Great memories of Eddie Taylor. I'll give a few. One, he didn't lose to very many people. He showed up many times at Jack and Jill's in Arlington, Virginia.
I did see him lose to one person on ABC's Wide World of Sports in about 1966. It was to someone named Lassiter. (LOL) The next year, Fall of 1967, at Oxon Hill High School, Maryland, Eddie played Luther again, two matches in straight pool. Luther dominated, won both.
You may not have noticed it, but at about a minute, Red Jones was with Eddie Taylor, and later in the video, Eddie gives plenty a shout out to Red Jones. You might not know a lot about Red Jones, but not only was he a pool player, but he manned the Air Force desk at the White House in the late 60s. Red Jones organized the Taylor/Lassiter match in Maryland that year, with the help of a few friends.
One of those friends was none other than Bill (Weenie Beanie) Staton, who did some of the trick shots at an intermission during the pool match. Believe it was a Gandy table they set up for the matches.
Had it not been for watching Taylor and Lassiter in those early years, I'm not sure I'd have gotten into pool, but maybe. But if you saw Taylor and Lassiter in those years, you had to get in the game. That's all.
All the best,
WW