Buddy Hall - RIP

Karen Mizerak said:
I was saddened to learn of Buddy's passing.
Steve & I admired Buddy very much, both personally & professionally.
Remembering his bear hugs & that contagious laugh. RIP Buddy
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I told Buddy in the late 70s, if we could put your stroke on a snooker cue, we could win a world title with it.
Buddy replied “Don’t forget the Miz, one of the finest strokes ever.”
 
pt109 said:
I told Buddy in the late 70s, if we could put your stroke on a snooker cue, we could win a world title with it.
Buddy replied “Don’t forget the Miz, one of the finest strokes ever.”
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Not surprising. Two of the finest to ever play the game and they played each other near their primes. There is a match on youtube, maybe 2003 or the nineties, I forget which. A pleasure to watch just for the memories not that it isn't a great match!



Karen Mizerak said:
I was saddened to learn of Buddy's passing.
Steve & I admired Buddy very much, both personally & professionally.
Remembering his bear hugs & that contagious laugh. RIP Buddy
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Thank you for Dropping by Ms Mizerak. An honor to have you post!

Hu
 
westcoast said:
Just saw on FB post from UpState Al that Buddy passed away. RIP to a legend
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I called my uncle 'Bakersfield Bobby' Hernandez yesterday to see if he had heard the news, He told me that a friend already let him know. Buddy and Bobby were fierce competitors yet great friends in the early days. I've never gotten a chance to read Buddy's auto biography but am told he mentions Bobby about fifteen times throughout and referred to Bobby as being seen as the world's #1 player at the time. Bobby had the greatest respect for Buddy and told me once that he had never beaten him. Bobbby lives in Arizona now and just turned 89 years old. Bobby and I both send our heartfelt regards concerning Buddy's passing...RIP to one great legend!
 
9ball5032 said:
He was my favorite. Yesterday I was watching the US Open with him playing Dennis Hatch. Got to talk with him a little bit at the 2013 Mosconi Cup.
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May I ask where you found this match? I was there, and would love to see it.

I have put off coming here for a few days because I didn’t want to see this thread.
 
Karen Mizerak said:
I was saddened to learn of Buddy's passing.
Steve & I admired Buddy very much, both personally & professionally.
Remembering his bear hugs & that contagious laugh. RIP Buddy
Click to expand...
Steve was special, one of the very best in the history of our genre.
It was nice of you to come by to pay your respects, and please
know that Buddy would appreciate it.

Will Prout
 
I was a wee bit disappointed in the turnout for Buddy Hall's GoFundMe campaign to help the family with funeral costs. Hundreds of posts on social media and elsewhere were shared by pool people, sharing a Buddy story and just stating how much Buddy Hall meant to them. His granddaughter, Lucy Hall, created the GoFundMe, maybe too late, though, less than a week before his funeral and celebration of life. Buddy Hall's birthday would have been yesterday, same day as the celebration of life at Sully's and the Funeral Home wake. He would have been 80.

His granddaughter was hoping to raise $8,000 for the celebration of life and funeral costs, which is modest. When I went to bed last night, the total was $2,460. When I woke up this morning, the total was, $3,460. Earl Strickland contributed $500. Say what you want about Earl, but that's really decent of him. Wow!
 
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Played Buddy some even 9 ball shortly after Johnston city tourney in 1970, it may have been January 71. We played 3 hours or so for 25 a game without a winner. Man did we run some serious that evening!

Only way to beat Buddy at 9 ball was to run more racks than him and that was almost impossible to do!

I spoke with Buddy about 12-14 years ago at legends pool room just south of Houston area. It was good to see him.

We are running out of legends from back in the day! Can’t replace a Legend like Buddy, one of a kind! He made is mark on pocket billiards and will be remembered for a thousand years!

Rest in piece my friend!
 
About Buddy's GoFundMe campaign organized by his granddaughter, Lucy Hall, I was, I guess, disappointed, for lack of a better word, that she was unable to reach the goal of $8,000.

