Thanks for sharing the article, Henho! It was a good read.
How about the strength within Mike Massey to overcome the occupational hazards which were prevalent back in the '70s era?! It was a time when altering one's state of conscious at will was acceptable, much like catching a buzz on a beer. It was the Woodstock era. Bill Clinton didn't inhale, but George W. Bush admitted he partied in college.
I've got quite a pool library now, consisting of older pool magazines, books, taped interviews, and photographs. Mike Massey's name appears in just about every single one of "On the Snap," a magazine from the late '80s, early '90s.
Looking at the MPBA Tour, the equivalent of today's UPA, the Top 10 rankings in 1990 were: Nick Varner, Allen Hopkins, Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Kim Davenport, Mike Lebron, Buddy Hall, Bobby Hunter, Mike Sigel, and David Howard. At that time, Mike Massey ranked 17th. Pretty tough field (IMO), especially 9-ball, the way it was played in those days, when a perfectly executed safety was talent.
For a man who followed his dreams and made it big time, Mike Massey is truly an American success story, and he's still on a roll (IMO).
JAM