A short Luther Lassiter Story

Regarding Wimpy's famous 9-ball break, I have a match b/w Corey and Earl where Earl successfully executes it. It struck me as significant because, as I recall, Earl slowed down his break, hit the 1-ball way off center, and had what appeared to be a slight bit of inside on the cueball. In other words, it really looked intentional. Also, while the audio is not terribly clear, it seemed like you could hear Corey saying "nice break" in the background. Those two things combined (the fact that it appeared to be intentional, and the fact that Corey seemed to show some appreciation for the shot) led me to believe that Earl has, or has had, this shot in his bag.

But... even if you could make the shot 3 times out of 10, which seems unlikely, I don't see it being worth it in a tournament. You'd basically be sacrificing your other 7 breaks because your chances of making any other balls on that break are pretty much zero. I think that's why we don't see more people trying it. As a proposition bet, however, you could probably make some serious jack with that one. :D

Btw, Earl only tried the break once in his match w/ Corey.
 
jay helfert said:
Crane was a straight shooter in Pool and life, and didn't care much for the hustlers. I never saw him hang around with anyone. If he talked to anyone it was either a fan or another 14.1 player.

For all we know, Lassiter may have asked him to play 9-Ball at some time, and I'm sure Crane would have found this very offensive. Although Irving could damn sure play 9-Ball and was no doubt a better Straight Pool player than Luther.

With Irving it was strictly tournaments. He would come in, practice very little if at all, play his match and leave. I never saw him gamble or knew him to gamble. And I NEVER saw him sit around the practice room and hang out with the players.

The image I have of Crane is of this tall well dressed man, standing off to the side with his cue, watching a match in progress with his match to follow. He didn't say much, just went about his business. I don't remember him having any problems with opponents during a match. Win or lose he would shake hands and head for the exit. A professional pool player and a darn good one at that.
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I think in demeanor, Irving Crane & Ralf Souquet are similiar
 
Terry Ardeno said:
I think in demeanor, Irving Crane & Ralf Souquet are similiar
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Close. Irving was dead serious and quite intense. Ralf will occasionally smile and crack a one liner. He's actually quite friendly. Heck, he'll even speak to me.
 
jay helfert said:
With Irving it was strictly tournaments. He would come in, practice very little if at all, play his match and leave. I never saw him gamble or knew him to gamble. And I NEVER saw him sit around the practice room and hang out with the players.

The image I have of Crane is of this tall well dressed man, standing off to the side with his cue, watching a match in progress with his match to follow. He didn't say much, just went about his business. I don't remember him having any problems with opponents during a match. Win or lose he would shake hands and head for the exit. A professional pool player and a darn good one at that.
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I remember the first time I saw the tape of Crane running 150 and out on Balsis in the 1966 U.S. Open, and I was struck by how matter-of-fact Crane seemed about the whole thing, and how right after the match he just unscrewed his cue and put it back in his case and looked like he was ready to hit the door.

Given what Jay said about Crane rarely hanging around with the players and heading for the exit immediately after a match, I found it very interesting that Crane once said, "If I had to make a choice between selling cars and playing pool, I'd choose pool... The only time I've ever been really happy is when I was at a pool table."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Crane
 
PoolBum said:
I remember the first time I saw the tape of Crane running 150 and out on Balsis in the 1966 U.S. Open, and I was struck by how matter-of-fact Crane seemed about the whole thing, and how right after the match he just unscrewed his cue and put it back in his case and looked like he was ready to hit the door.

Given what Jay said about Crane rarely hanging around with the players and heading for the exit immediately after a match, I found it very interesting that Crane once said, "If I had to make a choice between selling cars and playing pool, I'd choose pool... The only time I've ever been really happy is when I was at a pool table."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Crane
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If he was happy, he damn sure didn't show it. It looked like "life and death" when he was playing. That intense. But I'm sure it brought him inner joy to play so well.
 
Crane wasn't always quiet!

Jay...When I was learning to play, in the very early 70's, I took lessons for a couple of years, from Frank Oliva, a well-known Chicago instructor, and close friend of the Deacon. Every year, when the U.S. Open was being played at the Sheraton Hotel, Frank would take me down to watch, and we'd sit with Crane's wife. Crane was there with us on a couple of occasions, when he wasn't playing matches, and I found him to be quite conversational, and friendly. Perhaps he was only "intense" when he was in the competitive arena!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Scott Lee said:
Jay...When I was learning to play, in the very early 70's, I took lessons for a couple of years, from Frank Oliva, a well-known Chicago instructor, and close friend of the Deacon. Every year, when the U.S. Open was being played at the Sheraton Hotel, Frank would take me down to watch, and we'd sit with Crane's wife. Crane was there with us on a couple of occasions, when he wasn't playing matches, and I found him to be quite conversational, and friendly. Perhaps he was only "intense" when he was in the competitive arena!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Correct. He was quite comfortable with friends and others. Just not his opponents.
Irving was intelligent and well spoken too, as I'm sure you realized.
 
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