Anyone know anything about Michael Eufemia? The guy supposedly ran 625 and also another run well over 500 balls yet we never hear anything about him. I know he couldn't handle tournament pressure, does anyone know what his best ever finish in a major event was?
Michael Eufemia stories?
- Thread starter Mr441
- Start date
He won the Straight Pool at the Stardust in 1967 against a stellar field of players; Lassiter, Balsis, Crane, West, Butera, Martin, Diliberto, Kelly, Ervolino and Breit among them.
He was also New York State Champion more than once and New Jersey State Champion as well. These fields only had the best 14.1 players in the world in them. He didn't always finish second! :wink:
He was also New York State Champion more than once and New Jersey State Champion as well. These fields only had the best 14.1 players in the world in them. He didn't always finish second! :wink:
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Ziggy
also Miami who had Miami's pool hall in Paterson N.J. one of the best hustlers and probably one of the top two one handed players to ever pick up a cue.I'm glad you asked about Mike Eufemia because it brought back a lot of good memoirs also the funny thing is I only knew him as Ziggy until just a few years ago.
also Miami who had Miami's pool hall in Paterson N.J. one of the best hustlers and probably one of the top two one handed players to ever pick up a cue.I'm glad you asked about Mike Eufemia because it brought back a lot of good memoirs also the funny thing is I only knew him as Ziggy until just a few years ago.
Several years ago, I worked for a big home builder out of Schaumburg IL, I was working at one of our projects in Bloomingdale Il. There was a pool room close to our project, and sometimes we would go there during lunch and shoot a few. They had old magazine articles and pictures, on the wall that said that Michael Eufemia broke Mosconi's record there, but it was not a sanctioned tournament. I asked the guy running the place about it, and he said it did happen. Anyone know anything else about it?
You know I just can't believe it, a sport with an exciting history as pool has, legendary players and characters of all kind, I mean the good the bad and the ugly, I mean really good stuff, and we are stuck behind other sports like golf and poker, bowling and watching paint dry.
You know?.....if a nobody Schlub like me can run a nice 95 on my wedged up (4-3/8") GC, and run 40's/50's daily.......I have NO QUESTION there are monsters out there like John Schmidt who can push SUPER high numbers in 14.1!
Eufemia.....Cranfield.....Sigel...Rempe....Hopkins....Ortmann....MIZ....and others I don't know....who knows what these legends have done in there daily practice sessions?....GOD what I would have done to sit and see them practice.
Luckily...I got to watch sme REALLY SUPER STRONG players every day as a kid coming up.
500+........600+.......man, I wish I was a fly on the wall at Eufemias room
some day Schmidty!!!!!
G.
Eufemia.....Cranfield.....Sigel...Rempe....Hopkins....Ortmann....MIZ....and others I don't know....who knows what these legends have done in there daily practice sessions?....GOD what I would have done to sit and see them practice.
Luckily...I got to watch sme REALLY SUPER STRONG players every day as a kid coming up.
500+........600+.......man, I wish I was a fly on the wall at Eufemias room
some day Schmidty!!!!!
G.
This is what I heard and several other players who knew him confirmed it. Marcel Camp told me that Eufemia would run a couple hundred balls like it was nothing, unless he bet something. Camp told me he was just a fun player with a huge amount of talent but could not gamble. This always tends to lower a player a bit in the eyes of other players. Hard to believe but I heard it from Danny D. and others as well.
Did anyone else ever hear this?
I've heard his game dropped drastically under pressure. Johnny Ervolino once told me that they were in the practice room at the U.S. Open or World Championships (I forget which) one year and Eufemia ran well over 300 balls in practice like it was nothing. People who didn't know him thought he was a favorite to win the event after seeing such a display. But Johnny and all the other top pros knew better. The next day in the first round Eufemia draws a player who according to Johnny shouldn't have even been in the event, he was that unskilled. Guess who won? Not Eufemia! His high run was 19 balls!
Just heard from Ray Martin. He missed the Stardust event in 1967, but he attested to the skill of Eufemia. I know that I've often talked about the great all around players of that era, but I often leave Ray out of the conversation. SO WRONG on my part. He was a GREAT all around champion. He won several major 9-Ball tournaments as well as multiple Straight Pool championships, including THREE world titles! Ray was definitely one of the top players of his era. There is no one he didn't beat at one time or another. Definitely an under rated champion! My apologies Ray for overlooking you. Shame on me!
I don't remember where I heard this but there was a story about Eufemia getting on a practice table and setting up the standard break shot to start a run. Onlookers would bet among themselves, guessing how far he would go before he missed. At one point, an even bet would be 200 balls.
> The way George Fels tells it,practically anyone there would bet strangers (and amongst themselves) as high as they wanted to bet that their boy would run 200 between his arrival and closing time,with a hand-picked opening break. He supposedly ran 200 nearly every night for like 10 years.
I've always been told that because Willie had people that saw the whole 526,that Mike's 654 isn't the established high run. My only thinking there is maybe spectators got monotonized
. I've heard he was kind of a slow,methodical grinder until he had run 200 or so,then slowed down. Tommy D.
I've always been told that because Willie had people that saw the whole 526,that Mike's 654 isn't the established high run. My only thinking there is maybe spectators got monotonized
. I've heard he was kind of a slow,methodical grinder until he had run 200 or so,then slowed down. Tommy D.> The way George Fels tells it,practically anyone there would bet strangers (and amongst themselves) as high as they wanted to bet that their boy would run 200 between his arrival and closing time,with a hand-picked opening break. He supposedly ran 200 nearly every night for like 10 years.
I've always been told that because Willie had people that saw the whole 526,that Mike's 654 isn't the established high run. My only thinking there is maybe spectators got monotonized
My understanding is that Willie's record is specifically for highest
run in an exhibition - you might even add, in an exhibition game.
I don't think people doubt the run, it's more a case of the circumstances.
After all, if you were to high jump 9 feet in your back yard, you would
not become the record holder.
Dale
Las Vegas
That happened in Las Vegas. He ran about 350 practicing and his game fell dead in the tournament.
Beard
That happened in Las Vegas. He ran about 350 practicing and his game fell dead in the tournament.
Beard
i talked to a guy last night who personally knew more than one whom witnessed that run. they submitted a document in writing stating that what happened did and for some odd reason, the bca never honored it. I think that it had something to do with brunswick
Eufemia
The one inaccuracy I've seen in this thread is that despite his generally dismal record in tournament play, he was considered a very good money player. I was told this by Rusty Miller, who was Lassiter's stakehorse at one point and has probably seen more big-money pool than anybody else on the planet. "If he's betting $500, you want in," Miller said. "Talk about a guy who gets the advantage of the last 64th-of-an-inch of roll..."
It's true that the Golden Cue in Queens did offer a standing bet that he would run 200 before the room closed for the night. Big Steve the Whale, by the way, died of a heroin overdose. There are apparently plenty of people who wish it had been a bullet in the head. GF
The one inaccuracy I've seen in this thread is that despite his generally dismal record in tournament play, he was considered a very good money player. I was told this by Rusty Miller, who was Lassiter's stakehorse at one point and has probably seen more big-money pool than anybody else on the planet. "If he's betting $500, you want in," Miller said. "Talk about a guy who gets the advantage of the last 64th-of-an-inch of roll..."
It's true that the Golden Cue in Queens did offer a standing bet that he would run 200 before the room closed for the night. Big Steve the Whale, by the way, died of a heroin overdose. There are apparently plenty of people who wish it had been a bullet in the head. GF