What is the name of the funeral home in NC.... I'll send $ to them> ASAP
David Harcrow
Here is what is happening, David. The body is still in Knoxville as of yesterday and will not be transported to Robbinsville, North Carolina, until the Tennessee law about doing so is adhered to. This is why there is a "hold-up," for lack of a better word. Each State has their own laws that must be carried out.
We are sending a check today to Wade's sister, Kay Nuchols, with a note in the "Memo" section that says the funds are to go for "Wade Crane's memorial expense." I am not sure if he will be buried or cremated.
According to an interview Wade Crane gave to Mike Panozzo of Billiards Digest in the 1985, his father was also killed in an automobile accident right after he was born. He was the youngest of four and raised by his grandmother.
Without that October 1985 Billiards Digest article, I would not have known nearly what I do today about Wade Crane, the person, coming from a small town in the western-most part of North Carolina with a population of 700.
Wade Crane got out of pool several times in his life, first when he moved to Chicago and worked at Brach's candy factory and second after he got married to his first wife, Linda, not shooting a ball for over three and a half years.
It was the tournament purses that allured Wade back to pool in the '80s. The transformation from road agent to tournament soldier for Wade was an interesting one. Here is a snippet from that article:
For six years, "Billy Johnson" dug his bunker in Atlanta and withstood one charge after another. Ronnie Allen, Richie Florence, Eddie Kelly -- the glamour boys of the '60s -- all felt Johnson's sting.
"At that time," the slightly balding Crane admitted, "I was a lot like Earl Strickland in a sense. I was young, determined, and hungry for action. I dodged no one. If the smart thing was to bypass a certain town, I'd drive straight to it. I was on an ego kick. I was always ready for a challenge. I won a lot of matches and lost a lot of matches, but over the years, my record speaks for itself. The players know. I just kept a low profile."
The transformation for Wayne's shooting style required adjustment:
At first, adapting to the restrictions of tournament play was difficult. "The crowds really bothered me at first," Crane said. "You seem to be more aware of the crowd at tournaments. There were always people around watching during money matches, but you don't seem to notice that they're there. Tournament matches are in a quieter setting. The referees are a little distracting when you first start playing tournaments, too."
Crane has also had to change his approach to matches now. "I'm normally a slow starter," he confided. "That probably comes from all those years playing money matches. Back then, we played 10-ahead. You don't worry as much about getting a little behind. Even if I was seven or eight games behind, I knew there was still plenty of time to come back. In tournaments, you don't have that luxury. You have to be fast out of the gate."
Every good pool player has a streak, a good run, and for Wade Crane, this was the year 1985.
RIP to one of America's great players, Wade Crane. :smile:
The above information was shared with me by our own Terry Ardeno. Thank you so much, Terry! Without your help, I would never have known as much as I do today about this great pool player. Thank you also to Mike Panozzo of Billiards Digest for creating this historical pool archive with the interview.
For a good read, the BD issue with this three-page article is October 1985, pages 48 through 50.
Bravo to Billiards Digest for doing it and to Terry Ardeno for passing it forward.
