Earl's Place in Pool History

kano

kano

Unbelievable!!!!!
Silver Member
Somtimes life doesn't always play out according to the screenplay. Earl Strickland just became the 50th inductee to the Hall of Fame. It took him some time (relatively) but he got there.

Without a doubt he deserves to be a HOF member. There is no questioning his lifetime achievments on the pool table. That being said I think that he also deserves the uncomfortable limbo he had to endure in getting there. I have many matches of him on tape and have seen how off-putting and un-sportsman like he can be. I have one taped match of him against one of the Japanese pros in the 04 WPC in Taiwan and his behavior in that got me asking myself if this man is crazy, like should be commited crazy. This is no comment on him as a person away from pool for I have no personal insight into that, but strictly an opinion of a pool junkie.

But when you watch him battling it out with Efren in Hong Kong for 120 racks, you can't help but be amazed at his skill level. He is a force of nature!

I wonder how Earl feels about the somewhat bumpy road to the HOF? I wonder if he feels like up to this point he was being deprived of something he was entitled too? Or did this whole ordeal give him pause and reflect on past actions? None of us outside his circle may never know the truth. But for what ever it's worth I congratulate him for the truely great player that he is!

Btw, can anyone post the ages of all 50 memebers when they were inducted? So we can do a comparison with Earl. My guess would be that he got in sooner than most (just a feeling though).
 
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There are things about him that few like, but he has a real good side too.
When he is in high gear it the greatest show on slate. In his Houston days ti was really great because he didnt play position as well, but he balls kept falling.
 
Please read this months issue of billiards digest. there is an article in there called Earl..on Earl........I have said for the last few years defending Earl after i had the chance to actually sit and talk with Earl personally for over an hour that Earl is the most misunderstood Player out there. I don't think anyone has any idea how passionate Earl is And was about this game. Yes he goes off at times. Yes he quit on Corey for breaking so soft. He addresses all of his faults in this article. They also address the problems he had and his state of mind when Earl and his wife split up.(she got his new house on the golf course. how would that make anybody feel and what state of mind would you be in?) Please read this article and see if you agree with his passion for pool and try to understand him more. He is not a bad person. He just wears his heart on his shirt sleeve and speaks his mind. After all he has been thru i will gladly give this CHAMPION the benefit of doubt and support him. CONGRATULATIONS to Earl on his induction into the Hall of Fame...........................................mike
 
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I see under your caption it says Quote "Shut up and Don't complane", kinda of Ironic heh.Evryone has there own opinion.
Earl = Complaner
 
Yes, Earl's got some faults. I wouldn't argue with anyone who says that. I think his behavior sometimes is over the top. But the truth is pool needs guys like Earl. Characters are good to have anywhere, for entertainment value. I believe this was mentioned in another thread here somewhere, but look at people like Phil Hellmuth in poker, John MacEnroe in tennis, Ron Artest in basketball, etc. These guys, as the characters they play, spice things up.

I can watch any old person play pool. At the pro level, top level players, they're all somehwat close in skill level. Earl's a character, and of course, let me mention he's a decent pool player also. Put those two together, and you're going to be entertained.

Earl definitely deserves his place in the Hall of Fame.
 
kano said:
...Without a doubt he deserves to be a HOF member. There is no questioning his lifetime achievments on the pool table. That being said I think that he also deserves the uncomfortable limbo he had to endure in getting there....
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I noticed this is your first post, Kano. Welcome to AzBilliards Discussion Forum.

I got a kick out of the article on AzBilliards Main Page about Earl. :p

According to the article, at a formal ceremony at the BCA Expo in Houston, Texas, Earl walks up to the podium to accept an award. The first words out of his mouth to the BCA: "I finally got your attention." I thought that was funny. :D

Congratulations to Earl Strickland. Long overdue. :)

JAM
 
cueball1950 said:
I don't think anyone has any idea how passionate Earl is And was about this game.mike
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I do.
In my opinion he is a man of principles.The way he goes about it causes problems with others.Some of the things he says and does give the apearence that he is contradicting himself. The roots for his complaing are based on his principles and he chooses wrong path in following his principles. He appears to be rigid in his beliefs but that is not true.He will change his opinion/position/stance when he hears an argument based on logic but not on emotions.He can be very flexible.It is unfortunate that his marriage did not work out.Usually Gemini ( Earl)and Leo ( his ex wife)is an excellent combination but in this pair it was not.
Fellows,if u want understand Earl you have to read about Gemini in a book called sun signs written by Linda Goodman or another authentic book.
special Note:I do recognize that he has more negative atributes of a Gemini and he falls under the category of a `Low Gemini` as opposed to a `High Gemini`:cool:
 
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Congratulations Earl....your great player who I am sure has many miles left in the tank and can yet still win any of the events you choose to enter.

