I noticed in the current MC Cup tuneup, John Morra who is playing for the CSI team, is playing right handed again. Does anyone know, has his experiment with playing left handed ended? I thought he'd been making gradual progress with it the past couple years, as he had switched to playing left handed for physical ailments related to playing right handed all his life with his dominant left eye vision center.
John Morra Gone Back to Playing Right Handed?
- Thread starter ChrisinNC
- Start date
Thanks - I saw him shoot a number of shots right handed for no particularly reason, as well as breaking right handed, so I guess I just didn't watch him shoot for long enough. Very impressive to be able to play both ways at that level!
He always breaks righty.
I saw him play a few that way too and was wondering.
I dont recall anyone doing what hes done in pool.
To switch hands full time and stay the same level
is unreal. A special talent.
His form and pace is exactly the same with both hands.
I shot at Cue & Cushion in St. Louis on Sunday and got to know some of the regulars. Many of them were there back when St. Louis Louie and other greats played high stakes there.
There was a whole round of stories about Cecil Tugwell and how he switched hands. These were guys who knew Cecil well. One guy told about the time Cecil walked into the room dressed like Sly Stone and wearing a blonde wig!
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Here’s an interview with Cecil Tugwell where he’s asked about his switch to playing lefty.
http://www.onepocket.org/CecilTugwellMemorial.htm
http://www.onepocket.org/CecilTugwellMemorial.htm
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Thats a great interview. Thanks for sharing.
He mentions 1&15 in there, I haven't played
that in a while, a fun game.
I noticed he didn't say you have to make the 8
in the same side as your1/15?
Thats the way I always played it.
Best DNA for Pool?
Maybe this is common knowledge, but John Morra has an incredible pool-playing pedigree. Both John’s parents were pros at the highest level.
John’s dad, Mario Morra, is one of the few to play both pool and snooker at a professional standard. His Fargo rating is 726, good enough for top 20 in Canada. (John’s is 783, second best in Canada after Alex the Lion.)
Here is a link to father Mario’s career stats at snooker ...
https://cuetracker.net/players/mario-morra/career-total-statistics
And here’s an old thread here on AzB ...
https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=132281
Maybe this is common knowledge, but John Morra has an incredible pool-playing pedigree. Both John’s parents were pros at the highest level.
John’s dad, Mario Morra, is one of the few to play both pool and snooker at a professional standard. His Fargo rating is 726, good enough for top 20 in Canada. (John’s is 783, second best in Canada after Alex the Lion.)
Here is a link to father Mario’s career stats at snooker ...
https://cuetracker.net/players/mario-morra/career-total-statistics
And here’s an old thread here on AzB ...
https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=132281
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Other Father / Son Combinations at Pro Level?
Lou and Sal Butera come to mind as another father-son pair whose pro careers ran contemporaneously.
Lou and Sal Butera come to mind as another father-son pair whose pro careers ran contemporaneously.
I hung out with Cecil a lot in Los Angeles. We partnered up once or twice playing One Pocket before I moved to Bakersfield to run my new poolroom. After I sold the place and moved back to L.A. I quit pool for three years until one day Cecil came looking for me. He needed a backer to play someone at Hollywood Billiards and I lived nearby. I backed him and we won a little money. Now he started coming to my house and trying to get me back into pool. He convinced me to go practice with him at a little poolroom in Glendale. We went there almost every day for two weeks until I started getting back in stroke.
After that Cecil and I started taking road trips up and down California and Nevada. I couldn't believe how good Cecil had gotten playing left handed. He had a completely different stance and stroke than before but he didn't miss a ball! He was beating everyone he played and winning the local tournaments that usually paid $500-1,000 for first. Good money in the early 80's. The last tournament I took him too was in Sacramento and he beat Lou Butera in the finals. We chopped up the 1,000 and he took off somewhere for the night. He came back to our motel late that night, and we drove back to L.A. in the morning. He was acting weird and I was glad to get him out of the car later that day when we got home.
I found out years later that was his first time smoking crack, but wouldn't be his last. His game deteriorated and so did he. He would come into my poolroom at Hollywood Park and looked like a shadow of his old self. I did my best for him, giving him food and letting him play pool for free. One day he looked me in the eye and said, "Jay, don't ever try crack, even once! You will be hooked for life." I never forgot that message.
