How many aspiring players have thought this way? "When I still lived at home, I just loved to play so much that I wanted to do that for a living...I didn't know at that time that I'd be able to do it. It was just kind of a dream back then, but once I got out among some of the best players, I was very competitive."
[He] started playing pool as a youth in Patchogue, N.Y., located on Long Island.
"There was a community center that had pool tables in it...It was just a place to hang out after school was over. It was just a game I picked up pretty quick. Within a year, I was playing the game pretty good."
"At an early age, I was in pretty good competition...I always had somewhere to look up to, somewhere to set a goal for myself because there were so many good players around."
That experience helped [him] become one of the top players as he picked up many state championships during his career, including 9-Ball titles in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Tennessee and Iowa and an additional 8-Ball title in Michigan. [He] said he also won "probably about 10 other midwest 9-Ball championships."
[He] additionally finished as the runner-up in the world championship in 1983, just falling short of claiming back-to-back titles.
During about 20 years as a professional, [he] managed to juggle his family life with his billiard career. While he traveled all around the country to play in tournaments, he and his wife raised three daughters.
"I didn't like being away from home...I wasn't gone for long periods of time. A week, 10 days, that was a long time for me. But still, that's what I had to do."
In addition, there was no such thing as a guaranteed paycheck. Players had to pay entry fees in order to get into the tournaments, and only a certain amount of players would get paid. That meant a long losing streak could lead to some financial hardships.
The best way to deal with it is to put some money aside for when things aren't going well.
One of the biggest frustrations in the game is there sometimes isn't much a player can do to get that paycheck if his or her opponent is shooting extremely well.
In most 9-Ball tournaments, the winner of one game gets to break in the next game, and the player usually has to win a certain number of games (often around seven) to win the match and advance. When a top player gets a chance to shoot, he or she could hold the table for several games, leaving the opponent helpless.
"If a guy just plays a perfect match against you, there's very little you can do besides sit in your chair and watch it...It's one of the few sports where you don't really get a chance if your opponent plays good against you."
Back in the 1970s and '80s, professional pool players also didn't have the benefit of nationally televised tournaments. Now, pool competitions are often shown on channels such as ESPN, which brings more revenue to the tournament.
In addition, current professional pool players often get sponsorships from companies that produce pool-related products and will have their expenses paid.
"(When I played) it was pay your own way, pay your own expenses, and if you didn't do very good, you didn't get a check...It was tough. In a way, it kind of drove me a little harder to play good."
NAME THIS AMERICAN CHAMPION PLAYER! First one to do so gets the AzBilliards Gold Star of the Day!
JAM
[He] started playing pool as a youth in Patchogue, N.Y., located on Long Island.
"There was a community center that had pool tables in it...It was just a place to hang out after school was over. It was just a game I picked up pretty quick. Within a year, I was playing the game pretty good."
"At an early age, I was in pretty good competition...I always had somewhere to look up to, somewhere to set a goal for myself because there were so many good players around."
That experience helped [him] become one of the top players as he picked up many state championships during his career, including 9-Ball titles in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Tennessee and Iowa and an additional 8-Ball title in Michigan. [He] said he also won "probably about 10 other midwest 9-Ball championships."
[He] additionally finished as the runner-up in the world championship in 1983, just falling short of claiming back-to-back titles.
During about 20 years as a professional, [he] managed to juggle his family life with his billiard career. While he traveled all around the country to play in tournaments, he and his wife raised three daughters.
"I didn't like being away from home...I wasn't gone for long periods of time. A week, 10 days, that was a long time for me. But still, that's what I had to do."
In addition, there was no such thing as a guaranteed paycheck. Players had to pay entry fees in order to get into the tournaments, and only a certain amount of players would get paid. That meant a long losing streak could lead to some financial hardships.
The best way to deal with it is to put some money aside for when things aren't going well.
One of the biggest frustrations in the game is there sometimes isn't much a player can do to get that paycheck if his or her opponent is shooting extremely well.
In most 9-Ball tournaments, the winner of one game gets to break in the next game, and the player usually has to win a certain number of games (often around seven) to win the match and advance. When a top player gets a chance to shoot, he or she could hold the table for several games, leaving the opponent helpless.
"If a guy just plays a perfect match against you, there's very little you can do besides sit in your chair and watch it...It's one of the few sports where you don't really get a chance if your opponent plays good against you."
Back in the 1970s and '80s, professional pool players also didn't have the benefit of nationally televised tournaments. Now, pool competitions are often shown on channels such as ESPN, which brings more revenue to the tournament.
In addition, current professional pool players often get sponsorships from companies that produce pool-related products and will have their expenses paid.
"(When I played) it was pay your own way, pay your own expenses, and if you didn't do very good, you didn't get a check...It was tough. In a way, it kind of drove me a little harder to play good."
NAME THIS AMERICAN CHAMPION PLAYER! First one to do so gets the AzBilliards Gold Star of the Day!
JAM
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