Danny Medina's fight is over

Cuebuddy

Mini cues
Silver Member
Ironman thanks for keeping us updated. And thanks to all who told stories or called Danny or went to see him.
Rest In Piece Danny.
 

ironman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Danny's funeral will be held Sunday night, Jan 27, in Brighton Colo.
A very special thank you goes to Melissa Little, Mark Hadad, Dan Gladden, Felts Billiards and many others. Thank you all so very much.
I am so grateful he no longer is in pain and suffering, but, the thought of this world without him feels dark and cold.
he can now join Grady and Al and I would bet the stories are running wild.
 

Tall-Bob

Registered
Just want to share:

I moved to Denver in 1983 and was just learning to play. I went to a tournament at Sheridan Billiards and saw a young Danny Medina literally mow down the entire field. All eyes in the room were on him every shot and mine were big as basketballs.

Like so many in Denver, we got to watch Danny play many dozens of times over the years. Table #1 at Tennyson Billiards was setup especially "tricky". Super tight pockets, super fast cloth and super bouncy rubber. There might be two sets of tied up balls and you couldn't imagine how anyone could run out. Well, Danny would slice balls 90 degrees down the long rail in the center of the pockets, playing 4-rail position to nudge balls apart and somehow find a way to run the table. Remember this was before Texas Express and you had to make shots to get a chance at the rack.

Danny had a reputation for hitting every single shot center-pocket and the rapid fire whap-whap-whap of the ball hitting the back of the pocket would hypnotize his opponents!
Danny's sledgehammer colossus of a break and lightning fast play was always a joy to see. Danny, you were an inspiration to so many, you will be missed. RIP

Bob
 
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ironman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just want to share:

I moved to Denver in 1983 and was just learning to play. I went to a tournament at Sheridan Billiards and saw a young Danny Medina literally mow down the entire field. All eyes in the room were on him every shot and mine were big as basketballs.

Like so many in Denver, we got to watch Danny play many dozens of times over the years. Table #1 at Tennyson Billiards was setup especially "tricky". Super tight pockets, super fast cloth and super bouncy rubber. There might be two sets of tied up balls and you couldn't imagine how anyone could run out. Well, Danny would slice balls 90 degrees down the long rail in the center of the pockets, playing 4-rail position to nudge balls apart and somehow find a way to run the table. Remember this was before Texas Express and you had to make shots to get a chance at the rack.

Danny had a reputation for hitting every single shot center-pocket and the rapid fire whap-whap-whap of the ball hitting the back of the pocket would hypnotize his opponents!
Danny's sledgehammer colossus of a break and lightning fast play was always a joy to see. Danny, you were an inspiration to so many, you will be missed. RIP

Bob

I don't think anyone ever beat him on that table. Not heads up, even anyway.
Louie Roberts tried and for two days. Then stopped, unscrewed and left without saying a word to anyone.
 

catpool9

"Rack Um"/ Rusty Lock
Silver Member
I have dreaded the call I got last night for some time. Danny Medina died Thursday evening at 11:38 in Denver Colorado.
Danny and I met way back in 1971 at the old Civic Center Billiards in Denver. We were both 19 years old.
He was a young and cocky guy but ponce one got past that, he was really easy to talk to and easy to get along with.
In one of our latest conversations he was struggling with some decisions he had made just like the majority of us. He feared he had wasted life by being a pool player. he lived what he loved. hre ate, slept, and breathed Pool. he head natural talent and should be remembered as on of the best shot makers ever in the game.
He was , once some got to know him better, really not so arrogant and cocky. he had vulnerabilities just as we all did and I always felt it made him even more likable and intriguing.
When he learned he had Cancer he fought valiantly and hung on when many would have thrown the towel. A calmness came across him and he faced it head on.
When I was in Denver back in August, we spent about 4 days together and never talked about the illness and pain. I was surprised he remembered some conversations we had driving across this country. he laughed at some of the dumb assed things we did ad some scrapes we narrowly escaped.
i love Danny Medina and wish I could hear that "He He" just one more time, but in one way I am relieved his pain is over and he is finally in good hands.
God Bless you Brother.
R.I.P Danny Medina September 1951 January 2013
CHAMPION!!!!!



