Agree completely about unreserved gratitude for what the guys do for the DCC's 14.1 promotion and dedicated enactment each year.
I’ve done this hopping break a number of times myself over the years, (but always on someone else’s cloth that already had divot marks on it) and always with a closed bridge when possible, because I could never trust the reliability of my own particular open bridge stroking under power. But I do greatly admire the young champions who can so fluidly, accurately, and unhesitatingly do so, as is certainly the case with Jayson and most of the European Straight Pool players and plenty of others here and abroad.
Joe Balsis was always fearless with these shots and performed them without hesitation when the need arose. He power-stroked a rarely seen one that got a standing ovation at the historic 1966 Burbank tournament I attended which incidentally turned out to be Mosconi’s last formal competition – the so-called “Invitational Pocket Billiards Championship” eventually won by Balsis, and featuring a 16-man field of virtually every contemporary top-flight 14.1 player.
Most in the audience were L.A.-area Straight Pool nuts like myself (I’d been playing and avidly learning the nuances of it for 14 years at the time), but there were also plenty of out-of-state spectators and naturally plenty of side bets on most matches as well.
I was working the graveyard shift at nearby Lockheed and got to see most of the afternoon and evening sessions of this round-robin event held in the modified premises of a defunct supermarket. My home room was Red Baker’s place in North Hollywood, about 10 minutes away from the site and it was filled daily with players visiting Red, (a respected pro who was also entered in the tournament itself) and practicing there.
Anyway, the hop shot that dazzled the crowd was a break shot that Joe had unfortunately missed his shape on. Just about anyone in the bleachers (and including the ref who I believe was the somewhat-shady promoter, Arnie Satin, a guy who most of the players – particularly Willie – totally detested) could see was absolutely dead-straight-in. Zero angle.
Balsis’s opponent was one of the younger, twenty-ish invitees – I don’t recall exactly who it was – either Ervolino or Mizerak, I think. In any case, as Joe was chalking up and making a decision about the shot, the ref announced (as is the 14.1 convention) the designated upcoming shot he presumed as “Safety” which normally would have been 100% accurate and appropriate.
Balsis, a powerfully built, but generally polite man, stared at the shot and somewhat un-characteristically, but fired up in the moment, said to the ref: “Shut up and learn something!” Joe corrected the designation. “Five in the corner!”
It appeared that Joe was rehearsal-stroking on the CB’s horizontal center with a slightly elevated cue and what appeared from the ad hoc bleachers to be a bit of right English. And he was aiming as if he wanted to cut the OB to the right-hand side of the pocket.
He slammed that five-ball dead-center into the pocket and the CB bounced high into the side of the pack then climbed . . . it looked like about four inches . . . . into the air, landing square in the middle of the pack, spreading it, as they say now, like butter.
I’ve never seen anyone before or since do to a straight-in what Balsis did that day. He ran out the match behind that one. We all agreed that the right english and a kind of wristy swipe not only threw the OB a bit to the left, instead of actually cutting it to the right, more relevantly: it allowed him to create a bit of angle for the CB/OB impact, thus enabling the resulting stun/climb action.
Sadly, Arnie (the promoter) would kick out anyone who came in with a movie camera unless they agreed to a contract he'd mimeographed-off granting him 100% rights to commercialize any footage they captured. No one agreed to sign, so their cameras had to be returned to their vehicles. He did allow a few professional media publicity shots on some days which showed nothing about the actual matches, unfortunately.
Arnaldo
