Earl Strickland/John Schmidt altercation at BCA

W

Williebetmore

Member, .25% Club
Silver Member
Just back from Vegas. I saw a little pool; but did see the John Schmidt vs. Earl Strickland match. As John was piling up a substantial lead, Earl called over the referee to inspect a rack that John had made for him - it sounded like he was demanding a foul be called on John for leaving some spaces in the back of the rack. He was rather loudly saying, "he can't leave a rack like this for ME, I'm a champion" (or something to that general effect)." Earll's jawing went on for quite a few minutes. The ref racked the balls, and the game continued.

I post this just as an observation (not a criticism, though it is what it is), and wondered if JS had any opinion. It seemed like a blatant shark attempt; and John didn't say a word - just looked a little disgusted (my interpretation) and refused to take the bait. I can say that JS came off as looking very professional, and ES looked very juvenile and undignified.

It was nice to see JS, Shane, and Tony Robles perform well - perhaps there are some American players with real game who can behave consistently well.
 
I watched a couple of johns matches,met him,and he is one classy guy.:)No comment on the other guy,as I get torn to pieces everytime for the truth.
 
Last edited:
Of course John looked disgusted... Earl is disgusting...

It sucks that Earl would act that way, especailly towards someone who was on his Mosconi cup team.
 
jimmy-leggs said:
I watched a couple of johns matches,met him,and he is one classy guy.:)No comment on the other guy,as I get torn to pieces everytime for the truth.
Click to expand...

jimmy,

I agree with you that John Scmidt is a classy guy and also a real gentleman.

And I did not mean to, or try to "tear you to pieces" on that other Strickland thread. I got upset, just like you did. Go read those posts again, how you wrote and how I wrote. You blew up, not me. You wanted the obscene gesture and did the name calling. We each handled it our way, and to me, it's over. If you feel like I owe you an apology, then I must, so I am sorry if I appeared to be just whacking you. I sincerely don't want you to feel like you can't post your opinion. Yours is as valid as anyone elses, and so is mine. If you look thru some of my other posts, I have defended "The Pearl" a lot against others as well, not just you. You're just the only one who thru a fit.

Schmidt is one of the really good guys in pool. If Earl did what Williebetmore said he did (and Willie is one of our venerated posters here) than he must have done it.
 
Well Earl had the right to ask for a neutral racker, although I dont think John would intentionally "slug" the rack. It sounds more like Earl was way behind and used this shark technique to try and get into John's head. JMO.

Southpaw
 
Southpaw said:
Well Earl had the right to ask for a neutral racker, although I dont think John would intentionally "slug" the rack. It sounds more like Earl was way behind and used this shark technique to try and get into John's head. JMO.

Southpaw
Click to expand...

Naw. Earl's really funny about racking balls. The first time I ever saw him compete in person was in Maryland. He wasn't pleased with his break and was trying to perfect it during the offs at practice time. Whether it was the equipment or what, he just couldn't get the break going, and as most 9-ball players would agree, without a break in 9-ball, well, you better be one hell of a straight shooter if you want to win. :D

So he proceeded to wipe each ball with a white cloth individually before he racked each time he was breaking, and by golly, the break started working. :o

I remember commenting to Larry Lisciotti, who was present at this event, how odd it was to see a pool player wiping each ball individually, thinking he'd agree with me, but much to my surprise, he had a dead-serious look on his face and said sometimes even a speck of dirt can affect the break. He understood Earl's plight completely. :eek:

Me personally, when I'm breaking balls, trying to hit 'em with all my might, I'm lucky to hit the head ball today. It's kind of embarassing when you give it all that you got for a break and you miss the whole cue ball, too. :o

How about that European style of breaking?! Kind of a hop like movement at the end. LOL

JAM
 
hi

actually what happened is i was having a hard time racking them tight and i was looking at the first three balls real close . i knew earl would look at the rack and i wanted to make sure the first three were tight.problem was i did not look at the back three very close and in earls defense they were loose.now earl hates me i know ,but all he had to do was ask and i would have racked them again and probably apalogized.instead he calls the ref over and wont let me rerack them and starts telling everyone im a cheater and a total piece of shit.anyway i have little respect for earl for many reasons but in fairness i did give him a bad rack accidentally and he blew it out of proportion and handled it badly as usual.anyway talk to you guys later john schmidt
 
john schmidt said:
actually what happened is i was having a hard time racking them tight and i was looking at the first three balls real close . i knew earl would look at the rack and i wanted to make sure the first three were tight.problem was i did not look at the back three very close and in earls defense they were loose.now earl hates me i know ,but all he had to do was ask and i would have racked them again and probably apalogized.instead he calls the ref over and wont let me rerack them and starts telling everyone im a cheater and a total piece of shit.anyway i have little respect for earl for many reasons but in fairness i did give him a bad rack accidentally and he blew it out of proportion and handled it badly as usual.anyway talk to you guys later john schmidt
Click to expand...

JS,
Thanks for the input.

I think most of the spectators were struck by the fact that he didn't speak to you directly before calling the ref. It would seem the bare minimum of courtesy would be to ask for a re-rack before making such a scene.

