Was pool better 50 years ago?

Back in the 80s we planned our yearly vacation around the Reno Samds tournaments. Seeing Efren destroying the 9 ball tournaments was entertaining. 🤷‍♂️ Now I enjoy watching the Snooker put on my television by wst.tv.
My morning entertainment is about to start, with Judd Trump vs John Higgins. The competition and coverage that are world class makes for my favorite cue sports entertainment at this time. Gotta go, I just have time to get my breakfast before watching The Battle on the Baize as it starts at 6 o'clock my time. Uh 18 minutes till show time. Try it you might like it. 🤷‍♂️
 
When pool was not taught, unique play styles were created, and the diversity of a players form was very prominent.
Corn Bread Red Slip Stroke.... who's teachin' that :).
Gambling/traveling was the norm, seeing many different players pa$$ thru was the norm.
Seeing Steve Gumphrys for the first time was not the norm, as was Sofi. But they are the best.
Yeah.... yah don't see this as much because of instructions evolution, but when you do see natural Quirks from any player on the planet, it's special.
 
mikemosconi said:
I also think that people here either forget or are too young to remember that 50 years ago and all before that - straight pool was always the most visible pool event to the masses in the U.S. via Wide World of Sports on TV and the major event mostly held in NYC large hotel ball rooms. Johnston City tournament was not a broadcast event.

Major 14.1 events were “sterile” in nature as players were in a Tux, tables were refereed, fan attendees sat in utter silence except for applause occasionally on great shots. You could hear a pin drop in the ballrooms in NYC during play- I attended a few of the events held toward the mid and late 70s in NYC.

Even the 1989 US open 14.1 revival held in Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel( I attended) the players were in a tux and the room was extremely parochial from a game and player behavior standpoint. This was the last one that I recall being so formal. The subsequent events in NYC in the early 90s were much less formal in structure.
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While that was a particular format, at the same time 9 ball tournaments were happening all around the country, with the same players. I watched Crane win a 9 ball tournament at Weenie Beenie's.
ABC did show the occasional pool tournament, it was rare. It was so edited as to be unwatchable. Not the kind of coverage they gave other sports.
They did do an interesting coverage of Johnston City once. Probably their best treatment of a pool tournament.
I know most have seen it but here is a small clip of the ABC showing of it.
 
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JAM said:
Sigel most definitely is a tournament soldier, as evidenced by his portfolio of major wins. He also is known in some circles as Mike the Mouth, and there's a reason for that. He definitely had his own unique personality and brought a lot of entertainment, still does, on and off the table. But his other moniker is Captain Hook, and that's his tournament persona because he was capable of hooking anybody in competitions.
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Thanks for your input. Mike Sigel was my favorite player in the early 1980s. I was glad to be present for his first world championship. I knew him just a little back then, but now he's a close friend. I had breakfast with him as recently as November 2025.

I have suggested on this forum that if Mike had not, for practical purposes, retired from competition in 1993, he, not Efren, might be remembered as the greatest player of all time. He was still one of the best few when he retired and had a lot of titles left in him. For me, he remains the only player that I'd call a top five straight pooler and a top five nine-baller of all time.

I really enjoy reflecting on the 1980s when Mike was doing his very best work ... and when I was about a thirty-year-old young man, LOL.
 
JAM said:
Stu, before I ever met Keith, he traveled the tournament trail religiously. Back then, tournaments weren’t just about trophies. They were gathering places for after-hours action. For players like Keith and his circle, the real games often began when the bleachers emptied.

You’re a pool purist, and you’ve always seen the game a little differently than folks like me, and that's is perfectly okay. You appreciate the quiet geometry, the chess match of patterns, the elegance of a perfect stroke under pressure. Today’s pool, disciplined tournament soldiers playing mum pool, is what brings a pool purist that greatest joy as a pool enthusiast, and I do understand why.

As for personalities, the game still has a few. Alex Pagulayan continues to bring energy and levity wherever he plays. Oi is another colorful character, and Jayson Shaw certainly has personality both on and off the table. But they are exceptions now, not the rule.

Those of us lucky enough to have lived through pool’s golden years saw something different, entertainers as much as champions, people like, well, Keith McCready, Ronnie Allen, Larry Lisciotti, Cornbread Red, Strawberry, Minnesota Fats, Jimmy Mataya, Earl Strickland, Shannon Daulton, Louie Roberts, Dennis Hatch, Jimmy Reid, Grady Mathews, CJ Wiley, Popcorn, Kid Delicious, Allen Hopkins, Ginky, Steve Mizerak. And that’s just off the top of my head. Given more time, I could name a couple dozen more with personality-plus.

