A List of the Greatest Pool Players of All-Time

jasonlaus said:
Dechaines Cueball went probably 15'+ in the air a few times at the expo
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Absolutely. In his proposition bets, where he'd bet on at least one 35+ mph break out of ten, the cue ball sometimes went into orbit. Of course, the attempts on which he fouled didn't count toward the bet. I can recall as many as twenty-five people watching him at once during these challenges. I'm pleased to note that I never bet against him on that proposition bet.
 
I could set my own ears to ringing badly and have enough noise complaints from nearby tables that management would come ask me to behave. I have never been particularly strong.

Thing is, my most effective breaks were just over medium speed. Losing control on full power breaks was not the way to win. Leaves the question, how many other people, well known and not, could break a lot harder than they did if they chose to. I read of the fastest break of all, was part of a martial arts exhibition. Some little Asian fellow, I don't mean to be disrespectful I don't remember his nation. He broke one handed and was far faster than anyone using a standard break. A friend of mine threw a baseball across the traps at 99.8 miles an hour three times in a row trying out for the Houston Astros. He was a casual pool player at best and I can only wonder how fast he could have broke had he focused on developing a break. Obviously not a hundred miles an hour but I suspect he might have seen forties. That tryout for the Astros was when he was an industrial welder and several years out of any training program other than his own backyard work and playing centerfield on an amateur softball team.

Hu
 
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ShootingArts said:
Thing is, my most effective breaks were just over medium speed. Losing control on full power breaks was not the way to win. Leaves the question, how many other people, well known and not, could break a lot harder than they did if they chose to. I read of the fastest break of all, was part of a martial arts exhibition.
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Great point. Even Dechaine and DeLuna knew that hitting their hardest break was not the percentage, and they rarely did so in a match. The player of the decade in the 1990s was probably also the breaker of the 1990s, but the legendary Johnny Archer broke at just 25 mph, the speed at which he had his greatest control, and the results spoke for themselves.

As for the martial arts comment, David Howard, the first ever to hit 30 mph on the radar gun, was an accomplished martial artist.
 
sjm said:
Great point. Even Dechaine and DeLuna knew that hitting their hardest break was not the percentage, and they rarely did so in a match. The player of the decade in the 1990s was probably also the breaker of the 1990s, but the legendary Johnny Archer broke at just 25 mph, the speed at which he had his greatest control, and the results spoke for themselves.

As for the martial arts comment, David Howard, the first ever to hit 30 mph on the radar gun, was an accomplished martial artist.
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I just mentioned this guy was a martial artist because he was usinging a one handed break, not a conventional break. I suspect a lot more speed is possible with an unrestrained break like that. He hit the head ball too when he had a pool table to demo on. More a one off than anything else. I played with a man that was a six-five or taller athlete that was an advanced level black belt in karate. I don't remember him trying to break hard but his break was nothing special in any respect.

I remember the wicked accuracy of Johnny's break. Danny Medina had a break that worked well on a bar table, I don't remember it being super hard when he was playing all out aggression. Another player whose accuracy was what impressed on a Valley. Games didn't last long!

Hu
 
sjm said:
Absolutely. In his proposition bets, where he'd bet on at least one 35+ mph break out of ten, the cue ball sometimes went into orbit. Of course, the attempts on which he fouled didn't count toward the bet. I can recall as many as twenty-five people watching him at once during these challenges. I'm pleased to note that I never bet against him on that proposition bet.
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Neither did I. Orbit is correct
 
Breaking that hard would result in 2/3/4 balls on the break and then zero, temp and humidity played as much of a factor as speed. The future will be the guys that can regulate their speed according to temp and humidity - you heard it here first. I've known this for years but couldn't care less about being a "pro" player.

I think the fun of the game relies on not knowing these things and trying for hrs to adjust.

