Video 1989 World 9-ball chmpship Part 1..4 great qtr-finals Nick; Earl; Archer; Grady

[arnaldo]

I just analog-to-digital converted and Youtubed my VHS recording of the broadcast shown 26 years ago. Video length is just over 3 hours. Four quarter-finals matches from the 1989 Caesars Las Vegas US 9-Ball championship. More classic “tuxedo” matches from back in the day.

Besides the other six significant players, these quarterfinals also feature a *very* young Archer, as well as a memorable tournament performance by Grady. Good to see him again and hear his marvelous sense of humor that gets a laugh from Miz, Joe Kerr and the entire audience. These matches show some great catching-up by underdogs plus enough pro player mistakes to make our own occasional shotcomings more bearable.

1) Varner-Bollman
2) Strickland-Vickery…. Start time -- 46:00
3) Mataya-Archer……. ..Start time -- 1:31:20
4) Mathews-Davenport...Start time -- 2:15:51

https://youtu.be/jT3b5kX9M4U

(I’ll be Youtubing Part 2 in a few days. It will contain the 2 semis and the terrific final.)

Enjoy.

Arnaldo

 

[NitPicker]

You're too kind! Much appreciated, sir!

 

[Cameron Smith]

You are officially my hero.

 

[Green Hornet]

Just when others proclaim AZB has no beneficial topics of late. Yourself and others prove otherwise. This post and link is one of many great opportunities for AZ members to benefit from one another. My hat is off to you and others like you. Thanks!

I'm probably a D player on a Diamond 9footer at an event and a decent C on my 4x8 at home.

I once took an 8 year break from playing the game, but I always go to the Derby. Just by watchin the pros at that tournament every year, I increased my knowledge of how to properly approach a series of shots.

So when I started playing competitive again, I noticed I hadn't lost much if any as far as looking at the table and seeing a way out. However, I still had to practice a lot to control the rock. Having a table at home certainly helps out a lot.

Sorry for the tangent. It's just great to have people like you providing us with such an opportunity to learn from the best. We just got to watch and learn and play and play and play.

Thanks!

 

[Green Hornet]

Unfortunately I have a correction in regards to my previous post. I was just informed that I most definitely am no D player on a 9-footer at an event. However, I still contend that I'm a C at home down in the basement.

Just wanted to say thanks again! Enjoy everyone.

 

[Straightpool_99]

I just analog-to-digital converted and Youtubed my VHS recording of the broadcast shown 26 years ago. Video length is just over 3 hours. Four quarter-finals matches from the 1989 Caesars Las Vegas US 9-Ball championship. More classic “tuxedo” matches from back in the day.

Besides the other six significant players, these quarterfinals also feature a *very* young Archer, as well as a memorable tournament performance by Grady. Good to see him again and hear his marvelous sense of humor that gets a laugh from Miz, Joe Kerr and the entire audience. These matches show some great catching-up by underdogs plus enough pro player mistakes to make our own occasional shotcomings more bearable.

1) Varner-Bollman
2) Strickland-Vickery…. Start time -- 46:00
3) Mataya-Archer……. ..Start time -- 1:31:20
4) Mathews-Davenport...Start time -- 2:15:51

https://youtu.be/jT3b5kX9M4U

(I’ll be Youtubing Part 2 in a few days. It will contain the 2 semis and the terrific final.)

Enjoy.

Arnaldo

Thanks a lot for posting these. Really love watching the old school players play, especially Grady Mathews whom I've mostly only seen in instructional videos and doing commentary.

 

[arnaldo]

Thanks a lot for posting these. Really love watching the old school players play, especially Grady Mathews whom I've mostly only seen in instructional videos and doing commentary.

What Grady could do with his ultra-compact, truly economical stroke was always astonishing to see. Players commonly told him how his abbreviated stroking technique was nearly identical to Hopkins' and Grady never appreciated hearing the comparison. A bit of enmity that went back years, but we've all had a few personal, unchangeable times like that -- just part of any normal life.

Grady traveled up to my then-New England home in 2003 so we could discuss a few pool-related entertainment industry projects we were contemplating. To relax a bit from business talk, he and I played some long and wonderful, understandably one-sided 14.1 sessions (our mutual favorite) each day on my rec room 9-foot Diamond.

He had *numerous* 60- and 70-ball runs and kept prodding me to lay a couple of good runs on him. I'd get into a third rack a few times on him, but his pro positional power and inventive rack navigation was so dazzling, it was pleasurable just to sit and intensely watch his sheer skill in navigating any imaginable table layout after his break shots.

I calculated (and informed him) that over the 4 days he stayed with my wife and I, he shot 98 break shots and missed exactly *one* of them. Just an amazing experience and display to have witnessed and been a part of.

As to the entertainment products we co-developed, I got a pool-related sitcom pilot and our co-written 13-episode series proposal to the desk of the then-head of NBC via an NBC audio engineer I knew, plus a pool-related screenplay we got to an L.A. studio exec to whom Grady had given multiple very well-compensated pool lessons. The NBC honcho was replaced about a month after reading (and liking) our material, sad to say. Grady was very high on our eventual chances elsewhere, as was I.

Besides his extraordinary pool ability, I'll always remember Grady's humor and how deep and broad his creative intellect was. A great, very special man to thousands of folks who spent any amount of time with him, no matter how long or brief the duration.

