1988 PBA Brunswick World Open 9-Ball Semi Finals: McCready v. Strickland

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You just gave away the best part of the match, seeing Keith in a cumberbund!

Only thing that would be more shocking would be if he was drinking wine instead of a beer during a match.

He wasn't drinking anything in that match while in the pit. ;)
 

Eric.

Club a member
Silver Member
I saw Keith and his road player buddy come into a pool room in Phoenix in 1991. Periodically the Earthquake would run into the bathroom to get his "fix." It's a shame how many drugs this guy took. In my opinion, he wasted his opportunities. He could have done a lot more for the GAME.

.

I'm not gonna defend KM or bash you. I'll just say this, if you were a young person, during those years, it just was what society was. Many of us dabbled. It's just how the world was, at the time.

In a strange way, it's kinda like fashion/style; cool at the time and easy to look back decades later, to ridicule.


Eric
 
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Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
I'm always in a learning mode when it comes to pool jargon. I had to do a Google search to learn the difference between a semifinal and a quarterfinal.

The last YouTube video I uploaded was Keith v. Efren in a quarterfinal, and this match, Keith v. Earl, is a semifinal.

A semifinal match is one of two matches, the winner of which will go to the finals; and a quarterfinal is four matches, two of which will go to the semifinals.

As well, Merriam-Webster's dictionary, the reference dictionary of my choice, says "semifinal" and "quarterfinal" are one word, not two words and not hyphenated. :eek:

In doing research for this tournament, I believe I may have had the date wrong on the Keith v. Efren match, which I posted up previously. According to Earl's Wiki page, he won the 1988 PBA Brunswick World Open, which I think that is what this is. So I changed the date on YouTube for that video. :eek:

In this semifinals match, I noticed they were using what I think is the blue-dot cueball. I remember when Keith and I first met, he claimed he liked the blue-dot cueball better than the red-dot cueball. Of course, in 2003, then they came out with the polka-dotted cueball. Keith was the first one to shoot with it in a formal competition when he and Buddy Hall were put on the TV table at the 2003 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship. :grin-square:

Steve Mizerak and Barry Tompkins again are commentating in this match. Steve continues to wonder why the players are breaking from the side from time to time, instead of dead center, and shares a little breaking strategy.

In this match, Earl talks to himself, and Keith talks to the crowd. :winknudge:

The winner of this match plays Buddy Hall or Mike Sigel in the finals. :wink:

I don't know how long it will take YouTube to make it public, but here's the link ---> Keith v. Earl. :)
All from memory:

Mike beats Buddy in the other semifinals (no hyphen!!!). Buddy complains that they switched cueballs from red-circle to blue dot. Buddy breaks in the 9-ball to get to tie it on the hill. Mike wins on a hill-hill thriller.

Buddy claims "(Sigel) gets every roll in the world. Every one of them." To which Mizerak cannot disagree!!!

Buddy refers to himself as Cees (Cecil). First time I realized his real name.

Barry Tomkins was a disaster in the booth from the get go.

Freddie <~~~ remembers it like it was 25 years ago...
 
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Zbotiman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bill Porter does good work!

That Clyde Childress Memorial tournament that Keith defeated Earl was on St. Patrick's Day. The year before, Earl won it.

Here is a picture of the year before from Porter and Haines ---> PICTURE

I think that photo was from the Clyde Childress Memorial tournament that Earl won, the previous year.

Bill Porter mentioned to me that because of Keith's antics and behavior, he and Haines did not take many photos of Keith McCready.

I may be a good PR person and apologist for Keith, but I am well aware that he was the Stu Ungar of the pool world in his earlier life. There was a love-hate relationship that some had with Keith. The pool purists despised him; the action enthusiasts loved him. Because of this friction, his presence usually generated a lot of "attention," for lack of a better word. :eek:

Bill Porter made a memorial YouTube about Clyde Childress, who was his friend. For those who haven't seen it, it's very nice ---> In Memory of Clyde Childress

There is a cute article about the Clyde Childress tournament with Keith v. Earl in the finals in the December 2005 InsidePOOL issue on page 14 ----> Mind Games

Thanks for posting that link to those "Childress photo's," some great shot's of "Spud" A.K.A. Gary Spaeth!
Keith is also pretty young there, too!!!;)
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Keith and I both grew up in an era when it was an "accepted societal norm" by a majority of the baby-boomers to alter one's state of mind at will. With some, it led to substance abuse; and with others, life's responsibilities made it impossible for them to continue down that path. Sadly, a few folks ended up dead or in prison.

FWIW, Keith wasn't the only one engaged in this lifestyle, Some of today's BCA Hall of Famers not only had to depend on substancs to play pool, but some of them, believe it or not, still do so today. You would be surprised, I guess.

It is like alcoholism. You have your social drinkers and your maintenance drinkers. Some alcoholics go to work, take care of their families, and get by, even though they cannot function without alcohol beginning their day. Most substance abuse today stems from prescription pills.

