South Dakota Players

S

supercue

supercue
Silver Member
Hey Bob, Your right about Dick Spitzer,an outstanding player,although,
I cant remember him teaching any of , what is now,top notch players
from S.D. Your forgetting some of the people that were responsible for
the caliber of top notch talent from S D such as Ab Taylor,Spencer Fire,
to name a couple,that would take the time to work with the young
boys and girls that became known nationally. The leagues ,also, had
a lot to do with improving the talent of the players where the lesser
talented player was paired up and played the batter players.
All in all, I'm proud of my families representaion of pool and all of the
many others from S.D.that are giving us all something to be proud of.
 
Response to Bob Bushka

I just wanted to respond to Bobs comments and elaberate
a little more ,not to be critical. You know me pretty good Bob.
 
supercue said:
I just wanted to respond to Bobs comments and elaberate
a little more ,not to be critical. You know me pretty good Bob.
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Hi Gary,

You know Dick better than I do but I would like to add my feelings about Dick's influence on S.Dak players in general.....

I've played in the S.Dak pool scene since the mid-80's and Dick Spitzer has been the standard in this state for decades. His record for state titles, both singles and teams is most likely unapproachable. While he may not be the most hands on instructor type he always gave you his "A" game and I never witnessed him disrespecting anyones game. For most up and coming young players in this state there was one reality that loomed large; you had to get bye Dick before you could win a state title. Of the three players mentioned(Shane, Lee and Dave) I would bet they remember the first time they beat Dick in competition, I bet it was a bench mark in their pool careers, and a cherished memory to this day. Dick is a pool playing class act personified and all these players have Dick to thank for setting the standard for their respect of the game. There is a reason that Dave H. and Shane V. are two of the most well liked players in the country; they had Dicks class act to emulate. It is not the water......LOL

I have played and won against all of the mentioned players and Dick was the biggest hurdle. Hell, I beat Shane this year....LOL Hands down Dick is S. Dak's most respected player and will remain so. SVB is from a great pool playing family and Dick gets a seat at that table.
 
spitzer

dick is a personal friend of mine and it sounds like cheesemouse knows him fairly well also! for any one that doesnt know him he is a class act and a true gentelman! i am glad to say he is my friend! oh and he plays a lil also! :D
 
I agree

I totally agree with all the posts that were made regarding Dick Spitzer
I,m hoping your not misinterpeting what I mean. To clarify,I can't recall Dick
formally instructing but ,like it was suggesting, just by the nature of the way
Dick presents himself at the table and otherwise, has been a great influence
on the people that know him and have played pool with him. I think most
all of us will agree,Dick has been an example of good sportmanship that has
rubbed off on who ever he comes in contact with. I'm proud to say,most of
our players, as a result of his example, exemplify that behavior.
I hope this clears this matter up, Thanks, Gary B
 
Hi GB,

No disrespect to what your family has done for pool and the skill level present in this state. I guess I was thinking of mens billiards and Dick has been the man to beat for over 30 years. Certainly, their have been other players I should have mentioned that have been more instructional and almost as skillful as Dick. I think Dick has been the game to measure oneself for many years in this state. I've had the pleasure to face many competitve and skillful players in my time including Dick. Other players I have a tremendous amount of respect for are of course you, Don Soper, Martin Smith, Ab Taylor, Dave Randles, Ted Smits...see now I start to mention alot of great, competitve players and I will forget someone that deserves to be mentioned. I think I'm very proud that the 3 pros we have out there have all had some sort of influence from many of us. Hopefully, Lee and Dave can feed off the success Shane is having and believe it can be done for themselves also.
 
bob_bushka said:
Hi GB,

No disrespect to what your family has done for pool and the skill level present in this state. I guess I was thinking of mens billiards and Dick has been the man to beat for over 30 years. Certainly, their have been other players I should have mentioned that have been more instructional and almost as skillful as Dick. I think Dick has been the game to measure oneself for many years in this state. I've had the pleasure to face many competitve and skillful players in my time including Dick. Other players I have a tremendous amount of respect for are of course you, Don Soper, Martin Smith, Ab Taylor, Dave Randles, Ted Smits...see now I start to mention alot of great, competitve players and I will forget someone that deserves to be mentioned. I think I'm very proud that the 3 pros we have out there have all had some sort of influence from many of us. Hopefully, Lee and Dave can feed off the success Shane is having and believe it can be done for themselves also.
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Gary/Bob,
I think we South Dakotan pool players should be thankful we have the hard winters to force us inside when the leaves turn, the wind blows cold, and Mother Nature says "dust off your pool cues boys and girls, it's time for some hardball"....we all can be proud of our little pool world that produces the likes of Shane. With Shane putting S.Dak pool on the map it will be much harder to get those easy matches with the 'city boys' who think if your from S.Dak your an easy game...hehehe...I will miss those days.
 
I think you guys are right, being a player who started out in South Dakota, everyone talked about Dick and how he was the man to beat. Of course there were others and the list is long. One guy in my mind that also stood out as a class act and was a true ambassador of the game is Alan Duprell. You guys all probably know him so I don't need to go into detail, but how he acted on and off the table was a benchmark for me. As far as I know, Dick didn't take on students, he had only one. So if you wanted to learn form him, you had to watch the way he moved around the pool table. And his composure was impeccable. I've never seen Dick's emotions get the best of him. Always the same Stoic look and a firm handshake, win or lose.

I learned a great deal from all the greats in South Dakota; Gary's Family, from Alan, Dick, Gunther, and all the rest of the players I'm forgetting that are from South Dakota. I'm glad I learned from there.

And I can still say, I'm one of the people that threw Dick in the swimming pool at the Riveria during the VNEA tournament one year. Haha, I'll never forget that.

Playing Pool in South Dakota was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Here's to you all!

TK
 
TannerPruess said:
Can't forget Ken Nash and Barry Seyer for other great players.
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Ken used to come into Spearfish Billiards when he'd be in Spearfish during the week. He was always a gentlemen.

As you can tell, there are a lot of great and inspiring players in South Dakota. A great place to get a good start!
 
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