How good was Keith McCready?

[JAM]

keith if ur out there please address this,has to b a great story behind this.

Wow! What a great thread and my favorite pool topic, too! :grin-loving:

Richie, I'll definitely ask Keith about Kevin later today when he rises and shines. I'm up before the roosters most days, working, working, working.

I never got to see when he was in his prime, but I have seen him up front and close in gambling matches, and he's still got a little "lightning in the jug," as he likes to call it. :grin-square:

One of my favorite tournament matches occurred at Q-Masters in Norfolk, VA. I think it was around 2001-2002 era, subject to check. It was the Q-Masters Spring Open, or some name like that, and one of my first so-called "pro" tournaments. I didn't know many of the pros back then, like I do today, but I did, however, know all my Virginia homeboys, who were there in full force. So I did have some pool friends to hang on the rail with while sweating the matches. :shocked:

Keith was on fire, running racks, making shots that I couldn't even imagine. In fact, he managed to stay on the winner's side of the charts the entire tournament, never losing a match.

One set, however, was close against a big man named Ron Park. It came down to the infamous hill-hill. Ron was running out and only had the 7, 8, and 9 left. Piece of cake for Ron, I thought. After he pocketed the 7, I turned to my Virginia buddy, Billy Stephens, and said, "Well, I guess we lost," as Ron's cueball rolled all the way up table and rested on the rail. The 8-rock was also on the same rail about 4 inches in front of it, what looks to me like a straight-in duck shot.

Billy shocked me when he said, "Not necessarily, Jennie. This is *not* an easy shot." I thinking, what, are you kidding me? It's a straight-in shot; the 8-ball is 10 inches from the pocket, with the cue-ball right behind it. Well, Ron fired at the 8, trying to get position on the 9, which was at the opposite end of the table, and he missed. OMG, he missed!

I looked at Billy in disbelief and said, "How did you know that?" Keith ran out, of course, putting Ron in third place. The finals came down to Keith versus Michael Coltrain. Now, Keith had already defeated Michael earlier in the tourney, knocking him in the losers bracket. I figured even if Keith lost this match, he'd get another chance. WRONG! This was my first experience of an extended race at the end in a double-elimination format, and Michael Coltrain won the event. Keith never got to lose a match like everybody else in the tournament did.

Well, the next best thing to first place is second place, and we pocketed a couple or more dimes which covered our weekend expenses. After the tournament, a celebration was on. Everybody was partying, enjoying the the atmosphere with all these great pool players in the joint. Close to midnight, however, the place began to dwindle. I wanted to leave and begin the 3-hour trek back home, but not Keith. Oh, no! Sam Monday from North Carolina was there and barking at Keith to give him some weight and bet something.

Keith's nostrils were wide open. Sam had all the North Carolina Boys as his backers committee to play Keith for three dimes. Sam was getting the wild 8-ball in 9-ball for a 12-ahead set. I had no idea how long an ahead set could take back then. I had all the second-place tournament winnings in my purse, and Keith came to me with his hand out, wanting me to give him 3,000 beans to play Sam Monday. I knew if I did, we'd be stuck for the trip, but what the heck, why not, I thought, not realizing I'd be there until daybreak in a 12-ahead match. Michael Coltrain was on Sam's backers committee. Everybody liked Sam to win this match, and he had a cheerleader squad on the rail. Keith had only me rooting him in.

Long story short, Sam had Keith 11 games stuck, and I had accepted defeat in my mind. And then, like a burst of lightning in the jug, Keith found a second gear and ran out and ran out and ran out and that 11-game lead went the other direction within less than a hour, with Keith winning all the dough, 12 games ahead of Sam. I've never seen anything like it since, the way the tides changed so quickly. He gave Sam a walking stick in the bathroom for giving him action, and we drove back home at daylight, during the Monday morning rush hour. Mike might have won the tournament, but we came home with most of the cheesenips.

Picture of Mike's dad, Keith, Mike, and Earl. I think that's Barry Behrman's yellow Corvette in the background. I don't know if he still drives that today or not, but it was a pretty cool car.

