Slim J said:
When I was a teenager I sat with a few friends in the cafe area of a my local pool room watching TV. About ten minutes later Steve Mizerak, Jack Colavita, Ray Martin and Pete Margo sat down at the next table and created the outline for what would become "The Professional Pool Players Association". I tell this only because this was born out of mens professional pool being so stageringly unorganized that they wanted to make a change. As you may or may not know, it was short lived. That has been the ongoing history of pool. I think we might all be seeing the greatest 14.1 players that ever lived. Just think, your two finalists have run just short of 900 balls in two innings. Odds are our small pool world will be the only ones to appreciate it.
I really feel that the PPPA produced the most enjoyable pool I have ever witnessed as a fan. Like you, I remember its formation, and to be fair, others also deserve menttion as founding fathers of the organization, including Allen Hopkins, Ernie Costa, Charlie Ursitti and others.
I think the 1981 PPPA world open straight pool championship event was the most memorable one for me. Varner dethorned Sigel in a memorable final, but just as noteworthy was how many of the old legends played. Irving Crane, UJ Puckett, Jimmy Moore, Joe Balsis, and Luther Lassiter all graced the event with their presence.
In so many ways, that great PPPA magic was re-created this past weekend in East Brunswick as the young stars of today found themselves in the presence of old legends Allen Hopkins, Nick Varner, Jose Garcia, Mike Zuglan, and many others.
Sounds like you enjoyed it just as much as I did, and that's nice to hear. Hope you caught up with Pete Margo, who was there for most of the day on Friday. I did and, as usual, Pete was cordial and congenial.