9BallPaul
Banned
I was banging balls at York Billiards on Colfax Avenue in Denver when someone burst into the pool room to announce that King had been shot in Memphis. Like everyone else, this latest assassination seemed to prove that our wheels were coming off, and the country seemed to roll toward anarchy.
By benefit of attending East High School, I had many black friends and many more acquaintences. Racial tension was unknown to me in Denver, yet King's death kicked off rioting in Denver and other big northern cities. This gets me thinking about race and pool.
Pool can be justly proud of its integrated history. In Denver, the top local player in the 60s was Andy Hudson, a black man and a gentleman. Andy was never a road player or tournament guy, so he did his playing in his own back yard at the Family Fun Center in Wheat Ridge, a Denver suburb. He gambled his own money and was known to play through the weekend if necessary. Meantime he maintained a professional job and stayed happily married -- unusual traits for many top players.
One of Andy's frequent local opponents was a guy we called Freddy the Jap. Now, that would be considered un-C.P. in today's world, but in those days it seemed utterly natural. And the guy who later inherited the title of best in town was Danny Medina, a Hispanic who also made a name for himself nationally.
On the national scene, pool had Cisero Murphy, who played for the world championship, losing to Luther Lassiter. Many other top players were black too, and AZB has hosted some excellent threads on that topic.
Among today's top players, the scene is totally integrated, with Filipinos now recognized as the modern masters. Pool has stars of all nationalities and celebrates them all, because of ability, not racism. That's a record to be proud of.
And tomorrow, we'll install a president in the White House who happens to be a pool player. My friends, this is a good sign. Better days are ahead for America, and for pool. Happy MLK Day to you all.
By benefit of attending East High School, I had many black friends and many more acquaintences. Racial tension was unknown to me in Denver, yet King's death kicked off rioting in Denver and other big northern cities. This gets me thinking about race and pool.
Pool can be justly proud of its integrated history. In Denver, the top local player in the 60s was Andy Hudson, a black man and a gentleman. Andy was never a road player or tournament guy, so he did his playing in his own back yard at the Family Fun Center in Wheat Ridge, a Denver suburb. He gambled his own money and was known to play through the weekend if necessary. Meantime he maintained a professional job and stayed happily married -- unusual traits for many top players.
One of Andy's frequent local opponents was a guy we called Freddy the Jap. Now, that would be considered un-C.P. in today's world, but in those days it seemed utterly natural. And the guy who later inherited the title of best in town was Danny Medina, a Hispanic who also made a name for himself nationally.
On the national scene, pool had Cisero Murphy, who played for the world championship, losing to Luther Lassiter. Many other top players were black too, and AZB has hosted some excellent threads on that topic.
Among today's top players, the scene is totally integrated, with Filipinos now recognized as the modern masters. Pool has stars of all nationalities and celebrates them all, because of ability, not racism. That's a record to be proud of.
And tomorrow, we'll install a president in the White House who happens to be a pool player. My friends, this is a good sign. Better days are ahead for America, and for pool. Happy MLK Day to you all.
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