Questions for Billy Incardona

[Rick S.]

hey Billy...

Wish you the best of luck w/flight to Louisville, this yr!

Just to let you know it was one of my most enjoyable flights. (other than our luggage not making it!) I glad it finally showed...and I know you are.

I loved hearing the 'war stories' all the way from Texas to Louisville. Especially the 'Sports book' one. Yep, you could write a book, and I'd buy it.

See you soon....Rick

 

[wahcheck]

really

Ed Kelly was the BEST All Around player in the world back then. And no one disputed this. He played all games JAM UP! Only the very best at any game had a chance against him. Ronnie in One Pocket, Mizerak in 14.1 and yes Billy in 9-Ball.

Kelly was beautiful to watch play. He had a comfort and grace to his style, almost like a dancer. Danny was more of a traditional player, He worked hard for every game and every ball. You could feel his effort.

And their strokes were as different as night and day. Kelly's stroke was the most fluid thing you ever saw, absolute perfection. I cannot think of one player today with a stroke like that. Still thinking, not one.

Danny's stroke was more of a punch, ala Hopkins, but he squared up on the ball more and got down lower than Allen.

Jay...

Interesting to see you say that Kelly's stroke was perfection and unmatched...
How would you rate the following players' strokes:

Buddy Hall
Earl Strickland
Steve Mizerak
Efren Reyes
Larry Nevel

 

[jay helfert]

Jay...

Interesting to see you say that Kelly's stroke was perfection and unmatched...
How would you rate the following players' strokes:

Buddy Hall
Earl Strickland
Steve Mizerak
Efren Reyes
Larry Nevel

Mizerak - most powerful
Hall - best control, most precise
Earl - long and fluid, most action
Reyes - most unique and interesting
Nevel - most powerful today

 

[Terry Ardeno]

Thanks for the great info Billy

Ed Kelly was the BEST all around player in the world back then.And no one disputed this. He played ALL games JAM UP! Only the very best at any game had a chance against him, Ronnie in One Pocket, Miz in 14.1 and maybe just maybe me in 9 Ball.

Kelly was beautifull to watch play. He had a comfort and grace to his style, almost like a dancer. Danny was more of a traditional player, he worked hard for every game and every ball. You could almost feel his effort.

And their strokes were as different as night and day. Kelly's stroke was the most fluid thing you ever saw, absolute perfection, I cannot think of one player today with a stroke like that. Still thinking, not one.

Danny's stroke was more of a punch, ala Hopkins, but he squared up on the ball more and got down lower than Allen.

Players back then were much more romantic than todays players.At least I thought so. And I can honestly say that even though I was a little younger than Kelly.RA.Jersey,Diliberto,and all the other greats of that time, I am very proud to be a player that came from that era. Mid to late 60's and early 70's. Rock and Role han nuttin on us! Right Shorty?

Billy,
Many thanks for the response.

I never saw Ed in his prime, but saw him at the IPT matches. Stroke still pretty. Your description of his 14.1 style vs Danny D's is exactly how I envisioned them as well.

I'm sticking my neck out here, but also, I perceived you and Danny having less problem with "nerves" in match ups than Ed. This is NOT saying he didn't have heart, but my guess is he didn't relish the battle as much as Danny or you. He was still a fierce competitor, but am I wrong on the battle aspect?

There is so much about Ed Kelly that I wish we knew more about. It's a great loss to pool that he sort of fazed out of pool. He had that great comeback in 1991, but other than the brief IPT thing, he's all but done again. I, for one, wish he still played, at least in senior events.

***ATTENTION BILLY***
I noticed there was no mention of any plans for your memoirs. Can you at the least offer some % of that ever coming to fruition? Again, "pretty please?" :grin:

Thanks again, MR. Incardona, SIR!

 

[Terry Ardeno]

Mizerak - most powerful
Hall - best control, most precise
Earl - long and fluid, most action
Reyes - most unique and interesting
Nevel - most powerful today

Jay,
Who was it that Rempe, when he first watched them play, said they were nothing special, "just a long pump handle" stroke? Was that Efren or Busty? I want to say he was describing Efren. You remember?

