Anyone remember,know or play with a hustler named Toby Sweet?
Played him and saw him play many times. Back when he was at his best he played 9 ball about as good as the game could be played. I am not talking about this guy was better then that guy or any of that, I am talking about from a technical stand point. His overall pool game was perfect. He did very little, no unnecessary movements or strange habits, his game was flawless. This was later evidenced buy how well he played after years of not playing at all. He just picked up a stick again and went back to his very simplistic way of playing and it still worked.Anyone remember,know or play with a hustler named Toby Sweet?
Played him and saw him play many times. Back when he was at his best he played 9 ball about as good as the game could be played. I am not talking about this guy was better then that guy or any of that, I am talking about from a technical stand point. His overall pool game was perfect. He did very little, no unnecessary movements or strange habits, his game was flawless. This was later evidenced buy how well he played after years of not playing at all. He just picked up a stick again and went back to his very simplistic way of playing and it still worked.
I have been around pool for over 50 years and I would say of all the players I have seen play, Toby would be the best for any player trying to learn the game to emulate. It seems like every player regardless of who they are from world champ to banger have some bad or goofy habits or quirks. Toby has none. He makes the hardest things look easy. In fact after watching him for a short while he makes "anyone" watching feel like they could just pick up a cue and do it to. Im not kidding, just watching him play will make your game jump up. I am running out of words to explain how good his game was.
Exactly. I've played him recently. Great guy and player. He is still around. He usually spends the summer in NY and winter here in the West Palm Beach area.
Hi, Jay...hurry up and post 10 more times so I can see you hit 20,000...:thumbup:
Hey Jay,I saw Toby play many times when he was at his best. He was the last guy to spot Buddy (the eight ball) in the late 60's. Toby was this innocent looking, slender little hippy kid, who was quiet and reserved. He never spoke loud, and I never heard him cuss or yell. He wouldn't argue about making a game. He would offer a spot and if you liked it the game was on, and if you didn't there was no game.
Even at the table he was not as impressive as guys like Hippy Jimmy, Mataya, Buddy, Cole or Keith. His stroke did not stand out so much to impress you. He didn't draw the ball all around the table. And he wasn't firing in long rail Banks and running out. He didn't have to! His position was flawless and he never seemed to miss a ball. His power of concentration may have been the best all time in pro pool. He was the original Zen pool player, until that animal Wu showed up at age 16.
Probably the only two players who missed as few times as Toby, were Lassister and Sigel. And they might miss one ball an hour at the most. Toby became a killer player simply by not missing and playing simple but effective position rack after rack. He could play that way all day and all night. Most other players (even today) have lapses in concentration. Nothing ever seemed to bother Toby. He would just smile and keep making balls! Hard to beat a man who never misses!
Only other player who played that tight close position all the time was Don Watson, also a great money player. The one time I saw them together, someone tried to match them up. Don took his head out of the newspaper (studying the lines) and took a long hard look at Toby and shook his head NO. He knew Toby from somewhere and had no interest in playing him, backer or not.
Boy, what secrets are contained in his head. He knows some things about pool that most of us are seeking to learn. As for me it's all about the power of pure focus and concentration on ALL shots! Worked pretty well for Toby for a long, long time.