent level and we are busting his balls because of his knowledge of straight pool high runs or his choice of pool books (and I'm not sure what is wrong with recommending Byrne's book).

Gideon
Click to expand...

not about Byrnes book. thats just where it dropped off a cliff.

the other guy was clueless about straight pool. Adam mentioned the microfiche ( hey look i have all this history of pool ) then proceeded to prove he's read very little of said history.

i rarely play straight pool either, but a cursory glance at even a few "Youtube" videos should be a clue that 140ish balls is weak sauce for the legends of pool.
 
HalfDeadEd said:
not about Byrnes book. thats just where it dropped off a cliff.

the other guy was clueless about straight pool. Adam mentioned the microfiche ( hey look i have all this history of pool ) then proceeded to prove he's read very little of said history.

i rarely play straight pool either, but a cursory glance at even a few "Youtube" videos should be a clue that 140ish balls is weak sauce for the legends of pool.
Click to expand...

You must have listened to a different podcast.

140 is respectable for anyone in any era. Many time in world tournaments back in the 40s and 50s hardly anyone would have a run over a hundred throughout the competition.

Adam is CLEARLY a pool fan. Maybe not a diehard fanatic like some here but the guy has had a pretty BUSY career doing something else for quite a while. He seems like the type of guy who does devour everything about a subject when he is interested in it.
 
HalfDeadEd said:
i rarely play straight pool either, but a cursory glance at even a few "Youtube" videos should be a clue that 140ish balls is weak sauce for the legends of pool.
Click to expand...

If you can run 140, you are a legend in my book. How many folks can do that. And who cares if he is NOT a billiard historian. If you can run 140 you are capable of winning a pro tournament, no ?

I've been around pool most of my life, grew up in my dad's pool room, hung out with some of the greats, play in leagues and tourneys, sell the best pool chalk on the planet, and I've never yet, not even one time, played a single game of straight pool.

Don't know why, just never did. Hope that does not mean I'm going to be banned from this very exclusive and prestigious club known as "recreational pool players" who love the game :eek:

PS: Man, I will now have to "test" my baseball buddies from my team and find out if they know the history and stats of all the baseball greats from 1935 to 1941, just to make sure they are really "baseball players" and not just posers. LOL
 
Last edited:
HalfDeadEd said:
not about Byrnes book. thats just where it dropped off a cliff.

the other guy was clueless about straight pool. Adam mentioned the microfiche ( hey look i have all this history of pool ) then proceeded to prove he's read very little of said history.

i rarely play straight pool either, but a cursory glance at even a few "Youtube" videos should be a clue that 140ish balls is weak sauce for the legends of pool.
Click to expand...

I understand what you mean, and it is amusing that if you search "Straight Pool" in YouTube, you get three 200+ ball runs popping up to view.

I think the problem is more that, although keen he may not have totally immersed himself in proper pool subculture. His experience seems to be limited to bars and people who he may have met around the pool halls, but perhaps higher level players (ie. there is a huge difference in shooting ability between someone with a high run of 28 and someone who is even a top level amateur). I understand he has attended tournaments, but that alone wouldn't dispel some of the misinformation.

To be fair, I have searched the New York Times archives a lot myself and Pool coverage starts to drop off in the 1940's if I remember correctly. I expect his info about the Straight Pool record comes from that resource, and at some point 140ish balls would likely have been the high run in competition.

The problem is, information about pool is muddied with so much misinformation from various sources (be it media, word of mouth etc.) due to decades of the pro game being out of the spotlight, that anyone who isn't an obsessive is bound to misunderstand aspects of the game.
 
Adam mentioned hanging out at the poolrooms in NYC Chelsea and Society. That doesn't mean he was in the circle of "players" but it sounds like he was definitely observant of the better players and had some interaction with them.
 
JB Cases said:
Adam mentioned hanging out at the poolrooms in NYC Chelsea and Society. That doesn't mean he was in the circle of "players" but it sounds like he was definitely observant of the better players and had some interaction with them.
Click to expand...

I'm sure he did. I'm just trying to explain why one could be very interested in a subject while still misunderstanding a number of aspects of that subject.

I really enjoy chess, I study it to a small degree and occasionally watch the tournaments on youtube (pool can learn a lot from their presentation). With that in mind, if I spoke to a 1800-2000 level player I would probably say a few things they might giggle at if they weren't in a charitable mood.
 
JB Cases said:
You must have listened to a different podcast.

Adam is CLEARLY a pool fan. Maybe not a diehard fanatic like some here but the guy has had a pretty BUSY career doing something else for quite a while. He seems like the type of guy who does devour everything about a subject when he is interested in it .
Click to expand...

does not compute.
the guy made a damn good living busting bull****
i just didn't expect him to not know about Mosconi.


ChicagoRJ said:
PS: Man, I will know have to "test" my baseball buddies from my team and find out if they know the history and stats of all the baseball greats from 1935 to 1941, just to make sure they are really "baseball players" and not just posers. LOL
Click to expand...

yeah....LOL. but please don't limit your question to such a narrow range/era.
Ask them how many homers Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron hit.
hint: (they won't miss it by 3 fold)
 
Last edited:
I have not forgot John. I will be in touch and take care of what I promised. I was able to get a few cues to deserving people at this years Mosconi cup. We had a blast:cool:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top