I believe he meant Danny bait.
Current Best 14.1 Players
- Thread starter MattPoland
- Start date
I believe he meant Danny bait.
He probably liked to play 14.1 alone because his time was limited and he did not want to spend half of it playing 14.1 safeties in order to play the game correctly in competition. I can fully understand that. Playing 14.1 alone is almost never boring to those who love the game- the constant challenge to figure out the puzzle of each rack is what keeps folks who love the game deeply interested. Playing 14.1 for many is just a great form of relaxation and "getting away from it all" - I would imagine he looked at it that way as well. No need for him to give free advice to those who could not play it well, or sit there while pros were running high numbers on him constantly.
Could be. It was not just me he would not play anyone. I never took it personally all of the regulars understood he liked to play alone. I like to practice straight alone as well
It helps my 8 ball game a lot..
As opposed to every other pool game where it’s always more fun to play someone, I also prefer to play/practice 14.1 by myself. Even though I’ve play the game for 50 years, I still feel like I’m always learning when I’m practicing 14.1 by myself, particularly break shots. When you’re playing someone in 14.1, for a relatively conservative player like me, too much time is wasted playing safeties.
Yes, of course you are right here.
... but the BCA played a similar role back in the day as the WPA plays today as pro pool hadn't really gone global yet. At the elite pro level, World pool and American pool were practically one of the same until the mid-1980's, and almost no significant pool tournaments were played outside of the US. As you know, even the globalization of the game happened on US soil in the form of the PBT, the first truly international nine ball tour, later known as the Camel Tour, which brought the top Europeans and Asians into the competitive mainstream.
So, while what you say is correct, world championships pre-1990 had the highest possible level of sanctioning available in the sport at the time and always drew fields that justified their being called world championships.. I'd say that those who consider Johnston City 14.1 titles to be World Championships use similar logic, but I don't think those events had BCA sanctioning. In fact, the World 14.1 Championship fields of the 1970's were much tougher than what you had to negotiate in the 1990's, as winning the title in the 1970s typically meant having to outshine hall of famers like Steve Mizerak, Mike Sigel, Nick Varner, Dallas West, Allen Hopkins, Irving Crane, Lou Butera, Jim Rempe, Danny DiLiberto, Ray Martin, Luther Lassiter, Jimmy Moore and Joe Balsis,
Perhaps one should differentiate by calling some of the pre-WPA events that were world championships as having been "fully sanctioned" world championships.
Thanks for your post. Much as I hate to say it, the good old days are increasingly becoming a blur for me.
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Aha....thanx
Stu, as I remember it, completely the opposite was true. The PPPA formed and had its 1976 tournament (their first one, in Asbury Park, NJ) because they were dissatisfied with the BCA US Open 14.1 prize fund -- $35,000. The PPPA members boycotted the US Open. I think later on the PPPA events were included in the BCA records but that may have been after the PPPA ceased to exist.
(On a side note, the prize fund for the 1977 PPPA tournament was advertised as $50,000. In fact the prize fund was just the entry fees and amounted to $17,000.)
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
Earl turned out to be a much better straight pool player than anybody gave him credit for.
All the aforementioned players are all formidable straight pool players, hard to pick a winner.
All the aforementioned players are all formidable straight pool players, hard to pick a winner.
As long as he can tell a 10 from a 2.
Yup, that's how I remember it, too. Although I was just 18 years old at the time, I remember the boycott well and also how it led to the formation of the PPPA, I also think you're right that the sanctioning of their World 14.1 Championship came well after the fact.
I'm sure you'll also recall that the boycott in 1976 (which included most of the big names, with Steve Mizerak and Ray Martin among the leaders) led to the crowning of a true Cinderella at the US Open 14.1, with the winner being a college math professor from New Jersey named Tom Jennings.
Those were interesting times for sure. Yes, the straight pool era had its controversies, too.
George also had a home table for many years, and I've always loved his supremely on target, published comment in that regard:
"Nothing in the world beats the sheer pleasure of running racks of Straight Pool . . . . playing barefoot, in your underwear, at 2 o'clock in the morning."
Been there, done that. Characteristically, and with his ad-man background showing, George beautifully captured the imagery and feeling of an experience that many of us know so well.
Arnaldo
..which led to a challenge match between Larry Lisciotti (the newly crowned Prince of Pool) and Tom Jennings.
A hustler meets an artist
It was still early in the match, but Tom Jennings was 140 balls ahead as Larry Lisciotti stared at the table. Fourteen balls sat in a tight cluster that was
vault.si.com
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You may need to reread my post. I listed six major contenders, and John was one of them. Of course he's dangerous! He's just not my pick to win it. You may favor him , and that's your every right.
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Wow, what a cool article. I never knew this match took place. Thanks for sharing...which led to a challenge match between Larry Lisciotti (the newly crowned Prince of Pool) and Tom Jennings.
A hustler meets an artist
It was still early in the match, but Tom Jennings was 140 balls ahead as Larry Lisciotti stared at the table. Fourteen balls sat in a tight cluster that was
As far as just running balls in practice JS is the best of this era. In matches however, there's a bunch of people favored over him.
I would agree with this, too. JS has not been the big force in competitive 14.1 that folks expected, until he proves differently, his legacy in 14.1 is mostly as a practice player - runs tons of balls in practice- like a Michael Eufemia did many years ago.
Yes, agree, the other problem is folks who like conversation, more than pool- we all know those folks- and in 14.1 you need a ton of concentration to make the right moves- idle chatter is not welcome when I am trying to get through tough racks
This jumped out at me from the sports illustrated article,
"A 100-ball run is nowhere near Willie Mosconi's BCA record of 526—an accomplishment so astounding that few players today believe that he did it."
That sounds familiar, lol.
"A 100-ball run is nowhere near Willie Mosconi's BCA record of 526—an accomplishment so astounding that few players today believe that he did it."
That sounds familiar, lol.