Thanks for the Browning update...his name comes up from time to time here.
He was not on the same world as everyone else for a while there.
How Good Is / Was Dave Matlock?????
- Thread starter Hustler85
- Start date
Thanks for the Browning update...his name comes up from time to time here.
He was not on the same world as everyone else for a while there.
He still is a top player IMO. Whenever he loses he gets off to a super slow start and is down 7-2 or similar going to 9 and most people who do win(the lucky ones) end up winning 9-8 or 9-7. You will rarely see him get outplayed, you virtually lose all defensive games with him. He still kicks like he knows karate and he banks balls better than almost all. If you don't have a ton of firepower it's very hard to get there.
I'm not easily impressed but he banks a ball straight into the side pocket that is on the side rail second diamond with the cue ball in the kitchen on the other side of the table near the rail. It comes back that far somehow. People say he's nothing compared to what he was now, well I gotta tell you if I had to estimate he probably was the best ever on a bar table, just the little flashbacks you catch when he bears down are worth it to see him play.
I'm not easily impressed but he banks a ball straight into the side pocket that is on the side rail second diamond with the cue ball in the kitchen on the other side of the table near the rail. It comes back that far somehow. People say he's nothing compared to what he was now, well I gotta tell you if I had to estimate he probably was the best ever on a bar table, just the little flashbacks you catch when he bears down are worth it to see him play.
Chat-N-Chew
You know Lewis , I think I do owe you and Barry Rogers 15 twenty's from 33 years ago when ya'll played me some 9-Ball at the Chat-N-Chew in Warren,Arkansas..hehe
...how much would that be now in today's $ ?
I shot good that day!....we've had some good times for sure!
I hope the tournament in Round Rock goes good for everyone!
David Harcrow
You know Lewis , I think I do owe you and Barry Rogers 15 twenty's from 33 years ago when ya'll played me some 9-Ball at the Chat-N-Chew in Warren,Arkansas..hehe
...how much would that be now in today's $ ?I shot good that day!....we've had some good times for sure!
I hope the tournament in Round Rock goes good for everyone!
David Harcrow
You know Lewis , I think I do owe you and Barry Rogers 15 twenty's from 33 years ago when ya'll played me some 9-Ball at the Chat-N-Chew in Warren,Arkansas..hehe
I shot good that day!....we've had some good times for sure!
I hope the tournament in Round Rock goes good for everyone!
David Harcrow
Poor Barry was a while getting over the thumping you gave him.
What I remember best is you two playing 2 shot and at the end Barry was pushing to hook you. I asked him what the hell he was doing, and he said,"Well, he don't make those"!!
Those were the days!!
Which Story
So which story are you saying that we should negate? Where he wouldnt play buddy on the barbox with the small cue ball or the one where Larry Hubbard beat him with the big ball. If it is the latter, I believe that Keith has mentioned it a few times--since he beat Sigel and Hubbard right before they went to play Matlock.
Not arguing at all about Matlock's talent--very talented and I think in the top two with the big ball. Keith has always been impressive to me because of the weight he offered top players--who never got weight from anybody.
They hall have been beat before--even Buddy who I think had the best barbox game with the little ball got beat one night by Dan Louie.
So which story are you saying that we should negate? Where he wouldnt play buddy on the barbox with the small cue ball or the one where Larry Hubbard beat him with the big ball. If it is the latter, I believe that Keith has mentioned it a few times--since he beat Sigel and Hubbard right before they went to play Matlock.
Not arguing at all about Matlock's talent--very talented and I think in the top two with the big ball. Keith has always been impressive to me because of the weight he offered top players--who never got weight from anybody.
They hall have been beat before--even Buddy who I think had the best barbox game with the little ball got beat one night by Dan Louie.
I wrote a long piece about this tournament, and it's on my other computer in the garage, dag nab it. I am in the process of merging my documents from all my computers on an external backup drive. When I find this article, I'll post it up. You do have an EXCELLENT memory. :smile:
At any rate, the tournament was called the "Magnolia Open."
I know when I lived in Springfield, Missouri and Dave Matlock played in any tournament he immediately was picked in the calcutta blind bid.
Included in these tournaments was Danny Harriman, and Darrin Everett. They were NEVER picked over Dave in a calcutta, never.
How freakin strong is that?
Ken
Included in these tournaments was Danny Harriman, and Darrin Everett. They were NEVER picked over Dave in a calcutta, never.
How freakin strong is that?
Ken
on my way
thats what I will do--just hop on a plane and go ask him--
if it isnt a dump then why cant you tell us all why he lost
thats what I will do--just hop on a plane and go ask him--
if it isnt a dump then why cant you tell us all why he lost
Best
The best I have ever seen with the big ball in person was Keith. I never got to see Dave play, the second best is Tommy Kennedy and I don't really care if people believe it or not, but he shot as good as I just watched Jesse Bowman play last weekend in Mobile.
I watched Tommie run 18 racks in a row on a bar box playing 8 ball and watched him run out a race to 6 9 ball tourney with 24 players one night. I think he played 5 matches which would be 30 in a row with out missing.
The best I have ever seen with the big ball in person was Keith. I never got to see Dave play, the second best is Tommy Kennedy and I don't really care if people believe it or not, but he shot as good as I just watched Jesse Bowman play last weekend in Mobile.
