Or when Lee Williams had 60-80 players every Sunday night for a handicap tournament. Fat Bill the same with his B player tournaments. Monday night tournaments at Chesterfield that had 30 plus. EVERY NIGHT at the Sportscenter there were at least one A player if not multiple matching up. There were multiple tables of action when something was going on, which was often. Other names not mentioned - Little Ricky, Big Jake, Gary, Joe, Whitey, Terbrock, Gary Sills, Troy, Dean Higgs, Terry, Andy, LIl Pat, Martin Schulte, Dean over in Illinois, Jimmy Gorman, Cecil Tugwell, Mustache John ....and some guy named Louie, There are a ton more that I didn't list. No one came to St Louis without getting played.
Gary had tournaments at Star Lite that had every champion from the Midwest come in - every time. Gary had two sets of big bleachers he would put in the room and they were filled with people standing all around them the entire weekend. They made the tournaments at The Break now look like a Wednesday night bar tourney.
Then came action at Harold's. They don't know about Max either. Or any of a number of other players that would make your head spin with their gamble. Where do you think players like Tony Chohan had their 'coming out' party to the pool world? It was St Louis. Cooney moved here for 6 months, on multple occassions. So did Pete Horn. Matlock played James Walden at Chesterfield. Willie Munson would come thru every 3 or 4 months. Bobby Dickerson Sr was a mainstay here. Ask Lil John how he liked the action in St Louis. He went home with a grocery shopping bag full of money. Gabe would come here and get robbed visit after visit until he went on the road with JJ and then came back and robbed everyone. Every big tournament at The Break or Gary's place (either Star Lite or Sharkeys) had big big action. And multiples of it. Johnny Ross and Harley came up and setup shop for awhile here too. There was a one pocket invitational tournament at the Sportscenter that had Billy Johnson, Billy Incardona, Gary Spaeth Jr, Bugs, Tony Fargo, Rosey from Memphis, Danny Harriman, a few more I can't remember and all the local players that also could really play some one pocket. Spaeth beat Gary Sills in the finals, by the way. Some of the best pool I ever saw.
Yes bms, the economy has a lot fo do with but that doesn't change the fact that pool in St Louis is 1/10 of what it was. It will never be the same. I went down to Hillsboro and watched Andy play Jeanette. Saw Jeanette play Carl at Side Pockets. Beyond that I have not been out, you are right. There is nothing to it anymore. I love Terry but the last three tournaments I have been to at The Break, there was ZERO action. It's even that way at Shooters in Olathe. Not worth the drive. There was a time when a tournament there or anywhere in St Lous was a can't miss.
eek
