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How good was Keith McCready?
- Thread starter Magyar19
- Start date
Keith lit up San Francisco with Action
One thing I can say is that Keith is and was all about Action.
He came to San Francisco in the early to mid 90's and stayed for about a year and I can tell you that he created a ton of action in that city.
I saw him play Kim Davenport getting the last two at the Cue Club and that was when Kim was playing great--they broke even the first day. Kim went back to the hotel and slept for half a day. Unfortunately, Keith kept playing other people and stayed up for a couple of days straight. Kim came back and played him the same way and beat him--but it was because Keith was up for a few days straight.
There was a nice big fish in the pool room at that time and his name was Morrow-he was one of the biggest drug dealers in town. He was like the Viffer as far as bettting. Keith played him many times and they were great matches to watch. I think Keith ended up beating him of thousands--I believe Keith was giving him 3,5,7,8 and the breaks--ridiculous spots. They would bet thousands per game. Keith's eyes would light up when he came into the pool hall and of course he would talk it up and get the game.
Keith was gambling all the time and he was constantly stirring up action.
Watched him beat a guy in a bar out of 2k at 100 a game. He went with 9 ball paul (the old Hawaiin). He wore thick glasses (no prescription) and had a 24 ounce sneaky peat -and as he said (to move the big rock around easy). He saw the guy cash a check at the bar for the last 700 bucks--then Keith said to Paul--time to finish him off because they said thats the last check the guy could cash--Keith ran the last seven racks!! Back at the pool Hall Keith decided to gamble his half of the earnings with Paul by pitching coins on the pool table. He lost his money and couldnt believe it as he said he could pitch coins pretty good. He didnt know Paul spent about 2-3 hrs a day sitting in a chair pitching coins and then paid a dollar for a guy to gather them up in a can and bring them back to him to pitch again. Watched him wait 3 hrs for a bar match with a big sucker and while he waited he beat a few guys out of about 1500 bucks pitching coins outside.
That was the best time for gambling in San Francisco in a long time and it hasnt been the same since. He just wanted to gamble and he got people betting on everything.
This says it all about Keith-- Somebody offered to take Keith to a 49er football game (when the 49ers were great and tickets were hard to get) for free. Keith looked at the game and said I really dont want to go but if I go then you better bring a lot of money because we are betting on the coin toss, on which team will start at which end of the field, whether they will run or pass on different plays, on who will score first..etc He wanted to bet on everything!!
Jam-ask Keith if he remembers Morrow--I am sure he will
One thing I can say is that Keith is and was all about Action.
He came to San Francisco in the early to mid 90's and stayed for about a year and I can tell you that he created a ton of action in that city.
I saw him play Kim Davenport getting the last two at the Cue Club and that was when Kim was playing great--they broke even the first day. Kim went back to the hotel and slept for half a day. Unfortunately, Keith kept playing other people and stayed up for a couple of days straight. Kim came back and played him the same way and beat him--but it was because Keith was up for a few days straight.
There was a nice big fish in the pool room at that time and his name was Morrow-he was one of the biggest drug dealers in town. He was like the Viffer as far as bettting. Keith played him many times and they were great matches to watch. I think Keith ended up beating him of thousands--I believe Keith was giving him 3,5,7,8 and the breaks--ridiculous spots. They would bet thousands per game. Keith's eyes would light up when he came into the pool hall and of course he would talk it up and get the game.
Keith was gambling all the time and he was constantly stirring up action.
Watched him beat a guy in a bar out of 2k at 100 a game. He went with 9 ball paul (the old Hawaiin). He wore thick glasses (no prescription) and had a 24 ounce sneaky peat -and as he said (to move the big rock around easy). He saw the guy cash a check at the bar for the last 700 bucks--then Keith said to Paul--time to finish him off because they said thats the last check the guy could cash--Keith ran the last seven racks!! Back at the pool Hall Keith decided to gamble his half of the earnings with Paul by pitching coins on the pool table. He lost his money and couldnt believe it as he said he could pitch coins pretty good. He didnt know Paul spent about 2-3 hrs a day sitting in a chair pitching coins and then paid a dollar for a guy to gather them up in a can and bring them back to him to pitch again. Watched him wait 3 hrs for a bar match with a big sucker and while he waited he beat a few guys out of about 1500 bucks pitching coins outside.
