He snapped two 9-balls in didn't he?punter said:
Jay ref'd that match I believe so he's the man to ask.
Johnny has ran more of course.
Earl might have been the best 9-baller of all time.
Earl Strickland in his prime
- Thread starter midnightpulp
- Start date
Jay ref'd that match I believe so he's the man to ask.
Johnny has ran more of course.
Earl might have been the best 9-baller of all time.
punter...Not quite...here's how it went. This was the FIRST day of the FIRST tournament (of a series of 10 that were proposed by the PCA/Professional Cuesports Association). The PCA was an alternative organization to Don Mackey's stranglehold on the PBTA. It was started by a half dozen big name players, that were dissatisfied with Mackey. CJ Wiley was the principal organizer, and had convinced a sports marketing group to provide a million dollar annuity to any player that ran 10 racks. The original wording of the document stated that this provision would be in place (and PAID OFF, in the event that it happened) for all 10 events. Part of the reason they went along with the idea, is that the players involved all agreed that it was almost a 'supernatural' achievement, and wasn't likely to happen much, if at all...but it was a GIANT carrot on a string!
When Earl, while playing Nick Mannino at CJ's room in Dallas, started his run, it was no big deal...and there were many other matches being played on the other tables. When Earl got to the 5th rack, somebody got a camera, and started recording...just because he seemed like he was a house afire (not because they "had to have it on video)! LOL With each successive rack, more players quit their matches and came over to watch Earl. By the 8th rack, nobody else was playing, and EVERYBODY was rooting for Earl to win the big dough. He finished the 10th rack for the $$$ win, and then ran out the last rack to win the match 11-0!
Now the problem here was that Earl had made it look so easy that the sports guys balked at paying...making up excuses. It was to be paid in 20 annual installments of $50k each year. CJ paid the first year out of his pocket, to keep Earl from coming unglued, when he thought he was going to get 'stiffed'. CJ then got a lawyer and the "negotiations" began, between him and the sports marketing group. The long and short of it was that after a year, the sports guys settled for about $600K. Half went to Earl, and the other half to the lawyers. CJ got nothing, except his original $50 back, that he had given Earl a year earlier. In the ensuing year, after Earl's win, CJ had to keep completely mum about what was going on, and the pool world speculated the worst (as usual), and the PCA lasted only one more event...and that was without the milliion dollar hook. It was really too bad, because the concept of the PCA was solid, and they didn't require players to only play with them (like Mackey had done with the PBTA). So there ya go...
Earl still got the biggest payday in pool, before the IPT came along (and this was in 1995).
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
When Earl, while playing Nick Mannino at CJ's room in Dallas, started his run, it was no big deal...and there were many other matches being played on the other tables. When Earl got to the 5th rack, somebody got a camera, and started recording...just because he seemed like he was a house afire (not because they "had to have it on video)! LOL With each successive rack, more players quit their matches and came over to watch Earl. By the 8th rack, nobody else was playing, and EVERYBODY was rooting for Earl to win the big dough. He finished the 10th rack for the $$$ win, and then ran out the last rack to win the match 11-0!
Now the problem here was that Earl had made it look so easy that the sports guys balked at paying...making up excuses. It was to be paid in 20 annual installments of $50k each year. CJ paid the first year out of his pocket, to keep Earl from coming unglued, when he thought he was going to get 'stiffed'. CJ then got a lawyer and the "negotiations" began, between him and the sports marketing group. The long and short of it was that after a year, the sports guys settled for about $600K. Half went to Earl, and the other half to the lawyers. CJ got nothing, except his original $50 back, that he had given Earl a year earlier. In the ensuing year, after Earl's win, CJ had to keep completely mum about what was going on, and the pool world speculated the worst (as usual), and the PCA lasted only one more event...and that was without the milliion dollar hook. It was really too bad, because the concept of the PCA was solid, and they didn't require players to only play with them (like Mackey had done with the PBTA). So there ya go...
