pool's greatest might-have-beens

spktur

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This thread made me think about Chan Whitt Jr., who was killed in a car crash in 1994. Don’t know much about him, but he was supposedly pretty damn good.

Yes Chan was a lost talent who went way too young
 

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evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
And he's definitely not a might-have-been.

yea, in seeing all the responses from this thread, I'm realizing that "might-have-been" meant something a bit different to me than it did to most of y'all.
I counted ronnie as one, even tho he's a world champ, because to me anyway, I could envision him having had a much more successful career,
but most of y'all went way deeper with it, which is really cool, cuz otherwise I wouldn't have seen the names of so many other players worth knowing.
was, is, might-have-been- whichever the case, there is clearly a very healthy talent "pool" in this game to admire and be inspired by :)

thanks again all for the replies.
 

EJmagnum186

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would have to say Ginky would be in that category. He accomplished a lot in his short time but his time was too short
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
nobody has mentioned Vernon eliot. beat or played even many other greats, and had
phenomenal proposition shots like his impossible cross side bank.
I don't think of Vernon Elliot as a might-have-been, any more than Danny Gartner. They both played well for a long time. I saw Danny play in the 1969 US Open (14.1) after he had cataract surgery and he had a 70 and an 80 back-to-back for a 2-inning game.

As for the cross-side bank, I think you mean this shot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5tbr4N0P_w
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
Before there was Jose Parica and Efren Reyes, there was Boy Bicol.
Efren said Boy Bicol would make that cue ball land where he wanted all the time.
Unfortunately, Boy Bicol was murdered .

Brigido Quinto....brought his family to Canada in the 80s.
He was trying out snooker on 6x12...I saw what he could do with whitey...
...gave him a good snooker cue...a Rothwell

I had no idea how good he was at pool til I talked him into going to the Dufferin Open..’91
Brigid introduced me to Efren....while we were eating, Efren pointed to Brigido....said..
“We all learned from this man.”

Brigido seemed to shun the spotlight....but Jose Parica showed him the same respect.
 

measureman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don't think of Vernon Elliot as a might-have-been, any more than Danny Gartner. They both played well for a long time. I saw Danny play in the 1969 US Open (14.1) after he had cataract surgery and he had a 70 and an 80 back-to-back for a 2-inning game.

As for the cross-side bank, I think you mean this shot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5tbr4N0P_w

I watched that bank video.
He made it 4 times in a row.
Great!
 

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Vernon Elliot is a name I will not forget soon
Once he clipped me for a bunch of money

About 10 years later I played him again after he had been away for a while
a new rule of one foot on the floor had been introduced and his long absence from the pool room
took its toll on his effective use of the ladies aid

he spotted me 2 hit and the break and actually miscued half a dozen times and I was very fortunate to win a nice score

I didn't realize who he was until John Hager Sr pointed it out to me with a kind remark

"so you finally got him back"

I was very happy knowing John had contributed to my cause,because he
had steered me into the first game with vernon while secretly staking my adversary


What we call in the trade a "double steer"

vernon made some banks that left me speechless,they were so good i thought
i must have seen them wrong,when I looked up in dismay Hager looked me in the face with a very silly grin,like oops


This was what alerted me to the fact that I had been had,therefore I pulled up to play
another day. I offered to buy dinner but they declined. ,i had to extend the offer twice

I have always felt that by taking my triumphant opponent to dinner was the best time to adjust


Over dinner I complimented the victor on his game and said he was the best player i had ever seen
including Eddie Taylor,he got bashful and said "shucks"

The seed was planted for our next encounter,who would have thought it would be 10 or 15 years

Vernon was no Eddie Taylor,but then again ,who is?

But he was very good
 
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alphadog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Vernon Elliot is a name I will not forget soon
Once he clipped me for a bunch of money

About 10 years later I played him again after he had been away for a while
a new rule of one foot on the floor had been introduced and his long absence from the pool room
took its toll on his effective use of the ladies aid

he spotted me 2 hit and the break and actually miscued half a dozen times and I was very fortunate to win a nice score

I didn't realize who he was until John Hager Sr pointed it out to me with a kind remark

"so you finally got him back"

I was very happy knowing John had contributed to my cause,because he
had steered me into the first game with vernon while secretly staking my adversary


What we call in the trade a "double steer"

vernon made some banks that left me speechless,they were so good i thought
i must have seen them wrong,when I looked up in dismay Hager looked me in the face with a very silly grin,like oops


This was what alerted me to the fact that I had been had,therefore I pulled up to play
another day. I offered to buy dinner but they declined. ,i had to extend the offer twice

I have always felt that by taking my triumphant opponent to dinner was the best time to adjust


Over dinner I complimented the victor on his game and said he was the best player i had ever seen
including Eddie Taylor,he got bashful and said "shucks"

The seed was planted for our next encounter,who would have thought it would be 10 or 15 years

Vernon was no Eddie Taylor,but then again ,who is?

But he was very good

So the truth comes out , you are Triple Smart Fat Dean:D
 

Nostroke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have to confess I’m a bit of a wise guy...
...when Yang took a break from the game...
...I claimed it was because the Son of Pool found out he was adopted.

There was a clear distinction that likely meant more in Mandarin. His NN was Son of Pool- No 'The'
 

axejunkie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Michael Coltrain

Watched a match tonight with Coltrain playing Steve Knight from the 2000 World Championship. He was certainly a talent. Sadly I could see his shoulder shaking heavily on a few shots. He had a very pretty stroke.
 

AtLarge

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Well, TC, you probably currently rank #1 on the AzB forums in average number of words per post. ;)

More seriously, welcome aboard. Sounds like you may be somewhere around age 50, so you've still got plenty of time to get your pool skills back to where they were decades ago (or even better).
 
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