Bob was at the top of the food chain among road men.
The best non-pro player ever?
- Thread starter DarkPoseidon6
- Start date
Bob was at the top of the food chain among road men.
Sure there's a lot of top notch players out there that would envy the times Cooney played in.
Video on social media has eliminated this type of player nowadays.
he did own a chain of pool rooms in michigan
also this......you have to call him a pro
"Worst didn't start playing pocket billiards seriously until his early thirties, and he died soon thereafter. But in that short period of time, he managed to not only to beat the best pros, but to dominate and strike fear into them. In 1965, the last year of his life, while being severely ill and 70 to 80 pounds underweight, Worst still managed to retain the world three-cushion billiards title in Belgium, to win two major American all-round pocket billiards tournaments, and even to win an English snooker tournament! Worst is one of only five players, and the only one in the modern era, to have held world titles in three-cushion billiards and pocket billiards. And he is the only player to switch from three-cushion billiards to pocket billiards and win world championships in the latter. He also remains the youngest player to have won a world title in three-cushion billiards. "
DarkPoseidon6
Registered
This is so interesting. As soon as you mentioned just the first name Jack, I thought of the guy who played Earl back in the day. Was that Jack Hines? I was very impressed by the video I saw of him when he took him to the hill, maybe in the 80's?. I think there was a lot said about him on here a while back.
Who was the guy that used to go on the road with Luther Lassiter that talked about some old farmer guy that hustled them out of money? It was a really funny story :0)
I enjoyed watching him play in regional tourneys down south awhile back.
Here is a old link that was very interesting.
https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=363974
I saw that "farmer guy" one time in Detroit. He beat two or three good players, Pancho among them, and then disappeared. To this day I don't know who he was. He wore overalls like the farmers in the Midwest all wore and had a southern twang to his voice. No one else who was there could tell me his name either. This was 1963 and he looked to be in his 40's. He was maybe six feet tall and had graying hair. I was always curious about him after that and never saw him again. Not in Johnston City and not in Dayton either.
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Lets first define pro pool player, it is a person who basically makes a living out of pool games, i.e. he plays pool and pays his bells with the money that he makes from tournaments/gambling, that a pro player.
You asked, who is the best non-pro pool player?
Given the fact that Mike Dechaine is currently making his living from selling and installing house equipment, therefore by definition he is not a pro pool player, with this in mind, he is in my book the best non-pro player.
You asked, who is the best non-pro pool player?
Given the fact that Mike Dechaine is currently making his living from selling and installing house equipment, therefore by definition he is not a pro pool player, with this in mind, he is in my book the best non-pro player.
"Professional" by definition simply means that you do it as your PAID occupation and not a hobby/past-time. Doesn't matter if its tournaments or gambling. If its your main source of $$$ then you're a pro.
I read somewhere-
The Higher the action THE BETTER JACK COONEY WOULD PLAY"
Also heard of Don Willis-
Would not play tourneys"
Supposedly never booked a loser on the road"
I don't know who the best "under the radar " player was- and I would imagine the specific game we were talking about may have different candidates for that title. i do remember though - back in about 1990- it was daytime in a NYC pool room and I was watching this Black Fellow practicing solo and he was the best stick I had ever seen in person- this fellow in 1990 looked to be about 35 to 45 from what I remember.
There was an older white guy with him- turned out to be his stake horse- we had a conversation- his name was Larry Reisman (stake horse) or something like that - he worked for the textile firm Coats and Clark with homes in NYC and Lake Worth FL. Larry told me that this fellow shooting was the BEST in the U.S. at the time in any pool gambling game. He went on to say that the likes of Mizerak (1990) had been busted by this fellow and wanted NO part of him in any gambling games.
Larry went further to share that his only challenge as a stake horse with this fellow was to keep him away from some deamons- it was either drugs, alcohol, or both- but sober- this guy would be backed against ANY player in the states at that time.
Maybe someone here knows the stake horse and who this player may have been- I never was given his name.
There was an older white guy with him- turned out to be his stake horse- we had a conversation- his name was Larry Reisman (stake horse) or something like that - he worked for the textile firm Coats and Clark with homes in NYC and Lake Worth FL. Larry told me that this fellow shooting was the BEST in the U.S. at the time in any pool gambling game. He went on to say that the likes of Mizerak (1990) had been busted by this fellow and wanted NO part of him in any gambling games.
Larry went further to share that his only challenge as a stake horse with this fellow was to keep him away from some deamons- it was either drugs, alcohol, or both- but sober- this guy would be backed against ANY player in the states at that time.
Maybe someone here knows the stake horse and who this player may have been- I never was given his name.
animatedvmaker
Banned
Brian Parks came to mind too, but to be honest, I could not remember his name. He is a great player.
Also, Donny Mills comes to mind, because he has never played pool for a living, from what I read. He is another really great player.
animatedvmaker
Banned
I do not see how any player is able to pay bills and survive on their own by just playing pool, other then guys like SVB, who get paid pretty good money just to play with a top selling pool cue, and that is not to mention their tournament winnings.
I can't see any player being able to survive off of tournament winnings alone, with the current costs or rents and utility bills, and other basic living expenses.
Watchez with his Cuetec.
Nuff said.
Bakersfield Bobby come to mind, but he played on barbox.
Nuff said.
Bakersfield Bobby come to mind, but he played on barbox.
Rory Hendrickson, he has a regular daytime job I think.
Throughout history there have been thousands upon thousands of musicians who were as good if not better than "known" names who never made the big time, just played wherever they could get a gig. Many of those cats did not have "day" jobs- usually lived with a woman who did. There is a great documentary about one such jazz singer- Jackie Paris from NJ- considered by many to be the best male jazz singer of all time- but lived most of his life in obscurity. Great unknown musicians had it even tougher than pool players- no gambling money to win and no tournaments, and few legit jobs available in that field.
You're just posting nonsense.
What you want is a list of never-knowns?
Open up the phone book and there are plenty in there.
What you want is a list of never-knowns?
Open up the phone book and there are plenty in there.
So... I could have quit my job at General Motors back in the 70's, entered myself into tournaments with the hope of making money to pay my mortgage payments/utilities/food on my family's table, etc.
I would have been a pro???
Yes, I would have sucked at it and not made enough $$$ to pay my debts, but by your definition I WAS doing it as my paid occupation, regardless if I made enough money to survive on, and therefore I would have been a "professional" player.
I have the opinion that there is not a clear definition as to what constitutes a pool player to be labeled a "professional". The gray line is just far to wide.
Maniac
Mark Tadd comes to mind, but if the player was 35/40 around 1990, the timeline doesn't fit with Tadd, who would have been 25/30 at that time. Tadd was considered one of the very best money players around for a brief period in the mid 1990s, then disappeared from the scene shortly after that.
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Buttloads of players who are known as "professionals" in the pool circles have daytime jobs.
Maniac