Grady,
I think it was around 1999 or so when I first met you. Coby Atkins had you over to do an exhibition at Diamond Billiards in Lancaster, PA. At the time, I had only been playing seriously for about 6 years or so. I'll never forget when you walked in the door and setup your case (I think it had a little kickstand on it) and got your player chair all setup. I was mesmerized --- I finally got to watch a pro player shoot some pool in person.
I'm not sure if you played 1p or 14.1 first... I think it was 1p. You played a local guy and I think you went 8-out 3 racks in a row. The entire poolroom was gasping with how perfect you ran out each time. I believe you played one of our local short stops, Randy Fry, in a 14.1 set.
You later took on some 9b challenge games --I'll never forget how I felt when I played.... scared as hell.... you won, of course
Not too long after that you came through the area again with Allison Fisher and played a long 9b set. Allison played perfectly that night and squeaked a win in a close set, if I recall. Always on top of things, you kept the entire room in stitches---- joking about ex-wives and whatnot, saying how marriage was the hardest action of all haha
The last time I believe I saw you was at the DCC in either 2006 or 2007 when you drew Efren in the bank pool event. You had the table that was on the corner, pretty close to the TD's table. Remember now, right? So, before long a huge crowd gathered. I don't remember who won that match, because I was too busy getting run over by Evgeny Stalev, but the crowd was getting louder and louder as the anticipation was growing in the set.
In a time when Efren was obviously the #1 player on planet Earth, every shot he had at the table was shooting at Fort Knox and whaddya know -- you were hill/hill, with the crowd cheering. By this time, the crowd over-took the area and I couldn't see what happened. I'll never forget that day because I got to see a glimpse of how the Professor
PLAYED.
*GIVING YOU A BIG HUG*
Dave
York, PA
Allison and Gerda had been patiently waiting, along with the entire crowd! Although a bit embarassed, Grady made a quick joke that had the crowd in stitches, and proceeded to start his match with Allison. I was honored to be introduced during an intermission, and did a few shots for the crowd while they took a short break. It was there I met Paul Song for the first time (among several other notable players), picked up a couple of lessons, and sold a couple of cues. That was a heck of a fun day! :thumbup: Grady has probably played more top shelf pool players than almost anyone still living, and he certainly has promoted more tournaments!
