Here's a set of golden oldies for you guys to enjoy :)

TheWizard

TheWizard

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Found this match last night on youtube.... Earl Strickland Vs Steve Mizerak (May he R.I.P.) back in 1983 at Ceasar's in Lake Tahoe, which includes a little snippet of much respected road player Howard Vickery :thumbup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8vzkWtdP8g (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcs7uvX7frU (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCQGJM59kEA (Part 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIWT79QcT0M (Part 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfmlTOjsUWI (part 5)

Enjoy :thumbup:

Willie
 
Bump :thumbup:

Anytime buddy and thank you for the rep points, I really appreciate it :)

I'm gonna have another look around tonight to see if I can find any more matches from this event and if so, I'll post the links up for them as well so that it's some more matches for the good people of AZB to enjoy :cool:

Willie
 
Thanks...I'm always looking for more video footage of the pro's. I've pretty much stopped watching television . Now I just watch billiards on the computer all day. :thumbup:
Yes....I realize that I have no life :lol:
 
some more vintage Strickland matches to enjoy

1988 South Carolina Open Earl Strickland Vs Buddy Hall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqlbpCxxOW4 (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08G-5-XrH2Q (Part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJT7kO31LlU (Part 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lPCCFnvfm0 (Part 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTahvVf6tRE (Part 5)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgiEV9tA1L8 (Part 6)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwN5F-qP_xY (Part 7)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtBTto5vlGk (Part 8)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWuTIxXzY4 (Part 9)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXmPE8MMbLQ (Part 10)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VLSnF3FFQg (Part 11)

Again this is just another match up I have found by searching on youtube :)

Enjoy :thumbup:

Willie
 
APA - 32920 said:
Thanks...I'm always looking for more video footage of the pro's. I've pretty much stopped watching television . Now I just watch billiards on the computer all day. :thumbup:
Yes....I realize that I have no life :lol:
Click to expand...

lol, you're very welcome buddy :)

TV sucks anways and so, at least this way it gives us pool players more chance to enjoy watching the pros :)

Willie
 
Mr. Wizard, rep to you sir.

This was terrific! The only downside was that Earl was awarded an Isuzu Impulse. :grin-square:

How good was that jump shot with his playing cue?

And did you all see the vintage commercials after the match for Bud Lite and college basketball? Dean Smith with dark hair and the players with those shorty shorts. Definitely a blast from the past.

Thanks for posting this gem.

Best,
Brian kc
 
Hey Brian, how ya doin buddy? :)

You're very welcome buddy :thumbup:

lmao, everything in that footage apart from the pool seemed like being given a brief ticket back into the world from that time :) lol, and the car seems like a milk carton on wheels compared to how cars look nowadays :) lol

Yeah, that Jump shot on the blueberry was a juicy one alright, especially with how he held good shape on the 3 :)

I'm glad you enjoyed the show buddy and thank you for the rep buddy, I really appreciate it :)

Willie
 
This was my first tournament where I acted as tournament director. So Earl and I started out at the same time. ;)
Steve was THE MAN in pool those days and Earl was just another young upstart. After Earl beat him in Tahoe, he duplicated the feat a couple of months later at Red's in Houston. Steve was never the same after that. For Earl it was the beginning of a brilliant career.

I was also the "floor manager" for the ESPN telecast and would signal the players when they could break the balls. Earl hated it when I held him up. He was ready to roll! John Stravinsky, a noted writer and billiard enthusiast (he still attends DCC) was joined by Leandra Reilly as commentators. I gave Leandra a quick synopsis of 9-Ball and what to look for prior to the match, and she did a great job IMO.

This was a Richie Florence production, with a $150,000 prize fund in 1983! First prize paid $33,000 plus the Izuzu, worth another 12K. Not a bad pay day in 1983. Too bad the players of that era undermined Richie's efforts to put pro pool on the map. He had it going on and they refused to sign television releases at Caesars Palace in 1984. That was the end for RFP (Richard Florence Productions), and for the pool players too. The first time I saw them shoot themselves in the foot, but not the last. :eek:
 
As always, your experience and knowledge on this time honoured sport that we all know and love, brings another valueable testimony from experience to give some extra insight and history on what looked to be a great tournament :thumbup:

It's a shame that the players couldn't see the ''bigger picture'' in what Richie was trying to achieve for the players and the sport, but as you say it's not the 1st time the players have burned a bridge or 2 and it'll certainly not be the last.

I'm glad that you mentioned something about Steve Mizarak not being the same after the rematch against Earl a few months later because I kept getting the feeling that Steve simply wasn't comfortable in that 1st final match shown above.

It's hard to describe or explain it, but I don't think Steve's heart was in the match and on top of that, he looked to be uncomfortable with the gold cloth...

The reason I say that is because in the video of the pool/snooker challenge with Steve Davis, Steve Mizarak mentioned in an interview after the snooker section that he normally had to wear glasses, but he didn't wear them whilst shooting pool because he was used to shooting by instinct and using what natural sight he had... and with having less than great eyesight myself all my life, I can totally understand how difficult it would be to see the shots as clearly due to the glare from the bright cloth colour.

Did Steve Mizerak mention about any problems he had with the cloth colour during that tournament? :confused:

Willie
 
TheWizard said:
As always, your experience and knowledge on this time honoured sport that we all know and love, brings another valueable testimony from experience to give some extra insight and history on what looked to be a great tournament :thumbup:

It's a shame that the players couldn't see the ''bigger picture'' in what Richie was trying to achieve for the players and the sport, but as you say it's not the 1st time the players have burned a bridge or 2 and it'll certainly not be the last.

I'm glad that you mentioned something about Steve Mizarak not being the same after the rematch against Earl a few months later because I kept getting the feeling that Steve simply wasn't comfortable in that 1st final match shown above.

It's hard to describe or explain it, but I don't think Steve's heart was in the match and on top of that, he looked to be uncomfortable with the gold cloth...

The reason I say that is because in the video of the pool/snooker challenge with Steve Davis, Steve Mizarak mentioned in an interview after the snooker section that he normally had to wear glasses, but he didn't wear them whilst shooting pool because he was used to shooting by instinct and using what natural sight he had... and with having less than great eyesight myself all my life, I can totally understand how difficult it would be to see the shots as clearly due to the glare from the bright cloth colour.

Did Steve Mizerak mention about any problems he had with the cloth colour during that tournament? :confused:

Willie
Click to expand...

What he really didn't like was the Corner Pockets logo that was silkscreened onto the table. It may have caused some slight roll offs of balls and made it tougher to see the one and the nine, particularly on television. Steve wanted to win this first tournament on national television in the worst way, but he congratulated Earl after it was over. Earl just played better and made that jump shot which turned the tide in his favor.

When Earl beat Steve two months later in Houston, it was the end of Mizerak era. And the beginning of the Strickland era. Earl and Sigel dominated pool for the next fifteen years, with Buddy, Nicky, Kim and a few others playing supporting roles. Believe me it was just as tough to win a major tournament back then as it is now. We had sixty four man fields full of great players.
 
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