Keith McCready Book

BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I seem to recall, from a couple of years ago, that a book on Keith's life as a pool player was "in the works." Does anyone know the status of the book? I'm pretty sure it would be a good read if you like pool stories as Keith must have a million of them.
 
BillPorter said:
I seem to recall, from a couple of years ago, that a book on Keith's life as a pool player was "in the works." Does anyone know the status of the book?...
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Well, I guess I know a little bit about the status of Keith's book! :D

Truth be told, Bill Porter, when Keith and I decided to tackle this huge endeavor of writing his life story, I was enthusiastic and couldn't wait to get started. :)

We both devoted many hours to the project as a whole, and along the way, some kind souls donated some older pool periodicals to help us get everything chronologically right, which is difficult since there truly is no pool archives available. Most of pool's history can be heard by word of mouth, but there's not much documented, though I did manage to get my hands on a variety of pool media, beginning in the early '70s.

I have read some pool books in recent times which were very entertaining to me personally, full of colorful stories and fun to pore through. However, these books can be understood by those within pool's culture because most of us do know all or most of the characters. It is my hope that Keith's story will be a good read to those INSIDE and OUTSIDE pool's culture, which is truly a very tough undertaking.

It would be easy to self-publish an abstract collection of stories, but that doesn't cut the mustard as far as I'm concerned. My mother always said if you're going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all, and that's exactly why Keith's book is a work still in progress. I hope it will be worth the wait when it's all said and done. :)

JAM
 
JAM said:
... I hope it will be worth the wait when it's all said and done. :)

JAM
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As do we all. Keith's story seems like such a natural for a great book. As you said if done right it could appeal to a very broad base. It could even give pool itself a boast, but that's an awful lot to ask of any book. IMO.
 
JAM said:
Truth be told, Bill Porter, when Keith and I decided to tackle this huge endeavor of writing his life story, I was enthusiastic and couldn't wait to get started. :)
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Calling the writing of Keith's life a "huge endeavor" is an understatement.
I figure, if you include the highlights alone, it should be a book larger than "War and Peace". :D

Maybe a series of books would be more appropriate. :cool:

I mainly read magazines, and not many books, but I'm waiting for this one. :D
 
JAM said:
My mother always said if you're going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all, and that's exactly why Keith's book is a work still in progress. I hope it will be worth the wait when it's all said and done. :)

JAM
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Jam, thanks for the update! I am truly glad to hear that you and Keith are not going to be satisfied by just throwing together some stories and self-publishing the book. His story deserves better! I am hoping that the book, when it comes out, will be equal to or better than Danny Diliberto's "Road Player" (which I enjoyed VERY much) or "Cornbread Red" (also a good read). Maybe it will be in the same league as Byrne's "McGoorty," which seems to have set the standard for great writing about the life and times of a pool player.

Those of us who enjoy reading about colorful characters in the pool world, such as Keith, will eagerly await the publication of the book. And I'm sure you know that many members of this board would be happy to lend a helping hand by donating photos, corroborating the details of pool stories, or supplying other materials that might be useful. Just let us know!:)
 
JAM said:
Well, I guess I know a little bit about the status of Keith's book! :D

Truth be told, Bill Porter, when Keith and I decided to tackle this huge endeavor of writing his life story, I was enthusiastic and couldn't wait to get started. :)

We both devoted many hours to the project as a whole, and along the way, some kind souls donated some older pool periodicals to help us get everything chronologically right, which is difficult since there truly is no pool archives available. Most of pool's history can be heard by word of mouth, but there's not much documented, though I did manage to get my hands on a variety of pool media, beginning in the early '70s.

I have read some pool books in recent times which were very entertaining to me personally, full of colorful stories and fun to pore through. However, these books can be understood by those within pool's culture because most of us do know all or most of the characters. It is my hope that Keith's story will be a good read to those INSIDE and OUTSIDE pool's culture, which is truly a very tough undertaking.

It would be easy to self-publish an abstract collection of stories, but that doesn't cut the mustard as far as I'm concerned. My mother always said if you're going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all, and that's exactly why Keith's book is a work still in progress. I hope it will be worth the wait when it's all said and done. :)

JAM
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All told - the McGoorty book is the closest to actual literature that has been published lately. Playing Off The Rail was good as a chronicle. Books like Rags to Rifleman, Cornbread Red, and Road Player are ones that are interesting for the diehard fan but fall short of the literary mark by leagues.