Earl still got the biggest payday in pool, before the IPT came along (and this was in 1995).Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Earl's wing shots
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJkpjqy7GcI
check this video out...some of the shots are lame set up shots, but he does some wing shots at the end. He does shoot them with more speed than anyone else i've ever seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJkpjqy7GcI
check this video out...some of the shots are lame set up shots, but he does some wing shots at the end. He does shoot them with more speed than anyone else i've ever seen.
Here is a tribute as to how good the man played.
In the eighties he played and won a tournament in Burbank, Ca.
While he was collecting his awards and being interviewed some of the top pros were near where his cue stick was. I believe it was Varner that picked it up and said "look at this, he beat all of us with a kid's stick"
Sure enought The cue had an ugly dirty ferruel and a crooked tip. Like the worst thing that you could pick off the wall. I couldn't imagine playing the game that he did with that cue. I believe this was before Cuetech.
To me is was amazing that someone could play so good with something so bad.
I first saw him play in Lake Tahoe, Nv and remember thinking then that I was watching someone very special.
Years later in that race to 120 he had with Efren I believe he would have won that match by a good margin if he hadn't let the spectators get to him near the end. IMO he was clearly the better nineball player in that match, except that he lost.
In the eighties he played and won a tournament in Burbank, Ca.
While he was collecting his awards and being interviewed some of the top pros were near where his cue stick was. I believe it was Varner that picked it up and said "look at this, he beat all of us with a kid's stick"
Sure enought The cue had an ugly dirty ferruel and a crooked tip. Like the worst thing that you could pick off the wall. I couldn't imagine playing the game that he did with that cue. I believe this was before Cuetech.
To me is was amazing that someone could play so good with something so bad.
I first saw him play in Lake Tahoe, Nv and remember thinking then that I was watching someone very special.
Years later in that race to 120 he had with Efren I believe he would have won that match by a good margin if he hadn't let the spectators get to him near the end. IMO he was clearly the better nineball player in that match, except that he lost.
thebigdog said:
i agree, he has the highest gear ever in 9 Ball, earl was made for that game, for some reason he thinks I said bad things about him-I never have so when you read this earl take note I have never and will never say a bad thing about you, i love to watch earl play there is nothing like it, just the way the balls sound when he hits them are like no one else. efren is a better all around player 3 cush, 1P, etc but regarding 9b earl i believe is the best, Archer has lasted along time and still has along time left, its hard to compair players from 40+ years ago because of the equipment changes, and now with Diamond tables becomming the standard the 6-10 packs will be less frequent, its an evolutaniory thing but no doubt earl has the highest gear when he catches it.
dabarbr said:
the better player dosent awalys win, happened to me recently. Winning isnt awalys a indicator of who is a better player in the short term, this is no excuse for losing. the better player isnt the better player if he loses consistantly but one race to 120 dosent mean Efren was better. 5 races in a 5 month period would if he won 4 of the 5 races-didnt happen we'll never know.
Scott Lee said:punter...Not quite...here's how it went. This was the FIRST day of the FIRST tournament (of a series of 10 that were proposed by the PCA/Professional Cuesports Association). The PCA was an alternative organization to Don Mackey's stranglehold on the PBTA. It was started by a half dozen big name players, that were dissatisfied with Mackey. CJ Wiley was the principal organizer, and had convinced a sports marketing group to provide a million dollar annuity to any player that ran 10 racks. The original wording of the document stated that this provision would be in place (and PAID OFF, in the event that it happened) for all 10 events. Part of the reason they went along with the idea, is that the players involved all agreed that it was almost a 'supernatural' achievement, and wasn't likely to happen much, if at all...but it was a GIANT carrot on a string!
When Earl, while playing Nick Mannino at CJ's room in Dallas, started his run, it was no big deal...and there were many other matches being played on the other tables. When Earl got to the 5th rack, somebody got a camera, and started recording...just because he seemed like he was a house afire (not because they "had to have it on video)! LOL With each successive rack, more players quit their matches and came over to watch Earl. By the 8th rack, nobody else was playing, and EVERYBODY was rooting for Earl to win the big dough. He finished the 10th rack for the $$$ win, and then ran out the last rack to win the match 11-0!
