6 years ago today we lost denny searcy

Denny Searcey and Sax Delporto

Denny was awesome in payball, Sax's 14.1 game was equally awesome.
We were blessed to see these great players in the SF Bay area in the 70's.

Denny was so smooth and yes a great person to me.
The epitome of "No Fear".
He always wanted to play and quote "Double in the Run" on a 6X12.

Sax had me order a Joss West, 23 ounces, that's what he used to play with.
He said it was the best cue he ever played with.
I still have it 40 years later.

What memories :smile::smile:.:smile:
 
jay helfert said:
Hands down the BEST Pay Ball player I ever saw. I heard Cliff Thorburn was his equal, and maybe that's why they went on the road together way back when. Denny made shots on that 6x12 that you could try later, taking forty or fifty tries and never come close. And you could try it with ball-in-hand and he swished these kind of shot from all over the table. NO ONE ever shot a ball down the rail on that big snooker table like Denny. I've never seen his equal ANYWHERE!

He feared no man at any game! And no one wanted much of him, from Cornbread to Cooney, from Kelly to Hall, and from Sigel to Strickland. Denny couldn't play Ronnie or Marvin even at One Pocket and there was a very short list of guys who could play Denny even at 9-Ball: Bernie Schwartz, Billy Incardona, Richie Florence, Craig Stevens and Wade Crane are about all who come to mind. In that era I'd probably say that only Bernie may have been a favorite over Denny. No one really felt comfortable being in the box with Denny. He put the heat on you from start to finish, and you couldn't out-bet him.

Denny was one of the quietest players I ever saw as well, rarely uttering a word unless it was absolutely necessary. You might hear him say things like, "Okay" when someone asked him to raise the bet or, "You owe me one" if they forgot to pay for a game. He was what I would call a very efficient player, no wasted motion of any kind. Just walk in, play the best player in the joint for the most money possible, WIN, and then leave just as quickly. More than one player might have thought to themselves, "Who was that masked man?" like he was the Lone Ranger.
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Very thoughtful post.
 
fan-tum said:
Am I mis-remembering or didn't he have the slightest, almost imperceptible slip of the grip hand going back?
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He raised his elbow on his backswing. It was too smooth to be called a hitch but it definetely "outed" him wherever he went. Alot of guys ruined themselves trying to copy Denny's stroke.
 
Only once

I saw him match up with a very young JA in Mauldin S.C. in the year 1986. He was past his prime but was spotting JA the 7 ball. He lost but still played very strong. Wish he was still around. Beautiful stroke
 
Island Drive said:
I don't know how it finished out, but in Burlington IA (boy was it damp there) there was a 10 ball ring game, Bob Osborne, Mataya, Searcy and one or two others. Bob had a new Green Volvo wagon, had to hock it to stay in the game, they played thru the night and into the next day, I think 2-300 a game with a few good players poppin' in and OUT of that game. I know bob didn't lose his car, Searcy didn't bust the game, but Mataya, went to bed, came back later (8hrs or so) and busted the game. Those guys, once in action did not like to stop, but the damp/tight pocketed table did wear em out. Never did see Denny much after that, did he ever play in any tourneys? feels like he didn't .
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Mataya and Denny were probably the two best Ring Game (yes they played Ten Ball way back when) players of that era. One or the other would usually end up with all the money. Denny did go to quite a few tournaments just to gamble in the back room. In the 70's and 80's there was ALWAYS plenty of "back room" action at the major tournaments. The best players were all gunslingers back then. :smile:
 
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