 

[JimS]

Nice/fun lil story. Thanks :groucho:

 

[Black-Balled]

...Its hard to explain how good he played. His confidence was also unbeatable in his high gear.
... DON'T BET AGAINST HIM!

In addition to the confidence there is the knowledge. The Man always knows what to do, in all games. If he comes to the table then he has seen that shot before.

We were lucky enough to have him in our DC tourney scene a few years ago, when the events were a-plenty. Events used to draw 100+ players, now seems like 50 is a good turnout. I have no doubt Keith was a major factor in getting people out...attendance-wise, and to the loser's bracket-wise too!

 

[jay helfert]

off topic for a secound ,jay a man by the name mike katsaras or pittsburgh mike he had won the big barbox tournament in vegas in the late 70s all the best players attended.do u know of this man like to hear if u do ,he is ur age.

I remember him and the tournament. I think Mike stayed on in Vegas and became a dealer.

 

[jay helfert]

Keith in his prime playing rollout 9 ball was the best player I have ever seen. He was the best shotmaker I have ever seen. He would roll out to a very low percentage shots and make it like it was in front of the pocket. I know most of you thing I am exaggerating but I'm not. His high gear was unbeatable by anybody. When rollout was played you had to be a shotmaker and he was the best shotmaker in the world bar none. Its hard to explain how good he played. His confidence was also unbeatable in his high gear.

One example was in a tournament playing at the Sports Arena in Anaheim Hills, CA. He was playing Jay "Swanee" Swanson on TIGHT 9' Rebco tables. It was a race to 7 and Jay had Keith 6-1. Swanee broke the balls and came up dry when Keith jumped up out of his chair and told the Swanee that just cost him the set (in front of at least 75 people). Keith proceeded to run 6 and out to win the set.

I'm sure Keith has had more 10 pacs than anybody else has ever had. If he made a serious effort to play again I hope some pros would play him some roll out 9 ball. All I can say is DON'T BET AGAINST HIM!

I was there too, running the tournament. We held it once a month - 32 players, $50 entry fee, good added money and a $1,000 for first place! Keith and Swanee were the two best in SoCal back then. Mike Gulyassy snuck in and won it one time that I remember.

 

[Duane Remick]

I was there too, running the tournament. We held it once a month - 32 players, $50 entry fee, good added money and a $1,000 for first place! Keith and Swanee were the two best in SoCal back then. Mike Gulyassy snuck in and won it one time that I remember.

" I Heard Once,
of a player busting Keith and ALOT other Great Players,
When he was playing all the time...
Some Joe Salazar Guy...
I think he may have been from California as well"

 

[JoeyA]

I got to play Keith about 12 years ago. he spotted me the 5 and the breaks for $40 a game. then let me get 10 games up on him, asked if I wanted to play for $100 a game. I said no, with a feeling that I was being hustled and after that he brought out the real stuff. slow long spin shots that had the cueball dancing like I had never seen. he weaved through racks and just about every rack had a shot I didn't even think was possible. what an amazing champion. the most memorable moment was after he said "this kids got a hell of a break," feeling cocky I put a little more into my break, the cueball flew off the side of the one and nailed him in the groin. now that I think of it, that was about the time he started playing perfect.

let me take this moment to apologize to one of my heroes, i'm sorry!

With a video of that, you could have been a real youtube sensation instead of a one hand wonder. :grin:

 

[Eric.]

" I Heard Once,
of a player busting Keith and ALOT other Great Players,
When he was playing all the time...
Some Joe Salazar Guy...
I think he may have been from California as well"

Funny how talk goes because there is the other side of it; that Keith was a major factor towards "retiring" Tracy Joe. So they say...


Eric

 

[Neil]

" I Heard Once,
of a player busting Keith and ALOT other Great Players,
When he was playing all the time...
Some Joe Salazar Guy...
I think he may have been from California as well"

Let me tell you a little story- We have a guy here, that one time I played him, he quit me and said " I can't beat you." However, that is not the only time we played. Truth be told, he has beaten me a lot more than I have beaten him. It's always close, with a few exceptions where one of us will just be in dead stroke and slaughter the other guy.

