George Brandt - Mosconi's Buddy - Cue & Cushion - Pennsylvania - Los Angeles
- Thread starter thekid77
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I played him once and he got lucky and ran 131 on me. He played okay.
Sounds like a flash in the pan.
Hi John, thanks for sharing about George....its really interesting to hear these things from the people that were there during the 60s.....
Just wish I could find a picture of him somewhere....im assuming that if he worked for LA area law enforcement that there must be a pic or two some where
He was a big, barrel chested guy with huge beefy legs (he liked to wear shorts). Not that tall, maybe 6'. Had chiseled, very manly good looks, almost like Charleton Heston. I can see him clearly in my mind now. He left an impression.
"Smiley" (Ismael aka "Puente de San Francisco), his usual running partner was "Tuna." Tuna was pretty small, but had a massive 9-Ball Break. He was really quiet, Smiley was the action getter, but Tuna probably played a ball or so better than Smiley.
I had numerous late 80's run in's with them; nearly always pleasant, but they were there to hustle.
I am not sure why Smiley's partners name Tuna escaped me in my original post but yes you are correct that was him. Both very nice guys but definately better players than myself especially back then. Would love to tangle with either one of them now that I am more seasoned and play a better game.
In addition to what I miss about Cali was all the fun I had at Hardtimes in Bellflower playing in all of those USPPA tournaments. Good times for sure.
Kevin
Jay, you mentioned Big Sergio in one of your posts up top. Wade Crane warned me about him years ago. When Tim and I were floating around out there in the late 70's , Tim made sure to warn me also. Never got to see him in action,,had to be strong.
Big Sergio was the best of the Mexican bar table players and that made him one of the best in the world. His style was reminiscent of Bustamante, very relaxed and free flowing, with a flair to his stroke. Sergio was a great money maker and rarely did he ever lose a set to anyone.
That is, until Keith came along! Keith just bar-b-q'd all the Mexican players at their game. For him, bar table pool was a joke and he wouldn't miss a shot all day; banks, combos, sharp cuts, everything went in, Keith calmly running rack after rack until you quit! And he made it all look so easy, totally nonchalant and joyful like he was having the time of his life, and he was! Keith had swagger with a capital S! The Mexican's had a special nickname for Keith, "El Diablo," aka The Devil! After a while, Keith was offering the six ball to any of them and winning anyway.
I would put Keith up there with Wade Crane, Buddy and Matlock as the best bar table players of all time. Wade and Buddy ran out in a more conventional style, almost like they would play on a big table. They were both models of consistency, never getting out of line and making all the right shots. They would study each shot and the layout before proceeding. Matlock simply overpowered the table and the balls, making them do his bidding. No one else dominated the little tables like David did. Keith just looked like he was practicing and not betting a dime, firing in hard shots like they were hangers. To this day, he was the best I ever saw at shooting a really hard shot under pressure. He had ice water in his veins. I never saw him flinch on any shot and if he missed one of those extremely tough shots (which did happen of course) he was truly surprised and looked a little disgusted. One other thing about Keith - He went through a rack much faster than anyone else, barely taking a moment to look at each shot before firing. That could be very intimidating too, to see how quickly he was putting racks together.
As good as the others were, Matlock was considered the king of the bar tables. He was totally unflappable and could play non stop for days until he ground you down. He was the top gun for years! The other great bar table players would just as soon avoid David. I'm sure he and Keith matched up somewhere along the way, being who they both were. But I couldn't tell you what happened if they did. That would be the one match where I might have had to bet against Keith. I would guess that he played some with Crane and Buddy as well. All these guys were serious gamblers. David Matlock was (and still is I'm sure) a man's man, someone who got your respect right away. He didn't say much but when he did you better be paying attention.
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