How good was Jimmy Mataya in his prime? Should he be in the HOF?

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1000BallRunner

Member
Doing research on Jimmy - it seems there are different perspectives on how good he was. He did an interview not that long ago where he insists he should be in the HOF and many of the comments seemed to disagree - based on my research - when you consider his accomplishments as a player and as a personality - he is undoubtedly a HOFer and played the top top speed as his best. Also whenever a player is interviewed and jimmy is mentioned, they always seem to say the lost to him! The sport seems to be dying becasue we no longer have players with personality and swag like Floyd in the sport....would love to hear others thoughts / stories on Jimmy. He is in my top 5 favorite players for sure.
 
1000BallRunner said:
Isnt fats in on personality?
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He's a one-off. He got in for promoting the game as he was the most well known name/showman in the game. No way anyone's ever gonna compare Mataya with Fats in this regard. Look, i liked Jim but his schtick could get old pretty quick. I had friends in Vegas when he was out there and they said no one could stand the guy. Loud, drunk mouth cannon a lot. He had his day playing but he's not a HOF candidate. I'm not gonna play ping-pong with posts over this. If you like the guy great but don't get your hopes up over this, Out..............................................
 
I always thought it was a bit of a surprise that Kim Davenport got in and Kim was a more accomplished tournament player than Jimmy was. Although I did enjoy seeing Jimmy play a few times later in his career.

There's two sets of standards for the HoF in my mind. There's the pre-international game standard (just U.S. players) and there's what we have now - a truly international game. Since Jimmy didn't get in under the older standard like Kim did, he's sort of out of luck.

The bar has been raised.
 
1000BallRunner said:
Isnt fats in on personality?
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Of course some truth to that but Fats had skills too. He picked his spots and had wins against most top players of his day. Losses too, but one fine example was one of the yearly meets between him and Willie. Few remember he beat Willie in the all around. I would rent a billboard if I did that!

Fats had a fleet of Cadillac's from playing pool. When he decided it was time for a new one he just parked the older one by his driveway or wherever.

Jimmy had his spots but many more players that demonstrated greater skills over long periods will never make the hall. Good luck with your efforts but I think you have a tough row to hoe.

Hu
 
Bob Jewett said:
The category was meritorious service.

If you're serious about Mataya's induction, start working on a biography and send it to the committee. Posts here don't help much. I think you have a very difficult job ahead of you.
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I certainly respect your opinion Bob - This was more trying to get a sense of his speed in his prime then me saying i am leading his hof charge. In his prime was he competing and beating the top players in his era ?
 
ShootingArts said:
Of course some truth to that but Fats had skills too. He picked his spots and had wins against most top players of his day. Losses too, but one fine example was one of the yearly meets between him and Willie. Few remember he beat Willie in the all around. I would rent a billboard if I did that!

Fats had a fleet of Cadillac's from playing pool. When he decided it was time for a new one he just parked the older one by his driveway or wherever.

Jimmy had his spots but many more players that demonstrated greater skills over long periods will never make the hall. Good luck with your efforts but I think you have a tough row to hoe.

Hu
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Im not going to personally nominate him - was just curios about how good he was because it seems there are different opinions on him
 
garczar said:
Record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Mataya NO majors. Only big wins were Stardust and possibly Dayton. If there was a 'Action HOF' he'd probably be first ballot pick. Much more action guy than tournaments as they didn't pay shit back then. Some of his 'Rack' stories from his Detroit days were priceless.
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gar - but didnt he play in an era where people didnt try to accumulate the world titles in order to save their gambling? So is that really fair to judge his resume relative to people today? Someone like Billy Incardona is another example. He doesnt have world titles but he certainly played the highest level 9 ball in his prime.. right?
 
1000BallRunner said:
gar - but didnt he play in an era where people didnt try to accumulate the world titles in order to save their gambling? So is that really fair to judge his resume relative to people today? Someone like Billy Incardona is another example. He doesnt have world titles but he certainly played the highest level 9 ball in his prime.. right?
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Need to plead your case to HOF. I've stated my stance as have others. Good luck in your quest.........................
 
BasementDweller said:
I always thought it was a bit of a surprise that Kim Davenport got in and Kim was a more accomplished tournament player than Jimmy was. Although I did enjoy seeing Jimmy play a few times later in his career.

There's two sets of standards for the HoF in my mind. There's the pre-international game standard (just U.S. players) and there's what we have now - a truly international game. Since Jimmy didn't get in under the older standard like Kim did, he's sort of out of luck.

The bar has been raised.
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Sorta agree on Calif. Kim I'm guessing he made it based on his yrs on the CamelProTour. He was POTY in '89 and had some impressive wins over some guys that ARE in HOF now. Mataya was pretty much done with pool by the time the tour picked up speed in the late 80's-'90s. Jim is no doubt one of the most flamboyant guys to play the game but i still don't think that alone gets you in. His playing record would have to be much stronger.
 
garczar said:
not a HOF candidate. you don't get in on 'personality'. his record talks for itself. his only big win was the '72 stardust. jim could flat play but so could a bunch of others his speed. he's WAY more known for runnin his piehole than using a cue.
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I thought they had a section for those that contributed to the sport without being great players, or even players at all. For example, if Jeanette Lee was not a good player, her promotion of pool should still land her in the HOF. I think Mataya was good enough of a player combined with a promoter of himself and pool to be at least considered.
 
hang-the-9 said:
I thought they had a section for those that contributed to the sport without being great players, or even players at all. For example, if Jeanette Lee was not a good player, her promotion of pool should still land her in the HOF. I think Mataya was good enough of a player combined with a promoter of himself and pool to be at least considered.
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I kinda doubt, aka 'not happening', the BCA selection committee will view his 'promotional' work HOF worthy.
 
his commentary game was HOF material if there was a comedy criteria. i remember one match in early streaming days, could've been lenny streaming but not sure. jimmy was, well, "under the influence" but it was funny as hell as long as it lasted
 
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