The next wave will be "corner men" taking those readings and telling their players to adjust up and down in speed


I've said too much
 
Speaking of the best breaks, you must include Earl. He was the only player of his era that I saw practice the break prior to each match, so he had a good idea how to break on that particular table. Consequently he would almost always make a ball or balls on his break and if he could see the one it was game over. Having a good and effective break was the secret to him running all those sixes and sevens on his opponents.
 
sjm said:
I didn't get to see Toby Sweet play until 1995, when he was a little past his prime, but he certainly wowed me with a very convincing win over Rempe,
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One player I left out was James Christopher. We just called him James and everyone knew who he was. He was a great money player and liked high stakes games, where he made small fortunes on a regular basis. That was his stock and trade, go where the best players were playing for the most money (good backers) and take them off. He did his best to avoid the limelight of tournament pool and having his photo taken. James did on one occasion make an exception, on a road trip out west. He was far removed from his normal hunting grounds in the South and Midwest, and his trip happened to coincide with some big tournaments out west.

James played three events back to back in successive weeks (in Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco). He won two and finished second in the third. Best I can remember his opponents in the finals were Buddy twice and Keith in Scaramento. A nice little payday for him but he was careful not to have his photo appear in the Billiard News. I think a regional mag did get a shot of him with the trophy.

James was undoubtedbly one of the best players in the country and certainly one of the most successful financially of that era. Hats off to him!
 
jasonlaus said:
Breaking that hard would result in 2/3/4 balls on the break and then zero, temp and humidity played as much of a factor as speed. The future will be the guys that can regulate their speed according to temp and humidity - you heard it here first. I've known this for years but couldn't care less about being a "pro" player.

I think the fun of the game relies on not knowing these things and trying for hrs to adjust.

The next wave will be "corner men" taking those readings and telling their players to adjust up and down in speed


I've said too much
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No cornerman needed! The multifunction shootingarts micro weather and climate station is coming to a pro shop near you soon! As well as the individual readings there will be an overall reading to tell you how hard you should break, how hard you did on your last break, and your last three breaks. All this for a low low price of $299 or with a 66% discount through black friday. Order now and save! Delivery may be somewhat delayed as final design and initial production runs are dependent on demand.

Hu
 
talking about hammer break i remember Wu Jian Qin hitting 42 mph when he was 18-20 years old. That break was not anymore useful because balls from rack flew off from table...
 
Poolmanis said:
talking about hammer break i remember Wu Jian Qin hitting 42 mph when he was 18-20 years old. That break was not anymore useful because balls from rack flew off from table...
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Perfectly hit balls tend to fly back out of pockets at high speeds too. No sense hitting harder than pockets will accept!

Hu
 
jay helfert said:
The hardest breaks were probably Wade Crane, David Howard, Danny Medina, Tony Ellin and George Breedlove. I actually think George, who was not that big a guy, could hit them harder than anyone else, before he dislocated his shoulder. It hurt my ears if I was too close when he broke! No one else could do that.

I watched Lassiter play 9-Ball many times. He won more 9-Ball titles than anyone else at that time (1960's). I never thought his break was particularly hard. No question Richie Florence broke harder! Richie Ambrose also had a thundering break shot. Of course it was the era of push-out 9-Ball and Lassiter was the master of that game. He also had the best cue ball control and rarely missed a ball. Even the big breakers could not overcome his complete game.
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Breedlove's break was clocked at 26 mph so not at Django or Howard's speed but effective and impressive nonetheless..
I wish they would have measured Ellin's speed, who I believe passed on before radar guns came into play, because his technique looked quite powerful but judging on how the balls moved after he broke them, they rarely had the action Earl or Bustamante would get at their hardest efforts.

To me, determining speed if you don't have a radar gun, is about how far balls travel up table after the break (unless you pocket a few of them)

These one musta been 30+ mph

 
sjm said:
Great point. Even Dechaine and DeLuna knew that hitting their hardest break was not the percentage, and they rarely did so in a match. The player of the decade in the 1990s was probably also the breaker of the 1990s, but the legendary Johnny Archer broke at just 25 mph, the speed at which he had his greatest control, and the results spoke for themselves.

As for the martial arts comment, David Howard, the first ever to hit 30 mph on the radar gun, was an accomplished martial artist.
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Which martial arts was or is he proficient at..?
 
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