Very well deserved
 
the BCA HOF

Obviously Earl belongs in the HOF.....The news that he has been inducted into BCA's HOF is at long last not only the recognition of Earl's talent and accomplishments in Pool, but in my mind; also the legitimacy and validity of the BCA Hall of Fame.....
 
I read Goodman's Sun Signs book 30 years ago. I found it to be amazingly accurate
 
Mu guess is that Earl's place in pool history will be similar to that of Ty Cobb's in baseball. Like Cobb, Earl was one of the greatest that ever played, and yet, he got around to offending many of his contemporaries somewhere along the road.

In that magnificent movie Field of Dreams, Shoeless Joe Jackson (Liotta) brought along some of the great players of his era to play on the field built by Ray Kinsella (Costner). Shoeless Joe noted "Ty Cobb wanted to play, but none of us could stand the son-of-a-*****... so we told him to stick it!"

I think that's how Earl's contemporaries will remember him, as a gifted player and electrifying competitor whose outbursts of unprofessionalism occasionally obscured his incomparable excellence.

One of the very best of all-time, but with a few quirks. That's Earl, whose induction to the BCA Hall of Fame was long overdue.
 
The Great Earl

Like Pete Rose, Earl belongs in the HOF.

IMHO he is the greatest tournament 9-Ball player of the modern era (post 1960). He had absolutely the biggest game of 9-Ball I have ever seen, capable of stringing multiple racks at any time. At his peak, he was stringing 4-6 racks in every match he played.

And beautiful to watch too, the way he moved the cue ball around. Only other player like him was Parica, with similar control.

He MUST be a Gemini. He has two sides to him. One is kind and considerate, the other has a screw or two loose. Sometimes I admired him, and sometimes he sickened me.

So that's Earl, can't take your eyes off him and yet hate to watch him sometimes.
 
Guess what, Jay ...

jay helfert said:
Like Pete Rose, Earl belongs in the HOF.

IMHO he is the greatest tournament 9-Ball player of the modern era (post 1960). He had absolutely the biggest game of 9-Ball I have ever seen, capable of stringing multiple racks at any time. At his peak, he was stringing 4-6 racks in every match he played.

And beautiful to watch too, the way he moved the cue ball around. Only other player like him was Parica, with similar control.

He MUST be a Gemini. He has two sides to him. One is kind and considerate, the other has a screw or two loose. Sometimes I admired him, and sometimes he sickened me.

So that's Earl, can't take your eyes off him and yet hate to watch him sometimes.
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Your right, he is a Gemini. Born on June 8th, 1961. He has won over
40 titles, and placed in many more.

I know about Gemini's, one of my ex-wives is one .... lol The one I married twice!!!
 
Earls place in billiards history....Lets see.

THE GREATEST 9 BALLER OF ALL TIME!!!!!!!!

A well known pro (He lurks around the forum so maybe he will step forward and validate this) told me he once saw Earl go an entire tournament without missing a single shot. I personally saw him ALMOST run 9 and out in Grand Central Station (he missed a 7 in the six rack, THAT WAS HIS ONLY MISS!!). I still can't get over the fact that he has won 5 US Open titles despite not playing in it for 4 years.

He is DA MAN!!!

Congrats to Earl "THE PEARL" Strickland
 
Congratultions Earl - long overdue.

He looks good in the picture. Cleans up nice, doesn't he.

Is unattached.

Living the good life in Florida.

The money will really start rolling in now.

How will he be able to keep the women at bay?

This will be the start of a whole new career for him. Good luck.

Jake
 
Kano, welcome to AZB; looks like you're off to a good start. I just read this interview with Earl today and found it very enlightening: http://www.azbilliards.com/interviews/earl1.html
Earl's shortcomings have been vigorously debated in recent threads here at AZB and probably don't need to be rehashed, so I'll just repeat my congratulations to Earl for a well-deserved honor.
 
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