pretty boy floyd
- Thread starter Texas Carom Club
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He could be completely dismantled by most of the players on the pro tour in the 80s. Keith, Earl, Buddy, the Miz, Efren, Parica, Sigel, Davenport, Archer, Wade Crane and this list goes on. A colorful character no doubt and a pool player with more desire to be famous than talent to get him there..
Dismantled might be too strong a word.....he was not a favorite with your line-up...
....but he could win lots of matches....
...I first saw Jimmy play Keith...Jimmy broke dry at hill-hill...Keith ran out...
...no easy win there...and they were both equally entertaining.
I remember seeing the commercials for those videos running during pool matches on ESPN in the mid 90s when I started playing the game. Funny stuff.
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In the 70's, Jimmy was traveling with Larry Schwartz (Billiards Digest columnist and good short-stop player) in the mid-west. They stopped in a small poolroom in a little town in northern Ohio. Mataya snuck in with sunglasses and everyone laughed. "One local gambler (incidentally an ESPN World Tournament poker player) proclaimed "You don't need to be disguised here. You WILL get played!" In the end, Larry Schwartz famously proclaimed "Yesterday it was steaks, today we are eating candy bars.".....and so it goes, the life and fortunes of a pool player.
To set the record straight, Jimmy Mataya was no shortstop. He was a world class player, capable of beating anyone on a given day. Was he the greatest money player alive, that's debatable. Was he a damn good player for the cash, that's for certain. I watched (and ref'd) him winning the McDermott Masters in Vegas in 1988 or 89. He beat no less than Earl Strickland in the finals! I'm pretty sure he won one of the last of the Stardust 9-Ball tourneys as well when he was barely out of his teens.
Jimmy excelled at 9-Ball and was one of the best in the Ring Ten Ball games, popular at that time. There was always a ring game in the back room at the big tourneys. Jimmy robbed a few of those games against the best players alive. He also played world class 14.1 and had many runs over 100 in tourneys and for money. Once again this is no shortstop here. Yes, he could play One Pocket too.
As for the video, he is the perfect man for the job. An excellent delivery of his lines and he presents the information well. Truth is, what he says is basically all correct. It just takes a good player and a better hustler to pull it off. Jimmy was trying to be a modern version of Fats, not an easy task to pull off. Fat's was unique, he could do all this naturally and make you laugh while robbing you. Jimmy comes off as the hustler he is.
I once saw Jimmy throw $25,000 on the table when they were filming a segment of Fat's vs. Mosconi. It was not really a cool move at the time. After all it was a TV shoot that he interrupted. He was that brazen.
Underneath all that bluster, Jimmy Mataya is a helluva guy and I count him as a life long friend. By the way, he was often a member of the demo crews that John Abruzzo put together to annihilate the team competition at the BCA Nationals. Jimmy, Mike Bandy, George Pawelski, Abruzzo and Billy Incardona! Good luck playing that team. They destroyed the best teams from Canada and Texas. And everywhere else for that matter. There wasn't a weak link in that armor.
Anyway, that's who Jimmy Mataya is.
Jimmy excelled at 9-Ball and was one of the best in the Ring Ten Ball games, popular at that time. There was always a ring game in the back room at the big tourneys. Jimmy robbed a few of those games against the best players alive. He also played world class 14.1 and had many runs over 100 in tourneys and for money. Once again this is no shortstop here. Yes, he could play One Pocket too.
As for the video, he is the perfect man for the job. An excellent delivery of his lines and he presents the information well. Truth is, what he says is basically all correct. It just takes a good player and a better hustler to pull it off. Jimmy was trying to be a modern version of Fats, not an easy task to pull off. Fat's was unique, he could do all this naturally and make you laugh while robbing you. Jimmy comes off as the hustler he is.
I once saw Jimmy throw $25,000 on the table when they were filming a segment of Fat's vs. Mosconi. It was not really a cool move at the time. After all it was a TV shoot that he interrupted. He was that brazen.
Underneath all that bluster, Jimmy Mataya is a helluva guy and I count him as a life long friend. By the way, he was often a member of the demo crews that John Abruzzo put together to annihilate the team competition at the BCA Nationals. Jimmy, Mike Bandy, George Pawelski, Abruzzo and Billy Incardona! Good luck playing that team. They destroyed the best teams from Canada and Texas. And everywhere else for that matter. There wasn't a weak link in that armor.