Now, rightfully, I can say that I have played him, and he said that he couldn't beat me. But, would that be the whole truth?? I'm quite sure Keith went bust many times. Usually giving up weight. But, that doesn't mean that he didn't win a whole lot more than he lost, even against the same people that may have bust him one time. :wink:

 

[LAMas]

" I Heard Once,
of a player busting Keith and ALOT other Great Players,
When he was playing all the time...
Some Joe Salazar Guy...
I think he may have been from California as well"

Tracy Joe Salazar owns Connoisseur Cues and vends at many tournaments and shows.

My friend Buttermilk, RIP, used to call him the Lil Blimp. Butter was a funny guy and when Joe had a long stretched out shot that he missed, Butter said that he was "belly hooked".:wink:

 

[richiebalto]

I remember him and the tournament. I think Mike stayed on in Vegas and became a dealer.

wow udo know everything past and present about pool.u are 100 percent correct mike did just that ,he dealt cards for many years.thank u jay!no wonder u write books,with all that knowledge it b a waste not to.

 

[Island Drive]

Jay, when Earl Strickland came thru Los Angeles in the late 70's and played just about everybody while traveling with Monroe Brock? did he and Earl match up at all?

 

[richiebalto]

Wow! What a great thread and my favorite pool topic, too! :grin-loving:

Richie, I'll definitely ask Keith about Kevin later today when he rises and shines. I'm up before the roosters most days, working, working, working.

I never got to see when he was in his prime, but I have seen him up front and close in gambling matches, and he's still got a little "lightning in the jug," as he likes to call it. :grin-square:

One of my favorite tournament matches occurred at Q-Masters in Norfolk, VA. I think it was around 2001-2002 era, subject to check. It was the Q-Masters Spring Open, or some name like that, and one of my first so-called "pro" tournaments. I didn't know many of the pros back then, like I do today, but I did, however, know all my Virginia homeboys, who were there in full force. So I did have some pool friends to hang on the rail with while sweating the matches. :shocked:

Keith was on fire, running racks, making shots that I couldn't even imagine. In fact, he managed to stay on the winner's side of the charts the entire tournament, never losing a match.

One set, however, was close against a big man named Ron Park. It came down to the infamous hill-hill. Ron was running out and only had the 7, 8, and 9 left. Piece of cake for Ron, I thought. After he pocketed the 7, I turned to my Virginia buddy, Billy Stephens, and said, "Well, I guess we lost," as Ron's cueball rolled all the way up table and rested on the rail. The 8-rock was also on the same rail about 4 inches in front of it, what looks to me like a straight-in duck shot.

Billy shocked me when he said, "Not necessarily, Jennie. This is *not* an easy shot." I thinking, what, are you kidding me? It's a straight-in shot; the 8-ball is 10 inches from the pocket, with the cue-ball right behind it. Well, Ron fired at the 8, trying to get position on the 9, which was at the opposite end of the table, and he missed. OMG, he missed!

I looked at Billy in disbelief and said, "How did you know that?" Keith ran out, of course, putting Ron in third place. The finals came down to Keith versus Michael Coltrain. Now, Keith had already defeated Michael earlier in the tourney, knocking him in the losers bracket. I figured even if Keith lost this match, he'd get another chance. WRONG! This was my first experience of an extended race at the end in a double-elimination format, and Michael Coltrain won the event. Keith never got to lose a match like everybody else in the tournament did.

Well, the next best thing to first place is second place, and we pocketed a couple or more dimes which covered our weekend expenses. After the tournament, a celebration was on. Everybody was partying, enjoying the the atmosphere with all these great pool players in the joint. Close to midnight, however, the place began to dwindle. I wanted to leave and begin the 3-hour trek back home, but not Keith. Oh, no! Sam Monday from North Carolina was there and barking at Keith to give him some weight and bet something.

Keith's nostrils were wide open. Sam had all the North Carolina Boys as his backers committee to play Keith for three dimes. Sam was getting the wild 8-ball in 9-ball for a 12-ahead set. I had no idea how long an ahead set could take back then. I had all the second-place tournament winnings in my purse, and Keith came to me with his hand out, wanting me to give him 3,000 beans to play Sam Monday. I knew if I did, we'd be stuck for the trip, but what the heck, why not, I thought, not realizing I'd be there until daybreak in a 12-ahead match. Michael Coltrain was on Sam's backers committee. Everybody liked Sam to win this match, and he had a cheerleader squad on the rail. Keith had only me rooting him in.

