King James Rempe

I saw Rempe at the Lexington All-Stars tourney back around 1999 or so. He was practicing firing balls down the long rail into the corner pocket and jawing it every time. He started complaining after about the 5th one and he yelled for someone to come fix the table. Bustamante was walking by just as he yelled for someone to fix the table so Django puts his case down, Jim hands him his cue and he fires on straight down the rail and damn near split the pocket in half. He stood up and handed Jim's cue back to him and said "looks alright to me".
MULLY
it was a lot funnier than mean spirited
 
I have liked Mr Rempe since the early 90's when he played in our annual 14.1 event here in PA. He is always a class act, and you WILL learn a few things watching his game. His 14.1 video on "how to run 100 balls" I was told was done in 1 take! and that video along with Sigels got me running big numbers in a short time. He is one of those people that without doing a thing draws all the attention when walking in a room.

I'm having a flash back of sitting on the end chair in a row of about 6 watching a 14.1 match. On the table in front of us is Allen Hopkins playing Jack Calovito. So, it's me, Jim Rempe, Allen, Jack, Sigel, and I think it was Jose Garcia on the end.....talk about being in 14.1 heaven! :)

Before and during the match these guys are BS'n.....telling road stories.....all the while Allen is running 100 some balls...and Jack is sitting there in his sun glasses almost looking asleep.....except for a chuckle every once in a while.

Jim would nudge me during the rack and say....watch this....no one moves the cue ball around the rack like Allen.....with that stroke he can kill the cue ball like no other human. I worked behind the counter at the pool room, and I got the last chair closest the back so I could watch the matches, AND jump back there to help the customers, so I kind of had an "in" with the Pros. That chair was at the #1 table :)

When I got good enough to throw my hat in the ring and play that tourney, Jim was nice enough to pull me aside before a match and help me calm down. You all may not know but Jim's arm will shake at times.....like Varner, or Stevie Moore. Well, mine does too when I'm all amp'd up before a match. Jim just said.....look man, we have all been there.....breath, think, and take your time. I still remember that today.

I also remember his wife at the time was a super sweet person, and liked to sit with my wife to sweat matches....I think she was a photographer?

Mr Rempe lives a short drive from here, and in the same town as my sister. I really should get up there for some more help with my game.

G.
 
How about the 1996 legends of 9 ball match between Jim and Efren!? Rempe made one of the best comebacks on record in a race to 11 only to lose to Efrens awesome runout to win 11-10. In fact i'm gonna watch it again right now!
 
I attended the IPT Orlando event a few years ago and brought along a pack of autograph sheets to try to collect autographs at the event.

I collected about 50 autographs.

"King" James was the only one at the entire event that tried to charge me for the autograph.
 
Glad to see so many others beside myself are Rempe fans. I've had the pleasure of meeting him several times as a young man at the Pocket Billiard Lounge here in Binghamton, NY where he would play in the NYS 9-Ball open. Every time I met him, he was very gracious and kind to this (at the time) young and excitable man. He's signed many an autograph for me at no charge. Having relatives that are pool fans from Scranton, PA - I have heard a few local tales of his playing. I have had many Meucci Rempes in my lifetime - but I am holding on to my old reliable JR-5. Jim - if you read this, keep up being the great ambassador that you are!
 
pulzcul said:
I don't know if this will turn out to be a good idea or not but I think it will be interesting none the less.
Please post any and everything you can think of about Jim Rempe. I'm talking about if you married his sister, if you know his mom and dads name, if you know his dogs name, if you sold him a vaccuum cleaner, and of course every pool related bit of trivia you can think of.{ So it can stay pool related lol}
Click to expand...



Funny that you would mention that, I married his vacuum cleaner. The marriage sucked.
 
I heard that Toupee Jay loaned him his Toupee and never gave it back:grin-square::grin-square::grin-square:
 
Mistaken Idendity of Jimmy

OK..........here is my Rempe story that I will share with you all. Back in the late 70's there was a tournament in Burlington, Iowa. I think it was when the WOENA (Jansco Bros???) was trying to make a go of it. Anyway, I was an upstart player, and flew up there, because Danny Janes told me there was going to be alot of action. All the greats were there, and action there was!!!! This was the first real tournament I went to, so I was a little green. So, I'm sitting in the practice room, in the hotel Burlington, I believe. I am in awe of all the action going on. Keith is beating EVERYBODY. Dick Lane is playing Mike Carella straight pool. Bugs is playing one pocket. And Jimmy Mataya is matched up with somebody........I can't remember who it is. I had never seen Mataya or Rempe in person......and back then we did not have the media resources we have now. So all the players in the room are rooting for Mataya.........."Come on, Jimmy! Win one, Jimmy." So, not knowing what either of them looks like........I figure I'm watching Jim Rempe playing. I am siiting down sweating all of this, and this guy comes over and sits next to me......some guy with frizzy hair. This guy asks me what was going on.......and I replied," Jim Rempe is playing that other guy nine ball, man, is he a good player." So, the guy next to me starts grinning and says,"No, thats not Jim Rempe. I'm Jim Rempe." I replied to him," No, I'm pretty sure thats Jim Rempe." Rempe looks at me, bemused......and says,"No, really, I'm Jim Rempe." I was dumbfounded, not to mention embarrassed. I always wanted to ask Jimmy if he remembered that incident. Pretty funny. Are you out there, Jimmy??? Do you remember that???
 
> One of my earliest experiences with a pro player was with Jimmy. Since Memphis and Olive Branch are so close,he was in town doing something for Meucci and did an exhibition at The Rack. I was the first person he spoke to after he came in the door that night. He did his whole show and only missed a couple balls,all of his set-up trick shots went the first time,and he did challenges after. I got up and broke and ran out! He joked and said maybe I should be doing exhibitions,and of course ran out twice on me.

I had my JR-3 signed by him that night,and eventually had an OL-5 that was made for him but he rejected for whatever reason.

The Meucci instructional video he did was a powerful influence on my game early on.

How many other players can say they were ranked in the top 5 in the world for 20 straight years? Jay Helfert noted in an Accu-Stats match with Efren that he had won FAR more tournaments on American soil than Efren had,and he was right as usual.

There is a story in the Buddy Hall book involving Rempe that is the only time I've ever heard of him losing for the cash. It was a 10-ahead for 25k,where Buddy won the set in 2 innings,and the table time was 45 CENTS! Tommy D.
 
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