I watched Tommie run 18 racks in a row on a bar box playing 8 ball and watched him run out a race to 6 9 ball tourney with 24 players one night. I think he played 5 matches which would be 30 in a row with out missing.
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Ken_4fun, if you don't mind my asking - where/when did you see a tournament with a calcutta in Springifeld?
My matches with Dave Matlock were unreal........
I never had anyone do what Dave did to me when I was in my top prime myself.
One time at terry's in Topeka in the 80's. I was playing the best pool of my life. I came down and got in this tourny and went for $80 in the calcutta. I think Dave went for about $500 or $600.
It came down to Dave and myself playing for 3rd and forth. Dave won the flip and broke and ran 8 racks. It was a race to 9.
He broke the next rack and it looked like it was over. As he was running out the rack he got a little lazy and missed the 9 on a fairly easy shot that would have made it 9 racks in a row.
Now in this tournament you had to win by 2 games.
With the score 8-1 I went to work. I ran the next 8 racks to make it 9-8 my favor.
I broke the next rack and didn't make a ball. Dave ran out and made it 9-9.
He broke and ran the next rack to make it 10-9 his favor. At this point everyone else had quit playing. They wanted to see what was going on.
Something very special happened on that day. I know that Jr Brown would remember it for sure. He had to play one of us next. This was a display of 2 gladiators in their prime of playing lighting it up.
And we were just both trying to make some money. That's why we were doing what we did.
Here we both broke and ran 8 racks each and can't seem to win 2 in a row to knock the other out.
I ended up winning the match 16-14.
This was the first of a bunch of Geno-Dave matches to come.
I had never seen anything like this ever happen anywhere and knew everything I had heard about this guy was 100% true.
What a competitor.
Next match Junior Brown pretty much ran out the next match on me.
There is nobody in the world that wants to play Dave Matlock in a tournament if you really plan on winning it. Not then and not even now.
His heart is also as big as a house. One of the nicest guys you ever want to meet, on and off the pool table...............
I never had anyone do what Dave did to me when I was in my top prime myself.
One time at terry's in Topeka in the 80's. I was playing the best pool of my life. I came down and got in this tourny and went for $80 in the calcutta. I think Dave went for about $500 or $600.
It came down to Dave and myself playing for 3rd and forth. Dave won the flip and broke and ran 8 racks. It was a race to 9.
He broke the next rack and it looked like it was over. As he was running out the rack he got a little lazy and missed the 9 on a fairly easy shot that would have made it 9 racks in a row.
Now in this tournament you had to win by 2 games.
With the score 8-1 I went to work. I ran the next 8 racks to make it 9-8 my favor.
I broke the next rack and didn't make a ball. Dave ran out and made it 9-9.
He broke and ran the next rack to make it 10-9 his favor. At this point everyone else had quit playing. They wanted to see what was going on.
Something very special happened on that day. I know that Jr Brown would remember it for sure. He had to play one of us next. This was a display of 2 gladiators in their prime of playing lighting it up.
And we were just both trying to make some money. That's why we were doing what we did.
Here we both broke and ran 8 racks each and can't seem to win 2 in a row to knock the other out.
I ended up winning the match 16-14.
This was the first of a bunch of Geno-Dave matches to come.
I had never seen anything like this ever happen anywhere and knew everything I had heard about this guy was 100% true.
What a competitor.
Next match Junior Brown pretty much ran out the next match on me.
There is nobody in the world that wants to play Dave Matlock in a tournament if you really plan on winning it. Not then and not even now.
His heart is also as big as a house. One of the nicest guys you ever want to meet, on and off the pool table...............
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It was in a strip mall across from the Chevrolet dealership. Steak and Shake is in the parking lot.
Sorry I dont remember the name of the pool hall.
Do you remember when "SNOOKER JOHN" won a tournament and it was shown on local TV?
LOL, good times.
Ken
Dave Matlock
I have see everyone in the last 20-25 years and even though there was a disagreement on our memories of the outcome on the match he played with Parica, David is a pure champion any size table. for about 20 years any player that played on the bar box his holy grail was to dethrone the champ Matlock. With that big heavy cueball he used to create outs where there wasnt any I watched him play a young Shannon Daulton cheap and Shannon honestly never missed and still came up short David was creating outs that NO ONE in the world would attempt he made at least 5-6 three and four ball combos shot some table length caroms and just ran rack after rack. Ive seen 2 players run more then 15 racks on a bar box but with Matlock you didn''t count he was/is a machine Big Ball small track I think he is the greatest ever
I have see everyone in the last 20-25 years and even though there was a disagreement on our memories of the outcome on the match he played with Parica, David is a pure champion any size table. for about 20 years any player that played on the bar box his holy grail was to dethrone the champ Matlock. With that big heavy cueball he used to create outs where there wasnt any I watched him play a young Shannon Daulton cheap and Shannon honestly never missed and still came up short David was creating outs that NO ONE in the world would attempt he made at least 5-6 three and four ball combos shot some table length caroms and just ran rack after rack. Ive seen 2 players run more then 15 racks on a bar box but with Matlock you didn''t count he was/is a machine Big Ball small track I think he is the greatest ever
Where in the world is JR Brown now? He cracked me up so many times. What a character?/
Well, you pretty well explain it right there. Add watchez cryptic answer and I would have to assume he was jarred. I have no idea, but that is what it sounds like from watchez response.
Haven't seen that match up but I have played them both 9 ball in years past.