Anyway, that's who Jimmy Mataya is.
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I find it funny that people think Jimmy was all mouth. He played up there with all the players of his day that is for sure. Great player and character. A few years ago I am in the restroom and Jimmy walks in to handle his business. I ask him how the tournament is going and he says not too good but it didn't matter because he was going to wait for the winner to get all the money off of him. Jimmy is awesome! :thumbup:
GoldenFlash
Banned
The only thing amazing about Mataya is how he remained alive for so long after running his loud mouth in drunken rants about "how we did it back in Detroit" when people were gambling for serious money on pool games.
No weak link? Is that why his wife allegedly dumped him and he ended up being a short order cook at a greasy spoon?
Just the type of role model the youth of America needs...yea, sure.
10 ball ring game Early 70's
Burlington IA, near the Mississippi. Mataya, Black Bart, Searcy, and one or two other greats, names not coming to me now. Conditions were Kentucky humid, tables were dirty and the table they played on was at the end of a hallway in the hotel area. Was near impossible to run a rack under those conditions. I think it got up to $300 a rack. During the free for all, black bart had to hock his new Volvo, tho he ended up at least getting it back. All these guys were going for big score. Anywho Mataya gets tired, goes too bed and comes back the next morning, game still on, and he busts the game.
Burlington IA, near the Mississippi. Mataya, Black Bart, Searcy, and one or two other greats, names not coming to me now. Conditions were Kentucky humid, tables were dirty and the table they played on was at the end of a hallway in the hotel area. Was near impossible to run a rack under those conditions. I think it got up to $300 a rack. During the free for all, black bart had to hock his new Volvo, tho he ended up at least getting it back. All these guys were going for big score. Anywho Mataya gets tired, goes too bed and comes back the next morning, game still on, and he busts the game.
Compared to the current players there's no comparison, cept Souquet and his peers. He Always looked good and dressed nicely, like Liscotti, Rempe, Cole, Sigel and the rest. He also landed Eva during his prime, did you marry a model. So if wanna throw the first stone go ahead, but in his youth he was close to Ronnie Allen in many ways, tho he wasn't RA.
But hey it's easy to throw stones at another...
Too say hustling doesn't work, your showing your hand too much ma man.
An old (short) video he made with the Late Danny Medina...funny as hell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zugw7OEZSe0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zugw7OEZSe0
Who was the better player between these two? I'll bet Jay has an opinion on that.
Pretty close really, two very good pool players. I like Danny on a bar table (Eight Ball could be close) and Mataya playing 14.1 or One Pocket. Pretty close between the two playing 9-Ball and Ten Ball on a big table. They played several times in tournaments and Danny probably won more. He was a more seasoned tourney player. Neither one could give weight to the other guy, that's for sure! Danny has a monster break and Jimmy was not always well prepared to play. He liked to party and depended too much on his natural ability. If he prepared for a match (like a money game), he was tough as nails. Hard man to beat for the cash.
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Larry Schwartz, who knew Mataya for 40 years, said he probably had a record for the
youngest man who won world titles back to back in '71 and '72....surpassed by Wu, but
not for a long time.
You two are judging a man's game when he's in his late sixties.....
...I've seen him play great.
..and M.G.....maybe you don't care....but don't speak for everyone else....I CARE.
We do ?
Who is we. Oh wait I know, it's all of us that want to change pools image and rid it
of all those hustlers. We want to return it to it's glory years when pool rooms were
full and there was a waiting list to get a table. Back when there were pool rooms
everywhere and there were tournaments and even some tv. Thank God hustling doesn't
work.Hmm
jack
Who is we. Oh wait I know, it's all of us that want to change pools image and rid it
of all those hustlers. We want to return it to it's glory years when pool rooms were
full and there was a waiting list to get a table. Back when there were pool rooms
everywhere and there were tournaments and even some tv. Thank God hustling doesn't
work.Hmm
jack
well I'm confused.
does he like cash or trophies??:speechless:
does he like cash or trophies??:speechless:
Not sure if Jimmy is an AZ visitor or not. I'll see him Tuesday night at Rum Runners in Vegas. Maybe he'll comment here. One can only hope.
Lyn
Lyn