When Buddy passed, the news spread like wildfire on social media about personal experiences with Buddy Hall, and his legacy came forth by hundreds of people who knew him and/or of his great accomplishments in pool, a BCA Hall of Famer, a two-time U.S. Open champion, an author, and more. If each person who shared a Buddy Hall experience had donated even $5, the $8,000 limit would have been met. Yet the donations to the GoFundMe the day of his funeral totaled about $2,500. I realize, of course, that not everybody can afford to donate due to personal financial situations and responsibilities.

But I was reminded of Jeanette Lee's GoFundMe campaign raising $250,000. When Mark Haddad was killed in a motor vehicle accident, Melissa Little's GoFundMe campaigns (two of them) raised $13,500 and $2,105. It did make me sad that Buddy Hall's GoFundMe campaign, one of the greatest American pool players that ever lived, could not reach the $8,000 goal. His granddaughter Lucy, however, was grateful for each donation and thanked everybody on Facebook and personally with an email for their contribution.

A couple days ago, I listened to a podcast by Billiards Digest Live and American Poolplayers Association (APA), and it was then I realized why Buddy's GoFundMe campaign was unable to hit the target. Like Justin Bergman, Buddy did not like to travel outside of the United States. Unlike American champions Earl Strickland, Jeanette Lee, and Mike Sigel, who traveled the globe to pool-related events and exhibitions, Buddy stayed planted on American soil. He was well known to most Americans who follow pool, but he was not a name-brand pool player overseas and elsewhere is what I realized from that podcast. It kind of gave me closure and a better understanding now why Buddy's GoFundMe did not generate a lot of interest, even though there were hundreds of photos and posts and threads written about him when he passed, front-page news on pool-related sites. Heck, this thread alone on AzBilliards Discussion Forum got 8,000-plus hits.

When you are my age, these deaths hit close to home. I realize today more than ever that it's important to live in the moment and enjoy each blessing we are granted in life. They tell me that when we meet our maker, some of us will live in paradise for eternity. What happens after we pass will not matter.
 
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JAM said:
About Buddy's GoFundMe campaign organized by his granddaughter, Lucy Hall, I was, I guess, disappointed, for lack of a better word, that she was unable to reach the goal of $8,000.

When Buddy passed, the news spread like wildfire on social media about personal experiences with Buddy Hall, and his legacy came forth by hundreds of people who knew him and/or of his great accomplishments in pool, a BCA Hall of Famer, a two-time U.S. Open champion, an author, and more. If each person who shared a Buddy Hall experience had donated even $5, the $8,000 limit would have been met. Yet the donations to the GoFundMe the day of his funeral totaled about $2,500. I realize, of course, that not everybody can afford to donate due to personal financial situations and responsibilities.

But I was reminded of Jeanette Lee's GoFundMe campaign raising $250,000. When Mark Haddad was killed in a motor vehicle accident, Melissa Little's GoFundMe campaigns (two of them) raised $13,500 and $2,105. It did make me sad that Buddy Hall's GoFundMe campaign, one of the greatest American pool players that ever lived, could not reach the $8,000 goal. His granddaughter Lucy, however, was grateful for each donation and thanked everybody on Facebook and personally with an email for their contribution.

A couple days ago, I listened to a podcast by Billiards Digest Live and American Poolplayers Association (APA), and it was then I realized why Buddy's GoFundMe campaign was unable to hit the target. Like Justin Bergman, Buddy did not like to travel outside of the United States. Unlike American champions Earl Strickland, Jeanette Lee, and Mike Sigel, who traveled the globe to pool-related events and exhibitions, Buddy stayed planted on American soil. He was well known to most Americans who follow pool, but he was not a name-brand pool player overseas and elsewhere is what I realized from that podcast. It kind of gave me closure and a better understanding now why Buddy's GoFundMe did not generate a lot of interest, even though there were hundreds of photos and posts and threads written about him when he passed, front-page news on pool-related sites. Heck, this thread alone on AzBilliards Discussion Forum got 8,000-plus hits.

