Do Players Now Have an Edge in Skill Because of Technology?

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I was scanning through the cable channels and I happened to see Chris Evert play Billie Jean King exchanging floaters with wooden rackets. I could have been any of those fans in checkered pants, but back then, they were the awesome. Seeing the ladies today makes me say that definitely, either player would make it through the qualifiers of any of the Grand Slams of today.

Is it the same with Pool? Calling on the senior citizens!
 
I have no HTML - cannot edit. Definitely, either player would NOT make it.....
 
I think the greats of yesteryear would hold their own playing with today’s greats. Willie Mosconi is considered one of if not the best player ever to play pocket billiards. In his prime with any equipment Mosconi was capable of beating anyone on the pool table then and now.
 
Players of yesteryears would be fine today but the players now who are used to Simonis would have a hard time playing on Stephens cloth.
Cues today are not much better that in the old days. They had better shaft wood then. Mosconi ran 500+ balls eons ago.
 
I guess I am old enough to remember when, so I will offer my 2 cents.

First, pool has been less affected by technology than most other sports. Golf, tennis, baseball, etc. have all been affected more dramatically than pool has. Even billiards, which now uses very fast cloth and rail heaters, has changed more than pool.

The average quality of equipment (cues, tables, lights) is better today than forty years ago, but for the very, very best made cues or tables, I still admire the antiques. Players would have to adjust their game if we were still playing on the old style napped cloth, but the best players would have no trouble adapting. And frankly the old style cloth got pretty ratty if it wasn't maintained properly. Simonis seems to be more forgiving of neglect, imho.

From my standpoint the one change that is very much for the better is VIDEO. It has always been the case that watching top flight players was one of the best ways to learn, but forty years ago we were limited to watching the best local players in our home town, or the occassional touring pro on exhibition. Nowdays AccuStats and ESPN makes world class pool much more readily available. That has to be a benefit for anyone who is trying to learn the game.

Finally, I have to mention the on-line community. You can learn a lot by reading the instructional material available on a forum like this one. Information travels much faster in this day and age, and that, I think, means that learning the game is different today than it was forty years ago.

Regards,
George
 
a case could be made that it was harder in the old days.

the only thing that is better today is that there are more players.
 
I agree with you guys. The only 2 sports where
they have NOT gotten better over the years
are pool & POUND FOR POUND boxing.
Also an argument could be made that
even though they are much more athletic,
basketball players aren't as SKILLED as
they were in the past. Until Mosconi eyes
started to go he was tremendous even
way past his prime.
 
....today's equipment is far better than yesterday's equipment by a leap & a bound. The rules were different too. But champions still rule with any equipment...

The old T-Rail Antique Pool Tables were astounding to play on, but they don't have the banking accuracy that a Gold Crown or Diamond gives you. I know, I had one for years. I couldn't take anything to the Pool Hall, that I learned on my Home Table.

The Cues of the last 15 years were far better than their predecessors. Don't believe me, break a few racks with the Predator BK & then decide for yourself. The Predator Play Cue, with it's pie-lam constructed shaft, is about as fine a Cue as you can strike a Cue Ball with (the shaft is the key to the difference). Put a Pie-Lam shaft on your Cue today & you won't use your other one again.

The balls are different too, imagine playing with the old Clay Balls. You could actually break an old clay ball on the break. If Mosconi, Crane, Lassiter, Caras, Puckett, Rood or Cornbread were running the streets, some of our champions of today would be second best more than they like to think. Those guys had charisma, charm, GUTS & they knew how to play their opponent better than they played Pool.

Yesterday's rules were different too. No BALL IN HAND for yesterday's Champions, they shot the cue ball where it sat. There wasn't a Jump Cue either & they broke with the Cue they played with.

Today you can REALLY go to the Libaray & get the information to learn the Game of Pool. There are probably a hundred books & thousands of videos that are just waiting for the oppurtunity to spill out the sacred info on how to play the game. But most players still choose to learn the hard way, most never realize their real aptitude level, because they won't open a book, do a drill or sit & watch a Video to learn didly squat. We have a local player that is a good 8 speed, could be a great 10 speed. but he doesnt even understand the Diamond System & isn't intersted in learning.

