Tony knew he had an ugly stroke and ugly mechanics, but he was able to get out more than his opponents - and frankly that was all that mattered to him. IMO, Tony had the most brutal break in the history of pool, making 2-3 balls consistently and running out from anywhere. Tony was a very, very good friend of mine, I doubt that he would have been upset about any of the criticism. That's just how Tony played and it worked well for him - no excuses, no explanations, just pay the man when he's done, shake his hand and be on your way - lol. I would have never started writing or teaching about pool if it were not for Tony's encouragement. "That's a great idea, Dave! Man... you should write some of this stuff down. You should write a book." Tony said that to me about a hundred times before I finally took his advice and started typing.
I spent a lot of time with Cisero Murphy. He was my mentor. Cisero's mechanics might not have been picture perfect, but it worked for him. Cisero had perfect mastery of the cue ball and when playing straight pool he could manipulate balls out of the pack like he was possessed by the devil. His safety play was superb in all games due to the fact that he commanded that rock - it was like the balls, the table, and the cue ball had the utmost respect for Cisero. He was a joy to watch play the game.
Cisero's stroke was a side-armed sort of "J" shaped action that was hideous to see, but the balls went into the pockets like he wanted them to. Cisero had possibly the greatest mind of any pool player I have met before or since. 99% of the information I have passed along over the years come directly from the teachings I personally received from Cisero Murphy. He is in my opinion, undoubtedly the greatest pool player of my lifetime. Your opinion may differ, but he was and always will be my role model.
As far as ugly strokes go, I'd have to affectionately place the late Norbert Lang in that category as well. He had the Willie Hoppe side-arm stroke - but he was also a joy to watch play the game. He and Tony were taken from us way to soon.