Now the problem here was that Earl had made it look so easy that the sports guys balked at paying...making up excuses. It was to be paid in 20 annual installments of $50k each year. CJ paid the first year out of his pocket, to keep Earl from coming unglued, when he thought he was going to get 'stiffed'. CJ then got a lawyer and the "negotiations" began, between him and the sports marketing group. The long and short of it was that after a year, the sports guys settled for about $600K. Half went to Earl, and the other half to the lawyers. CJ got nothing, except his original $50 back, that he had given Earl a year earlier. In the ensuing year, after Earl's win, CJ had to keep completely mum about what was going on, and the pool world speculated the worst (as usual), and the PCA lasted only one more event...and that was without the milliion dollar hook. It was really too bad, because the concept of the PCA was solid, and they didn't require players to only play with them (like Mackey had done with the PBTA). So there ya go...
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
did they have "hole in one" insurance like golf? that policy should have been bound with all the stipulations in place before the event to protect all parties involved. Shame it dosent sound like it was handled correctly. no one plans to fail but they fail to plan, If your gonna promis a million to guys who routeinly run 5 packs you better be prepaired to have the insurance in place, or triple shim the pockets.
I've watched Earl play since 1981 and here's one simple observation:
Toughest guy to stomach when he's two games down because of his mouth BUT the TOUGHEST guy on the planet to catch when he's two games up! I've have seen this happen on both sides more times than I can count.
A good friend of mine was at the TCOM match at Ridgeway's and he said the match ended at like 4:30 a. m. and Earl just ran out of steam. In fact, in part 2 of the above video, my friend is the last guy you see hugging Efren.
Earl is the greatest front runner I have ever seen! What a TALENT!
Stones
Toughest guy to stomach when he's two games down because of his mouth BUT the TOUGHEST guy on the planet to catch when he's two games up! I've have seen this happen on both sides more times than I can count.
A good friend of mine was at the TCOM match at Ridgeway's and he said the match ended at like 4:30 a. m. and Earl just ran out of steam. In fact, in part 2 of the above video, my friend is the last guy you see hugging Efren.
Earl is the greatest front runner I have ever seen! What a TALENT!
Stones
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This isn't Earl at his BEST but it is DAMN close! This match was referenced earlier is this thread. Earl beat Efren 11-3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrHeaQ3VcWY
Here is another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gqoPreD8cY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrHeaQ3VcWY
Here is another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gqoPreD8cY&feature=related
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Scott Lee said:punter...Not quite...here's how it went. This was the FIRST day of the FIRST tournament (of a series of 10 that were proposed by the PCA/Professional Cuesports Association). The PCA was an alternative organization to Don Mackey's stranglehold on the PBTA. It was started by a half dozen big name players, that were dissatisfied with Mackey. CJ Wiley was the principal organizer, and had convinced a sports marketing group to provide a million dollar annuity to any player that ran 10 racks. The original wording of the document stated that this provision would be in place (and PAID OFF, in the event that it happened) for all 10 events. Part of the reason they went along with the idea, is that the players involved all agreed that it was almost a 'supernatural' achievement, and wasn't likely to happen much, if at all...but it was a GIANT carrot on a string!
When Earl, while playing Nick Mannino at CJ's room in Dallas, started his run, it was no big deal...and there were many other matches being played on the other tables. When Earl got to the 5th rack, somebody got a camera, and started recording...just because he seemed like he was a house afire (not because they "had to have it on video)! LOL With each successive rack, more players quit their matches and came over to watch Earl. By the 8th rack, nobody else was playing, and EVERYBODY was rooting for Earl to win the big dough. He finished the 10th rack for the $$$ win, and then ran out the last rack to win the match 11-0!
