Thanks Bob. I saw Meiko Harada play a few times live, but probably not before 1978.
the history of the global pool scene
- Thread starter evergruven
- Start date
In 1975 there was exactly one foreigner in the Men's US Open (14.1) field. That was Udo Moers from Germany. I was told that he was an eight ball champion in Germany which might explain why he was unfamiliar with safety play. His ball-per-inning average was 1.26 which was the lowest of any player, man or woman. By contrast, in the second year of the DCC Straight Pool Challenge, Mika Immonen had a per-inning average of 60.
regarding the europeans entry into the scene i think tom storm came some year before ortmann, in the 1980's. in europe (minus uk) at this time it was mostly straight pool, but they had to toss that and practice 9-ball when guys returned from the US and reported on the 9-ball scene there. tom storm was a pretty strong player, he was runner-up in the world 9-ball championship the year ralf souquet won.
do you know when/how the taiwanese came? i know fong pang chao (probably butchered that name) was an early champ, but was he the first taiwanese to make a dent?
Chao, whose name you spelt correctly, was the first as far as I know. I first saw him in the states approx 1995, although he rarely came to the US during his career. In contrast, Taiwanese Jennifer Chen was a major force on the WPBA in the late 1990's.
There were a couple of other Taiwan players who played in the WPC in Cardiff, Wales in 1999 and 2000 but I don't remember their names now. Chao was there as well and did pretty good as I remember. I do have the DVD's of the matches on my website and I will check there to see who he played in a TV match.
Chao played in the Quarterfinal and Semis in 1999, defeating Steve Knight (GB) and losing to his countryman Hao Ping Chang. He won it all the following year defeating Johl Younger (AUS), Corey Deuel and Morro Paez in the Finals. .
Hao Ping Chang played in the Quarters, Semis and Finals in 1999, defeating Yamamoto (JPN) and Chao before losing to Efren in the Finals.
I have the DVD's of all the matches from the Quarterfinals, Semis and Final in both years (1999, 2000). Some great matches on there. I remember Efren running nine racks in one match and Morro putting a similar blitz on Earl in their Semifinal match.
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i think that he did, and that it's still on youtube. chu fei something i think was another one, with a mustache. still active iirc.
There were about 6 of them at the 1999 US Open Nine ball, Takahashi is the only one I remember,
They had a video crew following them around and I took several pictures of each of them and then started taking pics and sometimes talking to the other players and they started following me and videoed me for some reason , I couldn't quit laughing and they must have thought I was nuts. I have the pics of them and names , but I boxed everything up last year , I will try to find the stuff.
Do you remember a little oriental guy who always wore a sport coat at some of the tournaments in the late 70s early 80s Jay?
Tiny little guy maybe 5 feet 90 pounds with a mustache about 40 years old he looked , but may have been 50 or 60 hard to tell sometimes . He played really well , a ball or at most 2 tops, under the best speed. It wasn't Dan Louie I know who he is .
I don't think I ever knew the other guys name .
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When I posted this, I was sure Stevenson did an autobiography , but it doesn't show up in searches and Bob says he only wrote the one book, and I am sure I never owned that, so it didn't come from there "Top Of The Table Game"
I am going to try to refrain from posting anything from memory again, mine is obviously gone and all that's left is a bunch of bits and pieces that don't fit together, I apologize if I have harmed anyone , it was never my intention.
I was positive Lindrum was a teenager when they played , Bob says he was 23 and I believe he is probably correct. I am sure I read the 2 stories though from the same book , so maybe we will find the source.
I will try to look through the book catalogue and see if anything jogs my cabbage as a possibility
My first thought was John Roberts Sr. but that can't be , it's 60 years too early. lol
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That may be Dado you're talking about. He was older but still a very good One Pocket player.
Thanks Jay, Its probably him. Like I said , I don't think I ever heard his name .
Guessing you are referring to Fu Chei Wei here, who later reached the semifinals of the 2006 World 9-ball Championships against Souquet.
Here's the electrifying climax from the double hill rack, which includes one of the best clutch shots I've ever scene in a late round of a world championship.
WPC 2006 Semi-Finals - YouTube
I must be reading this whole post wrong.
Yeah, and Souquet's long five ball with tough shape to the six. with a spot in the finals of the WPA World Championship riding on it, is surely one of the best clutch shots I've ever seen.
Yep. Great shots are not uncommon in pool, though. Excellent safety duels are pretty rare. Much more common in snooker.
Sorry , it's me. I start jabbering and get off course.
Geosnookery
Well-known member
Pool has been played in various forms throughout most of Europe for a couple centuries. Just about every culture in Europe has a rich history and it’s own take on the sport. If there’s a centre of the billiard culture today it would be China for the number of players, clubs and spectators. but that country has borrowed most of it billiard culture from Britain. The most popular sports in the world, soccer, cricket and field hockey all originated in Britain. Snooker isn’t as popular but like the others was spread by the Empire around the world.