Lewis,
I'm sorry to hear of Danny's passing, I just now read this , I haven't been checking in on AZB that much lately and have been kinda out of the loop.

Danny sure was a great Champion, he and Calvin had many wars playing 9-Ball with the big cue ball, I'm just glad I got to watch him play when he and Calvin were in their prime and both played lights out.

R.I.P. Danny Medina........A True Champion!


David Harcrow
 

ironman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Lewis,
I'm sorry to hear of Danny's passing, I just now read this , I haven't been checking in on AZB that much lately and have been kinda out of the loop.

Danny sure was a great Champion, he and Calvin had many wars playing 9-Ball with the big cue ball, I'm just glad I got to watch him play when he and Calvin were in their prime and both played lights out.

R.I.P. Danny Medina........A True Champion!


David Harcrow

i was with him when he once played Calvin in Odessa Tx. I think it was at Woody's where Billy Weir played many years ago.
Danny and Calvin had been playing for like 14 hours and Danny went to the rest room. Calvin dropped to the floor and started doing push ups. i9 thought it was the most outrageous thing I had seen.
Danny walked out of the rest room and saw Calvin and said,"What the hell is that dude doing"!
"Oh he is just getting loose" I said.
"Any looser and I would fall apart" He said back.
most of the stories from those days, few would even believe now. It was a different time altogether.

Another time, Danny and I were in Lincoln nebraska at the old Madsens tournament.
i woke up about 5 am and Danny was pacing back and forth in the room. I asked what was wrong and he said he was playing so good now that he was afraid to sleep. he was afraid he would wake up and it would all be gone.
i said i was going back and sleep and try to find it. he said, yeah, you better get some sleep!
 

9BallPaul

Banned
RIP Danny

As a Denver guy, I too got to watch Danny grow into a champion. We talked last summer at a benefit. He'd been through a rough patch (details well known) but was optimistic about his future. Watched him hit a few balls and he remained, as always, a center-pocket shooter.

The sledgehammer break had abandoned him, or he it, but her remained a top-gear player to the end. Denver's loss, for sure. With Andy dead, and now Danny, you always wonder when the next shoe will drop.
 

genomachino

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Met Danny when I was on the road back in the early 80's

I was on the road and through a strange chain of events I ended up without my car in Denver. Dave Gomez found me a place to stay and steered me around for about 4 or 5 months. Went home pumped up pretty good.

And during this time I met Danny Medina. He was a sight to behold.

I watched him beat player after player. He would give them spots but it didn't seem to matter. He would get rolling and just fire the shots in. The balls looked like they had a magnet that just sucked them to the pocket.

I got to see a side of Danny that many people never saw. He wanted to play me in the worst of ways. I wanted nothing to do with him. At that time in my life it would have been pool player suicide.

If I played Danny and somehow played the best pool of my life at that time and he played his worst and I won there would certainly be no more action for me anywhere near Denver or Colorado for sure. I might as well put my cue away and head back to Wisconsin.

And losing wouldn't be very good either because that is what probably would have happened for sure anyway.

But everytime we crossed paths during this time Danny would come up to me and say : Hey Man. Why don't you and me play some? My answer to Danny was, you play too good Danny. Just trying to play you would ruin any action I could get. I never admitted to him that I thought I couldn't win. This kind of ate at him a little I could tell. And it's maybe why he kept asking. Kind of cat and mouse.

It got so when Danny would come up to me and ask again it was almost like a comedy skit. We got to know each other and this was our main means of communication. Him asking me to play and me turning him down.
He got pretty inventive with the words to ask me. and I just kept coming up with new words to turn him down. Sometimes I would just sit and think about what I was going to say next time he asked me to play. It was kind of fun.

One time I told him you got to be kidding. i saw what you did to so and so last week. As he was turning I could see a smile come across his face.

One day just before I left Denver I got to really talk to Danny. This was different because I was usually talking to Danny Medina the pool player trying to get a game and he could get pretty aggressive. He knew i was leaving so we just talked about things in general but mostly about pool and some pool stories. it was a side of danny that i had never seen before.

As we talked he started to smile a little. Through our little ritual of play me, and I don't think so, we had became friends. Not the kind that would go to the bar and have a few drinks together but the kind that if either one of us needed some help the other would be right there.

