Yes You're right about Vernon. He and Clem Metz were 2 of the best players to play the game and neither would shoot in tournaments. They'd sometimes show up as it was ending and often robbed the tournament winner when they felt invincible and had some cash!
Vernon was a good friend of Gary and I. We were in pool room in Chattanooga once trying to scare up some action. Gary made a cheap game with some kid and played a few games before the kid pulled up. While they were playing, I saw Vernon come up to the door, stop and leave. I wondered what that was about but stayed watching Gary. When Gary was done and we had some time to kill we left to find some lunch. When we got outside Vernon got out of his car and came over. I asked him why he didn't come in and he told me. All those guys in there know me and if they knew you knew me your action would have been knocked. We took Vernon to lunch of course! I asked him once how he came up with some of those proposition shots he was so famous or should I say infamous for. He said no ones going to pay you for making easy shots unless you shoot 10,000 of them in a row but it's easy to get them to bet against an imposible shot! I just figured out how to make impossible shots and get paid for it.
and Clem.. Clem was the consumate pool hustler with a little bit of larceny thrown in for good luck. I've known Clem since I bought my first poolroom,
Royal Family Billiards of Oakley, in Cincinnati. It was THE action room in Cincinnati at the time while being sort of an "old school" pool room. Clem and I became pretty good friends there. He was a bit past his prime but I found he could still move and run out "at will" on a barbox when I got pissed off about the sandbagging in the APA. I put together a team of hustlers from the poolroom who'd never played in a league before so they had to qualify. Most of them were busted by the "pool police" who recognized them from local tourrnaments and their handicaps rose dramatically. Eugene Metz remained a 2 for a couple of months until someone on our team screwed up and slipped by calling out from the bar "Hey Clem, can I get you a drink?" That was the end of that team. lol I once asked Marshall "Squirrel" Carpenter at the Hall of Fame Banquet about Clem and he told me "You know, at one time I thought I could beat anyone in the world playing one-pocket, Except Clem!" That's pretty strong! Clem told me a lot of stories and I half thought he had that ailment Freddy talks about "Pool players amnesia" or he was stretching the truth a little, but all of the old guys I've talked to, Cornbread, Joey, Grady, Danny all said that Clem had a speed of his own almost like thay talk of Efren! And like I said Clem wasn't above a little larceny. He did some time in jail. He once told me about playing a "sucker" somewhere and he had the guy in a mortal lock with the sucker spotting Clem the 8 ball. Clem was laying down trying to take off a big score not just beat the guy one set but he only had $500 to his name and it was on the light! He let the guy win a couple of games to keep it pretty close, so he would think he had the best of it when Clem won on what was supposed to look like he got lucky. That was the plan anyway! Well when it was 5-5 racing to 7, and just having just received a gift when Clem laid the 9-ball in the jaws intentionally, the "sucker" was up to break. He made the 9-ball twice in a row to win the set. Clem told the guy, "Leave the money on the light, I'll get you $500 out of my car and we'll play another set" He went to his car and instead of getting money (he didn't have) he got his 38 S&W and went back and took the money off the light. He told the guy "You just don't understand! You didn't have a chance in that game, I let you win 4 of the 7 games and I got to have this money"! and away he went..... Of course, I don't aprove of what he did, but that had been 20 years before and was a hell of a story!
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). LOL,kinda like the Bugs videos I seen, he played the game as good as it can be played. You an argue for ever who played the best one pocket because its a moving and offence game, as is full rack banks-but in 9 ball racks or 6 ball racks after 12 hours the rolls even out and i dont think there is a better player than Bugs, Broomback or taylor-I bet it would be a tie. Like that tennis game the other day-thery were dead even, some games in life its not possible in games, to have "all time best and in pool I believe thats bank's more so than any other game in pool", unless you factor in pressure then maybe Jett, Bryan gregg, clem, and a few other past champions might get a edge due to pressure, but just the ability to pocket banks, I think therr are a few ties.
