Joey Spaeth vs Gary Spaeth

Fathers and Sons

Terry Ardeno said:

I've seen Gary play and I'm aware of his speed in Banks, 1 pocket & 9 Ball.
I have only read about his dad Joey, never seen him play. How strong was Joey in comparision to Gary? Personally, I would rank Gary 3rd all time in Banks, behind Taylor and Rucker. I have no idea of Joey's ability in Banks. I get the impression his strength was more in 1 Pocket. Thanks.

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If you are asking about Bank Pool, Gary was much better than Joey.
It's a bit ironic that Joey, a Cincinnatti boy, was not all that good a Bank player

Other games:

One Pocket - Joey by a bunch

9 Ball - Joey himself told a friend of mine that, in his prime, he could have
spotted Gary the 8 and won going away

14.1 - probably a push, edge to Joey based on "competive-ness"

If they bet their own money,
Gary couldn't have invented a game he could win at

dP

pdcue said:

If you are asking about Bank Pool, Gary was much better than Joey.
It's a bit ironic that Joey, a Cincinnatti boy, was not all that good a Bank player

Other games:

One Pocket - Joey by a bunch

9 Ball - Joey himself told a friend of mine that, in his prime, he could have
spotted Gary the 8 and won going away

14.1 - probably a push, edge to Joey based on "competive-ness"

If they bet their own money,
Gary couldn't have invented a game he could win at

dP

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You've got it pegged pretty good. Joey was a top speed player, better all around than Gary. At One Pocket he was in the top ten in his era (60's to early 80's). Probably played about even with Ervolino and Cornbread. Slightly under Jersey Red and Shorty (like 9-8). And maybe a ball under Ronnie, Taylor, Bugs and Kelly.

Joey "Spades"

In the early 60s Joey was called Joey Spades because his real name didnt appear in print then, and Speith sounded like Spades. I thought he played a good game of banks. In the early years of Johnston City, when I was coming up, Joey played me 10 to 8 at banks. His oil was very good.

the Beard

I am curious how/why Gary Spaeth died, and how old he was. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

Gary

Leukemia got the best of gary. Try talking to Sherm. sherm@shermcue.com

Joey vs Gary

Yes, Sherm would be the foremost authority on Joey and Gary both. What is a lesser known fact is that possibly better than both of them was Joey's father who inspired and taught him all that he knew and he knew a lot! He was known as "Northside Eddie" because he hung out at Mergards Bowling Alley in a suburb of Cincinnati named Northside. It was near Knowlton's Corner on Hamilton avenue and when the road players came through town as so many of them did in those days, they kept on going north to Detroit because they wanted no part of Eddie's game! Interstate -75 wasn't built then and Hamilton avenue was the route north.

Gary...whew!!

Terry Ardeno said:

I've seen Gary play and I'm aware of his speed in Banks, 1 pocket & 9 Ball.
I have only read about his dad Joey, never seen him play. How strong was Joey in comparision to Gary? Personally, I would rank Gary 3rd all time in Banks, behind Taylor and Rucker. I have no idea of Joey's ability in Banks. I get the impression his strength was more in 1 Pocket. Thanks.

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Gary came to Miami for my Pepsi Open 20 yrs ago. I was in awe of his banking ability, he hit long rail banks so hard they hit the table once before crashing the back of the pocket. Years past and I saw him at the US Open One Pocket tournament in Kalamazoo...thats where I re-met Sherm after he left Miami. Gary was very personable and played jam up. The man could send it straight back!!!

Gary Spaeth

Voodoo Daddy said:

Gary came to Miami for my Pepsi Open 20 yrs ago. I was in awe of his banking ability, he hit long rail banks so hard they hit the table once before crashing the back of the pocket. Years past and I saw him at the US Open One Pocket tournament in Kalamazoo...thats where I re-met Sherm after he left Miami. Gary was very personable and played jam up. The man could send it straight back!!!

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Thanks for a great post on Gary. I too notice that the best bankers do hit the ball hard when shooting it back table length. I believe that is the best way to eliminate the effect of friction? What do you say Freddy?

Cross Side Larry

"Learn from the best and beat the rest"

Go in english

CrossSideLarry said:

Thanks for a great post on Gary. I too notice that the best bankers do hit the ball hard when shooting it back table length. I believe that is the best way to eliminate the effect of friction? What do you say Freddy?

Cross Side Larry

"Learn from the best and beat the rest"

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If the straight back is a slight cut, spanking it hard puts go-in-english on the object ball and allows the pocket to eat the ball even if it touches the long rail. Top bankers can hit the rail up from the pocket and still have the pocket accept the ball. It's one of the secrets of banking I learned from Ronnie "three-fingered" Sypher who learned it from Wimpy Lassiter who learned it from Eddie Taylor.
the Beard

Wimpy's bank game

Terry Ardeno said:

Freddie,
How would you rate Lassiter's bank game?
Thanks,
Terry

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The greatest compliment I ever received regarding my bank game came from Wimpy after he watched me beat the great "One-eyed Tony" Howard at Joe Burns bank tourney in Dayton, Ohio. Tony had just finished demolishing Bugs Rucker in his previous match, and was in dead bank stroke. I beat him in the One-hole 23 to 22 with a 4 railer. Tony's balls were leaping into the pocket and mine were drizzling in. However, I out-managed and out-oiled Tony by a wide margin. Wimpy came up to me after the match and said, after watching me play banks he swore he would never play in another bank tournament again. (and he didn't!) At first I was devastated, since I didn't shoot very strong against Tony, I thought Wimpy meant that if somebody could dog it as bad as I did and still win, that banks was an unworthy game to play. He clarified himself by saying, quote, "I thought that I knew how to play banks, but after watching the moves you put on a great player like Tony, I realized that I really dont have a clue about playing bank pool, and I will never play in another bank pool tournament." That compliment has stabilized my pool ego for the last 35 years.

the Beard

Freddy,

Are you still banking in Chicago? And if so, where?

Nowhere, right now

raemondo said:

Freddy,

Are you still banking in Chicago? And if so, where?

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I'm staying home for the moment. I'm getting a knee replacement, had 1 operation already and going back in June 8th, so I wont be playing anywhere for awhile. I have a table in my basement, so I bang em around a little every day. I'm trying to get right for Derby city.

the Beard

freddy the beard said:

I'm staying home for the moment. I'm getting a knee replacement, had 1 operation already and going back in June 8th, so I wont be playing anywhere for awhile. I have a table in my basement, so I bang em around a little every day. I'm trying to get right for Derby city.

the Beard

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Better be mobile by August fella...or at least able to limp to dinner, HAHAHAHA!!