Like Billy, I got to see Taylor play in his prime and he was something else. He didn't slow roll anything, most balls going in the pocket at warp speed. I asked him once why he hit them so hard and he just smiled and said, "They don't roll off." Most of the top Bankers also played the same way; Bugs, Cannonball, Truman, Tony Fargo, Youngblood, Fusco and Romberg.
What set Taylor apart was his consistency. The other top guys could make all the same banks as him, but he never seemed to miss an open bank and they did occasionally. He just got locked in and started making banks and only stopped when he had absolutely no shot.
Now these guys were masters at using English to "twist" banks, making shots that seemingly had no path to the pocket. Taylor was the only one I ever saw bank a ball cross corner off the rail so hard it bounced over the edge of a ball that was in the way and went in. He could shoot that shot on demand, and enjoyed showing his skills to others. Eddie loved Pool and he loved to play. I always believed that he was more the role model for Minnesota Fats than "New York Fats" was. Walter Tevis (author of The Hustler) saw Eddie play in Louisville and that may have helped him to create the character. Eddie was a Southern gentleman, always dressed sharply in a sports jacket and dress shirt, and spoke softly in a polite way. I never heard him raise his voice or use profanity. He was no blowhard by any means, more like the character Jackie Gleason played. Tevis never saw New York Fats play!
Unfortunately he got cataracts at about age 50 and his eyesight diminished rapidly after that. I may still have one of his posters (got it after an exhibition in Dayton) that said boldly that he had the world record of 37 consecutive banks and I never heard any player dispute that record.
What set Taylor apart was his consistency. The other top guys could make all the same banks as him, but he never seemed to miss an open bank and they did occasionally. He just got locked in and started making banks and only stopped when he had absolutely no shot.
Now these guys were masters at using English to "twist" banks, making shots that seemingly had no path to the pocket. Taylor was the only one I ever saw bank a ball cross corner off the rail so hard it bounced over the edge of a ball that was in the way and went in. He could shoot that shot on demand, and enjoyed showing his skills to others. Eddie loved Pool and he loved to play. I always believed that he was more the role model for Minnesota Fats than "New York Fats" was. Walter Tevis (author of The Hustler) saw Eddie play in Louisville and that may have helped him to create the character. Eddie was a Southern gentleman, always dressed sharply in a sports jacket and dress shirt, and spoke softly in a polite way. I never heard him raise his voice or use profanity. He was no blowhard by any means, more like the character Jackie Gleason played. Tevis never saw New York Fats play!
Unfortunately he got cataracts at about age 50 and his eyesight diminished rapidly after that. I may still have one of his posters (got it after an exhibition in Dayton) that said boldly that he had the world record of 37 consecutive banks and I never heard any player dispute that record.
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