PLEASE Jennie, make an American Classic out of the Keith McCready Story. The life of a pool player/road player/hustler is one of free spirited live-on-the-edge ingenuity and nerves. It deserves to be more than a chronological rememberance of gunfights past.

I was greatly disappointed in the Road Player book. What a life Danny Diliberto had and what a let down the book was in comparison. This book could have used some serious beefing up and some serious editiing.

John
 
Well said!

onepocketchump said:
All told - the McGoorty book is the closest to actual literature that has been published lately. Playing Off The Rail was good as a chronicle. Books like Rags to Rifleman, Cornbread Red, and Road Player are ones that are interesting for the diehard fan but fall short of the literary mark by leagues.

PLEASE Jennie, make an American Classic out of the Keith McCready Story. The life of a pool player/road player/hustler is one of free spirited live-on-the-edge ingenuity and nerves. It deserves to be more than a chronological rememberance of gunfights past.

I was greatly disappointed in the Road Player book. What a life Danny Diliberto had and what a let down the book was in comparison. This book could have used some serious beefing up and some serious editiing.

John
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I guess I'm a "diehard fan" for liking the Diliberto book as much as I did; maybe it was partly because I read it during the week I was at the last DCC and had just talked to Danny about one of the stories in the book. You probably know more about Danny's life and were therefore disappointed that some potentially great material was left out.

Other than that, I agree completely with your post and especially your comment that, "It deserves to be more than a chronological rememberance of gunfights past." Let's hope that a high standard is maintained!
 
I too anxiously await the McCready book.

When I was a teenager, I worked across Bob's Billiards (Keith's room at one time) in Anaheim bending tacos. This was about 20 years ago when I first started to dabble on the green felt. By then Keith was already a world beater and probably not a regular at Bob's any longer. However, legendery stories about some "kid" named McCready were still in circulation. He was an urban legend at the time.

Sadly, Bob's was burnt to the ground and never returned. The place is now a DMV type office and a collectible toy shop. If you need a picture of it, I would be happy to supply one. It might be a neat thing to include in the book as where IT all started for Keith.

Ghost ball
 
ghost ball said:
If you need a picture of it, I would be happy to supply one. It might be a neat thing to include in the book as where IT all started for Keith.

Ghost ball
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This is exactly what I meant in my earlier response to JAM. There's no telling how many photos and other pieces of memorabilia might be donated to the project of making the book as good as possible. We would just need word to get around on this and other forums and who knows what might pop up?
 
ghost ball said:
When I was a teenager, I worked across Bob's Billiards (Keith's room at one time) in Anaheim bending tacos....
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I have heard so much about Bob's Billiards, Ghost Ball. :D

I would be very appreciative to receive a photo of Keith's habitat as a young'n. If you would be so kind as to PM me your postal address, I would like to send you a little chunk of change to cover the postage and/or any other possible cost(s). THANK YOU for this kind gift. :)

JAM
 
JAM said:
I have heard so much about Bob's Billiards, Ghost Ball. :D

I would be very appreciative to receive a photo of Keith's habitat as a young'n. If you would be so kind as to PM me your postal address, I would like to send you a little chunk of change to cover the postage and/or any other possible cost(s). THANK YOU for this kind gift. :)

JAM
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Dont forget the part about when he used to sell Dolls. Thats right!!!!!!!!!!
 
Gimme The 8 said:
Dont forget the part about when he used to sell Dolls. Thats right!!!!!!!!!!
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LOL! :D :D :D Peddling the calico-headed Cabbage Patch brand, with papers! :D

JAM
 
jjinfla said:
I agree that the McCreedy book will be a good read. What will the title be?

Here is a short article that Phil Capelle wrote on Keith:

http://billiardspress.com/newskeith.html

Jake
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Phil should stick to the instructionals. I didn't realize you could write something boring with Keith as your subject but i believe he did it.

