pool's greatest might-have-beens

what about vernon eliot

nobody has mentioned Vernon eliot. beat or played even many other greats, and had
phenomenal proposition shots like his impossible cross side bank.
 
Cornerman said:
Along with everyone else's thoughts, I'll add George Breedlove. The guy worked more than a full-time job, and once in a while he'd play a major tournament and go deep. Phenomenal talent that, IMO, would have been a multi-major tournament winner if his focus was on pool. Instead, his focus was on his business and of course Jeanette.

Freddie <~~~ would focus on that, too
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He's playing again and still can really dab it.
 
Randy Brown from Florida was almost as good of a player as he was a drunk. And he was a world class drunk.
 
rikdee said:
Yes, watched him play many times at the Velvet Rail. A 14.1 player of incredible skill at just 16 years old. One tournament weekend I saw him beat both Joe Balsis and Irving Crane as if he was at the practice table. Both were beyond their prime but still.... Mark ran 90+ and out on one of them. He played with steely determination and total focus; amazing to watch. Then, as Paul noted, he simply quit.
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Since you’re from the area, I’ll ask what I asked in a similar older thread.

Dave Charette....pretty sure he was from MI

In ‘77, he came second to Mike Carella in a 9-ball tournament at Farhat’s room.
He beat a lot of champions in a large field...caught everybody by surprise.
I’ve haven’t heard of him since.
 
pt109 said:
Since you’re from the area, I’ll ask what I asked in a similar older thread.

Dave Charette....pretty sure he was from MI

In ‘77, he came second to Mike Carella in a 9-ball tournament at Farhat’s room.
He beat a lot of champions in a large field...caught everybody by surprise.
I’ve haven’t heard of him since.
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I'm sure I would have watched him in that very tounament as I never missed a Farhat event in those days. I cannot recall any specific memenories of him yet I certainly remember the name. Along with Dave were many other top players such as Dallas West, Gary Nolan, Bobby Hunter, Tom Spencer, Wendall Weir, Jim Mataya, Tom Kollins; all played at the Velvet Rail events.
I became good friends with Tom Kollins from whom I received direct instruction at 14.1, lessions that remain with me to this day.
 
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rikdee said:
I'm sure I would have watched him in that very tounament as I never missed a Farhat event in those days. I cannot recall any specific memenories of him yet I certainly remember the name. Along with Dave were many other top players such as Dallas West, Gary Nolan, Bobby Hunter, Tom Spencer, Wendall Weir, Jim Mataya, Tom Kollins; all played at the Velvet Rail events.
I became good friends with Tom Kollins from whom I received direct instruction at 14.1, lessions that remain with me to this day.
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The tournament I was at, Gary Nolan ‘bushwhacked’ ‘Floyd’ getting the 8.....
...Mike Sigel beat someone 11-0, making six 9-balls on the break.
I would’ve remembered Tom Kollins (I think)....when I first met him, he was Michigan 14.1
Champion and a radio personality....later he became a five-time US snooker champ.
...saw his son a few weeks ago at a snooker tournament.
 
pt109 said:
The tournament I was at, Gary Nolan ‘bushwhacked’ ‘Floyd’ getting the 8.....
...Mike Sigel beat someone 11-0, making six 9-balls on the break.
I would’ve remembered Tom Kollins (I think)....when I first met him, he was Michigan 14.1
Champion and a radio personality....later he became a five-time US snooker champ.
...saw his son a few weeks ago at a snooker tournament.
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Tom was at that time the house pro at a room down the street from the Rail called the Hall of Fame which is where I first met him. Later he started his "School for Straight Pool", which included on site instruction at Farhat's room. I was one of the students in his inaugural class. He was also the house pro at the Detroit Athletic Club for a while. And yes, I do recall his foray into snooker. A really nice guy.
 
There was a guy from the Scranton Pa area in the 90's named Pat McNally, Stone cold killer, he beat Ronnie Alcano 9 to 0 in the finals of a Scruggs tour. One day just up & quit.
 
Z-Nole said:
Randy Brown from Florida was almost as good of a player as he was a drunk. And he was a world class drunk.
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Don't kid yerself, Z... he was a WORLD CLASS player. When we were in Tally once, Howard got Carella to give him the 7. They played for 2 days straight and neither of them ever missed a ball. Randy could've been giving CARELLA the 7. We broke even.

Every bit as strong a player as he was a drunk.

Every

Friggin

Bit
 
PhilosopherKing said:
Didn't that "Son of Pool" guy from Taiwan quit when he was considered at least top 3 in the world?
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yang ching-shun! great player..thought of him as well in relation to this thread.
I remember hearing he did kind of lay low for awhile, but is it my imagination, or did I see his name on the '19 uso entry list?
 
evergruven said:
yang ching-shun! great player..thought of him as well in relation to this thread.
I remember hearing he did kind of lay low for awhile, but is it my imagination, or did I see his name on the '19 uso entry list?
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Yes, Yang finished 33rd/48th in the 2019 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship.
 
Tragic

This thread made me think about Chan Whitt Jr., who was killed in a car crash in 1994. Don’t know much about him, but he was supposedly pretty damn good.
 
PhilosopherKing said:
Didn't that "Son of Pool" guy from Taiwan quit when he was considered at least top 3 in the world?
Click to expand...

I have to confess I’m a bit of a wise guy...
...when Yang took a break from the game...
...I claimed it was because the Son of Pool found out he was adopted.
 
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