Billiards Digest 50 Greatest Players of the Century

PoolBum said:
Allison is number 18. Balukas dominated women's play much more than Fisher.
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Yes she did, Jean could play with most men. However, most of the rest of the field back then could not run 2 racks in a row.
Loree Jon played pretty good back then also. Pre 1990
I would have loved to watch Jean and Allison play when they were both in their prime.
They were / are both warriors.
 
book collector said:
Yes she did, Jean could play with most men. However, most of the rest of the field back then could not run 2 racks in a row.
Loree Jon played pretty good back then also. Pre 1990
I would have loved to watch Jean and Allison play when they were both in their prime.
They were / are both warriors.
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Yeah Balukas vs Fisher would have been an epic match. I think Fisher at her best is/was the most technically perfect female player I've seen but on the other hand Balukas had a monster stroke and an incredible hatred of losing. Someone close to Jean once told me that she didn't want to just beat her opponent she wanted to bury them and drive the last nail into the coffin! Kind of like a female Mosconi.
 
Balukas vs Fisher epic match?

Mr441 said:
Yeah Balukas vs Fisher would have been an epic match. I think Fisher at her best is/was the most technically perfect female player I've seen but on the other hand Balukas had a monster stroke and an incredible hatred of losing. Someone close to Jean once told me that she didn't want to just beat her opponent she wanted to bury them and drive the last nail into the coffin! Kind of like a female Mosconi.
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Jean Balukas vs Eva Mataya _ Part 001
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL2gr7ZSOJg

Allison Fisher Defeats David Alcaide at 10-ball
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxHSuAtFVGo

Balukas vs Fisher would have been an epic match. Last heard Balukas is alive but she don't play. Maybe she has been retired long enough?
 
Yep, Ceulemans is the dealbreaker for this list.. it's BS

JohnnyOzone said:
All those 3 cushion and balkline players on there and no Raymond Ceulemans? Come on!

If it's based solely on dominance, Balukas would have to be No 1.
Either her or Mosconi.

Harold Worst may very well be about the best player on the list - but he was never "dominant" because he didn't get to play long enough and didn't play in that many tournaments.

These lists never work.
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Yes, what he said, all of it.
 
PoolBum said:
In 1999 Billiards Digest published their ranking of the 50 greatest players in pool and billiards for the 20th century.

Here are some of the rankings (now edited to include the entire list):

50. Jersey Red
49. Allen Gilbert
48. Jeanette Lee
47. Jimmy Moore
46. Dorothy Wise
45. Otto Reiselt
44. Babe Cranfield
43. Lou Butera
42. John Horgan
41. Cisero Murphy
40. Jerome Keogh
39. Allen Hopkins
38. Dallas West
37. Jim Rempe
36. George Sutton
35. Charlie Peterson
34. Robert Cannefax
33. Bennie Allen
32. Ray Martin
31. Ruth McGinnis
30. Johnny Archer
29. Efren Reyes
28. Loree Jon Jones
27. Buddy Hall
26. Larry Johnson (Boston Shorty)
25. Eddie Taylor
24. Jake Shaefer
23. Thomas Hueston
22. Andrew Ponzi
21. Welker Cochran
20. Erwin Rudolph
19. Harold Worst
18. Allison Fisher
17. Earl Strickland
16. Joe Balsis
15. Jean Balukas
14. Nick Varner
13. Johnny Layton
12. Jake Shaefer Jr.
11. Sang Lee
10. Jimmy Caras
9. Luther Lassiter
8. Irving Crane
7. Frank Taberski
6. Steve Mizerak
5. Mike Sigel
4. Alfredo De Oro
3. Ralph Greenleaf
2. Willie Mosconi
1. Willie Hoppe

I'm curious as to your thoughts about how you would rank some of these players, and who else you might put on the list and where.
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I see some players missing from this list!
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
PoolBum said:
In 1999 Billiards Digest published their ranking of the 50 greatest players in pool and billiards for the 20th century.

it would be interesting to know who from Billiards Digest worked on the list -- that may shed some light on why the rankings are what they are...
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Good list. No real issues.

