ScottR said:
Just wondering what everyone's favorite/most interesting pool memories are, and why. Let's try 3 categories and jump-start our brain cells . . . . .
1. Best with you at the table
2. Best with someone else at the table
3. Best pool-related, but non-playing (woofing, etc.)
Scott
#1 Had a customer from Denmark contacted me at the BCA Trade Show in Vegas several years ago. He looked at the cues I had with me and and selected 3 he liked. I shot him my best price and he tried to talk me down $100 off what I'd told him was my firm price. I was about to give in when he suggested we play a set of 9-ball for the difference. Well I knew he palyed on the tour in Europe and I figured I was probably the underdog in the match, but I had a shot! When he suggested a race to 13, I got the feeling, he too thought I was at the disadvantage. lol
Well, we met at the Las Vegas Cue Club and he'd arrived a few minutes ahead of me. He's asked for the tightest table he could get, I found out later! I got out a coin to flip for the break. He said can't we lag instead. I said sure. I stopped the ball about a ball length from the end rail, he froze to the cushion! lol He ran 2 racks, played a jam up safe in the 3rd rack, got BIH & out. Broke and ran 2 more. I Finally got a game and made it 5-1. The next time I got a clear shot, it was 10-1! At that point, I'd pretty much written off the $100, but I knew that as long as I was alive, I had a chance! I started freewheeling! The table was almost as tight as my practice table in the shop, but I was making everything I shot at! I ended up winning the match 13-11. My opponent hadn't said a word since I started my battle back. When it was over he came up and shook my hand. He told me "that was one of the best matches I've ever played and you ran over me"! He said "at first I felt confident, but a lion appeared suddenly"! It was probably the best 9-ball I've ever played!
#2 When my best friend and road partner "Gary Spaeth", won the Clyde Childress Memorial Bank Pool Division in 1986 . He defeated Wade Crane in the finals. Jose Parica won the Nine Ball Division.
Gary and I were hanging out a lot with Earl those days. Earl had the misfortune to have his first really bad tournament at the hands of the Filipino contingency. Jose beat him on the winner's side, after which we were trying to cheer Earl up in his room. He was pretty upset about the crowd cheering for the Filipino players over him! Later Efren beat him in the loser's bracket to knock him out of the tournament his stakehorse at the time, Monroe Brock, put on! He was really furious when the fans aplauded Efren. Later he told me he thought it was "Un-American"!
#3 About 20 years ago I took my best buddy, the late Gary Spaeth to a bar table tournament at the Chatanooga Billiards Club in Downtown Chatanooga Tennessee. We thought that Gary should be "The Nuts" in this little $50 entry bar box tournament. We arrived a day early to scope the place out in the hopes of trapping a local and maybe making up part of the "nut" for the week.
As soon as we walked in the door Phil Windham, the owner, walked up to us and introduced himself. He immediately looked at Gary and said "You're Gary Spaeth aren't you?" Gary tried denying his identity and made up a phony name. Phil said "No, I know who you are, I saw you beat Jimmy Rempe 10 years ago in L.A.. Wait here, I can prove it." Quickly he went back to his office and produced an old program from some long forgotten tournament. It had pictures of most of the players in it. Phil pointed out an old picture of Gary with hair down the middle of his back, wearing bell bottom pants. We all laughed and couldn't deny Phil, "the pool detective", his glory. We apologized but Phil wasn't mad, he understood how tough it was back then. We continued to look at the pictures of the players in the program. Gary turned a page and there was a picture of Buddy Hall in his bell bottoms with a big grin on his face. At this point Gary really put his foot in his mouth by saying with a chuckle,"Check out Buddy, he was sure ugly back then."Phil had Gary autograph the old program and we all kind of laughed and went on about our business.
As the day progressed our original assessment of Gary having a lock on this little tourney started to wane as one after another Champion after Champion walked in. David Howard, Earl Strickland, Dave Matlock, Reed Pierce, Bucky Bell, Mike Massey, Buddy Hall on and on. We thought, "Damn what's next?"
Well the tourney got under way. Gary was playing very well! A few rounds into it Gary came up against Buddy Hall. To everyone's surprise, Phil Windham got on the PA as he was announcing the matches and told the story of our entrance to the Poolroom. He explained how he had gotten the program and mentioned Gary's (not so bright) comment about Buddy. Upon Buddy's arrival Phil asked him to autograph the program also. He kind of chuckled when he saw the old picture of Gary. This made Phil bring up Gary's comment which spurred the response from Buddy "I may have been ugly, but not as ugly as Gary". Phil thought this would be a good area for the audience to get involved. As he explained the whole story to the entire crowd he said we we're also going to have an "Ugly Contest" with the two entries. The crowd was to be the judge by way of applause on cue. (No pun intended! lol) Well with a lot of help, from me and a couple of Gary's other good buddies, Gary Spaeth won hands down. We whooped and hollered and cheered Gary on to victory. He even won the match, which was miraculous after the harassment he'd just received. Unfortunately that was the last match he won and he ended up finishing just out of the money. Things weren't much better for David Howard and Earl Strickland. That evening we got together at the motel and were swapping war stories. After an hour or two of "road tales" David Howard came up with the statement that started me on this story to begin with. He simply said "Yeah this pool's tough!... But somebody's gotta do it!". There's hardly a week goes by that I don't think of that statement. I often substitute "cuemaking" for "pool" when I use the words, but the thought's the same. David and I got to be great friends after that and made several road trips ourselves.
just more hot air!
(a lot again this time)
Sherm Adamson
