Wow, he made it 4 times in a row! Impressive!
Vernon Elliot "The Faceless Man" - Great Road Player, or The Greatest?
- Thread starter CJ Wiley
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Wow, he made it 4 times in a row! Impressive!
There is a video of Joe Tucker making it three out of four with the object ball farther down the table on the later shots. Google, google, google....
Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-vXWEA_TU
And he didn't miss the fourth one by much.
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Three out of four ain't bad! That's one better than Meatloaf!
I’d be more impressed if he wasn’t guiding his cue through that gizmo he had set up against the side rail – what’s up with that?
When you watch this video closely, he’s actually stroking the cue absolutely parallel/straight down the cushion line, but with all the outside spin, the cue ball is deflecting and compressing in to and then off the cushion – very strange! I think by doing that, he’s using the cushion to impart even more outside spin on the cue ball, which is then transferred to the object ball, which helps successfully execute the shot
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I asked Vernon how he dreamed up that "crazy bank shot" and he just said "You just have to be more'n little crazy I guess"
I do think shooting into the cushion can get more outside spin on the cue ball. I tried it for a while but couldn't get the aim down. I guess I needed the fixture. I believe he actually had the cue angled into the cushion a little. The main point of the fixture is that you can precisely repeat a shot and vary it systematically a little.
Imagine playing someone who used that gizmo on every shot.
The gizmo isn't that big of a deal
The gizmo no doubt helps a little but it isn't that big of a deal. I have found Joe to be one of the straightest shooters in pool, on or off the table!
Hu
The gizmo no doubt helps a little but it isn't that big of a deal. I have found Joe to be one of the straightest shooters in pool, on or off the table!
Hu
The gadget just detracts from the impressiveness of the shot. If he can make it without it, I don’t understand why he would be using it?
Since he designed it and use to sell it, I'm guessing that he was trying various shots with it to see how it helped and he happened on the bank shot and it worked real well. It seems to no longer be available.
the cueball on a string.....it appeared to float around the table like it had eyes!
Yes, indeed!!
When I first saw him he had that exact wardrobe, sipping on a cup of coffee.
He looked like a stereotype farmer or truck driver, certainly not like a champion pool player. My friend, Chuck came over and said they wanted to back him against me, I immediately knew something wasn't right....but I played anyway, figured it would just be a super tough match..... that was an understatement!
Then I saw his eyes, there was something about how he looked at the object ball that he could not hide.....the intensity, the focus, the power!
We played 2 Shot Shootout rules, so there was no luck and the emphasis was on the shotmaking. He showed me several "free banks" that I had not seen before and I kept him at bay with my long game off the end rail.
He played the style that I later referred to as "The Touch of Inside," he had the cueball on a string.....it appeared to float around the table like it had eyes!
Overalls and a John Deer hat. Heard an old school once say of Vernon. "It was worth a hundred or two a day just looking like Vernon did when he walked in the pool hall."
Yes, indeed!!
When I first saw him he had that exact wardrobe, sipping on a cup of coffee.
He looked like a stereotype farmer or truck driver, certainly not like a champion pool player. My friend, Chuck came over and said they wanted to back him against me, I immediately knew something wasn't right....but I played anyway, figured it would just be a super tough match..... that was an understatement!
Then I saw his eyes, there was something about how he looked at the object ball that he could not hide.....the intensity, the focus, the power!
We played 2 Shot Shootout rules, so there was no luck and the emphasis was on the shotmaking. He showed me several "free banks" that I had not seen before and I kept him at bay with my long game off the end rail.
He played the style that I later referred to as "The Touch of Inside," he had the cueball on a string.....it appeared to float around the table like it had eyes!
Born Tinkerer
With that low percentage shot he might make two out of four with his hand and three out of four with the device. It is a mechanical bridge and aside from letting him position his body a little differently most would consider a bridge more of a handicap than an asset. I think it helps him make fine adjustments, nobody knows how much tuning he did before the money shots. The one miss was dead in line, just ran out of steam.
Joe is always tinkering and I think the block is just an example of that.
Hu
With that low percentage shot he might make two out of four with his hand and three out of four with the device. It is a mechanical bridge and aside from letting him position his body a little differently most would consider a bridge more of a handicap than an asset. I think it helps him make fine adjustments, nobody knows how much tuning he did before the money shots. The one miss was dead in line, just ran out of steam.
Joe is always tinkering and I think the block is just an example of that.
Hu
things you can't hide!
I used to watch a person move around a pool table. They could be trying to look awkward, all kind of games, then they would do something that gave the game away. The intensity of that look, the way they chalked, the way they walked around the table, maybe the way they moved into a shot. They would do something revealing.
Hu
I used to watch a person move around a pool table. They could be trying to look awkward, all kind of games, then they would do something that gave the game away. The intensity of that look, the way they chalked, the way they walked around the table, maybe the way they moved into a shot. They would do something revealing.
Hu
I knew Vernon for years here around Chattanooga and what he told me was that he came up with that cross side shot while playing one pocket. He was trying to bank a ball on the side rail just above the pocket across the end rail.
He said he noticed as often as not he would bank the ball too high bringing it back up table slightly. He said he thought if he could do it there he could do it at the side and it would make a great proposition shot as anyone could see it wasn't possible
He said he noticed as often as not he would bank the ball too high bringing it back up table slightly. He said he thought if he could do it there he could do it at the side and it would make a great proposition shot as anyone could see it wasn't possible
pkh1960
Registered
Don Willis was probably the best player ever. He and luther were road partners for many years. From what don told many years ago in akron he and luther never booked a loser. never played in a tourney. Had great life until diabetes set in. Died in 1984. Joe Kerr shot 33 wings in a row at starchers billiards in akron but said don did 42. How crazy is that. RIP joe kerr and don willis.
Bill Lawson was at Johnston City every year I went and never played in the tournament to the best of my knowledge. I can remember people whispering about him and saying what a great player he was. I was always a keen observer and I noticed that the best players all gave a nod to Bill and no one asked him to play.
I heard a story that he would bet he could run backwards faster then anyone and never lost a bet.
I always heard he was a ping pong player and magician too, but he stayed away from pool tournaments like Vernon Elliot.