John Schmidt's Life Story Out on Legends of the Cue

[JAM]

John has accomplished so much in his life relating to pool, too numerous to list here, and I'm not just talking about tournament wins. I remember when he bought a pool room in West Virginia on the border of Ohio. He's scored top billing at Super Billiards Expo, and he also captured a huge win in one pocket at Derby City Classic. And, of course, there's no denying his record in straight pool, leading the charge first to beat Mosconi's record.

But my favorite John Schmidt story is when he came right here on this very forum in September 2006 and asked if anyone was willing to back him so he could compete in the 2006 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in Virginia. His original backer crawfished, and he didn't have a lot of time to get funds together. He received a little heat on the thread, as happens in the wonderful world of pool forums.

Here's the thread: Anyone Looking to Put Me in the US Open

By golly, it was a happy ending for AzBilliards Discussion Forum, John, and his committee of backers. He won! He won! He won!

Here is a Wikipedia page I initiated for John which provides a little bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Schmidt_(pool_player)

Mr. 600, cover of Billiards Digest magazine, pool room owner, U.S. Open champion, when will he be considered for BCA's Hall of Fame? I ask.

Whatever happened to Troy Frank, shown here with John?

In front of the Chesapeake Beach Conference Center at the Open with Keith McCready.

 

[mikemosconi]

The ones I could think of, off the top of my head, were these seventeen:

Sigel
Varner
Hall
Mizerak
Orcullo
Pagulayan
Reyes
Bustamante
Daulton
Gorst
Filler
Appleton
Feijen
Hohmann
Van Boening
Rempe
Ortmann

NONE of these players were born after 1970 right here in the USA- except maybe SVB- so that makes one other player, not 17. My wording may have been off- I was trying to imply that we, here, have not produced many great all- arounds in America, since the Sigel, Varner, Rempe, Miz, group except for John and SVB.

We probably will not again - John and SVB may be the last for a while, without true pool schools, someone would have to gamble their way to the top, and we are just not in that culture here anymore- so few rooms and the internet revealing every up and comer to the world.

 

[JAM]

NONE of these players were born after 1970 right here in the USA- except maybe SVB- so that makes one other player, not 17. My wording may have been off- I was trying to imply that we, here, have not produced many great all- arounds in America, since the Sigel, Varner, Rempe, Miz, group except for John and SVB.

We probably will not again - John and SVB may be the last for a while, without true pool schools, someone would have to gamble their way to the top, and we are just not in that culture here anymore- so few rooms and the internet revealing every up and comer to the world.

If we were to pull up an Accu-Stats newsletter from the '70s or '80s, the list of American pro-caliber players was quite lengthy. When the BCA organization decided to concentrate more on industry membership instead of promoting professional pool as the governing body of North America, things went downhill from there.

Pool is thriving in USA as a recreational and social activity, much more so than a professional sport. Though Matchroom, Predator, WPA, and now the BCA organization are taking an active role in promoting pool and providing more opportunities for pro-caliber players, the cost to attend the events around the world is not attractive. In other words, for most, the juice is not worth the squeeze. I cannot imagine how expensive it would be to attend three and four events in Asia during the month of October as an American pool player.

Here's a sample Accu-Stats player listing from 1986. Many more American pro-caliber players. If Matchroom, Predator, WPA, and BCA were active during this era, do you think USA would have more pro-caliber players today? I think so.

 

[sjm]

NONE of these players were born after 1970 right here in the USA- except maybe SVB- so that makes one other player, not 17. My wording may have been off- I was trying to imply that we, here, have not produced many great all- arounds in America, since the Sigel, Varner, Rempe, Miz, group except for John and SVB.

We probably will not again - John and SVB may be the last for a while, without true pool schools, someone would have to gamble their way to the top, and we are just not in that culture here anymore- so few rooms and the internet revealing every up and comer to the world.

Skyler Woodward, who has a DCC Master of the Table to his name, is also probably John's equal in all-around credentials but agreed that no American on the horizon looks capable of a major in multiple disciplines. It would be nice to see one emerge.

 

[mikemosconi]

If we were to pull up an Accu-Stats newsletter from the '70s or '80s, the list of American pro-caliber players was quite lengthy. When the BCA organization decided to concentrate more on industry membership instead of promoting professional pool as the governing body of North America, things went downhill from there.

Pool is thriving in USA as a recreational and social activity, much more so than a professional sport. Though Matchroom, Predator, WPA, and now the BCA organization are taking an active role in promoting pool and providing more opportunities for pro-caliber players, the cost to attend the events around the world is not attractive. In other words, for most, the juice is not worth the squeeze. I cannot imagine how expensive it would be to attend three and four events in Asia during the month of October as an American pool player.

Here's a sample Accu-Stats player listing from 1986. Many more American pro-caliber players. If Matchroom, Predator, WPA, and BCA were active during this era, do you think USA would have more pro-caliber players today? I think so.

View attachment 851523

I see Warren Costanzo on this list- 13-16---was he not "The Monk" who wrote some very good pool instruction books during that time period? His eight ball book has some great sections on instruction , strategy, and pool thought process. I often wondered if he and " The Monk" were the same person-- anyone know?

Also, one of the few "majors" outside of some straight pool events, that Mike Zuglan played during his prime. By the early 90s Mike devoted himself to his more local Joss events, which featured some top guns at times, save for a few more major 14.1 events in NYC, where Mike was one of the best contenders. His pool room ( late 80s into 90s) in upstate NY was in Nowheresville, buried in a small strip mall - I would stop there at times and talk with Mike when I was in Schenectady doing business with GE. He just wasn't the type to seek out the big time, but he did have the talent; and I still believe that he could have been right up there near the top as an all- around---- if he truly went after it.

 

[skogstokig]

But my favorite John Schmidt story is when he came right here on this very forum in September 2006 and asked if anyone was willing to back him so he could compete in the 2006 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in Virginia. His original backer crawfished, and he didn't have a lot of time to get funds together. He received a little heat on the thread, as happens in the wonderful world of pool forums.

Here's the thread: Anyone Looking to Put Me in the US Open

By golly, it was a happy ending for AzBilliards Discussion Forum, John, and his committee of backers. He won! He won! He won!

good digging. that's an awesome thread considering what transpired.

i remember some other controversies on here, between john and certain players that also posted here at the time. i think one lead to a streamed grudge match

 

[decent dennis]

The ones I could think of, off the top of my head, were these seventeen:

Sigel
Varner
Hall
Mizerak
Orcullo
Pagulayan
Reyes
Bustamante
Daulton
Gorst
Filler
Appleton
Feijen
Hohmann
Van Boening
Rempe
Ortmann

2 Daulton and Shane. The other five were born before 1970. Lol