I will add the additional comment that in every match I have seen Earl play (probably less than 10 at DCC and BCA) he has made a significant scene (this was the only one I can recall that involved racking). I find it hard to believe that it is not an intentional ploy on his part to see how his opponent handles the heat (I have observed somewhere between one and zero scenes in the other thousand matches I've witnessed with other players). In this case JS just smoked him; I believe such a ploy would work well against me.:)
 
I still crack up everytime I watch an old tape of Earl racking balls (early 90's Reno Tournements for example) and he just starts HAMMERING the balls into the cloth to try and stop the corner ball from going in.

Buddy Hall just laughs when Earl starts doing that. After that, though, he suggests hammering the one ball ONE time when the cloth is new and then charging a 100 dollar fine for anyone tapping balls after that. There comes a point where the multiple taps create too many pits or too large a pit for the balls to rack tight.

Hey John, who gets the $$ if you and Earl matched up on the golf course even? I've heard Johnny Archer and Earl were pretty good players; I'm not sure how good your game is either, but I suspect you have a single figure handicap.
 
Last edited:
Terry Ardeno said:
jimmy,

I agree with you that John Scmidt is a classy guy and also a real gentleman.

Schmidt is one of the really good guys in pool. If Earl did what Williebetmore said he did (and Willie is one of our venerated posters here) than he must have done it.
Click to expand...
-----------------

I wonder if Breakup is going to weigh in on this?

JoeyA
 
john schmidt said:
actually what happened is i was having a hard time racking them tight and i was looking at the first three balls real close . i knew earl would look at the rack and i wanted to make sure the first three were tight.problem was i did not look at the back three very close and in earls defense they were loose.now earl hates me i know ,but all he had to do was ask and i would have racked them again and probably apalogized.instead he calls the ref over and wont let me rerack them and starts telling everyone im a cheater and a total piece of shit.anyway i have little respect for earl for many reasons but in fairness i did give him a bad rack accidentally and he blew it out of proportion and handled it badly as usual.anyway talk to you guys later john schmidt
Click to expand...

I was an observer also John. You handled a bad situation well. It would have been easy to get upset at Earl, and you didn't. You maintained your poise and won the match rather easily as I recall.
 
Icon of Sin said:
Of course John looked disgusted... Earl is disgusting...

It sucks that Earl would act that way, especailly towards someone who was on his Mosconi cup team.
Click to expand...

Of course it is digusting. What is more disgusting IMO, is they let it continue to happen over and over again. When is someone going to take a stance andd tell the child to go stand in the corner?

One of these days in the NBA someone is going to get shot right in the middle of the game. One of these days, someone is going to slap Earl right on his ASS.
 
bud green said:
I still crack up everytime I watch an old tape of Earl racking balls (early 90's Reno Tournements for example) and he just starts HAMMERING the balls into the cloth to try and stop the corner ball from going in.

Buddy Hall just cracks up when Earl starts doing that. After that, though, he suggests hammering the one ball ONE time when the cloth is new and then charging a 100 dollar fine for anyone tapping balls after that. There comes a point where the multiple taps create too many pits or too large a pit for the balls to rack tight.

Hey John, who gets the $$ if you and Earl matched up on hte golf course even? I've heard Johnny Archer and Earl were pretty good players.
Click to expand...

Tapping the balls before or during the match is a foul that should be enforced. This is one reason assigning tables too early is a bad idea. Toomuch tinkering with the tables and the rack. We have one on our tour who knows I watch him like a Hawk regarding this infraction.
 
I remember when they would pound those balls and later on the indentions were so bad that balls would come to a stop arround the rack area the balls would nearly make a u-turn as they slowed to a stop.....
 
I never allowed it at any tournaments I ran. If I saw it happening, we put a stop to it fast. Now I don"t mind lightly tapping the head ball or the corner balls, emphasizing the word LIGHTLY. But when they start pounding the balls that just ruins the cloth, and puts indentations on it that will absolutely alter the course of a slow moving ball.

I still contend that I can put down a tight rack on any table with good cloth, and undamaged slate underneath it. Usually, a combination of cleaning the cloth (I may wipe it down with my bare hands first and use a towel only if needed) and wiping down the balls will solve any racking problem. That is unless, someone has already pounded dents into the cloth. Occasionally the spot itself is the culprit and needs to be replaced.

I cannot remember any tournament EVER, where when a situation came up like the one with Earl and John, that I was unable to successfully put down a good rack. What I have steadfastly refused to do is to become the rack boy for two pool players. Once I have shown them a good rack is possible, and where I racked the balls, the rest is up to them. I did not want to be called back to this table again, and I would them that as I left. A good tournament director will not allow himself to be consumed by one match when there may seven to fifteen more matches in play at the same time.

Once again, Earl and I had our run-ins over the years, but they always got handled quickly. I never had the problems that they are having with him now. But like Ironman said, you had to nip them in the bud. Earl always knew his limits with Pat and I running an event. And he kept himself in line. Only one time do I remember using the "forfeit" word with Earl and he caught on quick. I told him the next time I hear your voice you lose a game and the second time you lose the match (this was the Sands, circa early 90's). Never heard another word after that.
 
Neil said:
You should have apologized right away. And then explained to him how you weren't familiar with that part of the game since you have been playing him.
Click to expand...
You mean the "mind games" that Earl plays...
 
Hmmm...how 'bout a rule that says if the breaking player doesn't like the rack...he can then rack them himself...but only pending approval of the rack by his opponent???
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top