I met Danny 7 years later at a tourny in Rochester Mn. We talked again just like old friends. It was really cool.

Then I never saw Danny in person until I was in Denver teaching in the summer of 2009. He was playing in a weekly tourny they were having. He didn't play like he used to but he had that same bounce in his stroke. He still looked dangerous as all get out. We were both much older but we still recognized each other. Old friends met again.

But I did notice one thing. He was trying to help anyone he could with their game. He had become a teacher. Passing on his great knowledge to whomever he could. You could see his eyes light up when he would explain something to someone.

Danny was one of the great players of all time. I was proud to know him.

And when I was in Denver for those few short months back in the late 79's, early 80's, I know there was no one in the world that wanted to mess with that man on any pool table. Sometimes his stroke was like lightning, and his break sounded like a cannon.

Danny You were one of the Greatest ever of our time.

Rest in peace my friend.
 
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ironman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was on the road and through a strange chain of events I ended up without my car in Denver. Dave Gomez found me a place to stay and steered me around for about 4 or 5 months. Went home pumped up pretty good.

And during this time I met Danny Medina. He was a sight to behold.

I watched him beat player after player. He would give them spots but it didn't seem to matter. He would get rolling and just fire the shots in. The balls looked like they had a magnet that just sucked them to the pocket.

I got to see a side of Danny that many people never saw. He wanted to play me in the worst of ways. I wanted nothing to do with him. At that time in my life it would have been pool player suicide.

If I played Danny and somehow played the best pool of my life at that time and he played his worst and I won there would certainly be no more action for me anywhere near Denver or Colorado for sure. I might as well put my cue away and head back to Wisconsin.

And losing wouldn't be very good either because that is what probably would have happened for sure anyway.

But everytime we crossed paths during this time Danny would come up to me and say : Hey Man. Why don't you and me play some? My answer to Danny was, you play too good Danny. Just trying to play you would ruin any action I could get. I never admitted to him that I thought I couldn't win. This kind of ate at him a little I could tell. And it's maybe why he kept asking. Kind of cat and mouse.

It got so when Danny would come up to me and ask again it was almost like a comedy skit. We got to know each other and this was our main means of communication. Him asking me to play and me turning him down.
He got pretty inventive with the words to ask me. and I just kept coming up with new words to turn him down. Sometimes I would just sit and think about what I was going to say next time he asked me to play. It was kind of fun.

One time I told him you got to be kidding. i saw what you did to so and so last week. As he was turning I could see a smile come across his face.

One day just before I left Denver I got to really talk to Danny. This was different because I was usually talking to Danny Medina the pool player trying to get a game and he could get pretty aggressive. He knew i was leaving so we just talked about things in general but mostly about pool and some pool stories. it was a side of danny that i had never seen before.

As we talked he started to smile a little. Through our little ritual of play me, and I don't think so, we had became friends. Not the kind that would go to the bar and have a few drinks together but the kind that if either one of us needed some help the other would be right there.

I met Danny 7 years later at a tourny in Rochester Mn. We talked again just like old friends. It was really cool.

Then I never saw Danny in person until I was in Denver teaching in the summer of 2009. He was playing in a weekly tourny they were having. He didn't play like he used to but he had that same bounce in his stroke. He still looked dangerous as all get out. We were both much older but we still recognized each other. Old friends met again.

But I did notice one thing. He was trying to help anyone he could with their game. He had become a teacher. Passing on his great knowledge to whomever he could. You could see his eyes light up when he would explain something to someone.

Danny was one of the great players of all time. I was proud to know him.

And when I was in Denver for those few short months back in the late 79's, early 80's, I know there was no one in the world that wanted to mess with that man on any pool table. Sometimes his stroke was like lightning, and his break sounded like a cannon.

Danny You were one of the Greatest ever of our time.

