Best bar table player with the big rock?
- Thread starter Jerry OC
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rackmsuckr said:
That is great news, rackmsuckr. No player has more class than Dan. He busted Buddy Hall and all of Baton Rouge playing even in the mid 70s, big table, big ball. He is one of my all time favorites. Watched him drill Louie Roberts in Jackson, Miss. a day or two after beating Buddy too.
At Steepleton's billiards in Lexington about 6 or 7 years ago(?) Sammy came in looking for bar table action. I had never heard of him so I put my horse on him (a former florida tour champion). They played cheap and we came out a couple of games winner. This was on the nine footer, which he said he never played. Next night 5 ahead for a nickle and he destroyed my player quickly! After the tournament was over he offered anyone in the house the 8 ball. There was some pretty sporty players in the house, to include Jack Hynes, John Brumback, Norman Wines, and Eric Durbin that I remember!satman said:
wastateqman
Registered
Class act........
It's nice to see Dan getting nods on here. He is one heck of a nice guy, and would help just about anyone he knew. Some folks may know what he has had to deal with earlier on. Up until a few years ago Dan often played not feeling well. He went through some kidney trouble to say the least. Never did I hear him complain, or *****. When it was time to play pool, he put forward the best effort any champion would. Now a days Dan is doing well with his health, and taking some time to enjoy himself after working his tail off at his family resturant. Our sport could use several more like him. Thank you Dan for being a true world champion, and a positive asset to our favorite sport.
Now a quick note on the best bar box players. There has been over a dozen listed that could surely play top notch on the box. Several of the names who are still playing today could play with anyone on a good day. Young, old, or up and coming. Jam is right the Super Billiards Expo is a great place to get a few of these greats under the same roof. Keith put on a clinic two years in a row on the box back there. This year being one for the record books. Jason Kirkwood is a fine player to, and a good woofer to boot. One name I haven't seen here yet is that of Bobby Pickle. I watched him run a least 8 or 9 racks on the box at SBE. Barry Emerson plays great on the small table to. I think he won the US Bar Table Title, and World Bar Table Title within a month of each other in 1997. He's kinda of settling down some from what I've heard, and playing less now. So bring on the next Bar Table Championship and just hope a majority of the elite show up to get it on. Then we can see for at least a short time who really is the best on the small table.
hemicudas said:
It's nice to see Dan getting nods on here. He is one heck of a nice guy, and would help just about anyone he knew. Some folks may know what he has had to deal with earlier on. Up until a few years ago Dan often played not feeling well. He went through some kidney trouble to say the least. Never did I hear him complain, or *****. When it was time to play pool, he put forward the best effort any champion would. Now a days Dan is doing well with his health, and taking some time to enjoy himself after working his tail off at his family resturant. Our sport could use several more like him. Thank you Dan for being a true world champion, and a positive asset to our favorite sport.
Now a quick note on the best bar box players. There has been over a dozen listed that could surely play top notch on the box. Several of the names who are still playing today could play with anyone on a good day. Young, old, or up and coming. Jam is right the Super Billiards Expo is a great place to get a few of these greats under the same roof. Keith put on a clinic two years in a row on the box back there. This year being one for the record books. Jason Kirkwood is a fine player to, and a good woofer to boot. One name I haven't seen here yet is that of Bobby Pickle. I watched him run a least 8 or 9 racks on the box at SBE. Barry Emerson plays great on the small table to. I think he won the US Bar Table Title, and World Bar Table Title within a month of each other in 1997. He's kinda of settling down some from what I've heard, and playing less now. So bring on the next Bar Table Championship and just hope a majority of the elite show up to get it on. Then we can see for at least a short time who really is the best on the small table.
An unknown
Tammie Wesley Jones husband Troy. It was before they met. Troy had been playing in a pool room in Anderson, In. almost every day and after he played me he decided to try Troy on his favorite table. Troy was putting some 3's and 4's together and although I wasn't there, I guess it was enough. Like I said, when he came thru here, maybe he just wasn't up to speed. The night's I played him, he continued to break from the same spot all night long, and very rarely made a ball on the break.hemicudas said:
I wasn't sure if he quit.
When I mentioned his name on this therad, I wasn't sure if he was still playing or not. I debated about saying anything. I had a friend who used to stake me in the mid 80's occasionally who also ran with Weldon. He told me lots of stories about him. I got to know Weldon, but never got the opportunity to travel with him. I was told at one point, he was in the top 3 players in the world playing one-handed jacked up {not using the rail}. I saw him play some one handed, but it was against a couple of guys, for low amounts, where he didn't want to show too much. But I also got to see him messing around on the table when no-one else was around that mattered too. When he first came to Indiana, he got matched up with one of the best players in the state for around $5000. Weldon played one handed but was spotted the 6 I think. He blasted the guy. He was a great player and a very nice guy every time I was around him. SamKtown D said:
He and Hynes wolfed a little but nothing ever came off. Yeah I was shocked too. I had been around pool for twenty years and never heard anything about this guy. A player who lived in Lexington but formerly from Detroit(Freddie H) said the guy was a champion.satman said:
Voodoo Daddy
One Pocket 101
I'll go back to my youth and toss a couple names in the hat. 3-Fingered Ronnie Sypher and Gary Pinkowski. Freddy the Beard mentioned 3-Finger on another forum so I really stoled the reference but I seen/played him in South Florida in the early 80's...boy could he steer whitey. Pinky, god rest his soul played sporty too on the bar-box plus had one the sweetest strokes I ever saw.
