John Schmidt's Life Story Out on Legends of the Cue

John is one of the greatest natural talents to ever pick up a cue.

Often associated with his straight pool exploits alone, people tend to forget that he won big titles in all the disciplines: 1) at 9ball, he won the US Open, 2) at 10ball, he won the Super Billiards Expo event over an elite field, and 3) at one pocket, he won the Derby City Classic.

There wasn't much that John couldn't do at an elite level over the glorious green felt.
 
sjm said:
John is one of the greatest natural talents to ever pick up a cue.

Often associated with his straight pool exploits alone, people tend to forget that he won big titles in all the disciplines: 1) at 9ball, he won the US Open, 2) at 10ball, he won the Super Billiards Expo event over an elite field, and 3) at one pocket, he won the Derby City Classic.

There wasn't much that John couldn't do at an elite level over the glorious green felt.
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He's pretty handy with golf clubs too. Played at the college level and still hits it pretty sporty.
 
Such an underrated player if you ask me. Like Stu said, I know people mainly associate him with straight pool, but he was dangerous in any game he played. He was one of the only players I saw who was never scared or phased by the Efren aura when they played each other in tournaments.

And maybe I'm in the minority, but I enjoy his commentary. While I do enjoy JJ and Frost's texas drowl(sp?) and their insights, John comes off as funnier and livelier compared to them. And I feel when he's with Mark Wilson, Mark gets better talking into the mic.
 
Positively Ralf said:
Such an underrated player if you ask me. Like Stu said, I know people mainly associate him with straight pool, but he was dangerous in any game he played. He was one of the only players I saw who was never scared or phased by the Efren aura when they played each other in tournaments.

And maybe I'm in the minority, but I enjoy his commentary. While I do enjoy JJ and Frost's texas drowl(sp?) and their insights, John comes off as funnier and livelier compared to them. And I feel when he's with Mark Wilson, Mark gets better talking into the mic.
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JJ is from Houston, Frost is from Iowa. JJ's 'drawl' is pretty minor compared to most Texans. I've met a few that needed a damn translator.
 
Positively Ralf said:
Such an underrated player if you ask me. Like Stu said, I know people mainly associate him with straight pool, but he was dangerous in any game he played. He was one of the only players I saw who was never scared or phased by the Efren aura when they played each other in tournaments.

And maybe I'm in the minority, but I enjoy his commentary. While I do enjoy JJ and Frost's texas drowl(sp?) and their insights, John comes off as funnier and livelier compared to them. And I feel when he's with Mark Wilson, Mark gets better talking into the mic.
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i like him in the comm box too, but i suspect he's seen as a loose canon a little bit.. pops a political joke in now and then, or says stuff in a hot mike moment. i enjoy that kind of thing, but producers may not
 
Anyone who can play golf and pool at elite levels obviously has " correct" wiring to handle the mind games of standing over a stationary ball and performing magic with the instrument in hand under pressure. Coupled, of course , with thousands of devoted hours to either game. However, the thousands of hours alone are no guarantee to get as good as John was capable in either game.

Too bad that pool never paid off as well as golf probably would have for John. Whether you like him or not, how many players born here in the USA since 1970 could be considered better all around pool players than John? A few, maybe.
 
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mikemosconi said:
Whether you like him or not, how many players born here in the USA since 1970 could be considered better all around pool players than John? A few, maybe.
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The ones I could think of, off the top of my head, were these seventeen:

Sigel
Varner
Hall
Mizerak
Orcullo
Pagulayan
Reyes
Bustamante
Daulton
Gorst
Filler
Appleton
Feijen
Hohmann
Van Boening
Rempe
Ortmann
 
sjm said:
The ones I could think of, off the top of my head, were these seventeen:

Sigel
Varner
Hall
Mizerak
Orcullo
Pagulayan
Reyes
Bustamante
Daulton
Gorst
Filler
Appleton
Feijen
Hohmann
Van Boening
Rempe
Ortmann
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Your reading comprehension is better then that.😉
 
sjm said:
Yeah, old age seems to have set in. It is just seven. I failed to restrict my choices to Americans. Hence, the contention that John is on the short list of the best-ever American all-around players is valid.
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I was just teasing. Quite a list. Good to see Shannon on there.
 
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