I guess his campaign then was about as successful as those complaining now seeing that he died 60yrs ago. Seriously, whenever i see these threads it makes me wonder if someone didn't just get beat by a good kick/bank and they're just pissed 'cause they can't do the same. I've been playing 40yrs and have NEVER heard someone in a poolroom say they should be removed, EVER. Would removing them really make the game better or just appease the butt-hurt??
Agreed that it's a good thing Welker was unsuccessful in having the diamonds eliminated, although at three cushion, it would be hard to argue that someone scored a point BECAUSE they used the diamonds. Speaking as a three cushion player, the diamonds are a crutch I need.
Mind you, I don't see this as appreciably different from the insistence on call shot in ten ball. Call shot grew out of the almost incessant whining of those who caught one or two bad rolls at the wrong moment at nine ball. Sometimes, when you read abut nine ball on this forum, it is presented as all-luck and ten ball as all-skill. Thankfully, the general public didn't buy in to this fiction and for every important ten ball event, there remains at least ten important nine ball events.
Nine ball as a test of playing excellence is plenty stiff enough for this fan, and so is three cushion on tables having diamonds.