The game of Billiards & Pocket Billiards was originally for the Aristocracy. But not so today. While there are a few Bankers, CEOs, Attorneys & Doctors that play the game... most of the players are Blue Collar workers & the unemployed.

When the proprietors quit seeking huge sales figures in liquor & promote the game by promoting lessons (private or group), the average clientele will change.

Don't get me wrong here, I grew up in yesterday's sleezy Pool Halls & I miss those smokey dens where thousand of dollars changed hands on Big Green Stage between two actors.

The stories from those days will be told forever. The movie THE HUSTLER was a great portrayal in part, but the movie was about two men who were destined to compete for some imaginary title.

The atmosphere gripped you & kept you "with it", that same atmosphere gets played again & again when some drifter comes through & challenges anyone for a $2000 set. The sweaters gather with side bet cash in hands, the cigarettes are lighted & the liquor flows. The pingpong race bounces back & forth until one player emerges as the BEST Man, after that ... it isn't who won, it's how much did they win !
 
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i'll say one thing ceebee,,,,the old timers didn't have those nifty training aides like the one in your avatar.
 
I think the lack of technology made the older players better. For instance, the balls weren't perfectly round in Ralph Greenleaf's day. They were made of ivory and were not machined like today's balls.

BTW Larry, I think Ralph might have been a better player in his prime than Mosconi was. What do you think?

Getting back to technology, in Ralph's day, they played on 5X10's not 4 1/2X9's. The pockets were tighter than they are today too. Those conditions forced the players of yesteryear to be better than the players of today, imho.
 
fast larry said:
What a talent, what a champion, he is fantastic, I would not copy some of the things he does, but what he produces is fabulous.
A perfect feel player, outstanding touch, what does this guy not have. He came in and beat Earl a lot and Earl was the best we had at the time. When you beat the best around, that is the test, is it not?
Click to expand...

Makes the Filipino heart fatter!
 
I once ran 102 balls on a (1922) 5x10 table using "clay" balls.
A day to remember!!!
I have run a few more 100+ on 9' using plastic balls, seemed much easier to accomplish.
The new tables are not as solid, not as heavy and NOT maintained as well.
The new cues are better because of machining and the avaliability of woods. My Rambow did not play as well as my Kersenbrock, Ginacue or Tad.
The current skill levels are about the same as in the "old" days ... I think the % is about the same of the "well skilled" players but now there are more players in the system.
So, technically, there are more good players!
 
technology has made the game easier. i don't think the players are better,,,there's just more of them.
 
I dont think the equipment makes the player, take efren for years he played with a 15 dollar cue!! and look what he has done if the cue is straight and the man using it can play i think he can beat anyone
 
hmm, where did you think of that moniker name???


An edge you ask? I think a slight edge is provided with todays current equipment. But the degree of an "Edge" depends on what equipment you speak of.

For balls, and tables, I agree,. The cushions are more react more consistantly, the balls hit truer, the slates are honed perfectly flat. Tables play alot better these days than they used to.

Cues? I think cue making and craftsmanship has come a long ways, But I dont think that cues contribute too much to a players game. Ceebee states that a pie lam shaft is far superior to any other, and that you wnt go ack to anything else again. Well I tried one, I did go back. I dont like the stiffness. Everyone gets so caught up about deflection, ...how often do you hit balls really hard full table with a ton of spin? Not too often I hope. Otherwise defelction wont bite you in the ass too much if at all.

What I really think has progressed is players understanding of their game and how to control themselves physically and emotionally. That is where I think alot of good players have really increased their capabilities. 30 years ago there was very little if no literature about how to mentally control yourself to optimize your capabilities. That is where the leaps and bounds ly.
 
I know you are kidding, but zero!

A miss is a miss, almost always contributable to a mental error.
 
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