All four of these guys were gamblers, and good ones at that. And no question Alex was a great player for the dough. No telling when he will play again. He's hooked on poker right now. I know that you didn't know Cornbread, but if you locked all four of these guys in a room and they had to play until only one was standing, Red would have come out with the cash. And the other three guys might have trouble drawing their ball for a month.
Only Nick is old enough to remember Red in his prime and believe me, even when he was winning championships, he was in no hurry to match up with Red. No one was! Not Sigel, not Buddy, not Miz, NO ONE! The higher the bet, the better he played. And the more intimidating he became. I remember a young Johnny Archer thinking he could beat this old man out of some money playing Banks. Well, once the 55 year old Red got loosened up, it was the kid who tucked tail and quit. I was there. And Johnny played good.
Cornbread was cut from the same mold as you my friend, and he would bet just as high as you on your best day. You could not out gamble the man! I saw him play a 9-Ball match against another top player of his era and when it was hill-hill he was faced with a diagonal table length nine ball to win the match. He hit it in the pocket so hard it bounced up after it hit the pocket! He smiled BEFORE he shot it too. There was never anyone quite like Cornbread. That's why all of us still talk about him. You would have followed him around like a puppy dog, no disrespect intended. I'm certain you would have idolized him if you had known him. He was one of kind.
Just ask any old timer (my generation) about Cornbread. You'll hear more of the same. In an era full of great players, Jersey Red, Boston Shorty, NY Blackie, Ed Kelly, Ervolino, Richie Ambrose, Sigel, Hubbart, Marino, Wade Crane, Mataya, Hall, Reid, Varner, Florence, Allen, Hopkins and Rempe to name a few. I didn't include all the great tournament players like Martin, West, Mizerak, Butera and Margo. Red was the most feared money player, period! If you ever achieve his status then you've really done something.
The way Alex came back and beat Shane a few times in a row was the most impressive money shooting I've seen this decade. And Alex has been wiping up pretty good since he was a teenager. Alex and Corey on the road 10-12 years ago was the best road team of the last 20 years. Shannon was on the road at 13, playing men for money. And winning! He also never backed down from a bet. I'm going venture a guess that the great road team of Alex and Corey made a wide berth around Shannon Daulton 12 years ago. He was no one to mess with back then and everyone knew it. Even Parica in his prime was not going to play Shannon any Banks or One Hole.