Best barbox player 20 years ago
This thread is great for bringing back memories and folklore from yesteryear; kind of like old western movies of who was the best cowboy actor. Buddy Hall and my friend Vernon Elliott were on the road some together 20 years ago and Buddy got deserved recognition due to his skills and higher visibility but I'm sure he would be the first to tell you no one got in line to play Vernon if the bet was high. BTW--Randolph Scott was the best western actor!
This thread is great for bringing back memories and folklore from yesteryear; kind of like old western movies of who was the best cowboy actor. Buddy Hall and my friend Vernon Elliott were on the road some together 20 years ago and Buddy got deserved recognition due to his skills and higher visibility but I'm sure he would be the first to tell you no one got in line to play Vernon if the bet was high. BTW--Randolph Scott was the best western actor!
DeadPoked said:
Harry has settled down some and all that beautiful action is gone. A poolroom close to him re-opens this month, so we shall see if he comes back to the table. Harry went to the BCA and I don't know how much he lost. He only gives his money to out-of-towners nowadays.
His wife has had some health problems and he went in with someone and invented some poker software on the internet, so I think he is trying to hit the big score as he retires. And no, Bucktooth has not been back to Seattle. Harry always took a bad game. My husband, Mike Zimmerman, always gave him the fairest matchup and had to work hard to beat him. It would aggravate him to no end how Harry matched up with road players and just gave his money away. Mike always said that if he could steer him and be the negotiator, Harry could have won most of his games. That's why all the road players came to Platisville, a term Mike coined, btw, and Tony used for the book.
wastateqman said:
You said kidney problems - yes, Danny had a transplant and then the steroids and medication after the surgery wreaked havoc on him and he played on. I remember going to Reno after he came back, and when he was introduced, he got a standing ovation. Danny is truly a gentleman and well-loved in the sport.
Barry Emerson is another fine young man. After a somewhat wild youth, he finds the gambling and pool environment less appealing. He and I played a scotch doubles tournament which we won.
One interesting note is that my husband, Mike, has played both of these players and 9-zipped them both on big tables, but on the bar table has just started playing 8ball in the past 5 years or so and his theory is "break and if I don't run out, f*** 'em, they can have the rest!" This from the best safety player in the NW! lol He has started to like the strategy and nuances of 8ball and will play safe now.
Please believe me when I say that in no way was I taking a shot at Grady nor did I mean any disrespect.rackmsuckr said:Did anyone else think this was funny or is that just my little evil mind?
Grady, what is the name of your book? I like reading and hearing great stories about pool. Between Harry Platis, Cole Dickson, Billy Bob Cress and Mike Zimmerman, we have a few stories ourselves up here in Platisville.
My point was that Grady at the time owned a pool room in Colo Spgs and another in Denver and I was aware that Dick Henry was in his place quite often. I merely meant that Grady would probably have more first hand knowledge than anyone I can remember. But, I have to pull my foot out of my mouth quite often.
stevelomako said:
This thread is really great talking about all the different players.
I could type for a long time naming different people that played good for a short period or even for a few years, names that have been mentioned and some that haven't, like..............................Vernon Elliott, Clyde Childress, Richie Richeson, Paulie Campbell, Paul Turner, Bernardo "King Kong" Chavez, Jay Swanson, Shannon Daulton, Bobby Pickle, Brian Groce, Gary "Bushwacker" Nolan, Billy Ray, Surfer Rod, Cole Dickson, Jesse Bowman, Norman Wines, Jimmy "Flyboy" Spears, Dan Louie, Jack Hynes, Jimmy Reid, "Hawaiian" Brian Hashimoto, Eddie "Detroit Whitey" Beauchene, Junior Weldon, Jason Kirkwood, Cecil "Will Pay" Peay, Harry "Poochie" Sexton, Brandon Ashcraft, Corey Deuel, Alex Pagalyan, etc. etc. etc. etc.
But the 3 I named were on the top of the mountain, if you went looking to beat THE BEST.....those were the ones you went looking for. Sure they got beat here and there but they were/are the "Cadillacs" on the bar box.
I guess I look for the longevity factor, we'll see about some of the others in a few years I'm sure.
Who can argue with that?
Can't argue with that, Steve. Like you said, others played well for a while but not the longevity your guys have. The most racks I have ever seen run was by Clyde Childress giving Bill Stack the 7 ball. From the gate, my guy, Bill didn't shoot for 14 games. That is hard to out run no matter who you are. I wouldn't put Clyde in my top 5 bar table players though. Stack and I just happened to be standing in his way when he got the semi rolling.
stevelomako said:
Can't argue with that, Steve. Like you said, others played well for a while but not the longevity your guys have. The most racks I have ever seen run was by Clyde Childress giving Bill Stack the 7 ball. From the gate, my guy, Bill didn't shoot for 14 games. That is hard to out run no matter who you are. I wouldn't put Clyde in my top 5 bar table players though. Stack and I just happened to be standing in his way when he got the semi rolling.