The era of what I call "pool's golden years" had something modern pool often lacks: danger, personality, and mythology. What made them different was not only their talent, but their toughness, stamina for 12-hour sessions, emotional control under financial pain, and a killer instinct when blood was in the water. Back then, reputations were earned in cash, not trophies.

So, Stu, you’re in luck. Today pool is exactly where you want it to be in caliber of play, venues, and professionalism. The best tournament players are no longer the most feared money players. It’s a different era, and I hope you enjoy your front-row seat as the game evolves into its next frontier. Modern pool, your cup of tea, is technically superior, thanks to advances in equipment and training. Classic pool, my cup of tea, was culturally superior. Different eras produced different animals, and both deserve respect.
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Thanks so much for this! As I've confessed before on AZB, most of my knowledge about Keith's past exploits comes from your posts and you have enlightened me once again.

The truth is that, although I saw pool up close fifty years ago and still get to do so, I loved it then and I love it now. I just feel that the globalization of the game that has occurred chiefly in the last ten years makes pool's landscape more exciting than it ever has been. Pool is no longer a niche American game, and one can travel the world without landing in many places where the game is not played. I love that!

Good call on Naoyuki Oi by the way. Other than Alex Pagulayan, he may the greatest entertainer in the game today, and he's every bit as engaging off the table as on. His "no shot is too difficult to play" style always makes for good theater.

Perhaps one day there will be a thread comparing 2076 to 2026. Who knows where pro pool will land. Unfortunately, unless I live to 118 years old, I won't be posting in that thread.
 
I honestly think the players were overall better in the past. I feel like the equipment( felt, lights, jump cues, etc..? has given the illusion to make players look better. I also think the patterns and creativity was much better in the past.
 
tommygunn78 said:
I honestly think the players were overall better in the past. I feel like the equipment( felt, lights, jump cues, etc..? has given the illusion to make players look better. I also think the patterns and creativity was much better in the past.
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Couldn't be further from the truth. The quality of instruction has skyrocketed and the online resources available for learning the game's underlying theory is leaps and bounds above what the old masters had available to them. Yes, the players of today have a huge edge over those of yesteryear, a much easier path to developing excellence in fundamentals, decision making and game theory.

That said, you make an important point. Better equipment and playing conditions are certainly part of the explanation for why today's players play with a technical excellence that is leaps and bounds above their counterparts of fifty years ago.
 
HawaiianEye said:
I didn't even like Kelly Pool when it was popular.
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What about the simple "fun factor" of hanging in a real pool hall? Games I found to be the most "fun" (with friends, for "friendly" money) are listed below to help jog your memories. (Played otherwise, they were still "good" games.)

1. Golf
2. 9 Ball Ring Game
3. Kelly Pool

I'd like to know how many afternoons/nights I "blew" while deeply involved in one of the above.
 
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JAM said:
So, Stu, you’re in luck. Today pool is exactly where you want it to be in caliber of play, venues, and professionalism. The best tournament players are no longer the most feared money players. It’s a different era, and I hope you enjoy your front-row seat as the game evolves into its next frontier. Modern pool, your cup of tea, is technically superior, thanks to advances in equipment and training. Classic pool, my cup of tea, was culturally superior. Different eras produced different animals, and both deserve respect.
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Yep, this is where we seem to be. There are more world class players, more tournaments, and probably more tournament money around today than there was 50 years ago. It's hard to argue against that. But personally, I often times find those tournaments boring. And I don't think this thread was limited to tournament play. "Better" is subjective.

The absolute most entertaining person I have ever seen in pool, was Jack White. He put on a demonstration at my college, twice, in the 1970s. No grand stands, or anything like that. He just walked up to a table in the student union, and we all gathered around him. He told stories, and did a number of trick shots. He would play with anyone bold enough to pick up a cue, and he made them enjoy looking like a chump. He told jokes and interacted with the crowd. He would say things to his opponent like: "If you make that shot, I'll give everyone in this room $100". Someone in the crowd yelled out: "Let's see your money". So Jack pulled out a roll big enough to choke a horse. He kept us all laughing for a couple of hours. He was an absolute gem, in the pool world. A true ambassador.

I'm sure there were, and are, better pool players than Jack White, but I've never seen anyone more enjoyable to watch.
 
sjm said:
Read the thread title.
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50 years was actually an arbitrary number the OP picked. Reality is though, most of the changes you point out are very recent. 50, 45, 35 years ago would all be about the same regarding the OPs point.
If you read the OPs post you see where he's coming from regardless of how far back you have to go. His post was fairly simple and straightforward.
 
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Biloxi Boy said:
What about the simple "fun factor" of hanging in a real pool hall? Games I found to be the most "fun" (with friends, for "friendly" money) are listed below to help jog your memories. (Played otherwise, they were still "good" games.)