Long story short, Sam had Keith 11 games stuck, and I had accepted defeat in my mind. And then, like a burst of lightning in the jug, Keith found a second gear and ran out and ran out and ran out and that 11-game lead went the other direction within less than a hour, with Keith winning all the dough, 12 games ahead of Sam. I've never seen anything like it since, the way the tides changed so quickly. He gave Sam a walking stick in the bathroom for giving him action, and we drove back home at daylight, during the Monday morning rush hour. Mike might have won the tournament, but we came home with most of the cheesenips.

Picture of Mike's dad, Keith, Mike, and Earl. I think that's Barry Behrman's yellow Corvette in the background. I don't know if he still drives that today or not, but it was a pretty cool car.

another great story jam,really enjoyed it tusm.

 

[8ballEinstein]

" I Heard Once,
of a player busting Keith and ALOT other Great Players,
When he was playing all the time...
Some Joe Salazar Guy...
I think he may have been from California as well"

Maybe I should explain a little about this to complete the story.

By the time Joe Salazar moved to Southern California, he was already a well traveled road man who took on the best players around - Mike Sigel, Larry Hubbert and many others. He came out ahead almost every time, usually playing on the barbox. He just had a knack for keeping his opponents off the table, with run outs on top of run outs.

Keith was just coming into the pool scene when Joe moved in. So the initial matchups between the two were won by Joe, but Keith was getting stronger each time out. At one point Joe was ahead of Keith and his backers to the tune of about $25K (confirmation needed). After a while, Keith started getting into Joe's pocket, winning a few matchups.

Then a matchup to end all matchups was set up to determine who was the undisputed top player (maybe dabarbr or Jay can tell us what the wager was). Keith dominated the set so strong that Joe was not seen on a pool table again for about 8 years.

None of this is meant to bad-mouth Joe because I got to know him and really like the man but I'm sure even he would admit, Keith was probably the toughest money player he ever ran into - and he's seen a lot of them.

I also got to know Keith, and he gives credit to all those top players who gave him action and tough games. Afterall, those experiences helped make him the player he eventually became.

 

[JAM]

Maybe I should explain a little about this to complete the story.

By the time Joe Salazar moved to Southern California, he was already a well traveled road man who took on the best players around - Mike Sigel, Larry Hubbert and many others. He came out ahead almost every time, usually playing on the barbox. He just had a knack for keeping his opponents off the table, with run outs on top of run outs.

Keith was just coming into the pool scene when Joe moved in. So the initial matchups between the two were won by Joe, but Keith was getting stronger each time out. At one point Joe was ahead of Keith and his backers to the tune of about $25K (confirmation needed). After a while, Keith started getting into Joe's pocket, winning a few matchups.

Then a matchup to end all matchups was set up to determine who was the undisputed top player (maybe dabarbr or Jay can tell us what the wager was). Keith dominated the set so strong that Joe was not seen on a pool table again for about 8 years.

None of this is meant to bad-mouth Joe because I got to know him and really like the man but I'm sure even he would admit, Keith was probably the toughest money player he ever ran into - and he's seen a lot of them.

I also got to know Keith, and he gives credit to all those top players who gave him action and tough games. Afterall, those experiences helped make him the player he eventually became.

Here is a reprint of a post I made about Joe Salazar and Keith:

Tracy Joe was quite the player on the bar box.

Here's a cute story about the two of them. A young Keith made an appointment to play the legendary Tracy Joe at a pool room that was off the beaten path.

Keith and a couple of his buddies drove out to the joint at the designated time. When they walked in, there was Tracy Joe waiting for him. The place was packed with curious onlookers wanting to sweat the match. Tracy Joe had his own fan club there in full force, too.

Before the first game, it was agreed that the post monies would be placed on top of the overhead light, a nickel each totalling a thousand bucks. It wasn't 10 crisp C-notes, though. Rather, it was a bunch of tens and twenties. I'm sure both players must have been playing on committee monies.