Arnaldo

 

[Straightpool_99]

What Grady could do with his ultra-compact, truly economical stroke was always astonishing to see. Players commonly told him how his abbreviated stroking technique was nearly identical to Hopkins' and Grady never appreciated hearing the comparison. A bit of enmity that went back years, but we've all had a few personal, unchangeable times like that -- just part of any normal life.

Grady traveled up to my then-New England home in 2003 so we could discuss a few pool-related entertainment industry projects we were contemplating. To relax a bit from business talk, he and I played some long and wonderful, understandably one-sided 14.1 sessions (our mutual favorite) each day on my rec room 9-foot Diamond.

He had *numerous* 60- and 70-ball runs and kept prodding me to lay a couple of good runs on him. I'd get into a third rack a few times on him, but his pro positional power and inventive rack navigation was so dazzling, it was pleasurable just to sit and intensely watch his sheer skill in navigating any imaginable table layout after his break shots.

I calculated (and informed him) that over the 4 days he stayed with my wife and I, he shot 98 break shots and missed exactly *one* of them. Just an amazing experience and display to have witnessed and been a part of.

As to the entertainment products we co-developed, I got a pool-related sitcom pilot and our co-written 13-episode series proposal to the desk of the then-head of NBC via an NBC audio engineer I knew, plus a pool-related screenplay we got to an L.A. studio exec to whom Grady had given multiple very well-compensated pool lessons. The NBC honcho was replaced about a month after reading (and liking) our material, sad to say. Grady was very high on our eventual chances elsewhere, as was I.

Besides his extraordinary pool ability, I'll always remember Grady's humor and how deep and broad his creative intellect was. A great, very special man to thousands of folks who spent any amount of time with him, no matter how long or brief the duration.

Arnaldo

One of my big regrets is that I never sent Grady a pm about how much I had enjoyed his commentary and instructional videos when he was posting here. I was too shy at the time and he posted mostly on private matters. He was the only guy who could make me take notes while watching a video and then instantly forget about it because he made me laugh or because I got too interested in the back and forth banter..A very special man indeed.

 

[BasementDweller]

Just absolutely love these old matches!

Can't get enough.

 

[KAP1976]

I just analog-to-digital converted and Youtubed my VHS recording of the broadcast shown 26 years ago. Video length is just over 3 hours. Four quarter-finals matches from the 1989 Caesars Las Vegas US 9-Ball championship. More classic “tuxedo” matches from back in the day.

Besides the other six significant players, these quarterfinals also feature a *very* young Archer, as well as a memorable tournament performance by Grady. Good to see him again and hear his marvelous sense of humor that gets a laugh from Miz, Joe Kerr and the entire audience. These matches show some great catching-up by underdogs plus enough pro player mistakes to make our own occasional shotcomings more bearable.

1) Varner-Bollman
2) Strickland-Vickery…. Start time -- 46:00
3) Mataya-Archer……. ..Start time -- 1:31:20
4) Mathews-Davenport...Start time -- 2:15:51

https://youtu.be/jT3b5kX9M4U

(I’ll be Youtubing Part 2 in a few days. It will contain the 2 semis and the terrific final.)

Enjoy.

Arnaldo

You know, there's gonna' be a rainy day this summer.
Just an awful crappy day where you don't want to go anywhere or do anything.
Can't go to the pool, can't play golf, can't cut the grass.
And I'm gonna' be bored to tears.
And I'm gonna' hook up my laptop to my TV and watch these. All of these that you have recently uploaded.
And I won't be bored anymore.
Thank you.

 

[flyvirginiaguy]

I remember all of these when they aired. I believe this was the year Nick Varner and Earl met in either the Semi or Final, can't remember exactly though.

Thanks again for all the great older matches. AccuStats is sort of slack on uploading their older stuff for streaming. Done watched about all of their currently offered streamed matches.

 

[arnaldo]

I believe this was the year Nick Varner and Earl met in either the Semi or Final, can't remember exactly though.

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By Monday you won't need to trust your memory, Fly. Soon as I finish converting (and editing for tween-rack transitions) the resulting digitals of the 2 semis & the final, I'll have them immediately up.

Won't say for now who was in what, of course, lest it diminish in any way the pure joy of re-visiting these genuinely courageous, inordinately talented, and actually very inspiring gladiators of ours that we all fondly remember (or in many younger AZB-er cases, know by name only and wish to "meet" for the first time).

These very tournament players, and their equally skilled road men contemporaries, were at the very heart of our initially uniquely American sport which, via TV, several notable films, and evolving pool instructional materials, rapidly and colorfully seized the worldwide imaginations of new young generations or players in every developed country on the planet. I greatly appreciate the advent of Youtube and other new online viewing avenues for their presently vital role in enhancing awareness of, and fostering hugely increased participation in, our very healthful sport.

I think we're all glad to continue "evangelizing" for the sport, and be contributing to it in every way we can. That in itself is a quite positive and healthful partial expenditure of our some of our brief time on this spinning rock we literally play upon.

Arnaldo

 

[Nine ... corner]

Thanks for this post arnaldo. :thumbup:

 

[flyvirginiaguy]

--------------------------------------------------------------
Won't say for now who was in what, of course, lest it diminish in any way the pure joy of re-visiting these genuinely courageous, inordinately talented, and actually very inspiring gladiators of ours

Absolutely, would not want to do that :smile:

Thanks again!