 

[jay helfert]

Billy,
Many thanks for the response.

I never saw Ed in his prime, but saw him at the IPT matches. Stroke still pretty. Your description of his 14.1 style vs Danny D's is exactly how I envisioned them as well.

I'm sticking my neck out here, but also, I perceived you and Danny having less problem with "nerves" in match ups than Ed. This is NOT saying he didn't have heart, but my guess is he didn't relish the battle as much as Danny or you. He was still a fierce competitor, but am I wrong on the battle aspect?

There is so much about Ed Kelly that I wish we knew more about. It's a great loss to pool that he sort of fazed out of pool. He had that great comeback in 1991, but other than the brief IPT thing, he's all but done again. I, for one, wish he still played, at least in senior events.

***ATTENTION BILLY***
I noticed there was no mention of any plans for your memoirs. Can you at the least offer some % of that ever coming to fruition? Again, "pretty please?" :grin:

Thanks again, MR. Incardona, SIR!

Psst Terry, that was my response you thanked Billy for. :wink:

 

[freddy the beard]

I'll "second" every...

I would be glad to help Willie with any book he might like to write. And I would be proud to "second" any lie he might want to tell. (Just like I used to do for Minnesota Fatty. I would "second" all his Midwest/Chicago based lies.

the Beard

 

[Terry Ardeno]

Psst Terry, that was my response you thanked Billy for. :wink:

Jay,
You ALMOST had me there, but check again. I quoted Billy's post #10 in my post #24. Look at the top of my response to Billy and it CLEARLY shows "Wincardona" as the author of what I quoted from. Plus, look at the part about Billy's 9 ball game. That WAS Mr Incardona that I quoted. So there. ))
You did have me do a double take, and even I got confused over what I quoted.

You tried to shark me just now! But I was toooo smart for ya!

And you never did answer who Rempe described as having a pump handle stroke.

(This thread is spiraling out of control by the post. Mr Wilson needs to come in here and not say nothing to us, just stare at us for a minute and then walk back out. That should help straighten things up here.)

But he's probably in therapy by now.....

 

[TorranceChris]

Jay,
You ALMOST had me there, but check again. I quoted Billy's post #10 in my post #24. Look at the top of my response to Billy and it CLEARLY shows "Wincardona" as the author of what I quoted from. Plus, look at the part about Billy's 9 ball game. That WAS Mr Incardona that I quoted. So there. ))
You did have me do a double take, and even I got confused over what I quoted.

You tried to shark me just now! But I was toooo smart for ya!

And you never did answer who Rempe described as having a pump handle stroke.

(This thread is spiraling out of control by the post. Mr Wilson needs to come in here and not say nothing to us, just stare at us for a minute and then walk back out. That should help straighten things up here.)

But he's probably in therapy by now.....

Look again! Jay's jewel of a response was couched in Bill's reply. And also quoted. I love reading both their postings and would devour any writings they do. :grin:

 

[jay helfert]

Jay,
You ALMOST had me there, but check again. I quoted Billy's post #10 in my post #24. Look at the top of my response to Billy and it CLEARLY shows "Wincardona" as the author of what I quoted from. Plus, look at the part about Billy's 9 ball game. That WAS Mr Incardona that I quoted. So there. ))
You did have me do a double take, and even I got confused over what I quoted.

You tried to shark me just now! But I was toooo smart for ya!

And you never did answer who Rempe described as having a pump handle stroke.

(This thread is spiraling out of control by the post. Mr Wilson needs to come in here and not say nothing to us, just stare at us for a minute and then walk back out. That should help straighten things up here.)

But he's probably in therapy by now.....

Billy's post #10 is a copy of my earlier post #6 with the last paragraph added at the end by Billy. No problem, just wanted to let you know.

Rempe was describing Efren when he said that.

 

[Terry Ardeno]

YIKES and OOOPS!!!

