JAM Was Right About No Top Tier USA Players Left

[Johnnyt]

JAM has said many times on here for years that the way pool was going in the USA that there wouldn't be any/or many top pros left on the tournament trail. There is only about 12 top name pros left now. She is already right about few, if any US pros traveling out of the country to play. Johnnyt

 

[JAM]

JAM has said many times on here for years that the way pool was going in the USA that there wouldn't be any/or many top pros left on the tournament trail. There is only about 12 top name pros left now. She is already right about few, if any US pros traveling out of the country to play. Johnnyt

Thanks for giving merit to what I recognized a long time ago. I saw the writing on the wall after investing six figures of my own dough trying to make something happen, only to get kicked in the teeth by people with selective memories, organizational entities created to benefit a chosen few, et cetera, et cetera.

I remember Buddy Hall's wife coming up to me at the 2002 U.S. Open saying how much she enjoyed seeing my enthusiasm and excitement about pool. I really was excited and full of enthusiasm at that time, like a kid in a candy store. I cherished each moment at that tournament, seeing all the great players giving it their all on a field of green. Man, I was having the time of my life.

Mrs. Hall told me that pool has not been so kind to Buddy. I didn't know what she meant then. I had always thought of Buddy Hall as the legendary icon that he is, but today, I know full well what she was talking about.

Here's what I wrote in 2007:

American pro players, like the buffalo, will continue to wander in the pool wilderness, looking for a little bone with not much meat on it. The prairies will provide plenty of fodder for the amateur, league, and social shooters. Some won't care that the American pro player is on its way to extinction. Heck, most don't even know they exist.

 

[JAM]

The golden age of pool in my opinion is when the American tournament trail was traveled predominantly by American pool players.

Action was plentiful around the good old U.S. of A., and the tournaments were always hard fought with excellent play.

Pool purse payouts in the 1980's were the same as they are today. Yet, we all know the cost of living has tripled since the '80s. There are not as many American so-called "pros" today as there were in the 1980's either. First-place prize in 1985 at the Binghamton Open, held in Binghamton, New York, was $25,000. How many open pool tournaments today pay $25,000 for first place? A nice hotel room in 1985 may have cost $40 or $50. Today, a nice hotel room is $100 on up. A gallon of gasoline has probably quadrupled from the cost of a gallon in 1985.

The American pool pie today is not quite the same as it used to be. In fact, there is no slice of pie for American players. They are scampering around the country, hoping to eat a few crumbs, like skinny little brown sparrows, starved to death, fighting for survival.

American pool players have to share these precious pool pie crumbs with the world. It's not quite the same in other countries, which have nationality-restricted tours and/or low payouts.

Come to America where we welcome players of all nationalities, creed, and color. Soon, the breed of American pool players will become extinct and wander in a wilderness of no resources to sustain themselves. The crumbs will diminish, and the American pool players of today may become the last of a dying breed tomorrow.

That's my story, and I am sticking with it.

Written in 2007.

On the AzBilliards front page news this morning, an article about Earl Strickland -- five-time U.S. Open champ -- wins tournament in New York. He pocketed $600 for first place in a tournament with 15 competitors. This is the norm as far as shooting opportunities for the American professional pool player. I guess they are lucky to have the opportunity to compete still on American soil.

Source: Earl the Pearl Gets by Sossei Twice....

 

[JAM]

I didn't find it funny at the time, but today I get a chuckle out of this photoshopped illustration of my above-referenced post created by Corvette entitled "Poolbirds." :grin: