Greenleaf and Buddy similarities?
- Thread starter L.S. Dennis
- Start date
Thx for the side-by-side pics, but these pics do NOT show ones Stance.
Stance shows the feet along with the upper body.
bm
Picture is kinda deceiving. G'leaf was more side-arm, ala McCready, than Buddy.
Rusty in Montana
Well-known member
For me the Greenleaf picture clearly shows a open grip if you will of the butt of his cue which is my preferred choice for holding my cue while playing .
Not that I'm claiming to be as talented as Mr Greenleaf but I can continue to dream !
Not that I'm claiming to be as talented as Mr Greenleaf but I can continue to dream !
For those of you who weren't around in 2009 when I posted a thread here about Ralph Greenleaf as told to Billiards Digest
by Hal Houle, here it is:
by Hal Houle, here it is:
Nikrnic
Active member
Ralph Greenleafs Biography is a great read. He led a storied life with many ups and downs.
My grandfather was an excellent straight pool player who had a store with a 9ft table during the late 40s in Detroit. He said when Ralph came to town he would spar with him before he played his matches. He never mentioned drinking though he died of alcoholism so I suspect they had a few. I believe this as my uncle confirmed it as true.
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My grandfather was an excellent straight pool player who had a store with a 9ft table during the late 40s in Detroit. He said when Ralph came to town he would spar with him before he played his matches. He never mentioned drinking though he died of alcoholism so I suspect they had a few. I believe this as my uncle confirmed it as true.
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I don’t think Buddy could drink anything like Ralph.
One thing I notice is that both are shooting right handed but both seem to be strongly left eye dominant. This will make their head and body positions more inclined to be similar than somebody that is right/right or left/left.
I don't think they can be compared very accurately. Greenleaf we have elevated to legend status. Buddy for all the respect he gets in our little corner of the world seems to not generate the respect he deserves from John Q Public. He did get the respect he deserved from fellow pro's. There was a gathering in a room at an event. Keith bounces in the door. "Everybody in here can have the eight." Without even pausing for breath he continued, "Not you Buddy."
Hu
I don't think they can be compared very accurately. Greenleaf we have elevated to legend status. Buddy for all the respect he gets in our little corner of the world seems to not generate the respect he deserves from John Q Public. He did get the respect he deserved from fellow pro's. There was a gathering in a room at an event. Keith bounces in the door. "Everybody in here can have the eight." Without even pausing for breath he continued, "Not you Buddy."
Hu
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
Their styles and styles of play were as you point out undeniably different but there is some similarity in those two pictures. I mean Stevie Wonder could see that!
No, not even.
Sure, both their heads are canted over but look at the grips.
Buddy was the definition of smooth, traditional delivery. Ralph, with that short, knuckles on top grip was totally different.
Lou Figueroa
Buddy too.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
Lou, once again you're confusing style of play from a simple similarity in those two snap shots. I happen to agree with you on Buddy's style of play having seen him play probably a hundred times. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one glad you chimed in anyway!
Dennis
I try to watch any video somebody puts up to watch Buddy in competition. He is calm, strong, and smooth. His planning is usually first rate too. Imitators rarely fully match or surpass the person they are copying but being a fairly close second to Buddy Hall would put anyone walking in pretty tall cotton!
Hu
I’d love for you to share a link that is actually prime Buddy. Every single one I’ve come across was about a decade past his prime. He has a legacy of cueball control near perfection and frankly not a single video shows anything near worthy of that reputation. I’m not saying he didn’t achieve that level. But not a single video I’ve ever encountered put it on display. I think he came of age when people didn’t want to be recorded.
There should be some out there somewhere, maybe some accustat disk you can buy or one from Jay Helfert. Bob Jewett might have something for sale reasonably priced too. It is hard to find early video from back in the day.
My first memories of Buddy go back to when he was a young man, maybe in his late twenties or thirties. He was well proportioned for his size except for a small beer belly. None of the local shortstops that usually jumped to be the first when a stranger came to town tried to get him in action. Instead they huddled around his feet to hear any knowledge he might part with. I wasn't part of the in crowd at Greenway so I didn't join the half-dozen or more that looked almost like groupies when Elvis came to town.
Buddy really was as good as most of his admirers remember. Much of his reputation comes from people that watched him live though. Doesn't help people who would like to learn from video of him.
I had a little inspiration and did a quick check at onepocket.org They seem to have a good many links to video of Buddy but those on the first page that I noticed a date on the link only went back to 1994. Might be worth doing a little digging.
Hu