What I love most about this match is the place it was played in.
Starcher's on Arlington ran for over 20 years before the locks on the door were even tried to be used,at times all 24 tables would be going at 5am.
I grew up in Akron,but moved to Tennessee when my dad relocated with Goodyear in '84. This match was played when I was a junior in high school,and I played on that table during various family visits. They make it look easy,but that wasn't the easiest GC I've ever played on. At it's peak,every table in the place was recovered in Simonis about every 8 months,and was the purest environment I've ever encountered because the weather outside NEVER factored into how the tables played.
You had to walk thru 2 heavy steel doors to walk in,and these doors were about 10 feet apart,so they were only opened at the same time if someone held them open,so heat,cold,and humidity never seemed to change the feel at the tables.
Once I got to playing seriously,I went back as often as I could during the yearly family visits,and I swear this is the truth there were literally 40 guys around on a regular basis that were around Hennessee's speed,all in the same building at times. There were probably 200 people in the surrounding area that all played VERY strong. At Starcher's,gambling was plentiful,at all levels up to and including the very best on Earth.
They also sold cues,had repair service and a cuemaker that hung out there,good people behind the counter,1.50 an hour table time and I've never set foot in a place that had better tasting mega-hot WINGS.
Don't get me wrong,as far as visual effect a place like JOB's wins hands down,or my other favorite poolroom in the world,High Pockets in Memphis.
But the vibe quality in this place has only revealed itself to me a few other times in my pool life,the early Derby years,the original Q-Master in Norfolk that Barry started the U.S. Open from,and my early days at The Rack down in Memphis once again. You could just FEEL the place when you walked in,so thick it took a GOOD knife to cut it :wink:.
They also told their own story,with an incomprehensible collection of live-action pics on the walls from various tournaments,and later photos from The National Billiard News,BD,and P+B.
You could call at midnight and ask who won the Wed night tournament,the Thurs tournament,whatever,and they knew off the top of their heads.
Accu-Stats matches played constantly on a GOOD TV for the times. The only thing that could have been better about this place would have been modern-standard broadband internet,LOL.
Of all the pool rooms I've ever set foot in,that's the one I'd spare no expense to duplicate if I hit the lottery or something like that ever sets an unlimited bankroll in front of me.
I truly miss the place,Tommy D.
It's great to see him play without all those gimmicks too.
