Dasherslim
New member
Thank you I have not watched it yet. It's on my watchlist
Buddy Hall
- Thread starter DrCue'sProtege
- Start date
Dasherslim
New member
Yes I talked to Chris and it was January 2024 when he did this interview. When he first told me about it he sounded like he had just gotten back from it.
Dasherslim
New member
It's been a year since he suffered that fall no telling him what kind of shape he is in now. Probably still in the nursing home but he went there to start with for Rehab
I got ya. Thanks for clarifying. I watched that interview a while back.
Buddy did a nice job of dodging the question regarding the 1991 Mike Lebron finals match. He tried so hard to hand that match to Lebron numerous times before badly missing that final combo. For such a great champion and so well respected by everyone to be put in that position was very sad to watch.
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They had the exact same Challenges of Champions for a few years after and still booked the matches so anyone that thinks that is incorrect.
The thing that killed it was lack of interest…same as today.
Well.. I think simply calling it "lack of interest" is a bit vague.
Pool is a game that requires a steady influx of younger players, in order to replenish the players aging out/dying. Just like pretty much any other competitive sport/game. Look at the demographics of this site, or just look at any matches at DCC/U.S. Open. The crowd is full of old white guys. Very few young men. This looks very different when you watch streams of European/Asian tournaments.
What actually happened was in the mid-90s or so, was home video game consoles had been going strong for a number of years at that time, but it was in the mid to late 90s that the infrastructure began to be put in place to allow for competition amongst video game players.
Now.. At this point... Pool has real competition for the attention of teenage boys. (Because teenage boys are the life blood of pretty much every competitive sport or game, as this is the age they are biologically driven to "prove themselves", and seek to dominate territory. This is the biological drive that fuels participation in all sports/games. If you can hook a 14-16 year old boy on a game/sport, and make it super simple for them to compete and improve in that game/sport.. You have a participant for life. It is NOT simple for such a young man to do so in America.
Pool simply came up against a competitive pursuit that was much cheaper to "git gud" at... Access to a pool hall/transportation to the pool hall not required. Parents don't need an income large enough to afford a home large enough for a pool table. All that is required is either a gaming computer and desk.. Or a PlayStation/XBox. Those talented teen boys with phenomenal natural hand/eye coordination, have a pursuit that they can make money at from their bedroom. Or with limited travelling.
So.. Let's be precise with our language. We have no hope to fix something, if we don't rigidly, accurately define the problem. If somehow... Video game consoles and computer were not a thing "just yet"... Then pool very well might be really popular with the young teen demographic "in America". But as it is.. We are fans of a game that is simply not doing what it needs to do to be competitive in the current environment. There's nothing "wrong" with the game itself that would cause a lack of interest. It is simply a lack of "access". Pool in America is built around bars and pool halls, which it is becoming every harder to run profitably, due to rising commercial rental prices. (Most of this is due to the big investment firms buying up real estate of all flavors, and driving up lease costs...) Business zoning laws across America make it VERY difficult to replicate the European billiard club setup, outside of very rural areas. Even so.. We should be TRYING to get them up and running in such areas where it makes economic sense.. And to figure out a league system that actively promotes progression, the way it works in Europe.
Contrast this to Germany, and other parts of Europe. There are private clubs all over the place, often quite close to the housing areas, which charge $40 or so a month, for all the pool you can play, often even coming with a KEY to the club, so you can literally play and practice WHENEVER you want. And pool is still popular, and Europe generates champions like it's a simple thing.
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Strong post.
Buddy will be 80 on his next birthday in May. When I first saw the photo on the YouTube link, I thought, hey, that's my photo, and I was right. I forgot that when I created Buddy Hall's Wikipedia page, I cut Keith off and used that photo. It is, of course, for public domain and free to use by anybody. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Hall
Here's a photo taken the same day when I met Buddy and Sherry for the first time. They were so gracious, allowing me to snap their picture in the halls of the Chesapeake Conference Center at the 2002 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in Chesapeake, Virginia.. That is Sherry, Buddy's wife, who passed in 2014. They had three children: Paul, Jacqueline, and Nathaniel.
Buddy and Sherry were the first two pool peeps I got to meet and know when Keith and I first met. Sherry and I would sit on the rail and giggle and laugh. Back then, Sherry and I both smoked cigarettes, and we'd hang outside yacking and laughing. We had fun. Sherry did quit smoking cigarettes in 2004, she told me. She shared some things about pool life in general, which I will never forget. Buddy loved her dearly, and you can see how important family was to both fo them.
Buddy was my rock when Keith was being Keith at more tournaments than I can remember. I will never forget the match when Keith was playing Alex Pagulayan at the U.S. Open. He was getting ready to sink the winning 9-ball in the pocket, a shot I could make, easy peasy. The entire audience was watching them because of the loud banter back and forth between Alex and Keith. Efren and Bustie were on the live stream table and had to stop shooting because of the ruckus. Efren was laughing, grinning from ear to ear watching Keith and Alex. I was sitting next to Buddy Hall at the front row of Keith's table. Right at the moment before Keith pulled the trigger for the win, he yelled out loudly, "And you can put this on the Internet." And he missed. He missed. He missed. Sally Timko of InsidePOOL was also in the stands and said, "We will." Every single person in the joint laughed and cheered. Mika and Marcus were sitting across the venue up in the bleacher seats, and they were laughing so hard, Marcus fell on the floor laughing. The only person who wasn't laughing was me. I said to Buddy, "What am I going to do?" He wisely said, "There's nothning you can do. You just gotta hope he gets another shot." And he did, and he won.