That was the best time for gambling in San Francisco in a long time and it hasnt been the same since. He just wanted to gamble and he got people betting on everything.
This says it all about Keith-- Somebody offered to take Keith to a 49er football game (when the 49ers were great and tickets were hard to get) for free. Keith looked at the game and said I really dont want to go but if I go then you better bring a lot of money because we are betting on the coin toss, on which team will start at which end of the field, whether they will run or pass on different plays, on who will score first..etc He wanted to bet on everything!!
Jam-ask Keith if he remembers Morrow--I am sure he will
I've seen the main "king of the hill" table turn into a 1 on 1 gambling match of high enough stake a few times over the years.
JAM...If he's smart, YOU are the real joy in his life! :grin: Pool comes and goes...but a good woman is VERY hard to find, and something to hang on to, if you get that lucky (I did)!
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Pool, however, is very much still Keith's passion; in fact, it was and continues to be his joy in life.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :lmao:
To me Keither will always be a champion no matter what anybody says.. He's emptied more players than any top player out there.. Maybe the money didnt stick around that often but Keith is a true hustler AND World beater all at the same time...
Funny but i was reading the novel PLAYING OFF THE RAIL just yesterday and Tony had the Flu while at the Reno Open. Well Tony couldnt play any and Keith wanted Dave (David Mccumber the author) to back Keith against Cecil "The Serpent" while Tony was in bed sick... Well according to the novel (which Tony gave me the dont believe everything you read story) Dave Mccumber (the author and stakehorse for Tony) decided to back Keith against Cecil and guess what??? According to the novel Keither emptied Cecil with some highly entertaining WHOOFING to make it worth it all worth while :lol: VERY entertaining read but it did give you a real sense of the eb and flow of the game for both players.. I DO feel Keith got the best out of this match up :wink:
I think the Keith's lady at the time was Donna or something like that but JAM doenst need to hear it----->
Funny but i was reading the novel PLAYING OFF THE RAIL just yesterday and Tony had the Flu while at the Reno Open. Well Tony couldnt play any and Keith wanted Dave (David Mccumber the author) to back Keith against Cecil "The Serpent" while Tony was in bed sick... Well according to the novel (which Tony gave me the dont believe everything you read story) Dave Mccumber (the author and stakehorse for Tony) decided to back Keith against Cecil and guess what??? According to the novel Keither emptied Cecil with some highly entertaining WHOOFING to make it worth it all worth while :lol: VERY entertaining read but it did give you a real sense of the eb and flow of the game for both players.. I DO feel Keith got the best out of this match up :wink:
I think the Keith's lady at the time was Donna or something like that but JAM doenst need to hear it----->
Oh, he can still stand up. He is not quite that old yet.
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To me Keither will always be a champion no matter what anybody says.. He's emptied more players than any top player out there.. Maybe the money didnt stick around that often but Keith is a true hustler AND World beater all at the same time...
Funny but i was reading the novel PLAYING OFF THE RAIL just yesterday and Tony had the Flu while at the Reno Open. Well Tony couldnt play any and Keith wanted Dave (David Mccumber the author) to back Keith against Cecil "The Serpent" while Tony was in bed sick... Well according to the novel (which Tony gave me the dont believe everything you read story) Dave Mccumber (the author and stakehorse for Tony) decided to back Keith against Cecil and guess what??? According to the novel Keither emptied Cecil with some highly entertaining WHOOFING to make it worth it all worth while :lol: VERY entertaining read but it did give you a real sense of the eb and flow of the game for both players.. I DO feel Keith got the best out of this match up :wink:
I think the Keith's lady at the time was Donna or something like that but JAM doenst need to hear it----->
Thanks for sharing the Keith story. I kind of knew Keith had a life before me, so it's okay to mention the girls. In fact, he had quite a few of them, many of whom wore purple. :grin:
We do have a table, but Keith doesn't like the balls or the table. I'd actually like to get rid of it because nobody uses it anymore, other than a laundry sorter.
I think Keith would rather practice in a pool room where he can hear the sounds and experience the ambiance. There's something about the sounds of a pool room that make practicing different. It's fun to check out other tables between shots.