Look again! Jay's jewel of a response was couched in Bill's reply. And also quoted. I love reading both their postings and would devour any writings they do. :grin:

Billy's post #10 is a copy of my earlier post #6 with the last paragraph added at the end by Billy. No problem, just wanted to let you know.

Rempe was describing Efren when he said that.

TorranceChris, Jay and to whom it it may concern......

I, Terry Ardeno, am a dummy!

They looked real similar, but Billy had written "and maybe just maybe me in 9 ball' and that threw me. I should have known better than to doubt Jay...
Now I got mud all over me!

I apologize to everybody for showing why I graduated 88 out of 108 in my high school.


PS-I repped you both for being smarter than me. Which, it appears, is not real hard to do!

 

[ironman]

Ed Kelly was the BEST All Around player in the world back then. And no one disputed this. He played all games JAM UP! Only the very best at any game had a chance against him. Ronnie in One Pocket, Mizerak in 14.1 and yes Billy in 9-Ball.

Kelly was beautiful to watch play. He had a comfort and grace to his style, almost like a dancer. Danny was more of a traditional player, He worked hard for every game and every ball. You could feel his effort.

And their strokes were as different as night and day. Kelly's stroke was the most fluid thing you ever saw, absolute perfection. I cannot think of one player today with a stroke like that. Still thinking, not one.

Danny's stroke was more of a punch, ala Hopkins, but he squared up on the ball more and got down lower than Allen.

Jay, I think you stated it quite well.

When I hear the name Ed Kelly I think back on Johnston City, about,,,,1970. I was a young kid and wanted to be a pool player maybe worse than anyone who lived.

I got there and an old timer had told me to look for Ed Kelly and I would see as near perfection as possible. I was not disapppointed at all. I just liked everything about the guy including his bridge, stance stroke, demeanor, the whole enchilada. I thought he was the prettiest pool player I had ever seen. He even dressed like he was ready for a shoot with GQ.

His stroke tome, was just magical. In that day, if I could have unzipped myself and stepped out, I would have wanted to be Ed Kelly.

I worked so hard to play just like him too, and I did,,,, for about 10 minutes and then I don't know what the hell happened.

Billy was another pretty boy of that era too and a real warrior at the table. I had the oppritunity to watch him play quite a bit last year while I was in Dallas for a few months. I thought many times I wish I understood exactly what he is thinking at the time.

I think Billy's book would be great, but I fear Billy keeps things prety close to his vest. He is approachable and a nice guy, but he doesn't exactly like to jabber like a monkey in a tree. But if someone could show hime how to make a nice stack of c-notes doing this, I bet he would start tomorrow.

 

[wincardona]

In awe

TorranceChris, Jay and to whom it it may concern......

I, Terry Ardeno, am a dummy!

They looked real similar, but Billy had written "and maybe just maybe me in 9 ball' and that threw me. I should have known better than to doubt Jay...
Now I got mud all over me!

I apologize to everybody for showing why I graduated 88 out of 108 in my high school.


PS-I repped you both for being smarter than me. Which, it appears, is not real hard to do!

Terry, i'm ecstatic that you could even think that I wrote that about Kelly. Of coarse Jay wrote that and not only is he a master in describing things in wording, but his perception and recollection of events is exact and right on. I'm actually in awe of Jay, even though he only stands 64 inches in height he towers over everyone in his perception,and description of just about anything pool related. With the exception of his ratings on west coast players.

 

[SJDinPHX]

Terry, i'm ecstatic that you could even think that I wrote that about Kelly. Of coarse Jay wrote that and not only is he a master in describing things in wording, but his perception and recollection of events is exact and right on. I'm actually in awe of Jay, even though he only stands 64 inches in height he towers over everyone in his perception,and description of just about anything pool related. With the exception of his ratings on west coast players.

Billy,
Jay is right on with his take on west coast players. It could be the fact that almost every one of them has beat his brains out at one time or another. Then he took them all on the road and became rich. They blew their cash, and Jay, true to his faith, still has his end.
And, he has survived all that to become the one and only "Toupee Jay"
The guy who could author the best pool book ever written.
Is the over/under publication date out yet Jay?

