We all have our stories as to how we started playing pool. Mine began in a student union poolhall on the University of Pitt campus.
I walked in there thinking I knew how to shoot because I could beat my brother and our friends. I thought I was good at the game because I made a few balls in a row. Man did I have alot to learn.
It was there that I was introduced to John McCormick. He made what I knew about the game then, even what I know now, seem insignifigant. Simply put, he really was one hell of a player, he was the best of us.
I was fortunate enough to learn from John, from Jason Halpin, and Jan Brown. I had my days when I beat John, but only with a ton of weight. All of us looked up to his ability and did everything we could to try to play like him. He was cut from a different cloth than us though.
Before, during, and after college John continued to excell as a top level player and could hold his own against almost anyone. He stayed off of alot of radars and was more or less an unknown outside of the Pitt and Philly area.
Before we graduated John had a Nitti cue that he loved. For some reason unknown to me he decided to sell it and picked up a Josey sneaky pete. Not long after selling it he seemed to regret the decision, but by that time the cue was lost.
John died on October 14, 2009.
Almost five years went by and I had stumbled on AZ Billiards by then. I'd cruise the WFS section killing time, shopping, or getting ideas for my next cue. In my searches I saw a post for a guy looking to sell off parts of his collection. In his collection I saw John's lost Nitti.
I contacted the seller and met with little response. I just figured that it was sold already and I regrettably missed my opportunity.
It never really left my mind. Everytime I was on the WFS I looked. I sent a few messages to the original seller from time to time, but he seemed to have given up on AZ and hadn't logged on for a while. I wanted John's Nitti. I wanted one of the cues that the guy who helped me fall in love with the game treasured. I wanted the cue to be back in the hands of the Pitt kids that used to spend so much time bouncing from poolhall to poolhall.
About a month back the seller popped his head up again to sell a JMW cue. I PM'd him to see if he had the Nitti. I got a PM a few days later that he still had it.
He could have sold me the cue for any price. It's not the biggest monster I've seen, but it's way above the sneaky pete I shoot with. Not only did the seller not hit me for whatever he could, he gave me a break. He knew the story as to why I was looking for this cue and could have done his worst. Because of him I have this cue in my hands today. As tacky as it sounds, I cannot repay him for this simple and honorable thing.
So that's the story. Many of us have cues we sold or lost and want back. This was mine. Thanks for reading if you did, enjoy the pics if you didn't.
Will
I walked in there thinking I knew how to shoot because I could beat my brother and our friends. I thought I was good at the game because I made a few balls in a row. Man did I have alot to learn.
It was there that I was introduced to John McCormick. He made what I knew about the game then, even what I know now, seem insignifigant. Simply put, he really was one hell of a player, he was the best of us.
I was fortunate enough to learn from John, from Jason Halpin, and Jan Brown. I had my days when I beat John, but only with a ton of weight. All of us looked up to his ability and did everything we could to try to play like him. He was cut from a different cloth than us though.
Before, during, and after college John continued to excell as a top level player and could hold his own against almost anyone. He stayed off of alot of radars and was more or less an unknown outside of the Pitt and Philly area.
Before we graduated John had a Nitti cue that he loved. For some reason unknown to me he decided to sell it and picked up a Josey sneaky pete. Not long after selling it he seemed to regret the decision, but by that time the cue was lost.
John died on October 14, 2009.
Almost five years went by and I had stumbled on AZ Billiards by then. I'd cruise the WFS section killing time, shopping, or getting ideas for my next cue. In my searches I saw a post for a guy looking to sell off parts of his collection. In his collection I saw John's lost Nitti.
I contacted the seller and met with little response. I just figured that it was sold already and I regrettably missed my opportunity.
It never really left my mind. Everytime I was on the WFS I looked. I sent a few messages to the original seller from time to time, but he seemed to have given up on AZ and hadn't logged on for a while. I wanted John's Nitti. I wanted one of the cues that the guy who helped me fall in love with the game treasured. I wanted the cue to be back in the hands of the Pitt kids that used to spend so much time bouncing from poolhall to poolhall.
About a month back the seller popped his head up again to sell a JMW cue. I PM'd him to see if he had the Nitti. I got a PM a few days later that he still had it.
He could have sold me the cue for any price. It's not the biggest monster I've seen, but it's way above the sneaky pete I shoot with. Not only did the seller not hit me for whatever he could, he gave me a break. He knew the story as to why I was looking for this cue and could have done his worst. Because of him I have this cue in my hands today. As tacky as it sounds, I cannot repay him for this simple and honorable thing.
So that's the story. Many of us have cues we sold or lost and want back. This was mine. Thanks for reading if you did, enjoy the pics if you didn't.
Will
