Eddie Taylor"The Knoxville Bear"--stories please
- Thread starter DoubleA
- Start date
This is not first hand but it is a great interview. Here's the link http://onepocket.org/EddieTaylorInterview.htm
Larry
Larry
U.J.Puckett told me this story.DoubleA said:
he went to hot springs at race time, the house man said some young player had beaten some of the players there playing nine ball but had gone out partying. puckett found a cab driver, gave him the description of the young man and offered a 20 dollar reward if he could find him and bring him back to the pool room. he found him and brought him back. the kid was a little drunk when they played, but beat puckett. it was eddie , puckett hadn't met him before. he told me "ain't that a hell of a note paid a cabbie to get myself broke"
Jerry Forsyth
Well-known member
Eddie changed the rules
First, I must post this message as hearsay. I have been told this by two different players of Eddie's era but that does not mean that it is the gospel.
What they told me is that the old rules of 9-Ball where you could push out at anytime were changed to push out only after the break because of the advantage that the old rules presented to Eddie. I am told that anytime he found himself in a tough position that he would push out to a difficult bank shot. If he got the shot handed back to him he would make the bank and continue with the run. If his opponent took the bank shot on he had nowhere near the chance of making the shot that Eddie did.
So they changed the rules to rob Eddie of this advantage. True? Untrue? I dunno. Would like to hear comments from others who have heard this story.
First, I must post this message as hearsay. I have been told this by two different players of Eddie's era but that does not mean that it is the gospel.
What they told me is that the old rules of 9-Ball where you could push out at anytime were changed to push out only after the break because of the advantage that the old rules presented to Eddie. I am told that anytime he found himself in a tough position that he would push out to a difficult bank shot. If he got the shot handed back to him he would make the bank and continue with the run. If his opponent took the bank shot on he had nowhere near the chance of making the shot that Eddie did.
So they changed the rules to rob Eddie of this advantage. True? Untrue? I dunno. Would like to hear comments from others who have heard this story.
Eddie lived around Shreveport, La, I'm not sure when he moved here, but he was definitely here in his later years.
I would see him around Bill Schick's place quite a bit and occassionally we could talk him into hitting some of his famous shots for us. His eyes were in horrible shape, so he was limited to what he could do, but he could still hit some amazing shots.
He was always good for a road story and really enjoyed talking about big money matches.
One shot he really enjoyed hitting was this:
Ball frozen on the long rail, two diamonds from the corner, 9 ball frozen on the short rail,middle diamond. He would "FIRE" the ob all the way down the rail, draw the rock 3 rails to get perfect shape on the 9.
I don't know if this is the type of story you were looking for, but I will always remember those times.
I would see him around Bill Schick's place quite a bit and occassionally we could talk him into hitting some of his famous shots for us. His eyes were in horrible shape, so he was limited to what he could do, but he could still hit some amazing shots.
He was always good for a road story and really enjoyed talking about big money matches.
One shot he really enjoyed hitting was this:
Ball frozen on the long rail, two diamonds from the corner, 9 ball frozen on the short rail,middle diamond. He would "FIRE" the ob all the way down the rail, draw the rock 3 rails to get perfect shape on the 9.
I don't know if this is the type of story you were looking for, but I will always remember those times.
The Janscos did it
The Janscos did it for ABC TV. It was done for speed even tho it was harmful to guys like Taylor, Wimpy and Worst. What was time-consuming was when a player would push out to play safe, that could go on for awhile.
the Beard
I just downloaded an old article from 1966 about Hubert Daddy Warbucks Cokes. It appeared in the old Bowlers Journal and Billiard Revue (now morphed into the Billiards Digest).
It was written by the great Tom Fox. The man who wrote the wonderful Johnston City stories for Sports Illustrated. I was able to scan the photos ok, but the text wouldnt scan legibly enough so I had to type the whole thing out by hand and then insert it. ( A 3 day project) I got the magazine from Hubert Cokes' son Ellis who lives in Hot Springs, AR. (Thats where Hubert was from originally) Ellis told me a sidebar to the legendary gunfight story about Cokes and the sheriff of Hots Springs ( Cokes shot him dead). He told me the reason for the duel was over a woman -- which I knew -- but that the woman was Ellis's mother -- which I didnt know. Enjoy. www.warstoriesnonebyolivernorth.blogspot.com/
androd said:
The Janscos did it for ABC TV. It was done for speed even tho it was harmful to guys like Taylor, Wimpy and Worst. What was time-consuming was when a player would push out to play safe, that could go on for awhile.
the Beard
I just downloaded an old article from 1966 about Hubert Daddy Warbucks Cokes. It appeared in the old Bowlers Journal and Billiard Revue (now morphed into the Billiards Digest).
It was written by the great Tom Fox. The man who wrote the wonderful Johnston City stories for Sports Illustrated. I was able to scan the photos ok, but the text wouldnt scan legibly enough so I had to type the whole thing out by hand and then insert it. ( A 3 day project) I got the magazine from Hubert Cokes' son Ellis who lives in Hot Springs, AR. (Thats where Hubert was from originally) Ellis told me a sidebar to the legendary gunfight story about Cokes and the sheriff of Hots Springs ( Cokes shot him dead). He told me the reason for the duel was over a woman -- which I knew -- but that the woman was Ellis's mother -- which I didnt know. Enjoy. www.warstoriesnonebyolivernorth.blogspot.com/
Jerry Forsyth said:
Jerry, I'm not sure they changed this rule because of Taylor, but it is true that he had a distinct advantage in "push out" 9-Ball. Cannonball was another one who took advantage of the rules back in that era (the 60's). He was beating everybody on the West Coast before Richie and Denny came along. I'm talking about a time before Cole and Keith were even around.