After I closed the poolroom I didn't see Cecil again until I heard that he had died. I feel bad now talking about him, but he should be remembered, both for his good and his bad. He was the best pool player I ever saw who switched hands. I've seen other guys who could play good with either hand (Keith, Buddy, Sigel) but not because they had to.
After that Cecil and I started taking road trips up and down California and Nevada. I couldn't believe how good Cecil had gotten playing left handed. He had a completely different stance and stroke than before but he didn't miss a ball! He was beating everyone he played and winning the local tournaments that usually paid $500-1,000 for first. Good money in the early 80's. The last tournament I took him too was in Sacramento and he beat Lou Butera in the finals. We chopped up the 1,000 and he took off somewhere for the night. He came back to our motel late that night, and we drove back to L.A. in the morning. He was acting weird and I was glad to get him out of the car later that day when we got home.
I found out years later that was his first time smoking crack, but wouldn't be his last. His game deteriorated and so did he. He would come into my poolroom at Hollywood Park and looked like a shadow of his old self. I did my best for him, giving him food and letting him play pool for free. One day he looked me in the eye and said, "Jay, don't ever try crack, even once! You will be hooked for life." I never forgot that message.
After I closed the poolroom I didn't see Cecil again until I heard that he had died. I feel bad now talking about him, but he should be remembered, both for his good and his bad. He was the best pool player I ever saw who switched hands. I've seen other guys who could play good with either hand (Keith, Buddy, Sigel) but not because they had to.
The original eight ball rules do not have that stipulation so I would assume that your eight in the same side was very much a local rule.
Forgot Efren?
Saw Efren play last pocket 8-ball, one handed or opposite handed was the spot. He still ran-out.
Efren said his left hand was a 7-ball to his right hand.
Luat played lefty pretty sporty too even though he shot behind the back insanely well like Busti.
Something in the genes?
Thanks for sharing, Jay.
I noticed something interesting in the interview with Cecil that I posted earlier.
Cecil talks about his dad’s reputation as a serious player, good enough to make money on the road but not quite pro standard. Cecil said he grew-up without ever knowing his father, yet old-timers in Detroit and St. Louis still recognized Cecil as his father’s son by his style of play.
Considering how the thread’s topic started with John Morra’s handedness and how he also has a father who plays well, the commonality with Cecil Tugwell is astounding and raises some interesting thoughts on natural ability.
Thanks for sharing, Jay.
I noticed something interesting in the interview with Cecil that I posted earlier.
Cecil talks about his dad’s reputation as a serious player, good enough to make money on the road but not quite pro standard. Cecil said he grew-up without ever knowing his father, yet old-timers in Detroit and St. Louis still recognized Cecil as his father’s son by his style of play.
Considering how the thread’s topic started with John Morra’s handedness and how he also has a father who plays well, the commonality with Cecil Tugwell is astounding and raises some interesting thoughts on natural ability.
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“Born to Play Pool” Article from Billiards Digest
https://billiardsdigest.com/new_current_issue/jun_16/bb_index.php
Excellent article about John Morra written by Keith Paradise.
https://billiardsdigest.com/new_current_issue/jun_16/bb_index.php
Excellent article about John Morra written by Keith Paradise.
I saw Morra play at the Expo this past spring and learned about his switching from right to left. He really inspired me to work a lot on my left handed play which has improved dramatically. I estimate I'm about 70% as good with my left hand - I've worked on it enough that when a left handed shot comes up I switch hands almost without thinking about it. My goal is for it to be just a natural part of my game.
Ernesto and Oscar Dominguez are a father,/son duo that had some great showing together at the Turning Stone Classic.
Thanks for reminding me of the Dominguez family. They’re well known as table mechanics, too, aren’t they?
Mark Wilson and others say that anybody can reach a high standard of play with the right practice routine. I tend to agree, but with the caveat that some people who are naturally gifted can reach a higher “ceiling” in the same 10,000 or so hours it takes to master a skill.
Mark Wilson and others say that anybody can reach a high standard of play with the right practice routine. I tend to agree, but with the caveat that some people who are naturally gifted can reach a higher “ceiling” in the same 10,000 or so hours it takes to master a skill.