Can pro players be better than they are now?

[Mr. Bond]

The wolves of yesteryear in my opinion would eat the players today alive....very few wouldn't get eaten.....be death and blood and tears everywhere. Guaranteed players today are softer today....just because of today.

players of the past scored thousands of points without a miss...in the not that distant past players in 14.1 have ran 526 and there have been mulitple rumored runs well in excess of that 526, even 600 and over 700 balls....i doubt anyone has that quantity of concentration anymore except maybe say, gary kasparov.

Luther, Willie, Jimmy, Ralph...the whole gang at Johnston City....not a single one would have a problem running racks of 9 all damn day. If Willie could spit out 100 balls runs (on 10ft tables) like he's falling out of bed, I'm quite sure he could put 9 together, as many times in a row as he pleased. No pocket player alive today would scare Mosconi in 1940.

No billiard player on earth, now or ever, at any game, would have scared Jacob Schaefer or Alfredo DeOro.

To go back to John's original question, I do believe that a professional training institution would go a long way toward garnering respect for professional players, as well as " setting the bar" for what exactly constitutes a " pro" vs an amateur.

 

[greyghost]

Luther, Willie, Jimmy, Ralph...the whole gang at Johnston City....not a single one would have a problem running racks of 9 all damn day. If Willie could spit out 100 balls runs (on 10ft tables) like he's falling out of bed, I'm quite sure he could put 9 together, as many times in a row as he pleased. No pocket player alive today would scare Mosconi in 1940.

No billiard player on earth, now or ever, at any game, would have scared Jacob Schaefer or Alfredo DeOro.

To go back to John's original question, I do believe that a professional training institution would go a long way toward garnering respect for professional players, as well as " setting the bar" for what exactly constitutes a " pro" vs an amateur.

i concur mr bond....smoking crab is in agreement as well

 

[nick serdula]

Players are not anywhere as strong as they were.

First of all the cloth. You will never see the same level play as you do on fast cloth if backed cloth was used today. It would kill most upper level players game. The follow and put game does not cut it on the old cloth. It grabs. It twists. It forces a skill level that isn't necessary today.
Even a simple thing like the way you have to stand at the table to follow the ball around the table is no longer a problem. Busting ferules because the speed required is no longer a factor.
And even with all that there was 1200 and 1400 ball runs.
Yup pool has devolved into a put and follow game.
None of this applies the Asian players. They play heavy and are used to mud not glass.
I can remember having to hit the cue ball so hard into a side rail that it would leave the cloth to be able to smash the pack with authority.
Now just fire it in the side. That shot is death on slow cloth.
Not even the same game.
No where near the same level skill required.
No hard shots.
Nick

 

[one stroke]

The answer to the question is yes most certainly the pro's can be better ,, and this rediculas notion that you have to gamble to bring out the best is laughable
None of any of the major sports have gambling in them yet the level of play is better in all of them
Champions of any era would be champions of any era because the thing that's never changed is the heart of a champion ,, if the top pool players of today played back then they would have learned to play on those tables and vise versa

Take Golf and Jack ,, people say Tigers better because the field is so much more talented ,,
You don't think Jack would be a champion in today's game , of course was Tiger a better player across the board ya he was would Jack have been just as good had he played with equipment as Tiger , of course he would could tiger have played at the same level of Jack with balata balls and persimmon woods of course he would
What makes players great simply has never changed thier great because they had the natural ability and the desire to be the best
That formula will never change ,forget this notion that anyone practices 10k hours will automaticly be a world champion , unless Wu was hitting balls in diapers he certainly never had 10k in when he won his world championship at 16
Anyone want to say anyone past or present played his level at that age ,stop the nonsense that dog don't hunt

1

 

[Mr. Bond]

i concur mr bond....smoking crab is in agreement as well

mmmmmm smoked crab sounds good right about now.


I was thinking, more about the differences between players of yesteryear and today, and something else profound stuck out in my mind.....

"Back in the day" many future world beaters were picking up their skills and jumping into the action scene, and winning, at a very early age.

Does anyone alive today have a world title that they earned younger than 21 yrs old?
(honest question not sarcasm)

Point being, it is undisputable that youth is the best time to learn. We should do like China and introduced professional billiards to our middle school kids, in a educational setting first, so they learn fundamentals and respect instead of hustle and jive.

 

[greyghost]

mmmmmm smoked crab sounds good right about now. bring your arse down here brother, we shalt maketh the crab jump into the boat


I was thinking, more about the differences between players of yesteryear and today, and something else profound stuck out in my mind.....

"Back in the day" many future world beaters were picking up their skills and jumping into the action scene, and winning, at a very early age.agreed, but access was more readily available

Does anyone alive today have a world title that they earned younger than 21 yrs old?wu is the only one i believe
(honest question not sarcasm)

Point being, it is undisputable that youth is the best time to learn. We should do like China and introduced professional billiards to our middle school kids, in a educational setting first, so they learn fundamentals and respect instead of hustle and jive.

nice dream.....i got a batch of 10-12grade at L.S.M.S.A. eventually i'd like to get a program here in lafayette that i can be closer to.

 

[FAST_N_LOOSE]

The problem with pool is not the gambling per se. It is that the gambling created a culture where hustling, which is in its essence DISHONEST gambling, i.e., stealing, became the standard.

Mosconi gambled.

Fats lied and stole. At least on those (rare according to Danny McGoorty) occasions when he was actually playing and winning rather than flapping his gums about playing and winning.

And world of pool reveres Mosconi's skill but follows the lead of Fats' culture.

It is sad that such a beautiful game has been so ill-served by its own culture.

This is one of the best posts, that I have ever read on here.

 

[James2003]

Can Pro players be better thanthey are now?

Of course they can. Do they miss? Yep
Do they win every match or tournament they paly? NO

Therefore they can be better.