What has Earl contributed to the sport?

Rasta said:
I'm just trying to understand what people see in Earl; that's all.

Good Rolls,
Rasta
Click to expand...

Its difficult to write down what he's done for the past 30+ years on this forum, guess you just had to be there to really understand the player, true competitior, leaves it all on the table. He's along side the greats in this game, a true HOF member that is deserving.
 
Island Drive said:
He's along side the greats in this game, a true HOF member that is deserving.
Click to expand...
That statement right there is why pool will never ever leave the stone age. It is maddening that this man is in the HOF and it is a slap in the face to all other members of that same HOF.
 
Adanac67 said:
That statement right there is why pool will never ever leave the stone age. It is maddening that this man is in the HOF and it is a slap in the face to all other members of that same HOF.
Click to expand...

So you think that everyone in Cooperstown is/was an angel? Babe Ruth has already been mentioned. Ty Cobb was a wife beater and an outright asshole, but they are in there for their accomplishments as is Earl.

Southpaw
 
Southpaw said:
So you think that everyone in Cooperstown is/was an angel? Babe Ruth has already been mentioned. Ty Cobb was a wife beater and an outright asshole, but they are in there for their accomplishments as is Earl.

Southpaw
Click to expand...

Some people think Clintons escapades with other women while in office were acceptable.
 
Gotta love Republicans

Island Drive said:
Some people think Clintons escapades with other women while in office were acceptable.
Click to expand...
and others like you feel Bush lying to his people to enter an illegal war is acceptable. At least Clinton's escapade never cost a single life illegally.
 
The Pearl!

By the way, he hates that name.

What has Earl contributed? Interesting question deserving of an answer. For me, I got to be a witness to the greatest tournament 9-Ball player of all time. To watch him at his peak was pure pool artistry. And if you like this game, that ain't so bad. Too much of his career is lost to history (other than the record) as it was performance art. You had to be there to see it. Thankfully, much of his success has been recorded by Accu-Stats and ESPN.

I can think of no player, before or since, who could control a 9-Ball match like Earl. At any moment he was a threat to win, whether he was leading, or down by five or six games. To me, Earl gave us all a glimpse of what is possible in being a pool player. He made the game look simple and beautiful at the same time.

I prefer to remember this Earl, the great pool player, and not the man who has deteriorated into a buffoon and crassly disturbed athlete. Years from now, not much will be said about the strange behavior of Earl Strickland. What will be remembered and talked about was his amazing skills on a pool table. No one ever put together racks more superbly and more frequently than Earl. When Earl got rolling, it was poetry in motion and you hoped it would never end. Unfortunately, it has.

What has Earl contributed? My answer, "MASTERY".
 
Last edited:
Rasta said:
Thanks for the responses.

I still don't get it. I recognize Earl is a great player. And after reading some of the replies in this thread, I see that he was not always known as a poor sportsman. However, I still don't see that he has contributed anything positive to the sport.
Click to expand...

There is an old saying that goes like this...

To those that understand, no explanation is necessary....

To those who don't, none is possible.

I guess it fits here
 
Adanac67 said:
That statement right there is why pool will never ever leave the stone age. It is maddening that this man is in the HOF and it is a slap in the face to all other members of that same HOF.
Click to expand...

Would you say the same of Babe Ruth? The man was a mean, womanizing, drunk. He did hit a lot of home runs though!
 
Adanac67 said:
and others like you feel Bush lying to his people to enter an illegal war is acceptable. At least Clinton's escapade never cost a single life illegally.
Click to expand...

When Clinton lied......NOBODY DIED!!!!!
 
Hail Mary Shot said:
Was Clinton a Hall of Famer in any sport? :D
Click to expand...

No, but he was recently voted the 4th greatest President of all time.

And Earl is always mentioned as one of the greatest 9 ballers of all time:D
 
Adanac67 said:
and others like you feel Bush lying to his people to enter an illegal war is acceptable. At least Clinton's escapade never cost a single life illegally.
Click to expand...