How about this story for excitement

" In another classic confrontation at a big pro event in Los Angles, Jim Mataya started out strong against Keith and began to taunt him by repeatedly saying “Keith you seem so quiet, don’t you have anything to say.” Keith, who is seldom at a loss for words, remained quite as a mouse as Mataya cruised to an 11-4 victory."

Lest you think that isnt the end of the tale, it is!!

Yikes!
 
If you would be so kind as to PM me your postal address, I would like to send you a little chunk of change to cover the postage and/or any other possible cost(s).
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Sorry, I won't accept any chunks of change for this. Maybe someday when Keith gets back to CA he can spot me the 6 and breaks for one or two benjamins.:) Please give me a couple of weeks, I can take digital photos and e-mail them to you. I have a pretty decent camera so picture quality should be okay. I'll PM you when they are ready.

Ghost
 
Nostroke said:
" In another classic confrontation at a big pro event in Los Angles, Jim Mataya started out strong against Keith and began to taunt him by repeatedly saying “Keith you seem so quiet, don’t you have anything to say.” Keith, who is seldom at a loss for words, remained quite as a mouse as Mataya cruised to an 11-4 victory."

Lest you think that isnt the end of the tale, it is!!

Yikes!
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Yeah, that did sorta just hang there. One would think that with two personalities like Keith and Mataya the stories would just flow.

But I did order his latest book plus Play your best Pool at a reduced rate and free shipping. It is amazing at how much material he put into Play your best 9 ball.

Jake
 
BillPorter said:
I'm pretty sure it would be a good read if you like pool stories as Keith must have a million of them.
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As much of a KM fan as I am I think his life would make a great book and an even better movie, yet I'm not a JAM fan and sad as it is to think she will wreck this endeavor. JAM has this crazy desire to rewrite history and turn Keith into a Choir boy, The KM story would be great as a rags to riches and everything in between journey, hi's and low's and dirty back room deals and high money matches as well as the seedy under belly of the pool world. Keith has already lived about 5 life time’s worth of crazy shit. I would hope that Keith would put as many stories as he can remember onto tapes so that down the line someone could make a book that truly depicts his life accurately, not someone who wants to change it into a sugar coated tail of a person they love. I'm sure around here this won't go over great, but those who know the players and the stories know what I'm talking about and that's enough for me. Don't get me wrong I'd still buy and read the book, but it would be in the same way that I read *his* posts here and *his* articles in IP that are often way to flowery and well written for anyone in their right minds to believe that KM penned. His life was what it was and it was very interesting, please don't wreck it Jammy.

Jim
 
Rest assured that when the book does come out, it will be a must have on every pool players wish list!
 
Interesting slant....

JimBo said:
As much of a KM fan as I am I think his life would make a great book and an even better movie, yet I'm not a JAM fan and sad as it is to think she will wreck this endeavor. JAM has this crazy desire to rewrite history and turn Keith into a Choir boy, The KM story would be great as a rags to riches and everything in between journey, hi's and low's and dirty back room deals and high money matches as well as the seedy under belly of the pool world. Keith has already lived about 5 life time’s worth of crazy shit. I would hope that Keith would put as many stories as he can remember onto tapes so that down the line someone could make a book that truly depicts his life accurately, not someone who wants to change it into a sugar coated tail of a person they love. I'm sure around here this won't go over great, but those who know the players and the stories know what I'm talking about and that's enough for me. Don't get me wrong I'd still buy and read the book, but it would be in the same way that I read *his* posts here and *his* articles in IP that are often way to flowery and well written for anyone in their right minds to believe that KM penned. His life was what it was and it was very interesting, please don't wreck it Jammy.

Jim
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I don't know JAM well enough to comment on your statement that she "has this crazy desire to rewrite history and turn Keith into a Choir boy." But I do think that writing a biography about someone you are emotionally close to presents unusual problems. There are plenty of good writers & ghost writers out there who could do a good job on a book about Keith, assuming that he gave them adequate material to work with. Now that I think about it, I guess, if I were in charge of the project, I would try to get someone like Jerry Forsyth or R. A. Dyer to write the book based on extensive interviews with Keith and others who might contribute interesting material.
 
Looks like Keith's book is doomed unless he gets another writer. That's a doggone shame. I mean, before even a snippet of it is released, the book's content is condemned. What a pity.

JAM
 
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