Wow. Just reading through this thread, I am amazed at the amount of history, experience, and legend of some of the posters here. Tom, Jay, Mr. Stroud, JAM, Lou, and the others. I have never met any of you or Mr. Incardona, but I have learned a ton about the history of pool from each of you. I think the posters on here are a vital part of the fabric of pool's history. Thanks for all of you sharing your experiences and stories.
Old Fart may turn out to be famous old road warrior, or he may turn out to be full of crap, but I think when some of the great personalities of pool start mudslinging and name calling it cheapens the thread..unless of course the woofing leads to someone getting in the box for some cheese!
Lou does strike me as someone who likes to stir the pot and get a good debate going, but heck when was the last time someone took a internet disagreement, stepped up, and settled it on the table. That has to be worth something.
Heck Jay has lived enough adventure for a couple of lifetimes, and is still here contributing and entertaining.
JAM seems to know as many or more people in the pool world than most, and if she is like my wife, she gets to boss around one of the great money players of all time.
Again thanks to ALL for sharing your stories and experiences.
I have to agree with Joker on several points. First off, with the exception of a few initial posts in the thread ( saying Grady should be in, as well as BI and also Joe Kerr and plenty of "others" as well ), I have steered clear of this thread. I like to contribute ( as anyone can plainly see, I think ) but once this thread became contentious, I stayed out of it. I don't know BI. I never saw him play. But have I known who he is and for decades? Yes. Most certainly. Did I know him as one hell of a player? Certainly. Do I know if he was "shady" 40 years ago, to any degree? No. I've no idea whatsoever. Would it bother me if I knew he had been? Probably not. I liked Louie a lot. I got to know him to a certain degree, spoke with him numerous times. Bought him some beers. Had tremendous respect for his game and I liked hm as a person. Did he ever do anything "shady" in his life? Probably. Does that bother me? Nope. He was a pool player. Life-long. As such, it's pretty much part and parcel to the lifestyle. Did I think Louie was a good person? Yup. I did. Could I have been wrong about that? Of course. But in the end, that isn't my call to make.
I would've liked to have seen BI play, especially 40 years ago. I would've liked to have known him. I can say the same for myriad players and personalities in the pool universe. And just as I didn't like some of those in that universe I
did know, I'm sure some of those I never met or saw play, I may not have liked had I seen them or gotten to know them. C'est la vie. Pool is just a microcosm of life. Most people I know I like. Some I don't. One thing I do know, though.
*Everyone* does or says things someone somewhere will not or does not like or agree with. Again, c'est la vie. But do I appreciate this site? Oh, yeah... I do. Is this site important to pool? Yes, with a capital Y. Am I grateful this site is chock-full of lifetimes of experiences, stories and perspectives? Absolutely. Does it feel like a family here to me? Sure it does... in a way. Just like pool at large has always felt like a family to me. It's been monumentally important to me in many ways and has probably done more to shape my world view than most other things I've ever experienced.
So, again, I've stayed out of this ongoing back n forth about BI and OF and Lou. I don't know any of them. I have nothing to offer on any of them. Is it a bit uncomfortable to read it all as it's unfolded? Yup. But, as families tend to do, it's a few fist fights, a few bad feelings, a few choice words... and then it will all go away. Until the next bone of contention pops up. In the meantime I just wanted to say thanks to all for helping make my world a little more interesting and for giving me a place where I can feel I actually belong. And for me, in this life, that's really saying something good. Thanks again y'all.