When you are my age, these deaths hit close to home. I realize today more than ever that it's important to live in the moment and enjoy each blessing we are granted in life. They tell me that when we meet our maker, some of us will live in paradise for eternity. What happens after we pass will not matter.
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Jennie,

It can come down to something as simple as the wording of the go fund me too. Might have raised several times eight thousand for funeral expenses but "celebration of life" sounds a lot like "Irish wake". Might not be what was meant but it sounded a lot like financing somebody else's party.

One word different can make a huge difference. "Can I" and "May I" other than possibly arguing proper english seems like the same thing but in actual testing I found "May I" to get over ten times the results of "Can I". Messages are very much in the eye of the beholder. No matter what is meant, what is perceived is what matters.

Go fund me results are always all over the place and can reflect things that don't seem pertinent to the go fund me. The first thing worried people do is tighten their grip on their wallet. News about politics or economy generating unease can have a big effect.

Just trying to say that the relative failure of the go fund me is no indication of the respect Buddy was and is held in.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Jennie,

It can come down to something as simple as the wording of the go fund me too. Might have raised several times eight thousand for funeral expenses but "celebration of life" sounds a lot like "Irish wake". Might not be what was meant but it sounded a lot like financing somebody else's party.

One word different can make a huge difference. "Can I" and "May I" other than possibly arguing proper english seems like the same thing but in actual testing I found "May I" to get over ten times the results of "Can I". Messages are very much in the eye of the beholder. No matter what is meant, what is perceived is what matters.

Go fund me results are always all over the place and can reflect things that don't seem pertinent to the go fund me. The first thing worried people do is tighten their grip on their wallet. News about politics or economy generating unease can have a big effect.

Just trying to say that the relative failure of the go fund me is no indication of the respect Buddy was and is held in.

Hu
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From the GoFundMe for Buddy Hall --> "Today, his granddaughter Lucy is reaching out to the community through this GoFundMe campaign to cover Buddy’s final expenses and give him the dignified farewell he so richly deserves." And this: "The funds raised will go toward covering his final expenses."

Buddy Hall's GoFundMe campaign: https://gofund.me/7cf521b6

A "celebration of life" is jargon used quite often at funeral homes for wakes. My biological mother's funeral wake, we were singing Hank Williams' "I Saw the Light," and every relative and friend stood up and shared a memory of her. It was a celebration of her life.

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts, but I do not believe that is the reason why Buddy's GoFundMe campaign did not reach the $8,000 goal. Earl Strickland and people like him donated to his GoFundMe account because they respected his legacy and impact on American pool. Buddy Hall's prime and streak of greatness, of course, was in a different time in American pool. Some may not know he's a BCA Hall of Famer, two-time U.S. Open champion, author, commentator, mentor to aspiring and pro players, and good friend to many.

In sum, it is always a personal choice whether one wants to donate to a GoFundMe campaign. Nobody should feel compelled or obligated to contribute to a GoFundMe campaign if they are not financially able to do so.
 
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JAM said:
About Buddy's GoFundMe campaign organized by his granddaughter, Lucy Hall, I was, I guess, disappointed, for lack of a better word, that she was unable to reach the goal of $8,000.
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Quite frankly, I consider a gofundme for something like a funeral incredibly distasteful and would never contribute to one. Actually, I find any gofundme request incredibly distasteful. Didn't really want to sully up this thread with that, but you mentioned it.
 
Badpenguin said:
Quite frankly, I consider a gofundme for something like a funeral incredibly distasteful and would never contribute to one. Actually, I find any gofundme request incredibly distasteful. Didn't really want to sully up this thread with that, but you mentioned it.
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Thanks for sharing your opinion. Quite frankly, I find your post in this thread incredibly distasteful, considering the GoFundMe was for Buddy Hall.
 
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