RunoutalloverU said:
The only place where these events are archived is in old copies of The National Billiard News, Pool & Billiards Magazine and Billiards Digest.
Matlock is tired of all of the lies..
- Thread starter roosterman
- Start date
The only place where these events are archived is in old copies of The National Billiard News, Pool & Billiards Magazine and Billiards Digest.
What Jay is saying is David has won many bar table tournaments in general and I'm sure Keith has as well (ie. Midwest Tour tournaments, other regional tours, etc.) However when David and Keith were in their prime playing on the bar table, and I'm reasonably sure about this, there was no national bar table championship tournament! You didn't really have your bar leagues like you do now, so for tournament play all they had were the 9 foot tourneys. Which as we all know they both did just fine on as well!RunoutalloverU said:
Plus, keep in mind that back then, being more gamble oriented, winning a big tournament and getting your name out there or in a publication for winning something big was a good way to queer action down the road...so I'd imagine, they pretty much dodged the tournament trail for as long as possible. You actually still see that somewhat in today's road players and gamblers...after the action starts drying up due to noteriety, they then start taking tournaments more seriously.
Starting back in the 70's we started seeing many bar table events all over the Midwest and the South. They just became quite popular back then, and have continued to this day. A typical bar table tourney in the 70's and 80's had a 64 player field and maybe $1,100 in added money. Say 64 players at $100 each and $1,100 added for a $7,500 purse. Or a $75 entry and $1,200 added for a $6,000 purse. Many of them had a little bigger entry fee, say $125 and $2,000 added for a $10,000 purse.
First prize in these events might be anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500. A player like Buddy Hall could play in events like these almost every weekend across the South and the Midwest. And that's exactly what Buddy did for many years. He knows the highways of this country (particularly East of the Mississippi) better than anyone. And Buddy just kept winning them, one after another. He had to beat good players too.
But around Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, David Matlock won his share. Often he had to beat Buddy in the finals. Once in a while, Keith would stick his nose in there and take off a couple of these tourneys as well. One thing for sure, if Buddy, David or Keith was entered, they were the guys you had to beat to win. And it rarely happened if even two of these three were entered. Buddy may have won well over 100 of these type tourneys in his career.
First prize in these events might be anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500. A player like Buddy Hall could play in events like these almost every weekend across the South and the Midwest. And that's exactly what Buddy did for many years. He knows the highways of this country (particularly East of the Mississippi) better than anyone. And Buddy just kept winning them, one after another. He had to beat good players too.
But around Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, David Matlock won his share. Often he had to beat Buddy in the finals. Once in a while, Keith would stick his nose in there and take off a couple of these tourneys as well. One thing for sure, if Buddy, David or Keith was entered, they were the guys you had to beat to win. And it rarely happened if even two of these three were entered. Buddy may have won well over 100 of these type tourneys in his career.
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mbvl said:
In those days he was "Richie From The Bronx". A damn good 9-Ball player, but perhaps not at his best on a bar table. Dave was "Okie Dave", and not so well known until he started playing in big table tournaments later on.
mbvl said:
Richie did have an extended stay in Houston, courtesy of Le Cue. Like New York Blackie, Richie moved around to where the action was. He has "retired" to Las Vegas for the last 15 years, although I haven't seen him for a while.
i first saw canello in san antonio in the late 60's he weighted about 125lbs . in the middle 70's he came to houston and beat most everyone he played, gave danny jones the 8 he weighed in at 165. of course he ducked the really heavyweight players.then again in the early 80's played in a ring game with st.louie louie,ronnie allen,jimmy mataya,fly boy, duke dowell. they played a couple of days. canello and duke won the money.last time i saw him he weighted about 220 and his pool had slippedjay helfert said:
Neil said:
And neither Keith nor Dave needed a belt to hold up his pants!
Richie Ambrose came to Miami in the 80s and played Tommy Brown some nineball. The whole room did the corporation act and was betting on our local champ. Tommy lost the first set and told the corporation that he couldnt fade missing and looking over to see the whole room frowning, so he asked us to step out and just let him bet his own. Tommy ended up winning.
Later on, in the middle of a set where Tommy was winning I went to the bathroom to take a leak. I walk in and Richie Ambrose is in the bathroom looking at the mirror and slapping himself in the face. He saw me, held up his hand to show the loads of pool chalk and dirt and said "nice equipment you have here". It was more of sneer. Then he hit the door and finished losing that set to Tommy.
Later on, in the middle of a set where Tommy was winning I went to the bathroom to take a leak. I walk in and Richie Ambrose is in the bathroom looking at the mirror and slapping himself in the face. He saw me, held up his hand to show the loads of pool chalk and dirt and said "nice equipment you have here". It was more of sneer. Then he hit the door and finished losing that set to Tommy.