Rest in peace my friend.

yep, I remember you being in Denver in about 82. You showed up right after the Olathe tournament. But hey, that was only 30 short years ago.
 

catpool9

"Rack Um"/ Rusty Lock
Silver Member
i was with him when he once played Calvin in Odessa Tx. I think it was at Woody's where Billy Weir played many years ago.
Danny and Calvin had been playing for like 14 hours and Danny went to the rest room. Calvin dropped to the floor and started doing push ups. i9 thought it was the most outrageous thing I had seen.
Danny walked out of the rest room and saw Calvin and said,"What the hell is that dude doing"!
"Oh he is just getting loose" I said.
"Any looser and I would fall apart" He said back.
most of the stories from those days, few would even believe now. It was a different time altogether.

Another time, Danny and I were in Lincoln nebraska at the old Madsens tournament.
i woke up about 5 am and Danny was pacing back and forth in the room. I asked what was wrong and he said he was playing so good now that he was afraid to sleep. he was afraid he would wake up and it would all be gone.
i said i was going back and sleep and try to find it. he said, yeah, you better get some sleep!



Yes I remember the bar Woody's in Odessa,TX., ( Billy Weir bought that place, not sure if he still has it) my family and I went out there in 1975 to visit Calvin, Calvin was going to college and part owner of the poolhall called the Ace Ball with Earl Moorse.

I played in Woody's all night, I was only 16 and held the 8-Ball table all night, later that night after closing I went out to Calvin's place and watched Calvin play Jimmy Speer's (Flyboy) 9-Ball untill my family came to pick me up and head back to Arkansas about 5:30 in the morning.

About 1980 Calvin, Jerald Jackson (TopWater) and me went to Odessa and stopped in at the Ace Ball, it was then own by Vernon Cole, we had just days before been in Caney City, Tx. for 6 months and the Texas Rangers raided the place and said 3 got away, that was us, nearly 40 players were busted for gambling and some had drugs, ( mostly just pills,uppers).

Anyway Danny Medina was in the Ace Ball and Calvin and him matched up, that was my first time to watch Danny play, Calvin won the first night and then Danny hit a gear and won nearly all we had the second night, man he sure could run the table with ease, all his shots were in line every time, he never said a word except you wanna raise the bet!......lol ,,,,,I remember that Danny was dressed real sharp too, I couldn't believe that a guy dressed so nice could play pool so damn good!

Yes Calvin often did push up's during a match and played bare footed too, guess that's how he got the nic name County Calvin....

Calvin sends his condolences to Danny's family & friends........


David Harcrow
 

ironman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yes I remember the bar Woody's in Odessa,TX., ( Billy Weir bought that place, not sure if he still has it) my family and I went out there in 1975 to visit Calvin, Calvin was going to college and part owner of the poolhall called the Ace Ball with Earl Moorse.

I played in Woody's all night, I was only 16 and held the 8-Ball table all night, later that night after closing I went out to Calvin's place and watched Calvin play Jimmy Speer's (Flyboy) 9-Ball untill my family came to pick me up and head back to Arkansas about 5:30 in the morning.

About 1980 Calvin, Jerald Jackson (TopWater) and me went to Odessa and stopped in at the Ace Ball, it was then own by Vernon Cole, we had just days before been in Caney City, Tx. for 6 months and the Texas Rangers raided the place and said 3 got away, that was us, nearly 40 players were busted for gambling and some had drugs, ( mostly just pills,uppers).

Anyway Danny Medina was in the Ace Ball and Calvin and him matched up, that was my first time to watch Danny play, Calvin won the first night and then Danny hit a gear and won nearly all we had the second night, man he sure could run the table with ease, all his shots were in line every time, he never said a word except you wanna raise the bet!......lol ,,,,,I remember that Danny was dressed real sharp too, I couldn't believe that a guy dressed so nice could play pool so damn good!

Yes Calvin often did push up's during a match and played bare footed too, guess that's how he got the nic name County Calvin....

Calvin sends his condolences to Danny's family & friends........


David Harcrow

Thanks David, it means a lot and would mean a lot to Danny too.
So many have been so kind and that would mean the world to Danny.
it means the world to me as well.
Death for me is very hard to deal with and most say it comes a time to turn the page. I am sure they are wise and very right, but, in this case i just don''t want to.
i transfered to Texas from Colorado and soon afterwards went through a nasty divorce. I was pretty down and felt beaten up.
one day I answered the phone and it was Danny who was in Denver.
About 24 hours later he was in San Antonio and it proved to be just what the Doctor ordered.
Many have said he is in a better place and I am sure they too are right. However, I am very selfish and wish he were here, now!
 

hudsonhull

hudsonhull
Silver Member
Very sad news. I am from Denver and was lucky enough to get to play with Danny at the old Table Steaks hall now and then. We would play cheap racks of nine ball that ended up just being the best lessons I have ever had. A great guy and a brilliant player. Rest in peace my friend.
 

pfduser

GRABBER GT
Silver Member
Just now seeing this. I remember seeing Danny in the mid 90s stroke balls in so firm they would knock dust from the pockets! Rest in peace Danny.
 

