Little David
His first nickname was Little David, because he played so good while still a young boy. Then he became "The Giant Killer" for obvious reasons. He kept beating the giants of the game.
Yes, he did have the best break of his time, along with Wade Crane. In those days (the 70's and 80's) you could go to a tournament and there was usually a 64 man field. That was considered a full field in those days. And most of the bigger tournaments filled up, unlike the state of the present UPA, where they struggle to get 50 players.
And in a field of 64, there would be 8-10 players considered the favorites.
These were the guys with a legitimate chance to win. David was always in that group! Others included Strickland, Sigel, Hall, Varner, Rempe, Hopkins, Mizerak (already slipping by the 80's), Davenport, Parica (when here) and Efren when he played. Behind this group were players like Danny Medina and Jay Swanson. These were the elite players of their generation.
David was definitely a favorite to make the top six in any tournament he played. My standing joke with him whenever I was directing an event: I would see him in the hallway of the hotel or coffee shop and ask him "Are you still in?" He would laugh and say "yeah, barely". This went on for years and more often than not, David would be playing on the final day.
He was a fun guy to have around, a terrific player and never a problem for the T.D. (meaning me). He rarely complained about anything. David had a very good attitude, always upbeat. He and Rempe were the main reps for Meucci for years, selling their cues at every tour stop. This is how they paid their expenses. As small as those tournaments were (typically ten to twenty grand added), they were larger by comparison to what you see today in many pro tour events.
In those days, if you won 10K, like at the Sands, it was a big score. Probably about like winning 25 or 30K today. Still, only the top players made any good money at tournaments, much like current events.
