Bigest cinderella story to win the us open

TK was a regular champion of Fla. Tour events for years prior to his U.S. Open win, but known to a lesser extent nationally to be sure. Similarly, Reed Pierce most certainly was a sleeper as well. However, Gabe Owen must get my vote here. From what I remember, he won the tourney undefeated and was never a favorite to win any match he played. In a 200 plus player field that is like outrunning the nuts about nine or ten times in row.
 
muttley76 said:
When I think of TK, the word "shortstop" is not really my first thought. I hope you meant back then, as I rarely disagree with your opinions:smile:
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I was actually referring more to Keith Thompson than Tommy when I said shortstop. Tommy is (and was) a speed above the average shortstop. For lack of better words, he is a pro level player, capable of winning matches against anyone.

My point was that even a shortstop can get hot and beat a good player. It happens all the time in tournaments. To me a shortstop is like the fringe player in the major leagues who has one spectacular day before resuming his minor league career. A lot of athletes have had a cup of coffee in the big leagues before they had to resume a career overseas or elsewhere.

I know intimately what it is like to be a pool shortstop. I played just good enough to get the respect of my opponents, but not quite good enough to beat them. Except on rare occasions when I did pull some major upsets. I won't name names here, that's not my thing. Just suffice to say that back in the 70's yours truly did win some matches against highly rated players. I do name a few names in my upcoming book. :embarrassed2:
 
Hope This Helps

Mowem down said:
Who was the biggest underdog to win it..has there even been one.

How about the player with the least amount of skill to pull it off...
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This might help jog some memories:


Year Winner
2008 Mika Immonen
2007 Shane Van Boening
2006 John Schmidt
2005 Alex Pagulayan
2004 Gabe Owen
2003 Jeremy Jones
2002 Ralf Souquet
2001 Corey Deuel
2000 Earl Strickland
1998 Buddy Hall
1999 Johnny Archer
1997 Earl Strickland
1996 Rodney Morris
1995 Reed Pierce
1994 Efren Reyes
1993 Earl Strickland
1992 Tommy Kennedy
1991 Buddy Hall
1990 Nick Varner
1989 Nick Varner
1988 Mike Lebron
1987 Earl Strickland
1986 David Howard
1985 Jimmy Reid
1984 Earl Strickland
1983 Mike Sigel
1982 David Howard
1981 Allen Hopkins
1980 Mike Sigel
1979 Louie Roberts
1978 Steve Mizerak
1977 Allen Hopkins
1976 Mike Sigel
 
TK's payout in the calcutta must have been enormous that year. Does anyone know what he went for? I remember when I went to the Open in 2001 and Corey's backer bought Corey in one of the first blind bids. It might have been the first blind bid even.
 
Terry Ardeno said:
Tommy K gets my vote as well. What a super guy he turned out to be!

Runners up, in my opinion, are Mike LeBron in 1988 (beat Varner) and Reed Pierce in 1995 (beat Reyes).
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I think I have to go along with you on these. TK and ML were huge surprises IMO. Reed was one hell of a 9 ball player and at the time I thought one of the most underrated players in the country.
 
Tommy Kennedy was unranked as a professional when he defeated Johnny Archer in the 1992 US Open Final.

In the 1992 US Open, Tommy's first round opponent was Cavin Coker and it went hill-hill, with TK winning 13-12. Talk to Tommy and he will tell you that this match was the toughest to win.

Tommy went on to post wins against Rempe, Lebron, Bustamante, Hall, Archer, and then Archer again. He kept Johnny in the chair for the entire final match. Johnny got up once or twice with no shot, and when he finally had a chance, he missed a semi-tough shot on the 7 ball and never shot again.

Tommy rarely brings up his US Open victory in conversation. He was blessed to have had a very good tournament where everything came together for him. He is honored to be on the list of champions, but will tell you that his victory symbolizes the power of God in his life.

Tommy didn't just pop out of nowhere to win the US Open - he was winning a lot of tournaments on the Florida Tour and everybody knew who he was. It was just unlikely for him to win such a big event.