Tracy Joe and Keith wasted no time and began to battle. It was like one of those neck-and-neck horse races. When one of them got close to the finish line, the other one would catch up. They were tight races. Back and forth they went until the wee hours of the morning, and then Keith caught one of those infamous gears and put it in turbocharge, defeating Tracy Joe several races.

Keith and his entourage were the strangers in town and wanted to get out of there as quick as they could with the cheese. So after the last set, they didn't want to hang around and mingle. They immediately exited the premises.

The night sky was pitch black in the parking lot. Keith and his buddies piled in their car to begin their journey back home. Within minutes it seemed, the driver of Keith's car saw headlights behind him, coming towards their car at an extremely fast pace. The driver of Keith's car figured they were going to get robbed and started to step on it, hitting speeds of close to 100 MPH. Keith said he was frightened.

Soon the car behind them made a move on this two-lane highway and pulled up right next to their car on the left. Keith and his buddies looked in horror when they saw this car full of the bar's patrons and wondered how they were going to get out of this trap.

The driver's side window of the other car was rolled down, and there was Tracy Joe. He had a bunch of greenbacks in one hand, pointing at it with his other hand, and screamed, "Keith, you forgot the post monies on the light."

Keith's driver pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Tracy Joe walked up to Keith's car and handed him the cash. Keith's driver was relieved, as were the rest of the occupants. On the way home, they all enjoyed a good chuckle. They were so intent on leaving, thinking they could get robbed, that they forget to grab the post on top of the light, and the would-be robbers turned out to be the good guys, only wanting to do the right thing.

I have a couple pictures of Joe, but last time I saw him, he said he prefers to remain incognito. Out of respect to Joe, I won't put his picture here. You can see him at almost every single high-profile pool event in his vendor booth selling high end cues. He has quite a collection that he's acquired over the years.

 

[jay helfert]

Joe, along with Big Sergio and Mario were the kings of the bar boxes for years. Joe was actually from Tracy, CA (near Modesto) and was the biggest gambler of them all. That is, until scrawny little Keith came along. At first Keith couldn't beat these top dogs but by the time he was 17 or 18 the tables started to turn. Once Keith got the hang of bar table pool and the big ball it was all over for everyone else. Soon Keith was spotting all the Mexican champions the eight ball and robbing them anyway. That's when they named him El Diablo (the devil).

He gave Joe the eight and beat him, then the seven and finally when he had him really broken down he gave him the five! After that Joe retired from pool for years.

 

[jay helfert]

Jay, when Earl Strickland came thru Los Angeles in the late 70's and played just about everybody while traveling with Monroe Brock? did he and Earl match up at all?

I don't think Keith was in town at that time. He may have been back East somewhere. They might have ducked him anyway. If you played Keith even, no one else would play you. And the word would get around everywhere.

 

[cbaumann212]

From what I've heard, back in the day, Buddy Hall, Dave Matlock, Keith McCready and Chino were the men to beat on the barbox.

 

[Eric.]

Joe, along with Big Sergio and Mario were the kings of the bar boxes for years. Joe was actually from Tracy, CA (near Modesto) and was the biggest gambler of them all. That is, until scrawny little Keith came along. At first Keith couldn't beat these top dogs but by the time he was 17 or 18 the tables started to turn. Once Keith got the hang of bar table pool and the big ball it was all over for everyone else. Soon Keith was spotting all the Mexican champions the eight ball and robbing them anyway. That's when they named him El Diablo (the devil).

He gave Joe the eight and beat him, then the seven and finally when he had him really broken down he gave him the five! After that Joe retired from pool for years.

I talked to Joe a few years ago, and asked him why he doesn't play Pool anymore. Joe said "Cuz I can't beat anyone". Now, I know Joe is a modest and humble man, and I wasn't believing his modesty, but he qualified it; "well, not a *good* player. I can't see the edges anymore(balls)".

My guess is that Joe was used to playing top players, wasn't into lamb killin' and was content with what he was doing.


Eric

 

[LeagueShirts]

WOW. Those are some stories! Thanks for the Friday entertainment! Mark and I are making plans for some cool McCready branded items. So far, you can get his 'signature' hot sauce and trademark t-shirt at www.LegendsChampions.com