Freddie <~~~ thinks the list is based on performance in the USA
 
i honestly don't think a true "ordered" list can really be made, because of the era's and popularity of certain games in that era, the equipment, road players ,lack of a true organization and probably a few other things.
 
JohnnyOzone said:
All those 3 cushion and balkline players on there and no Raymond Ceulemans? Come on!

If it's based solely on dominance, Balukas would have to be No 1.
Either her or Mosconi.

Harold Worst may very well be about the best player on the list - but he was never "dominant" because he didn't get to play long enough and didn't play in that many tournaments.

These lists never work.
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Guess he wasn't dominating enough in his time.

UMB World Champion 1963–1973, 1975–1980, 1985, 1990, 2001 (Didn't Play the Tournament in 1981, maybe 82 as well)
European Champion 1962–1972, 1974–1983, 1987, 1992

I'm really not impressed. There's a couple of blanks during these 39 years with no excuse. 2001 was just a fluke at age 64.

Here's how I really see it Ceulemans simply had no competition in his prime. Absolutely nobody could beat him to 50 points. So they changed the format. Hmmmm can't beat him in the short game either. His averages were relatively low compared to todays numbers. But once the young punks started catching on and raising the bar, Sir Ceulemans simply raised his game to meet the challange.

Literally a game changer. But that's my opinion. I'm not as smart as the BCA or Billiard Digest.
 
[Quote:
Originally Posted by westcoast View Post
Why did they rank Strickland and Reyes so low?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelly_Guy View Post
Because they are both overrated, of course.

Kelly
that and the fact that they are merely 9ball players..

I am however SHOCKED that Varner didn't make top 10


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NO I'M THE ONE THAT'S SHOCKED!!!!

Earl Strickland has run 408 balls in Straight Pool and has won One-Pocket Tournaments
I will let someone else list other tournaments he's won, here are some
5 time winner U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships
6 time World Champion (Earl Strickland Is one of the best players that ever lived)

Wake up, you must know nothing about pool.
Efren is one of the best players that ever lived
also. Oh, that's Efren Reyes by the way I put his last
name because judging by your statement I thought
you may not even know that.

Below is just a bit of what Reyes has won:

Efren Reyes has won the Derby City Classic One-Pocket
FOUR YEARS IN A ROW (with three to four hundred entries per year)
He's a great Balk Line Billiards player
Nobody's got to bet him in 15 Ball Rotation
Won Straight Pool tournament in Maine (When he hardly new the rules)
Against seasoned Straight Pool Professionals
He's won the World 8-Ball Championship
He's won the World 9-Ball Championship
Won U.S. Open 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
THE FAT BOY 10-Ball Challenge
5 TIME WINNER DERBY CITY CLASSIC ALL AROUND CHAMP

So I guess Earl Strickland and Efren Reyes are Not Merely A 9-Ball Players
They've won more tournaments than you could memorize in a week
JUST SAYING
 
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measureman said:
Yes me too. Where is my name? This is an outrage, someone is going to be held responsible for this oversight. :angry:
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I think that they got you and Earl confused or was it, you and Efren,

I think they are working to fix that as we speak!:thumbup:
 
These greatest of all time lists are impossible to do. Lists should be based on eras not all time.

say like:

1.) 1880 to 1920
2.) 1920 to 1950
3.) 1950 to 1980
4.) 1980 to present

Then you can have real comparisons within each era. And now if you want to make an all time list you can take the best from each era and combine them for fun. But how can you rank a billiard player from 1891 with a nine ball player from 2005?

Just doesn't work. Too many never ending agreements. Equipment was different as well.
 
champ2107 said:
i honestly don't think a true "ordered" list can really be made, because of the era's and popularity of certain games in that era, the equipment, road players ,lack of a true organization and probably a few other things.
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Holy cow, Champ and I agree!!!
 
champ2107 said:
i honestly don't think a true "ordered" list can really be made, because of the era's and popularity of certain games in that era, the equipment, road players ,lack of a true organization and probably a few other things.
Click to expand...



I agree, a top 250 in no particular order may get all the players listed that are deserving of such a recognition as Greatest Players of the Century!


David Harcrow
 
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