> I personally saw Alex when he was still playing quite a bit,maybe not his best but he was in stroke. Alex was the guy that made you sick at tournaments. He acted like he had no confidence in himself,such as never buying half of himself in calcuttas even though he wasn't broke,and was known to go home if he felt like he was playing bad. Then he'd get up and play the kind of 9-ball Buddy Hall was known for,2 feet from the ball with the perfect angle,very few unforced errors,solid decision making under the heat,and a workable but not overwhelming break. He won this monthly tournament in Jonesboro,Ark 8 months in a row,and only the room shutting the tournament down from May-August broke the streak. This wasn't a tournament filled with a bunch of APA 4's either. Back then,he had a cocobolo SW with birdseye points,a Kersenbrock with great big ivories in the front,and had just bought a plain birdseye SW.
Supposedly,selling the cues financed the cue-making,and the way I heard it,the shaft and butt tapers were supposed to be identical to Kersenbrocks. His shop was based in Players in Memphis at one time,which facilitated my buying my repair lathe from Ribdoner,the owner of the room at the time.
His work was improving at world-record pace,and a lot of players put down Cogs,Sw's and other cues in favor of his.
The last time I saw him,he was at JOB's in Nashville,just before Joe Blackburn moved his shop out and relocated to Bristol. Word is he is now doing the repairs there,which leaves the Memphis scene without a real solid repair facility. He's a pretty good all-around guy,but can be very particular about things. Tommy D.
Tommy D.
