Donnie, I've seen you play and you're an excellent player. I also knew Randy quite well and he was a very good money player, a tad better than you might think. You probably could beat him even, but I don't think you were the last four over him, especially on a tough table where it isn't a run out every rack. On the old slow cloth, you may not have liked the game that much. Randy played his best when he was very young (in his teens and early 20's). Maybe before you ever saw him play.
I feel like I'm a pretty good judge of pool and ability. I made a little money over the years handicapping pool games. My opinion (like those of many on here) is that the best players of yesteryear were just as good as the best players of today. I'll use Eddie Kelly as an example. He could run 100 balls in 14.1 day after day. And the old Anniversaries and Sport Kings and early Gold Crowns were not such soft tables as you might think. We frequently played on double shimmed pockets (about 4.5"), with straight cut pockets.
We also played on slow cloth so a big stroke was required. The balls are not that big a factor. We had modern balls by the 60's. Back to Ed Kelly. He could make any bank or combination and understood the pack very well. He could run eight and out in One Pocket with a tough lay out. So could Jersey Red and Boston Shorty and a few others. I don't even want to tell you what Ronnie could do. You wouldn't believe me anyway. There is no one today (and I include Scott Frost, Cliff, and all the others except Efren) who play close to his speed of One Pocket. Gabe is coming the closest today but still not Ronnie's speed. Ask Grady next time you see him how good Ronnie played. See what he tells you.
If you ever saw Buddy play at his peak, that is how Kelly played 9-Ball every day. Perfect position with pin point cue ball control. He had that ball on a string. How many players today can play that way all day. I see good players miss balls just as often today as back then. And like someone else said earlier, Lassiter might not miss a ball all day. If he missed once in a Race To Eleven he considered it only a fair performance. One thing I'm emphatic about is that with a few rare exceptions (Larry Nevil being one), the players of the 60's had a bigger stroke than today's players. You had to develop your stroke back then to move the cue ball around. The difference between a good player and a great one was often how powerful his stroke was.
All in all, top flight pool is not so different today as it was 40 years ago. The best players (the top money players) could run out all day and night. On any equipment. Too bad you never saw Kelly, Jersey Red, Shorty, Ronnie or Cornbread at their peak. They would have opened your eyes wide since you love pool. These guys KNEW the game and how to play it, as good as anyone alive today. And some of them (Ronnie and Cornbread especially) could come with it for all the cash too. I've seen these guys make shots that would leave your knees weak.
I never even mentioned Keith here. He was an absolute destroyer of top money players. There is no better 9-ball player today than Keith in his prime. And no one can come with the shots he made routinely. I'd rate him a notch above today's pack of 9-Ball money players. Only a handful of guys play his speed or close. And for big money they might not get there with him. Like I said, it was a different game with the slow cloth. The run outs required work, not a bunch of soft shots.
Yes, today's champions are great players and excellent shot makers, but pool is about a little more than just shooting balls in the hole. When all your cheese is on the line, how many players can let out their stroke and make the tough shot that they need. This is why I respect the filipinos so much. They have the gambler's heart. And that's what makes them among the best players world wide year after year.
Just like the 7/11 in years gone by, there is no player who can go over to the Philippines and play a steady diet of top players there, and come home with the money. Not Shane, not anyone you can name. They will wear you out over there. One day when you have some vacation time, I would suggest you make a trip to the Philippines. If you want top flight competition (and bet what you want), you will get your fill. And if you come home with any money, I will be first to congratulate you. So far, only Johnny has been able to say he did that, about fifteen years ago. To this day, they respect his game.
By the way, you're absolute correct about kicking ability. They didn't have to kick at balls back then. They just rolled out for a shot. But they banked and cut balls unbelievably good. They had to! That's enough (maybe too much) for now.