Here's the match:
I gotta lot of Buddy Hall stories, the short time I have known him. I have many, many more that Keith shared with me of their pool journey in life.
Some people go an entire lifetime never sharing their heart with another, but Buddy and Sherry were fortunate to discover true love at a young age, and it grew and blossomed into a beautiful marriage.
Keith did talk to Buddy the other day. The two have remained good friends for life throughout the years.
Here's a photo taken the same day when I met Buddy and Sherry for the first time. They were so gracious, allowing me to snap their picture in the halls of the Chesapeake Conference Center at the 2002 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in Chesapeake, Virginia.. That is Sherry, Buddy's wife, who passed in 2014. They had three children: Paul, Jacqueline, and Nathaniel.
Buddy and Sherry were the first two pool peeps I got to meet and know when Keith and I first met. Sherry and I would sit on the rail and giggle and laugh. Back then, Sherry and I both smoked cigarettes, and we'd hang outside yacking and laughing. We had fun. Sherry did quit smoking cigarettes in 2004, she told me. She shared some things about pool life in general, which I will never forget. Buddy loved her dearly, and you can see how important family was to both fo them.
Buddy was my rock when Keith was being Keith at more tournaments than I can remember. I will never forget the match when Keith was playing Alex Pagulayan at the U.S. Open. He was getting ready to sink the winning 9-ball in the pocket, a shot I could make, easy peasy. The entire audience was watching them because of the loud banter back and forth between Alex and Keith. Efren and Bustie were on the live stream table and had to stop shooting because of the ruckus. Efren was laughing, grinning from ear to ear watching Keith and Alex. I was sitting next to Buddy Hall at the front row of Keith's table. Right at the moment before Keith pulled the trigger for the win, he yelled out loudly, "And you can put this on the Internet." And he missed. He missed. He missed. Sally Timko of InsidePOOL was also in the stands and said, "We will." Every single person in the joint laughed and cheered. Mika and Marcus were sitting across the venue up in the bleacher seats, and they were laughing so hard, Marcus fell on the floor laughing. The only person who wasn't laughing was me. I said to Buddy, "What am I going to do?" He wisely said, "There's nothning you can do. You just gotta hope he gets another shot." And he did, and he won.
Here's the match:
I gotta lot of Buddy Hall stories, the short time I have known him. I have many, many more that Keith shared with me of their pool journey in life.
Some people go an entire lifetime never sharing their heart with another, but Buddy and Sherry were fortunate to discover true love at a young age, and it grew and blossomed into a beautiful marriage.
Keith did talk to Buddy the other day. The two have remained good friends for life throughout the years.
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Rusty in Montana
Well-known member
Thank you Jam , for sharing this great story with us I really enjoyed it a great deal !
They had the exact same Challenges of Champions for a few years after and still booked the matches so anyone that thinks that is incorrect.
The thing that killed it was lack of interest…same as today.
I don’t think “lack of interest” is too vague.
Just like Matchroom is trying to do today……The casinos took a shot with Challenge of Champions, WPBA and numerous other events they sponsored like trick shot and exhibition matches.
They spent money hoping to either, get people to show up and bet, get people to show up and watch while staying at their hotels and gambling, maybe get it televised and earn big income from networks.
None of those things happened so you make a decision…how long do you throw good money after bad?
Lack of interest is what has killed off pool tournaments and tours and special events.
Add: Why would Buddy, Mike and the others keep answering stupid garbage about it? It gets old. Mike won.
I hit some ball with Tang and a few other buddies a few times a year. Tang is doing well. He's in great shape. Seems to be working out, playing cards, and traveling a decent amount. Nicest guy you could hope to meet.
I've only ever heard the stories but wanted to see what guys like you who may have seen it can confirm if true or not. Is it true that the top Filipinos completely dodged him in money matches? I remember in an AccuStats tape Grady and Danny talking about Bustamante playing high stakes matches and that when Buddy came around and challenged him, that Bustamante's backers said no thanks.
yes no one wanted to play him. also most times it was to be on his home court. but most top players do not play each other for big money. that would be stupid. you play others you know you are better than or give a spot that still enables you to win.
the pino's are much smarter when making games than most of the americans. ego isnt entered into their choices.
the pino's are much smarter when making games than most of the americans. ego isnt entered into their choices.
Buddy is one of the most perfect 9 ball players, ever. He said that he wanted to be the best in the world, and he became the best int he world. What a legend! To say that at a point in time you were the best in the world at something, wow, what an accomplishment. And he was considered one of the best, if not THE best, for decades - by a great many.
No doubt.A true 9-ball legend.
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its between him and Earl.Firepower from another realm.
Not if we keep working out..