DogLoop

Doing some cueing ?
Silver Member
Medina

:sorry:

I've been away from the pool hall and here for a very long time and hadn't heard the news.

Danny was good to me when I was a kid working for Danny Sheya at Table Steaks on Sheridan.
He was genuine about a great many things. In spite of whatever problems he had, he was good at putting on a calm facade and really enjoyed the action.

I stumbled onto this thread by chance because I commented about JR Harris in an earlier thread ... you know; one thread leads to another.

Anyhow, back in the 80's and early 90's I used to see many a worldbeater come and go and this was back when Danny was really in his (1st) prime.
I saw Danny break more than a few road players at Sticks and saw him do it some more at Table Steaks (and other places around Denver) a few years later.

Most people have already commented on Danny's gargantuan short-rack break. Even though this was what people recall, I recall that he really had incredible accuracy and a laser-straight stroke.
The only example I can give to put this in perspective was from witnessing a Stymie game (like Golf except the cue must hit a rail after contact) and Danny was corner-to-corner straight-in on a particularly tiny snooker pocket using pool balls on the 5 hole (with another player "hanging" on the out hole) ...

I don't know where to find the "table do-dad" to diagram this, but the object ball was just past center table and the cue was very near the corner...

Well, in this spot, one can't go forward, can't go back (scratch - dead-straight with a pocket 1/4" bigger than the balls used) and also, one cannot simply pocket the ball as that would create a foul under the rules.

Danny looked this shot over for a few moments and I hear him say "jump and masse" like it was a question under his breath.
This is exactly what he did; jacked-up, bounced whitey, made a truly perfect hit on the object ball, yanked the white back 4 rails for workable shape on the out-shot and got the cash.
Who the "F" else could have done that?

Possibly the most naturally talented player I've ever seen.

Anyhow, as a kid, I admired his skill and talent, but I also saw the "human side" of his problems and avoided a few pitfalls of my own because of it.
I consider him an important person in my life from what could be gleaned to learn. I also shared more than a few laughs with him.

Life is short and brutal, here's a prayer that the "other side" is well lit and cool.

Rest in Peace, Champ.
 

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
DogLoop...Not to take away from your nice story, but Medina was a force to be reckoned with in even in the 60's and 70's, so he was "in his prime" for much longer than you thought! Nice tribute to a great player.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Anyhow, back in the 80's and early 90's I used to see many a worldbeater come and go and this was back when Danny was really in his (1st) prime.

Rest in Peace, Champ.
 

DogLoop

Doing some cueing ?
Silver Member
Clarity

Mr. Lee,

Here's the point I'm making as clearly as I can:

Of course, Danny M. was a "force to be reckoned with" as far back as the late 60's, but if you recall there was a period of time when no one wanted any part of him for the cash with the possible exception of Keith with the big rock on the little court; maybe not even him...
Most people who either ran with him or knew him well recall this particular time to be the 70's to the very early 90's.
I made specific mention of this period as his "1st prime" for a reason; he had a tounament slump (at least in his mind) for a few years ('93-95 - this is the time I knew him best, btw) and worked very hard for a period in the late 90's and achieved a billiards-related goal that he, himself was most proud of: Camel PBT #1 and beating Efren for that 8-ball title to edge out #1 (I recall it was the '97 season).
Trust me when I say this: Danny was absolutely beaming about his win when he came back to Denver!
I will continue to think of this time period as his second prime; Danny validated his life's work/passion and knew that he was a "somebody".


DogLoop...Not to take away from your nice story, but Medina was a force to be reckoned with in even in the 60's and 70's, so he was "in his prime" for much longer than you thought! Nice tribute to a great player.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
 
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