The best non-pro player ever?

DarkPoseidon6

Registered
Just a diversion from everything, but thought it would be interesting to bring up.

Maybe it doesn't really mean much in the long run, but I've always thought it was an interesting question, especially for those who have been in the pool game for a long time.

I have for years heard that the best player ever was Don Willis, as far as someone that was great and never went professional. Is this true? Do you know or have heard or personally knew amazing players that could have gone pro or in general were just great and never made a name for themselves in the mainstream?
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pool is such an obscure sport, there really is no 'going pro'.

Tournament play as a career is only something that has become possible in the last few decades and even today, it is only a viable course for a VERY FEW.

Point being, a don Willis was pro for his day.
 

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would not have a clue as to best ever but brian parks comes to mind as a very stong non pro player. Fargo rating of 722 and has won 7 us amatuer championships i believe.
 

DarkPoseidon6

Registered
Pool is such an obscure sport, there really is no 'going pro'.

Tournament play as a career is only something that has become possible in the last few decades and even today, it is only a viable course for a VERY FEW.

Point being, a don Willis was pro for his day.

I agree with this, but what I mean by non-pro player is someone who didn't make his name known through the ranks like Archer and those who were televised through the years. Someone who stayed under the radar and maybe made a living through pool (or somewhat) that was an amazing player that really didn't go "all the way"....
 

Maniac

2manyQ's
Silver Member
I agree with this, but what I mean by non-pro player is someone who didn't make his name known through the ranks like Archer and those who were televised through the years. Someone who stayed under the radar and maybe made a living through pool (or somewhat) that was an amazing player that really didn't go "all the way"....

That's gonna be a long and subjective list.

Maniac
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just a diversion from everything, but thought it would be interesting to bring up.

Maybe it doesn't really mean much in the long run, but I've always thought it was an interesting question, especially for those who have been in the pool game for a long time.

I have for years heard that the best player ever was Don Willis, as far as someone that was great and never went professional. Is this true? Do you know or have heard or personally knew amazing players that could have gone pro or in general were just great and never made a name for themselves in the mainstream?
If you played pool to eat you're were/are a pro. 'Pro' is a very ambiguous term that really means nothing in this game.
 

slach

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pool is such an obscure sport, there really is no 'going pro'.

Tournament play as a career is only something that has become possible in the last few decades and even today, it is only a viable course for a VERY FEW.

These two sentences describe pro pool in the USA about as well as it can be.
 

Cuebuddy

Mini cues
Silver Member
Bob Ogburn AKA Black Bart comes to mind of a player who stayed under the radar. He may of not been the best non pro, probably considered a pro by a few but he could shoot very strong at one time.
There were thousands like him, too many to remember.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bob Ogburn AKA Black Bart comes to mind of a player who stayed under the radar. He may of not been the best non pro, probably considered a pro by a few but he could shoot very strong at one time.
There were thousands like him, too many to remember.
"Thousands". I agree. Unlike other games/sports like golf and tennis there are no clear boundaries separating a "pro" from other money players. IMO if pool is how you pay bills and eat then you are a professional. Its a little clearer in today's game who would be considered a pro but that line is still a tad murky.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
Just a diversion from everything, but thought it would be interesting to bring up.

Maybe it doesn't really mean much in the long run, but I've always thought it was an interesting question, especially for those who have been in the pool game for a long time.

I have for years heard that the best player ever was Don Willis, as far as someone that was great and never went professional. Is this true? Do you know or have heard or personally knew amazing players that could have gone pro or in general were just great and never made a name for themselves in the mainstream?

A good choice here. Willis was a pure hustler and only much later in his life did he ever attend a pool tournament and only as a spectator. Willis was well known in the pool community though.
 
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jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
George Rood

Maybe the number one choice I could think of as well. Lassiter rated him the best player in the nation at one time. George had a successful career outside of pool so he didn't need to travel around looking for games. He chose not to travel at all, just staying home and waiting for an unsuspecting player to come into his neighborhood.
 

DarkPoseidon6

Registered
If you played pool to eat you're were/are a pro. 'Pro' is a very ambiguous term that really means nothing in this game.

I get this too. But I mean those like Reyes, Earl, Neils, Orcollo, etc.... I'm talking about the players over time that never made it in the sense that they went into major tournaments and won money that way.

I'm talking about those players that aren't on the boards here or anywhere- Players from the past, maybe some you may have heard about that shot amazing pool.The players that Efren said were way better than him but never made it (which is pretty crazy to think about, given how amazing Efren has been, is)….
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
The most successful "under the radar" player during my lifetime was Jack Cooney. He never showed his face at a pool tourney until he was in his 50's, and even then he did not play in the tournament proper. He only came to gamble! Jack won far more money than any of the "pro" players of his era. They were in awe of him and spoke often of his successful scores. How undercover was he? More than half of the pro players did not even know what he looked like. They only knew him by name.
 
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