Boy you got me on that one, did Earl kill someone on the pool table?
 
Pushout said:
Seems to me that Sammy Jones was jumping balls with a shaft before Earl started doing it with a full cue, but I may be wrong. Jay???
Click to expand...

Earl's shot at Caesars Tahoe in 1982 came first. Sammy just improved on the technique.
 
watchez said:
I was always told that it was Earl that invented the jump shot. Maybe Toupee Jay or Hemicuda could clarify this??
Click to expand...

I don't know that Earl "invented" the jump shot. But he popularized it when he shot it on national TV (ESPN) against Mizerak in the finals of the 1982 Caesars Tahoe Billiard Classic. To my knowlege, this was the first use of a jump shot in a tournament match. I do not remember anyone jumping balls in the 60's or 70's.

I will make one small correction. Most players knew and often did jump over the edge of a ball. It only took slight elevation to do this. What Earl did at Tahoe was jump a full ball. I believe he jumped the five to make the three. Then he ran out. After that, the match was his. Miz seemed to wilt.

Hope this helps. By the way, I WAS there. I was the T.D. and was working on the telecast as the "floor manager". That means the Director would tell me when to let them go on the break shot or hold them up, if they weren't ready in the truck. I was wearing a headset. I watched this match from the best seat in the house, tableside. Miz was the KING, until that pivotal match, when Earl stole his crown.

A couple of months later and Earl repeated this, by beating Steve in the finals of the first Red's tourney in Houston. That put an exclamation point on Earl's reign, which wouldn't end for 15 more years. The next year is when Caesar/Efren showed up at Red's, and pool changed forever.
 
Does the name Vince Foster ring a familiar note?

Fleece3 said:
When Clinton lied......NOBODY DIED!!!!!
Click to expand...


Does the name Vince Foster ring a familiar note?

The Clintons have left a string of bodies behind surpassed only by LBJ.

Hu
 
John Barton said:
Earl has been an inspiration to a generation of players who desire to play without fear. His offensive game is second to none. It's not just that someone has to win, it's WHO is winning all the events. Earl for a time was the man to beat and everyone else was playing for second place. Because, while everyone at the tournament was good, everyone at the tournament knew that Earl was the only one who could put fives and six packs together before the opponent got back to their seat.

Earl's style of play inspired people to put in more table time. He didn't have to make any instructional videos. His instructional videos were the many, many tapes of Earl Strickland vs. ???? in the finals.

As far as 9-ball is concerned Earl might very well be the greatest of our generation. For the two tournaments the count most in 9-ball, the US Open and the World Championships he has won more of them than any other player.

He inspired me as a player. I bought Sigel's tapes on how to play, but all I ever wanted was Earl's break.
Click to expand...


If you want to practice the break the way Earl did, he always racked 15 balls and tried to move all the balls as much as possible. I used to rack for him.=)
 
Just a note ...

Clinton left this country better off economically than any president had in the previous 50 years. People gave Hillary way too much credit for brains, and not enough to Bill.

Many Presidents were known to have relationships outside of Marriage. JFK had them coming in the front door while the previous one went out the backdioor. His swimming pool parties were famous.

And how long could you go being married to a woman that wouldn't screw you anymore before you went somewhere else?
 
Rasta said:
I'm not trying to be disrespectful. Some people seem to admire Earl a lot. Every time I've seen Earl he seems to act more like a whiny spoiled brat than an ambassador for pool. I'm trying to see what others see in him that I'm missing.

Good Rolls,
Rasta
Click to expand...
What did McEnroe (probably spelled wrong) do for tennis. He brought people in just to see his antics. The Mosconi cup people insisted Earl be left on the cup team so they could get a rise out of him for entertainment value. His antics are dispicable to some and entertaining to others. Johnny Archer just won the turning stone event and has won more events than anyone in the last 15 years. Yet we keep talking about Earl instead of Johnny. Earl has kept people talking about pool. That is a major contibution even if he never wins. Yet that is what makes Earl even more entertaining. He can whine and win at the same time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top