Keith McCready
Pro Player
I've been sitting here 4 or 5 days now, trying to put it all together about Ronnie's death, and I finally have enough strength to say a little something about him.
For whatever it's worth, Ronnie was an action man. He loved pool, tried to pretend like he hated pool sometimes, but he loved winning. Money was his real high, whether it was golf, fishing, horses, or even turtle racing.
What a lot of people may not realize, Ronnie was a true hustler. He took care of a family, which he has three kids, and every one of them turned out to be a champion. If you don't know what I mean by that, I mean well educated, well mannered, and very nice to be around.
I remember being on the road with Ronnie. I mean, I can't get into all the details. We had a couple of bad times, but way more good times than bad. Every time he made money, he would go to the Western Union and send his wife Faye some money, and that was at a time when he was really dedicated to his family. This showed me a lot about Ronnie.
I learned growing up, I had the privilege of being around Ronnie a lot. When I was 15 years old, the first time I saw Ronnie, he was playing in a straight pool tournament at the Elks Lodge in Los Angeles on 4-1/2-by-9 tables. This is when Joe Balsis, Luther Lassiter, Irving Crane, Boston Shorty, Grady Mathews, Larry Lisciotti, Peter Margo, and all the other great players of that era were competing regularly. It was in the early '70s. He was barking at everybody, telling them how nitty they were, trying to get their goat, so he could get played. But a lot of the players were scared of him.
And then there was a place called The Billiard Palace, and that's where all the money games took place at. It was Vern Peterson's place, who was also known as a great straight pool player. It was here where me and Ronnie took off together. He showed me everything as far as moving the cueball. He took the time to do that with me, and it just seemed like as years went on, a lot of my demeanor, needless to say, was like Ronnie. We both like to chatter, but back then everybody did it. As of now, everybody seems to be quiet as a churchmouse. It's just different.
I lost my mother when I was about 10, and my family kind of broke apart when I was 12. Ronnie Allen was kind of like a second father to me. He showed me the ins and outs, whether it was right or wrong. He explained everything to me to make me aware of how people would try to approach me to play, how they would act, how you would counter, and all the rest of it.
I will miss Ronnie very much. I wish we could have another 40 years together, but we can't. See ya' soon, R.A.
There's so much more I could write. I'm still trying to digest all this. Two friends of mine, two of my best friends, gone with 3 months time frame. I just can't write any more right now.
For whatever it's worth, Ronnie was an action man. He loved pool, tried to pretend like he hated pool sometimes, but he loved winning. Money was his real high, whether it was golf, fishing, horses, or even turtle racing.
What a lot of people may not realize, Ronnie was a true hustler. He took care of a family, which he has three kids, and every one of them turned out to be a champion. If you don't know what I mean by that, I mean well educated, well mannered, and very nice to be around.
I remember being on the road with Ronnie. I mean, I can't get into all the details. We had a couple of bad times, but way more good times than bad. Every time he made money, he would go to the Western Union and send his wife Faye some money, and that was at a time when he was really dedicated to his family. This showed me a lot about Ronnie.
I learned growing up, I had the privilege of being around Ronnie a lot. When I was 15 years old, the first time I saw Ronnie, he was playing in a straight pool tournament at the Elks Lodge in Los Angeles on 4-1/2-by-9 tables. This is when Joe Balsis, Luther Lassiter, Irving Crane, Boston Shorty, Grady Mathews, Larry Lisciotti, Peter Margo, and all the other great players of that era were competing regularly. It was in the early '70s. He was barking at everybody, telling them how nitty they were, trying to get their goat, so he could get played. But a lot of the players were scared of him.
And then there was a place called The Billiard Palace, and that's where all the money games took place at. It was Vern Peterson's place, who was also known as a great straight pool player. It was here where me and Ronnie took off together. He showed me everything as far as moving the cueball. He took the time to do that with me, and it just seemed like as years went on, a lot of my demeanor, needless to say, was like Ronnie. We both like to chatter, but back then everybody did it. As of now, everybody seems to be quiet as a churchmouse. It's just different.
I lost my mother when I was about 10, and my family kind of broke apart when I was 12. Ronnie Allen was kind of like a second father to me. He showed me the ins and outs, whether it was right or wrong. He explained everything to me to make me aware of how people would try to approach me to play, how they would act, how you would counter, and all the rest of it.
I will miss Ronnie very much. I wish we could have another 40 years together, but we can't. See ya' soon, R.A.
There's so much more I could write. I'm still trying to digest all this. Two friends of mine, two of my best friends, gone with 3 months time frame. I just can't write any more right now.
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