I watched a few matches of Jim Rempe playing in the US Open back in the late 90's. The commentators were saying that Jimmy wanted to win the US Open more than any of the countless events he won before. I have one where he plays Mika Immonen and they both shoot in the .900's, playing almost flawlessly. They traded 2 and 3 packs the entire match, and later Jim was on the hill at 10-7 and he hit a safety poorly but left Mika a long tough shot. Mika fired it in and ran out, then ran a 2-pack to make it hill-hill. Mika broke dry and Jim executed an incredible safety, locking Mika up. Mika fouled and the layout was very tough, but like the master Jimmy is, he negotiated all the tough parts of the rack like a surgeon. He got kind of unlucky and fell straight in on the 7. He did the best he could from there, and had to jack up and shoot a cut shot on the 8 and draw the cueball the length of the table for the 9. He made the shot what seemed to be perfectly, and it looked like the cueball was gonna roll right past the 9 and stop next to it for an easy shot, but at the last second it slowed down and the cueball stopped right on top of the 9. Jimmy then executed another great safe by thinning the ball and leaving mika a long bank on the 9. Mika made the bank and went crazy jumping up and down and cheering. I could see Jimmy was heartbroken. Was it after that he retired from pool and gave up on trying to win the US Open title? The last few years he made it to the quarter finals or semis but someone would squeak by him. I hope that he is getting back in stroke for the IPT, he was an amazing player that stood the test of time, and I would love to see him competing again. His nick name "King James" was very fitting to how he played.
Jim Rempe, US Open
- Thread starter cuetechasaurus
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cuetechasaurus said:
I've seen that match, it was from 1998 I believe. It was a heartbreakng loss, I really wanted Rempe to win it. Although very accomplished in his career I feel Rempe is underated because of a lack of a U.S. Open 9-ball title. He's definitely a great player in my book. On an accu-stats tape (can't remember which one) Grady Matthews said that Rempe was once playing in the final of a major 14.1 event against another great player, either Sigel or Mizerak, it was to 200 points and Rempe was down something like 190-15 and he came back to win it! That takes heart.
Bobby
Bobby said:
Rempy lost the US open 14. 1 title, 200 to 199 I was sitting 10 feet away. He missed the game ball, a very easy shot in the side pocket and Balsis ran out. That afternoon J. Balukas won the womens tournament 100 to 99 a pretty amazing tournament.
macguy said:
I wasn't there, but I remember it well. It looked pretty bright for Rempe in the 1981 World Open Straight Pool event, too. I was there for that one. In a late round match, Sigel and Rempe sqaured off in a classic, and Rempe was playing brilliantly. Jimmy was well past a hundred in the race to 150 and Sigel, facing the position below, had just 21. Sigel cut the seven in, broke the pack and ran 129 and out! Jimmy had a wonderful career, but was sometimes in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Attachments
sjm said:
Sometimes he was on the winning end. The same tournament he lost to Balsis he beat Danny D. I believe the match just prier to the Balsis match. Danny needed like 10 or 12 balls and got out of line on a break shot. He should not have shot it but he did and missed. Rempy ran somewhere around 120 and out, Danny didn't get back to the table.
One of the best matches I have ever seen was also one of the first.
Jim Rempe and Mike Sigel in a 9 ball tournament at Gentleman Jim’s in Rockford Illinois, mid 70's. Race to 11,
I did not see either one miss a ball. Sigel wins 11/10.
I was sooo impressed.
Jim Rempe and Mike Sigel in a 9 ball tournament at Gentleman Jim’s in Rockford Illinois, mid 70's. Race to 11,
I did not see either one miss a ball. Sigel wins 11/10.
I was sooo impressed.
qstroker said:
I didn't mean to imply he dogged it. It was a small cut into the side and it just hit the point of the side and went down table and the cue ball went to the foot rail leaving a really tough long shot for Balsis to come with, but he made it and ran around 20 to win. Rempy by the way didn't seem to know what happened after the miss. He fell into his chair and was in sort of a faint. His girl or wife, I don't know which it was at the time, grabbed him before he fell out of the chair and just held on to him.