Now the problem here was that Earl had made it look so easy that the sports guys balked at paying...making up excuses. It was to be paid in 20 annual installments of $50k each year. CJ paid the first year out of his pocket, to keep Earl from coming unglued, when he thought he was going to get 'stiffed'. CJ then got a lawyer and the "negotiations" began, between him and the sports marketing group. The long and short of it was that after a year, the sports guys settled for about $600K. Half went to Earl, and the other half to the lawyers. CJ got nothing, except his original $50 back, that he had given Earl a year earlier. In the ensuing year, after Earl's win, CJ had to keep completely mum about what was going on, and the pool world speculated the worst (as usual), and the PCA lasted only one more event...and that was without the milliion dollar hook. It was really too bad, because the concept of the PCA was solid, and they didn't require players to only play with them (like Mackey had done with the PBTA). So there ya go...
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Thanks Scott,
This is essentially correct, but not entirely so. The stipulation in the insurance policy called for video taping after someone had run five racks. I racked the balls for the last five racks. Earl ran eleven total, with three nine balls on the break during the first six racks! Yes, he had figured out how to break on that table.
He did not make one nine ball when I was racking, but he had it rolling toward the pocket every time. He made an incredible combination to win the tenth game (and the money). The matches were super long (CJ's idea), races to fifteen. Earl ended up winning 15-2. There is much more to this story. Scott is right. The insurance company finally made a settlement!
I will have the whole thing in my book. Promise!
jay helfert said:
I walked into the room right after Earl had completed the run and was done taking pictures, etc.
There was an incredible electricity in the air and I remember telling the guy I was with that we had missed something really special without actually knowing what.
And I don't know if anyone remembers this, but after all the gladhanding and congratulations and photo opps there was still a match left to be finished.
Earl broke (he either scratched or it was dry) and Nick ran out.
So, after having an 11-pack put on you, having the match STOPPED so that they could have a small ceremony, and sitting in your chair for probably close to 45 minutes you get up and run out.
I always thought that showed a lot of heart.
Didn't alter the match one iota, but it showed a lot of heart.
Fleece3 said:
That is definitely a great one, but if you truly want to see Earl at his absolute best (on video anyway) try and find a copy of him beating Nick Varner 11-0 at the Sands Regency in 1990.
He absolutely obliterates Nick in that match (and Nick was in the middle of one of the best seasons ever by an American pro player).
During the commentary of a later match from that same tournament Nick issues this classic quote about his match with Earl: "I didn't even lay a glove on him."
The Accu-Stat of this match is now out of print, but if you can find it it is worth it.
Fleece3 said:
Ok, let me back-track to these statements you posted:
First of all, back then, there were mainly just straight shooters and not too much intellect playing (i.e. safties, two-ways... etc). Earl just had it made as a STRAIGHT-SHOOTER; that's it. When his arch-rival, Efren, came around, the new style of playing with safties, and the soft break, that's when he started his struggle. He was primarily the "new-old".... the last of the old school... the "last Mosconi" one-might-say.
Then when this year's World Championships in Manila came around, everything he ever opposed in his favor (and to elaborate it to you: Soft breaks being for sissies, safety playing is for wimps, jump cues are for girls, the sharking to Earl's opponents, the audience interuption) is what he used to his favor against Li He-wen. In other words, everything he ever said was a major contradiction towards himself to defeat this man from China. And that (for the brief time in moment) is when the Ol' Earl came back... just for that match.
I think Earl is nothing more than a pitbull: Trained with such talent only to get fired up with anger with any little knack, willingly attacking without any purpose or warning and use it for worse on the ever-so sport he enjoys.
Do I respect Earl's talent: YES. Does his attitude sucks: DEFINATELY. Does he need help to alienate the "demons" inside of him: A.S.A.P.
I have so many accustats of Earl running 3/4/5/6 racks. He is the one that can do stuff like have a race to 11 be over in under 40 min. An earlier poster quoted an accustats from the Reno event where 5 racks out of the gate was not enough. That was Jeff Carter who ran those racks and he was talking to Grady about it.
it's his style of play as well. he just looks like the coolest man in the world like he owns the table. when i watch earl playing well i get all fired up myself and i want to go out and play. i've just watched him about half an hour ago absolutely obliterate steve mizerak in the finals of the 1983 caesars tahoa classic and he just ran out every table. jump shots, bank shots, long shots, he was on fire. and the crowd loved every minute of it.