In the world of pool, he might be considered a shortstop, or someone that had a lucky week in September of 1992 - but in my eyes he is more than just a US Open champion. Those of us that know about the road that led him to that 1992 US Open title understand and admire the person that overcame unbelievable odds not only in pool, but in life. Tommy takes no credit for that, he knows where his strength comes from.

I am proud to call Tommy my friend. He has always been there with prayers, words of encouragement, and good, sound advice. He is a good man, and I wish that there were more people like him in the world of pool.

DCP00406M.jpg
 
Blackjack said:
Tommy Kennedy was unranked as a professional when he defeated Johnny Archer in the 1992 US Open Final.

In the 1992 US Open, Tommy's first round opponent was Cavin Coker and it went hill-hill, with TK winning 13-12. Talk to Tommy and he will tell you that this match was the toughest to win.

Tommy went on to post wins against Rempe, Lebron, Bustamante, Hall, Archer, and then Archer again. He kept Johnny in the chair for the entire final match. Johnny got up once or twice with no shot, and when he finally had a chance, he missed a semi-tough shot on the 7 ball and never shot again.

Tommy rarely brings up his US Open victory in conversation. He was blessed to have had a very good tournament where everything came together for him. He is honored to be on the list of champions, but will tell you that his victory symbolizes the power of God in his life.

Tommy didn't just pop out of nowhere to win the US Open - he was winning a lot of tournaments on the Florida Tour and everybody knew who he was. It was just unlikely for him to win such a big event.

In the world of pool, he might be considered a shortstop, or someone that had a lucky week in September of 1992 - but in my eyes he is more than just a US Open champion. Those of us that know about the road that led him to that 1992 US Open title understand and admire the person that overcame unbelievable odds not only in pool, but in life. Tommy takes no credit for that, he knows where his strength comes from.

I am proud to call Tommy my friend. He has always been there with prayers, words of encouragement, and good, sound advice. He is a good man, and I wish that there were more people like him in the world of pool.

DCP00406M.jpg
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AMEN to that!

JoeyA
 
Blackjack, Nice post about Tommy. I have seen him play, but never met him, and really didn't know much about him. I do remember seeing his name a lot in the Florida Tour results, and had friends tell me how well he could play.

If you take a look down that list of Champions, and think about matching any 2 of them up, I'd still have to pick Tommy as the underdog. I'm not saying he has no chance to win, he's already proven he can beat a whole field of Champions.
 
jay helfert said:
TK from FLA! He wasn't a total unknown, since he had been playing in tournaments for a few years. Tommy was a good player but a champion, NEVER! His U.S. Open win is like when Keith Thompson beat everyone to win at Johnston City back in 1970. Just goes to show that a good shortstop can get hot and upset a great player. What's a lot harder to do is to stay hot.

If you've followed his career you know that Tommy was no flash in the pan. He has won numerous regional events and finished high in several majors.
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Keith Thompson, like TK, became a born again Christian. Difference is, he left the game to pursue other ventures while Tommy stuck with his faith and pool.

Years ago, TK & I posed for a photo. About a year later, I asked him to sign the blown up 8 x 10 photo. He signed it "To Terry from Tommy..JESUS LOVES YOU". That's hanging in my pool room with my photos with Daulton, Strickland, Grady and my other favorite players like Billy Incardona, Varner, Lisciotti, Freddy B, Chao, etc. I can't count the number of times I pass that photo and ponder his words. He's a very encouraging person who shares his faith in lots of good ways.

One more note on Thompson...He and Tom Jennings get my vote as tied for first on who fell most completely off the pool world. You NEVER hear about those guys anywhere. I had Mark Beilfus on that list at one time, but he resurfaced after a couple of decades.
 
jay helfert said:
TK from FLA! He wasn't a total unknown, since he had been playing in tournaments for a few years. Tommy was a good player but a champion, NEVER! His U.S. Open win is like when Keith Thompson beat everyone to win at Johnston City back in 1970. Just goes to show that a good shortstop can get hot and upset a great player. What's a lot harder to do is to stay hot.

If you've followed his career you know that Tommy was no flash in the pan. He has won numerous regional events and finished high in several majors.
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I even heard that keith thompson hadn't really planned on playing, he just came to watch and then ended up entering at the last minute.
 
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