1. Golf
2. 9 Ball Ring Game
3. Kelly Pool

I'd like to know how many afternoons/nights I "blew" while deeply involved in one of the above.
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I worked in a real "old school" pool hall from the time I was a kid until after I got out of high school.

I spent HOURS in the pool hall six days a week for years.

I played all of those games, but Kelly pool may have been my least favorite.

I gambled at all games and played anybody and everybody.
 
Banger said:
Yep, this is where we seem to be. There are more world class players, more tournaments, and probably more tournament money around today than there was 50 years ago. It's hard to argue against that. But personally, I often times find those tournaments boring. And I don't think this thread was limited to tournament play. "Better" is subjective.

The absolute most entertaining person I have ever seen in pool, was Jack White. He put on a demonstration at my college, twice, in the 1970s. No grand stands, or anything like that. He just walked up to a table in the student union, and we all gathered around him. He told stories, and did a number of trick shots. He would play with anyone bold enough to pick up a cue, and he made them enjoy looking like a chump. He told jokes and interacted with the crowd. He would say things to his opponent like: "If you make that shot, I'll give everyone in this room $100". Someone in the crowd yelled out: "Let's see your money". So Jack pulled out a roll big enough to choke a horse. He kept us all laughing for a couple of hours. He was an absolute gem, in the pool world. A true ambassador.

I'm sure there were, and are, better pool players than Jack White, but I've never seen anyone more enjoyable to watch.
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Jack White was incredible -- I caught him 3 times: at Southern Miss, South Alabama, and Keesler Air Force Base. Additionally, he was Scott Lee's mentor.
Biloxi Boy

Thread '"Juiced/Trick" Cue Ball or Extraterrestial Stroke'

Years ago, I went to a pool exhibition put on by a well known player/trick shot artist. At some point, this cat began to shoot incredible draw shots during which the cue ball would dramatically change direction several times.

After 5 to 10 of these shots, the performer would look at the audience as if to ask, "Now how about them apples, buckos?", but he never let on, and no one ever asked. What a showman to have me still thinking about him and his show after some 40 to 50 years. (I actually saw this guy put on his show three times over a 6 to 7 year period -- always the same great...
 
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Biloxi Boy said:
Jack White was incredible -- I caught him 3 times: at Southern Miss, South Alabama, and Keesler Air Force Base. Additionally, he was Scott Lee's mentor.
Biloxi Boy

Thread '"Juiced/Trick" Cue Ball or Extraterrestial Stroke'

Years ago, I went to a pool exhibition put on by a well known player/trick shot artist. At some point, this cat began to shoot incredible draw shots during which the cue ball would dramatically change direction several times.

After 5 to 10 of these shots, the performer would look at the audience as if to ask, "Now how about them apples, buckos?", but he never let on, and no one ever asked. What a showman to have me still thinking about him and his show after some 40 to 50 years. (I actually saw this guy put on his show three times over a 6 to 7 year period -- always the same great...
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I saw him at Keesler AFB in Biloxi in 1973.

He drove a big dark green Cadillac and he had plastic signs held on with magnets on both front doors of his car.

The signs said, "Jack White. World's Greatest Trickshot Artist".
 
HawaiianEye said:
I worked in a real "old school" pool hall from the time I was a kid until after I got out of high school.

I spent HOURS in the pool hall six days a week for years.

I played all of those games, but Kelly pool may have been my least favorite.

I gambled at all games and played anybody and everybody.
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I am sorry. I was not questioning you or directing anything toward you. I was trying to point out that an evaluation of pool -- then and now -- should also consider how much fun was had by mere mortals -- bangers -- and what magic places pool rooms used to be.
 
Biloxi Boy said:
I am sorry. I was not questioning you or directing anything toward you. I was trying to point out that an evaluation of pool -- then and now -- should also consider how much fun was had by mere mortals -- bangers -- and what magic places pool rooms used to be.
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Old school pool halls were fun back in the day.

Lots of characters with lots of things going on: dominoes in the front, money pinball machines on the side, snooker tables with people playing golf, people playing 9-ball ring games and Kelly pool, old timers playing one pocket, people telling stories and tall tales, occasional fights, etc.

Something for everybody.
 
50 years back little to just a few gambler's tournaments. 40 years back might be a better compasision. other ones was as stu said mostly straight pool and more formal. and a true test of skill.

its more like going to a pro golf event which is of course regulated in every way, and a gamblers golf event . both you see good golf, one is expert the other is fun and exciting.

but two different clientele for the most part went to those events.

and you can be sure it was more fun at the gamblers events. and you sure saw great pool with great comments from the rail, and the players.
 
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