Regardless of what path any of us take, it's not for me to judge another unless I walked in his shoes. It's easy to judge a person from afar, but we are all members of God's human family, capable of mistakes in life. Keith was dealt some curve-balls as a child, and the only way he knew how to get by cam from his peers in the pool room. Those were his mentors; pool was his life. He had quite an untraditional upbringing.

If you were to ask Keith today if he had any regrets, you might be surprised at his reply. One thing I know for sure, while he was looking at heights beyond our gaze in the world of pool, he had a spirit that could soar with a freedom unconquerable. And nobody can ever take that away from him. :smile:
Wow, JAM. What a wonderful post and a simple explanation of a complex matter.

The boogeyman should apologize for his opinionated judgement, IMO. Who is he to say what may or may not have been?

I know the Magical Mystery Tour wouldn't have happened without LSD, and imagine the impact it had on the World...we really have no concept of the lives and pocketbooks it shined upon.
 

SouthernDraw

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JAM, this was an awesome video. Reminded me of seeing Keith at US Open in 92. It was after hrs in IHOP, I think. Anyway, I see him at the counter. He's eating breakfast w/eggs. He was the same as he is on the table. Very theatrical, even while eating. He seems to always look like he is in a movie. Greater than life!

These videos also show Keith's comfort w/risk shots. Risk puts a "tourney player" at a disadvantage. But in gambling, it strikes fear in the opponent. Nothing is scarier than a rack burner playing loose and unafraid to take risk.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment! now Free
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Wow, JAM. What a wonderful post and a simple explanation of a complex matter.

The boogeyman should apologize for his opinionated judgement, IMO. Who is he to say what may or may not have been?

I know the Magical Mystery Tour wouldn't have happened without LSD, and imagine the impact it had on the World...we really have no concept of the lives and pocketbooks it shined upon.

Boogey has written on this forum that he believes Thorsten and players of his ilk will be the savior of pool. I knew then he was a pool purist. Nothing wrong with being a pool purist. They enjoy mum pool played with no emotion.

Some folks, however, enjoy emotion and personality in pool. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Those were turbulent times, weren't they, Black-Balled? Some of us escaped unscathed; others weren't so lucky.
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JAM, this was an awesome video. Reminded me of seeing Keith at US Open in 92. It was after hrs in IHOP, I think. Anyway, I see him at the counter. He's eating breakfast w/eggs. He was the same as he is on the table. Very theatrical, even while eating. He seems to always look like he is in a movie. Greater than life!

These videos also show Keith's comfort w/risk shots. Risk puts a "tourney player" at a disadvantage. But in gambling, it strikes fear in the opponent. Nothing is scarier than a rack burner playing loose and unafraid to take risk.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment! now Free

Thanks for sharing that Keith story at IHOP. How funny is that!

If Keith had his way today, he'd be right back in the movies. He loves to perform in front of a crowd and make people laugh. That is the fuel that ignites his engine, and once he's got the crowd's attention, Keith is poetry in motion.

These recent videos have gotten him fired up about a few pool-related projects we've been working on. Before, he had little to no interest. With the kind words written on this forum, it's truly been a godsend to him personally. His spirit has been lifted to know he's not forgotten. :smile:

You can take Keith out of pool, but you can never take pool out of Keith's heart. It's his life. It is a shame that the pool lifestyle is a rich man's high today. It's not possible to keep up with the tournament trail due to the high expenses and low payouts. If we go to at tournament today, it will be for fun, like a vaction. Win or lose, it won't affect our finances, like it used to. ;)
 

thewhiffer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JAM, this was an awesome video. Reminded me of seeing Keith at US Open in 92. It was after hrs in IHOP, I think. Anyway, I see him at the counter. He's eating breakfast w/eggs. He was the same as he is on the table. Very theatrical, even while eating. He seems to always look like he is in a movie. Greater than life!

These videos also show Keith's comfort w/risk shots. Risk puts a "tourney player" at a disadvantage. But in gambling, it strikes fear in the opponent. Nothing is scarier than a rack burner playing loose and unafraid to take risk.

Respect, Courage, and Commitment! now Free

I was struck by your comments in respect of "risk" shots.....got me thinking and I concluded that the game, from a spectator sport point of view, would benefit from more players being willing to be more offensive orientated.

Many of the matches by top players seem to be dominated by the break and then either a run out (most with knowledge of the game can tell after the break if this is going to happen) or a safety battle that results in a run out by whomever wins the safety battle. While I do enjoy a good safety battle, there are times when I would prefer to see a brilliant attack shot with difficult positional play required from time to time; a go for it instead of candy assing it, so to speak.

Add my thanks to the list of those thanking JAM for this post of a great match and to Keith, Earl et al. who are both skilled practitoners and excellent entertainers.
 

boogeyman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That's a hell of a thanks, are we to assume you never done anything wrong .
I doubt that... You just don't have some a$$hole pointing your mistakes out

I think you are too quick to attack me, petey.

If you read my post you can see it was commending. I loved Keith as a player and I never judged him. I merely pointed out an observation.

He is no longer "in the news." It's just simple first-hand story-telling, with a bit of sincere reverence thrown in. Cut me some slack.
 
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