I used to have a license plate frame that said, "I'd rather be shooting pool." I think that's how Keith feels today. Though he's playing poker online, betting sports games with friends, he'd still rather be shooting pool. Pool is now more recreational for me, but I'm not sure it's the same for him.
I will ask him. In fact, when he rises and shines later today, I'll ask him to post on this thread about this story. This thread for the most part has been a fun read for me.
Hopefully, he'll know how to step over the mud puddles on this thread better than I can.
It depends on which day it is! [just kidding]. :grin-square:
Some people go their entire life without finding someone to share their heart with, Scott. You are, indeed, a rich man. :smiling-heart:
S
skip
Guest
Don't know if this has been mentioned. Could someone tell me what cue Keith was using in the movie?
Keith McCready
Pro Player
I was playing most of my shots with my Schon in the movie.
There were McDermotts that were actually there, though, like six or seven cues for the extras. We had little pool tournaments on the offs for the extras because there was a lot of pool players there that were extras, and at the end of the shooting, I ended up grabbing like four of those cues.
They did have a couple of Billy Stroud cues, though, but the majority of them were McDermotts. The so-called Balabushka cue wasn't a real Balabushka. I'm pretty sure it was a Joss cue made out to be a Balabushka.
It'll never happen!!!!
But I am sure he is going to come out and play in Bobby Stocks' tournament, just like you are!
Keith McCready
Pro Player
I remember Morro very well, not to be confused with Morro Paez who I also gambled with quite a lot. This Morro you're talking about from San Francisco, I can remember playing him just like it was yesterday.
I had to spot him a lot, like you said, the 3, 5, 7, 8, and the break. Actually, it was the 3, 5, 7, call 8, and the break, to be exact, but there was other times where we'd go back and forth with that game, and sometimes he would get all the wild balls and sometimes I would take one off accordingly to how the game was going. But I won more times than I lost for sure. I did beat him out of a lot of money, probably 30 or 40 large.
I was staying there with my girlfriend, Nancy Shine, at the time. She was very helpful to me and actually could play pretty good pool. I met her in Las Vegas, and she's the one who got me to come down to San Francisco, which ended up being a good move.
My girl used to get jealous of me doing all the pool playing, so I let her get up and play Morro herself. They were playing even on a big table. She ended up losing 8 dimes at 500 a game. It was the most money she'd ever played for. Her usual game was about 5 or 10 a pop playing 8-ball. Her juices were flowing for a nickel a game, which is understandable. She was crying her eyes out after she lost, but that's when the doctor said, "Don't worry. I'm gonna get the money back," which I did.
So Morro and I proceeded to play, and I beat him out of 14 large that night, after dropping 8. And don't you know, I let Nancy play him again for 500 a game, and I blowed 2 more thousand after that. I shut it down after that and couldn't let her play anymore.
Not that I didn't want to, but it was too much pressure for her. She could have really won a bundle if she could have taken it off because he would have really sailed. He might have dropped 80 to 100 if Nancy could have beat him. It was worth a shot, and I'd do it again today, right this minute, if the situation was still the same.
People don't realize that when you ask if there was any action in the pool rooms, this is a perfect example of making things happen. They don't happen unless you make it happen yourself. I've always been that way my entire life.
To make a long story short, me and Nancy took many subway rides from San Francisco to Golden Gate Park, and you know what was the end result there. It's hard to get out of that racetrack with the money sometimes. Then we'd go back to the pool room and tackle Morro again. That's when I would have to give him all the wild balls because he wouldn't play me the other way. The game was tough giving up that weight, but sometimes you have to let it ride.
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Keith McCready
Pro Player
The people that I gambled with knew how good I was. I don't like to brag about myself, but I'm sure the players that I gambled with may be able to explain it better than me. The Mexicans used to call me "El Diablo."
I used to take the worst of it in games just to get 'em up there. Sometimes I would out-run it, and sometimes I wouldn't. I was winners a lot more than I was losers, trying to take those shots. Usually when I would take those shots, I'd be firing a toothpick at a lumber yard, unless I got staked. People always wanted to put me in the box, whether I had a tough game or not. Sometimes it would work out. :wink: