Buddy Hall

a story i heard was
a guy is sitting next to buddy watching someone play
the guy playing is running racks and the guy sitting next to buddy asks buddy
"do you think you can beat him?"
buddy says "sure"
guy asks "how do you know that?"
buddy says
"he plays position to 2 feet from the object ball
i play position to 1 foot from the object ball !!!!!"
;)
 
Funny story Buddy was being interviewed once I forget now how long ago it was but at one point the interviewer asked him what was the most unusual thing that you ever saw happen in a pool room? Buddy's answer was "well there was this one time down in Arkansas (or somewhere down there) where this player who had never won a tournament was playing finals and he was on his final dead in shot to win his first. Right at the moment he was getting ready to shoot it in the lights went out for about 5 seconds and then came back on. Once the lights came back on the player got ready to shoot the last ball in for the match when upon shooting he wildly missed the shot all together. What had happened was that during that 5 seconds of blackout a huge bug (and they are huge down there especially during hot summer nights) flew and landed underneath his cue ball and caused him to miss the shot altogether." Buddy said that was the strangest thing he ever saw happen in a pool room. What are odds of something like that happening?
 
I saw him at Grady's show in Gulfport twenty years ago. He was using one of those old folks scooters to get around. Was this a temporary thing or was it just downhill from there?
 
No offense intended. Sad thing is that if we keep going, we all may end up using one. Barring an injury, sixty is too young to be on one.
Was playing poker in Las Vegas at a locals type room. One old guy at my table had his scooter parked by the desk. A younger guy, maybe ‘50’s, hijacked the scooter and was riding around the room. Proclaimed he was practicing getting old. 😛
 
Funny story Buddy was being interviewed once I forget now how long ago it was but at one point the interviewer asked him what was the most unusual thing that you ever saw happen in a pool room? Buddy's answer was "well there was this one time down in Arkansas (or somewhere down there) where this player who had never won a tournament was playing finals and he was on his final dead in shot to win his first. Right at the moment he was getting ready to shoot it in the lights went out for about 5 seconds and then came back on. Once the lights came back on the player got ready to shoot the last ball in for the match when upon shooting he wildly missed the shot all together. What had happened was that during that 5 seconds of blackout a huge bug (and they are huge down there especially during hot summer nights) flew and landed underneath his cue ball and caused him to miss the shot altogether." Buddy said that was the strangest thing he ever saw happen in a pool room. What are odds of something like that happening?
It takes a long time to train a bug to be able to do that.
 
we all get old and feeble at some point. that's life. but we can if taking care of ourselves can extend that point many years in the future. unless some bad break gets you.

pool players, especially in the past are notorious about drugs, smoking and weight. not many of those lasted past early old age.
no reason not to be healthy and active well into your 80's and longer.

hope things go well for him the rest of his days. he deserves the best for his accomplishments.
 
Years gone by....
 

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I don't know if he was the best 9 ball player ever,
but everybody that ever tried to disproof it lost.
Buddy played a methodical, surgical game of 9b. Once he got it going players knew they might be in their chair a while. Buddy put a BUNCH of them in the 'electric chair' with nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs as Buddy put rack after perfect rack together.
 
All -

I lived in Paducah for a few years and got to see Buddy play almost daily in a full rack bank ring game. There were some great bank players but they limited Buddy to only 2 banks per turn. He was a incredible bank player.

As most mentioned, Buddy's greatest skill was position play with the cueball.

When I played, he would watch and give me pointers after I had finished. He once set up a shot and told me, "I want you to make this ball in the corner pocket and when you're done you need to have the cueball parked right here!" I told him, "If I could do that I wouldnt need your help!"

Ken
 
I watched almost every ball he shot in the 1998 US Open Nine Ball Tournament, I never saw anybody play any better. He moved around the table like Baryshnikov.
Accu-Stats just released this on YouTube. I can’t imagine one playing any better.....
 
Accu-Stats just released this on YouTube. I can’t imagine one playing any better.....

great commentary by Varner and Daveport as well.

I'm happy there is some high quality video of Hall playing near peak form. He was so solid at the table- great stance and very little unnecessary body movement.

What happened to Tang Hoa after this tournament? Haven't heard much about him in recent decades.
 
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