Dick

 

[jay helfert]

Terry, i'm ecstatic that you could even think that I wrote that about Kelly. Of coarse Jay wrote that and not only is he a master in describing things in wording, but his perception and recollection of events is exact and right on. I'm actually in awe of Jay, even though he only stands 64 inches in height he towers over everyone in his perception,and description of just about anything pool related. With the exception of his ratings on west coast players.

Now you know why Billy always made the best games. He would flatter you into submission. He would first spend an hour explaining why his prospective opponent might be the best player to come along since Mosconi, then he would reluctantly offer to play with only 9-8 and 6-5 on the money.

After the game was over and his opponent was now dead broke, Billy would graciously explain to him what went wrong and how unfortunate he had been. And of course how fortunate Billy was to get every key roll. Billy would often go to great lengths to point out how one shot may have made all the difference in the outcome. No matter that he finished eleven games ahead, it was that one critical shot that went his way and turned the tide, and made him a winner instead of a loser.

Billy never really beat anybody, he just got all the rolls for twenty some years. This is the one lesson that Efren learned quite well from Billy. No mater what happens, always say that you just got lucky. Billy had this magical ability to make a loser feel like he almost won, it was so so close. Maybe next time you'll get the rolls he would say. And of course we can't adjust the game just because I won this one time. I'm only 1-0 against you. It couldn't be much closer than that.

As of 2008, Billy is 1-0 against half the population of planet Earth. And it's really not hard to get on that list. You can sign up anywhere you see him. He is always open to new applicants. :grin:

P.S. Billy have you ever noticed that in all these years I have NEVER asked you to play. Not once! I thought about it one time, but then I woke up.

 

[jay helfert]

Billy,
Jay is right on with his take on west coast players. It could be the fact that almost every one of them has beat his brains out at one time or another. Then he took them all on the road and became rich. They blew their end. Jay, true to his faith, still has his end.
And, he has survived all that to become the one and only "Toupee Jay"
The guy who could author the best pool book ever written.
Is the over/under publication date out yet Jay?

Dick

Dick, It's funny but I never thought about it that way. But that is kind of how things turned out a lot of the time. If I couldn't beat 'em, I joined 'em. And showed them how we both could make a buck or two or three. :wink:

 

[wincardona]

Your beautiful

Billy,
Jay is right on with his take on west coast players. It could be the fact that almost every one of them has beat his brains out at one time or another. Then he took them all on the road and became rich. They blew their end. Jay, true to his faith, still has his end.
And, he has survived all that to become the one and only "Toupee Jay"
The guy who could author the best pool book ever written.
Is the over/under publication date out yet Jay?

Dick

Dick, you have been posting now for about 6 months, I always read your post simply because you also have a vivid recollection of past events and there is no one that beautifies there post with more wit than you, keep posting,i'm a fan. Wanna play some??

 

[SJDinPHX]

Dick, you have been posting now for about 6 months, I always read your post simply because you also have a vivid recollection of past events and there is no one that beautifies there post with more wit than you, keep posting,i'm a fan. Wanna play some??

Sure Billy, I would not want to post on this forum, what I would actually need from you. Whatever that might be, I guarantee you I will dog it gracefully. (maybe) You are my hero ! Happy belated Birthday! :thumbup:

Dick

 

[SJDinPHX]

Mizerak - most powerful
Hall - best control, most precise
Earl - long and fluid, most action
Reyes - most unique and interesting
Nevel - most powerful today

Jay,

You left out most jerky, and liable to miss any given shot. Of course you did not really know my game, did you ?

Dead eye Dick

 

[ironman]

Dick, you have been posting now for about 6 months, I always read your post simply because you also have a vivid recollection of past events and there is no one that beautifies there post with more wit than you, keep posting,i'm a fan. Wanna play some??

Roll up your pants legs kids as it is goinna get deep in here now.