I will tell you about one game that happened at the Stardust in the 60's between Ronnie and Taylor. Ronnie was a pretty smart guy and he got Taylor to play him some 9-Ball "try to hit the ball". You must try to hit the object ball on every shot, even if you're hooked. This was another popular way of playing back then. Taylor lost his big advantage and Ronnie beat him at least one set that I watched for $500. R.A. was one smart monkey. :grin:
jay helfert said:
Well lookie here . Thanks a lot jay!
i did'nt know that u were such a knocker.....
just joking of course:thumbup2:
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Mr. Eddie Taylor
Eddie Taylor and Danny Janes were good friends, So good danny made some Eddie Taylor cues with numbers engraved in the stainless steel joints In 1997 . Eddie came with Danny janes to the trade show in MPLs. I got Eddie to talking and he showed me many bank shots into the side and others that looked impossible. He said the most fun was playing Willie Mosconi and he would bank his way out of the trap and willie would just shake his head and say thats not suppose to happen. But it made willie mad. He was great during his exibitions. Anybody can shoot the balls straight in but it took skill to bank them in as well. Long live the banks at the derby mark
Eddie Taylor and Danny Janes were good friends, So good danny made some Eddie Taylor cues with numbers engraved in the stainless steel joints In 1997 . Eddie came with Danny janes to the trade show in MPLs. I got Eddie to talking and he showed me many bank shots into the side and others that looked impossible. He said the most fun was playing Willie Mosconi and he would bank his way out of the trap and willie would just shake his head and say thats not suppose to happen. But it made willie mad. He was great during his exibitions. Anybody can shoot the balls straight in but it took skill to bank them in as well. Long live the banks at the derby mark
The Knoxville Bear
For the last 5 or 6 years before his death, we visited with Eddie each year on our way back from Vegas. From the time we arrived, Eddie would start telling his tales of the good old days. One that I will never forget is about him always wearing a jacket that he would remove when playing and use as part of his excape plan, if necessary. If he saw things were not going well and felt threatened, he would ask everyone to watch his jacket while he went to get a pack of cigs from the car, never to return. I asked him "what about your cue"? His response, "in those days, we used house cues". Below pic of Eddie in NYC at 23 and at his home in Bossier City at 86, about a year before his death.
For the last 5 or 6 years before his death, we visited with Eddie each year on our way back from Vegas. From the time we arrived, Eddie would start telling his tales of the good old days. One that I will never forget is about him always wearing a jacket that he would remove when playing and use as part of his excape plan, if necessary. If he saw things were not going well and felt threatened, he would ask everyone to watch his jacket while he went to get a pack of cigs from the car, never to return. I asked him "what about your cue"? His response, "in those days, we used house cues". Below pic of Eddie in NYC at 23 and at his home in Bossier City at 86, about a year before his death.
Attachments
DoubleA said:
I have a DVD called "The Eddie Taylor Story". It's filmed back when Eddie was inducted into the hall of fame.
The first part of the video is Eddie shooting some shots & the induction ceramony. The second part is Eddie sitting back in his recliner & telling his life story.
If you are any kind of Eddie taylor fan, you have to have it. If you're not a fan, you will be if you see it.
Eddie had to be close to 80 when it was filmed & that's the only time i've ever seen him hit a ball...
BUT....HE HAD THE MOST PERFECT STROKE I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!
I did try to google the video to see where to buy it....the only place i found it was on Kinnester's site.
Bank the nine
This is a reprint of a post I made here a few years ago, it bears repeating.
I've watched and played in jillions of tournament matches and I have never seen this but once. Eddie Taylor was playing a Nineball match with Ronnie Allen in Johnston City. Ronnie broke and ran the first 3 racks. Tayor finally got a shot in the 4th game and ran to the nine. He had a super easy shot, a slight cut into the corner. He never hesitated, he got down and blasted the ball cross-corner! I guess it was a sort or reminder to Ronnie as to who he was playing with. A shaken and embarassed Ronnie never won another game in the set. Has anybody else ever seen anybody purposely bank the nine, in a big tournament match, down 3 games to 0, and playing a young Ronnie Allen? That was the Knoxville Bear.
the Beard
This is a reprint of a post I made here a few years ago, it bears repeating.
I've watched and played in jillions of tournament matches and I have never seen this but once. Eddie Taylor was playing a Nineball match with Ronnie Allen in Johnston City. Ronnie broke and ran the first 3 racks. Tayor finally got a shot in the 4th game and ran to the nine. He had a super easy shot, a slight cut into the corner. He never hesitated, he got down and blasted the ball cross-corner! I guess it was a sort or reminder to Ronnie as to who he was playing with. A shaken and embarassed Ronnie never won another game in the set. Has anybody else ever seen anybody purposely bank the nine, in a big tournament match, down 3 games to 0, and playing a young Ronnie Allen? That was the Knoxville Bear.
the Beard