Pros that work?

[Blackjack]

Well, there you go David. There's the definition of a pro - if Bruin hasn't heard of him, he's not a pro....

-djb

David, I understand what he's saying, however some of the best players I have ever seen were never "pros" by Bruin's definition.

Richie Peck of NYC comes to mind, as do Mike Bandy, Jerry Prado, Bob Vanover, Tom Karabotsos, Mike Zuglan, Fred Wenker (RIP), Ismael Paez, Tom Brown, Mike Eufemia, CM Lee, Mark Tadd, Barry Emerson, etc, etc. None of those players have played professionally full time, some played professionally sporadically, Peck never has played professionally. Footnotes? Not in my book.

 

[CrownCityCorey]

David, I understand what he's saying, however some of the best players I have ever seen were never "pros" by Bruin's definition.

Richie Peck of NYC comes to mind, as do Mike Bandy, Jerry Prado, Bob Vanover, Tom Karabotsos, Mike Zuglan, Fred Wenker (RIP), Ismael Paez, Tom Brown, Mike Eufemia, CM Lee, Mark Tadd, Barry Emerson, etc, etc. None of those players have played professionally full time, some played professionally sporadically, Peck never has played professionally. Footnotes? Not in my book.

I don't really understand this point. Ismael "Morro" Paez have been playing pool for a living for over 40 years. Never had a job.

He has earned a great deal of respect from me for doing so as well. I know from personal experience how hard this is to do.

 

[DEACON]

Efren is a magician.

 

[JoeyA]

If you read the bio's of most top pro pool players you'll find they started playing early, table in house or father owned a poolroom. Most never worked. (I said MOST) I don't count house pro as working. Johnnyt

I'm with you on that Johnnyt. House Pros don't count. I also include Pool Room Owners on the don't count list.

As Virgin Islands Professor mentioned, it takes an incredible amount of time to play at the highest professional level. When you do get to the top, you won't stay there long if you change your pool work ethic. Not for the faint of heart. Jeremy Jones was a real champion but even though he pops up in tournaments from time to time, he doesn't put in the time, nor Shannon Daulton and well, you see the results.

JoeyA

 

[Johnnyt]

David, I understand what he's saying, however some of the best players I have ever seen were never "pros" by Bruin's definition.

Richie Peck of NYC comes to mind, as do Mike Bandy, Jerry Prado, Bob Vanover, Tom Karabotsos, Mike Zuglan, Fred Wenker (RIP), Ismael Paez, Tom Brown, Mike Eufemia, CM Lee, Mark Tadd, Barry Emerson, etc, etc. None of those players have played professionally full time, some played professionally sporadically, Peck never has played professionally. Footnotes? Not in my book.

C.M. Lee. I haven't heard anything about him lately. He's a nice guy. I held my own with him on a bar table and three rail Billiards, but he killed me at 9-ball. Johnnyt

 

[easy-e]

Bob Vanover (back in the day) was a professional player that showed up and cashed in most of the events he entered and he entered just about every single one of them while holding down a full time job. He may not meet your criteria as a "pro" but he meets mine. Cisco was a very respectable player in his own right playing out of Albuquerque alongside Louie Roybal, Cowboy Jimmy Moore, Wifred Maestas and others and he held his own quite well no matter where he played. Though they may not have the same place in the history books as Johnny Archer or Mike Sigel, IMO they deserve the same respect. Their paths differ from the top pros only because of personal decisions that were made in relation the opportunities that were available to them at the time. That's life. In most cases they exercised what's know as "responsible behavior". They should not be penalized for that or referred to as "footnotes". They both have my respect.

Very well put!

 

[pooldawg1]

I will say this after 10 years in the military I decided I was getting out and making a living playing pool. Pool is the toughest living ever, even tougher than the Army. I have traveled with a few players in the late 90's and they all have extra ways of earning money when needed. I will not get into any details but most are illegal. I no longer travel and play pool, after 6 years I surrender.

 

[crawfish]

I played that Louis guy

There are certainly a number of professional players who work full-time. Present day examples that immediately come to mind are Ernesto Dominguez (table mechanic) and George Breedlove (owns a landscaping business I believe?). Louis Vieras in central Florida is respected and feared throughout the state, and Buddy Hall once called him "the best working pool player in America". No mention of employed poolplayers would be complete, however, without mentioning the great Arthur "Babe Cranfield, the only man to win the U.S. Junior, U.S. Amateur, and Professional World Championship. He was employed by the Muzak company for over thirty years. Irving Crane, another great World Champion and one of the top five straight pool players ever, made a living as a Cadillac salesman.

All this being said, however, there is no doubt that anyone who plays at the professional level has devoted an inordinate amount of time and effort to develop their game, and I suspect that for most players, the hours and the schedule required to play world-class pool seriously conflict with the demands of the workaday lifestyle.

Louis is a very solid player. They called him on me when I was in Orlando, once. Plays pretty sporty.

 

[catscradle]

Hi i've recently had a conversation with a guy i know and he insists that the only reasson pro players are as good as they are is because they do that and only that for a living. in my opinion there's a lot of knowledge and skill that seperate them from your average player and that's what gives them the ability to do what they do at such a high level full time. i was wondering if there were any pros that did have other jobs? i know melissa herndon is or was a travel agent.

basicaly i'm tired of this guy using the excuse "Well i work!!" i work too but to say that it would distract my game that much is really reaching for straws. i'm not better because i lack either knowlege or ability and i don't like making excuses about it.

Fwiw, I think ...
They are as good as they are because at some time in their life they worked their butts off practicing. If they continue to stay at that level they either play all the time or continue to work their butts off practicing whenever they can. I also believe the very best have certain natural physical gifts in addition to working so hard at it, namely eye sight, muscular coodination (not necessarily strength), and hand-eye coodination.