I will third the motion. I am no great friend to David but have had many a conversation with him. You almost have to pry the words out of him to have him say who he beat & how great he is. Only when David is upset have I heard him really speak from the heart. I know he was upset that he wasn't chosen for the IPT and made the normal human nature comparisions of his higher playing level to some of the others that made it thru the application process. I know he was also upset at the Derby City (if I have my dates correct) 2 years ago when he was the front runner for the All-Around championship and both Corey and Efren were basically given byes in a later round of the 9 ball because they were playing the finals of the One Pocket. That 'free ride' into the next round for those two players could have meant the difference in Matlock winning the overall title and a bigger chunk of change. Oh, by the way, that was just 2 years ago - hope everyone picked up on that point.Thecoats said:
I am a big fan of David Matlock's and still think he is in his prime. Maybe 90% speed but I think if pool had the money in it, his committment would be higher & his game would go up as well. He has shown that to be true in the IPT and DCC events he has played in. Also, again - if David is below his prime, I still don't see players running to Olathe to play him. Last weekend there were 30 champions in the house & not one stepped up & asked for a game - even or with a spot. If David ever wants to play a TAR event, I would bet high on him - no matter who he was playing.
One more thing about David, in the 20 years I have been around pool I have never heard of him dumping. That is kind of hard obviously when you never lose, but it is true. Just think of how some of today's (and yesterday's) players would act having a gazillion dollar stakehorse like David had with the oil men, with blinded gamble to put you into any game. David has a pretty nice stake horse right now as well. I am sure the dump sadly would come from these players sooner than later. This is what puts David above many players - he has tremendous skill & tremendous character.
....to add, Roosterman - not calling you out - but please post your real name to give credibility to your posts. I could call Chuck Ralston who is a good friend of mine & a close friend of David's to find out if David knows of this post & knows of all the words that are being said on his behalf. (Sorry JAM, hope it is ok to say that I have a friend of a great player like David).
Scott Lee said:Charlie Williams? Heck...let's lock Matlock in a room with Efren for 3 days, and see who comes out ahead! Efren is a feared money player, as well as an excellent tournament player. If tournaments don't determine who is the better player, then why do the top players still play in them? Why don't they just gamble? Probably because someone will actually come out a winner in the tournament, and take home some cash. The gamblers will break even over time (or, as we all know, more likely go broke...because they won some $$$ playing pool, and then lost it at the track!).
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Efren would HATE it. As Grady Matthews and PLENTY of others have stated Efren won't stand still for a beating. Matlock knows as much or more about kicking balls as Efren does.
Make it a Bartable Big Ball game and I will GO BROKE - all .37cts of my bankroll - betting on David to take the cheese.
I don't know how well you really know David Matlock but he is one of the best players to ever pick up a cue stick as well as being one of the nicest people on Earth.
The thing about matching up for the dough is that it IS a battle between two warriors who MUST come with the physical skills and the mental skills and the stamina to come out on top.
Tournaments are a different animal. Both prove different things about a player's capabilities and both are tough.
When people like Matlock, Buddy Hall, Sigel, Keither, and Jimmy Reid among others matched up with each other then it was a gunfight. They had to outgun the other player, no laying down, no hustling, pure shooting at the highest of their ability.
What was done with the money or whether they blew it at the track or whatever does not matter. The only thing that matters is when they teed off then it was pure grade A top shelf pool for as long as it took for one of them to come out on top. And unlike today the gunslingers of old would go all-in until someone was busted and had to give up.
That is the pool we respect when we talk about the famous matchups of years past.
JB Cases said:
I agreed with your post until I got to the "or more" part.
Did Matlock ever do this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MxZtYALqIrE
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uwate said:
I used to hang out with Ambrose for a while in 91-93 in Vegas, he played craps EVERY night at the Shoe, We would go eat some times there or by the pool room. He was a trip, I liked him and he liked me. Man I havent seen him in years, he had a few good hustles too, dice hustles. I liked his energy and vibe man he would get reved up telling a story "I was in green* action, 2 more passes I would have been in black* action, but the MFer 7ed out!!!" Every night he had a story.
* green action means using primarily green $25 chips
** black action maens useing primarily black $100 chips
Roadkill said:I agreed with your post until I got to the "or more" part.
Did Matlock ever do this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MxZtYALqIrE
Yes. Lots.
~rc
Clarification - The shot, yes. He's made that shot lots. I've seen him make it. In that situation in a big tournament. I don't know. But I had the pleasure to watch him practice one day for several hours and he was showing me what he was doing and thinking. He knows A LOT about kicking and banking balls. More than Efren? Maybe.
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