Weren't both Buddy and Mike at the top of their games in the early to mid 1980's? I heard that Buddy played just about as perfect 9-ball as humanly possible back then. Did they ever gamble for a large sum, and who won? How did Buddy do against Sigel in tournaments?
Buddy Hall vs. Mike Sigel in their prime
- Thread starter cuetechasaurus
- Start date
Buddy was and is a greater player. Sigel has more titles.
> Buddy himself has said the toughest player he's ever faced on a regular basis was Sigel,without question. OHB or someone posted a story about their gambling exploits that went something like this. Sigel and Larry Hubbart beat everyone in St. Louis,and were on their way to Shreveport to play Buddy. It was widely known that if you could beat Buddy in that room,you could win all of Shreveport pretty much,or at least more than you could carry. Some money was given to Hubbart to put in action on Mike's end. A couple days later,a phone call was made to see how things are going. Larry Hubbart gets on the phone and tells the caller that they've been playing for 9 hours,and Mike hasn't missed a single ball,and is playing the best pool of his life. The caller asked how the game was going,and Larry said "we're 4 games stuck". I want to say that in the Buddy Hall book,it was said that at one point he gave Sigel the last 2. I don't see how,but I have no reason to believe it didn't happen. Sigel is by FAR the better tournament player,in all games. Buddy has had the edge over pretty much everyone he's ever seen for the cash,just ask Efren. When he first showed up here in 1985 at the Red's tournament,Efren pistolwhipped everyone in the tournament and for the cash. Buddy shows up looking like he's been awake and drinking for 3 days,and beats Efren in like an hour,playing a 7,8 or 10-ahead depending on who's telling the story. He played Jim Rempe a 10-ahead for 25,000 once,and finished the set in just 2 innings. That room was charging a little over a dollar an hour for table time. The tab was 45 cents. Tommy D.
What about Lassiter? He probably could of given these guys a good run, tho the way in which BH worked the middle of the cue ball and could make whitey do what ever it needed to do with the almost same arm swing speed, he simplified the motor actions and therefore 'always' had less going on spin and speed wise with whitey therefore minimizing loss of cue ball control. No one in the game ever was as close to the next ball to be pocketed on a regular basis in 9 ball than the Rifleman.
Tommy-D said:
The place they talk about in Shreveport was Guys-n-Dolls, right downtown.
The room was in the basement of an old highrise with a sideroom which was at one time an old baerbershop. There were two gold crowns inthere a picture on the wall of a young Buddy which said, "this room is dedicated to Buddy Hall, the greatest 9 ball player who ever lived.
Red Box was the owner and he really believed Buddy to be unbeatable in that room.
I just happened to be in Shrevepart when Buddy gave Louie the call 7. Buddy won two 10 ahead sets in about 20 hours and Louie looked as if he had just gone 15 rounds with Mike Tyson. Louie didn't leave S-poart for about 2 months.
It was one of the most incredible things I ever saw.
King James is my favorite/all around and nobody could thin balls on the short rail and go up and down table 3-4 rails for shape like him. He's also one of the very few that has been married to the same woman all these years, he truly is relentless and a great tournament player, too bad he never won the US Open.Matt_24 said:
Sigel and Hall both played in the SF Open in 1980 (the only year it was held). Hall finished second in that tournament to James Christopher, a player from Texas, and I hope I remember his name right.cuetechasaurus said:
Sigel did not play well at all in that tournament, and he surely lost to Buddy if they played. Sigel did match up with Keith McCready at nine ball with each shooting opposite-handed. I remember that both of them played better in that match than they did normal-handed in the tournament.
Buddy was very impressive, especially in the very simple way he would find to run racks. His accuracy on kicks was amazing -- it seemed he would usually pocket the ball he kicked at, especially if it was a simple one side rail to a side pocket shot.
True. In a finals at Terry Stonier's in Sacramento, the finals between Sigel and Louie Roberts had a total one missed ball on a fairly tight table. It happened to be Sigel who missed the ball. The match went hill-hill and Roberts broke the final nine in, for an 11-10 win.Matt_24 said:
If I remember, I'll pull out some of the Accu-Stats newsletters which kept stats on all major tournaments for about 3 years in the 1980's, and see what the stats summary says.
Damn, I wish they would reprint that book. No way I'd spend the money it gets on ebay, but I would spend more than the normal price of a paperback if it were reprinted.Matt_24 said:
cuetechasaurus said:
I know about a time when a stranger walked into a hall in Greensboro N.C. looking for some action. Sigel was there so of course the game was on. Just in a short time period sigel came back and asked his backer for some more money. Well to make a long story short the guy was Nick Varner. Nick
torchered Sigel.
i have a match from a memphis tour. semi and i believe they are both in their prime more or less. buddy plays like 10 times better 9ball than mike. somehow it goes hill-hill and yet sigel wins. that was my comment on 9ball in general i guess.
i think in his prime sigel beats anybody, and i mean that.
i think in his prime sigel beats anybody, and i mean that.
Hall vs. Sigel
Head to head in tournament play, it was close. Gambling for big money and Mike wanted no part of Buddy. PERIOD!
Yes, Mike was a great tournament player, but believe it or not, Buddy has won more tournaments than anyone by far. Well over 200 total wins. Of course, he played more tournaments than Mike, criss-crossing the country for months on end. No one knows the highway system of America better than B. Hall.
Buddy is and was a rare player who could play tournaments and bet it up too.
Nick was like that too, although he picked his spots more carefully. Buddy was more like a young Lassiter, in that he would go looking for strong players to bust. Buddy was definitely the dominant 9-Ball money player in this country in his prime.
Head to head in tournament play, it was close. Gambling for big money and Mike wanted no part of Buddy. PERIOD!
Yes, Mike was a great tournament player, but believe it or not, Buddy has won more tournaments than anyone by far. Well over 200 total wins. Of course, he played more tournaments than Mike, criss-crossing the country for months on end. No one knows the highway system of America better than B. Hall.
Buddy is and was a rare player who could play tournaments and bet it up too.
Nick was like that too, although he picked his spots more carefully. Buddy was more like a young Lassiter, in that he would go looking for strong players to bust. Buddy was definitely the dominant 9-Ball money player in this country in his prime.
Tommy-D said:
Straight pool yeah, but bank pool and one pocket ?........I don't think so.
Bensingers Billiard Academy
Here is something to think about. As great as those two were, and they were great, and as many times as they were in Chicago, and they were here many times, neither guy ever stepped foot in Bensingers!
the Beard
Here is something to think about. As great as those two were, and they were great, and as many times as they were in Chicago, and they were here many times, neither guy ever stepped foot in Bensingers!
the Beard
freddy the beard said:
Did either of them ever play in DODGE city?
RJ
freddy the beard said:
Freddie,
Sigel was with Hubbart and Larry handled him real well. And what is Buddy gonna do playing One Hole with Bugs and Artie, beside go off. He was no dummy either.