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

sjm said:
No, action credentials have never been the measure of BCA hall of fame worthiness. and I hope they never will be.

In Jimmy Mataya's day, too many action matches were played in smoky dark rooms with little fanfare, and such matches did little to nothing to promote the game. Rest assured, tournament greats from Jimmy Mayaya's era, such as Sigel, Varner, Hall, Rempe, Reyes and Strickland were far better known back then than Jimmy.
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Thank you for the response - would you say all those guys - sigel, varner, hall, rempe, reyes, strickland - had significantly more speed? or could jimmy beat them in his prime?
 
I know the guy only from his public persona, and I never liked what I saw. My estimation was that something was wrong with him -- he seemed to constantly carry a chip on his shoulder and thought way too much of himself. Plenty of folks have plenty of reasons to be pissed off at the world -- the challenge is to get past it. One can choose to be a first class #*$&($, but you had better be ready to pay the price. One of the prices is that folks will not come out and support you for the HOF.

I tend to judge folks by the people they run with. Who were his friends? Who did he run with? I'd like to hear something positive about him beside his hustling.
I could be absolutely wrong, I am not afraid of admitting when I am wrong, and I have changed my opinions before. But I need something else to go on.
 
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Biloxi Boy said:
I know the guy only from his public persona, and I never liked what I saw. My estimation was that something was very wrong with him -- he seemed to constantly carry a chip on his shoulder and thought way too much of himself. Plenty of folks have plenty of reasons to be pissed off at the world -- the challenge is to get past it. One can choose to be a first class #*$&($, but you had better be ready to pay the price. One of the prices is that folks will not come out and support you for the HOF.

I tend to judge folks by the people they run with. Who were his friends? Who did he run with? I'd like to hear something positive about him beside his hustling.
I could be absolutely wrong, I am not afraid of admitting when I am wrong, and I have changed my opinions before. But I need something else to go on.
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i too only know of him from his videos and commentary, to me he was full of himself in a funny way. probably annoying in larger doses, but many people with that style are like that
 
garczar said:
She was not only a good player but gave pool exposure that ad men dream about. She was classy, nice, HOT and could play. AFAIK she's the only female to win the action award at DCC in 2010. She could play, not Allison-speed but good. She gave the women's tour some publicity that they couldn't have paid for.
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Did you happen to look at the action she played that year?
 
1000BallRunner said:
Theres no angle, im not sure why everyone is seeming to get annoyed at this topic. Im simply trying to get a sense of how good of a player he was. Im not intending to lead his HOF charge.
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I knew Jimmy since He's 18 in Lansing, MI.

You want him in the same category as Mosconi, Hoppe, Greenleaf, Mizerak?

C'mon man, get real.
 
mr3cushion said:
Get online and do some investigating!

And come back better informed.
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do u realize people like robert byrne and walter tevis are in the HOF? Did they win world titles? - my research into jimmy shows he contributed heavily as a commentator and a personality. He seems to have contributed heavily to pool culture - and he was a TOP player. Is the idea he could be in the the HOF based on his skills and contributions off the table, really that ridiculous for you to scoff at it like this?
 
1000BallRunner said:
do u realize people like robert byrne and walter tevis are in the HOF? Did they win world titles? - my research into jimmy shows he contributed heavily as a commentator and a personality. He seems to have contributed heavily to pool culture - and he was a TOP player. Is the idea he could be in the the HOF based on his skills and contributions off the table, really that ridiculous for you to scoff at it like this?
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No One is scoffing at this idea!

He just doesn't have the 'Merit' other choices for inductee's have!

Jimmy didn't have 'Longevity' as a Top player!

The Best pool He played was when He was very young, (19-25).

At that time, 'Straight-Pool' was His Best game, when that faded out it became 9 ball!

Jimmy had a Big/Certain personality, which helped very often and hurt Him in many others!

He also had, (which many of us do) Demons He had to overcome, which came much later in Life for Jimmy!

I liked and was friends with Jimmy for Decades! He used to come to Chicago for years, He loved to go to Cubs games.
 
1000BallRunner said:
do u realize people like robert byrne and walter tevis are in the HOF? Did they win world titles? - my research into jimmy shows he contributed heavily as a commentator and a personality. He seems to have contributed heavily to pool culture - and he was a TOP player. Is the idea he could be in the the HOF based on his skills and contributions off the table, really that ridiculous for you to scoff at it like this?
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It's fine. I'm working on angles to get myself in , like about half this joint.
 
mr3cushion said:
No One is scoffing at this idea!

He just doesn't have the 'Merit' other choices for inductee's have!

Jimmy didn't have 'Longevity' as a Top player!

The Best pool He played was when He was very young, (19-25).

At that time, 'Straight-Pool' was His Best game, when that faded out it became 9 ball!

Jimmy had a Big/Certain personality, which helped very often and hurt Him in many others!

He also had, (which many of us do) Demons He had to overcome, which came much later in Life for Jimmy!

I liked and was friends with Jimmy for Decades! He used to come to Chicago for years, He loved to go to Cubs games.
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Why all The weird Capitalization in your Sentences? Is that Some sort Of Code?
 
mr3cushion said:
No One is scoffing at this idea!

He just doesn't have the 'Merit' other choices for inductee's have!

Jimmy didn't have 'Longevity' as a Top player!

The Best pool He played was when He was very young, (19-25).

At that time, 'Straight-Pool' was His Best game, when that faded out it became 9 ball!

Jimmy had a Big/Certain personality, which helped very often and hurt Him in many others!

He also had, (which many of us do) Demons He had to overcome, which came much later in Life for Jimmy!

I liked and was friends with Jimmy for Decades! He used to come to Chicago for years, He loved to go to Cubs games.
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Its great to hear your perspective as someone who knew him and has been around the game - thank you Bill
 
1000BallRunner said:
he beat HOFers in this tournament - which is why im asking if he had that speed. this seems like a ridiculous idea though to most of the responders here though.
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he lost 9-2 to grady in that particular match. if you want to gauge his speed watch his shot selection and play.. many players beat HOFers. harry vergara beat svb a week ago and there are zero conclusions to draw from that pertaining to HOF inclusion
 
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