It was either Nick Varner or Buddy Hall that said after that match against Balsis where Jimmy missed the game ball, he wasn't quite the same for a long time after that.
cuetechasaurus said:
One of the more famous loses was Sigel playing Monk C. It was at the time the biggest prize ever for a 9 ball tournament I think, $25000.00 first. Anyway, Sigel corner hooked himself with the side pocket on the game/set 9-ball and had to play safe. He hit the edge of the ball he could see and got back to the head of the table and the 9 went almost to the middle of the foot rail. Monk had no real shot or a way to play safe and he just cut the 9 in like 90 degrees and jumped like three feet in the air making it hill hill. Then proceeded to make the winning 9 on the break. Sigel went a little nuts after that and went to work for Joss cue. I don't think he played seriously again for quite a few years.
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> Jimmy was/is certainly one of the all-time greats. Even though he never won the U.S. Open 9-ball,or the 14.1,when you look at the fact that he was ranked in the top 5 or so for 25 consecutive years,and won tournaments in different games,various equipment and cloth,under different sets of rules,and almost an era of players,it looks much more impressive than a player such as Lisciotti,who won a World title and did little else,not to disrespect him in any way. One of the absolute strongest things I've ever seen any player do was done by Jimmy. He had come to The Rack in Memphis in 1991 to do an exhibition. He made every trick shot on the very first try,and not all of them were hangers,including regular and behind the back wing shots. He also played race to 3 8 or 9-ball challenge matches against all comers,including myself. Even though several players ran out and won a game here and there,when it came time for him to shoot he never missed a ball. After the session,he stood around and answered questions and talked with people,when someone led him to the back of the room with a half-full ball tray. In the back of the room at the time,there was the most beautiful Balke-Collander 10 foot snooker table I personally have ever seen,absolutely flawless,and extremely snug to boot. Jimmy took full sized Centennials and made the 90 degree inside english cut shots off the end rail,set the cue ball in the jaws of the corner pocket and pocketed a ball off the 5 ball spot and drew the cue ball back straight and hard enough you could clearly hear it hit the back of the pocket,cut balls in off the 7 ball spot from inside the D,made 5 wings shots in a row regular then 3 in a row behind his back,and made 4 consecutive long rail banks,all with nice crisp speed and with full sized pool balls instead of the 2 1/8 snooker balls. If you've ever spent an hour or two trying to make a long rail bank on a snooker table with the regular snooker balls,you know what a task that is,now do it with warp speed and larger balls. Tommy D.
> I forgot to mention this,but someone else said something about a match against Sigel. It was the finals of a invitational 14.1 tournament in New York. Sigel had ran 155 off the break,and eventually ran up a lead of 195-15. Rempe came to the table,ran a 75,played a planned safety,then ran a 110-out. Sigel won the tournament over Rempe in the finals the year before and the year after. I had heard at one point the reason he wasn't very active was that he had been having back problems or something,but hope he does well on the IPT if he plays. He's sure as hell going to outsmart the vast majority of the players. Tommy D.
Good to see one of the all-time greats get some well deserved kudos. He went on a tournement winning streak at one time that is, I think, unparalleled. Went to his web site, saw that he's won over 90 major tournements, but couldn't get details on the streak. Anyone know how many 9-ball tournements he won, consecutively? The stuff with the cue balls on the snooker table is great stuff. A buddy of mine, who is pretty reliable, was talking about King James one time and told me that Buddy Hall just shot him down in cold blood in a cash game and Jim was never the same after that. Maybe that and/or the tough tournement loss caused a turnaround in his career. You see it a lot in boxing, an undefeated fighter who looked unbeatable gets beaten, and never gets "it" back (wonder how Jeff Lacy will recover after last night's shutout loss). In any event, Jim Rempe is one of the best ambassadors the game has ever had and a player worthy of everyone's total respect.
I remember him playing very well at the Open the next year also. I think he played Jeremy Jones on the Accu-Stats table when there were 4 left on the winners side. Jeremy played great and won, and I think Rempe lost his next match, maybe to Archer. Anyway, I'm pretty sure he still plays the open every year, although he hasn't gotten that close since.
Also, about 3 years ago, I remember him having the hot seat in the Atlantic City 10-ball tourney, and ended up losing to Danny Hewitt hill-hill in the final. I think in the case game, Jim missed a makeable, although not easy, 6 ball, and Danny got out from there. It's a shame, it would have been nice to see him get that title, because he's a very classy, deserving player, and it may have been his last best chance.
Also, about 3 years ago, I remember him having the hot seat in the Atlantic City 10-ball tourney, and ended up losing to Danny Hewitt hill-hill in the final. I think in the case game, Jim missed a makeable, although not easy, 6 ball, and Danny got out from there. It's a shame, it would have been nice to see him get that title, because he's a very classy, deserving player, and it may have been his last best chance.