What person has had the most positive influence on pool?

I think it should be looked by eras.
In these times, I'm giving it to a guy named Mike.....
...he posts here occasionally as AZhousepro.

This site has kept my interest in the game....
...not selling my playing cues just yet.
 
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Rudolph Wanderone a/k/a Minnesota Fats.

Sure, he stole a famous name and used it to promote himself. But in the process he popularized pool probably more than any other player.
 
CJ Wiley said:
and Jackie Gleason

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I have to agree and mainly because we may never escape the broken thumbs scene and image.
Another obvious to me is Allewn Hopkins. He heas done a bang up job for years and stayed out of the negative zone which is tough to do in this world
 
the beard

So many already listed ,one you cant leave out Freddy the Beard,
 
If you're talking about ever, it would have to be the Legendary Mosconi. If you're talking about recent, modern times, than it would have to be Tevis and his crew. If you are talking about today, the biggest/greatest influences are the powers at Diamond, Matchroom and unbelievably, Dragon Promotions.

All of these have already been stated in this thread without the distinction being made to what time period the OP was referring to.

Some will scoff at the addition of Dragon Promotions because of a personal dislike of Charlie. And in those cases, most of those opinions are made as second hand observations. But, if viewed objectively, its hard to deny their presence/results, worldwide over the last decade.
 
NYC cue dude said:
Some will scoff at the addition of Dragon Promotions because of a personal dislike of Charlie. And in those cases, most of those opinions are made as second hand observations. But, if viewed objectively, its hard to deny their presence/results, worldwide over the last decade.
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Charlie would be pretty high on my list, too. He is one of few in the world of pool that regularly produces new events. The now-in-progress Women's World 10-ball event was one of Charlie's creations, and it's going strong after about five years.
 
Glad to see Charlie and Dragon Promotions finally getting their due respect here on AZ, But determining the most positive influence on pool of all time is a title even Charlie can't handle (and I am a fan of the man).

My vote would be for the unknown soul that invented 9 Ball (the 1920's perhaps?) That mysterious gentleman took a slow moving game and changed it into something quick, easy to understand, and TV ready for mass public consumption. He laid the groundwork for all of the movies and television tournaments that followed and allowed the sport to grow into what it is today (okay, it's not exactly the PGA, but you get my point).

I would loved to have seen it, some guy in a pool room with gas-powered lights getting waxed in straight pool time after time, loosing money to paperboys and card sharks until he has had enough. So he gets inventive and comes up with a new game, one that gives him a gambler's chance at winning once in a while. "Hey Pops," he might have said. "What's about we play again, and this time, yuz got to sink em' in order. Yeah, that's right. And none of em' matter cept' the nine ball. That's the cheese ball Pops, nothing else."

And the game was on.

Now if we could just get rid of it ... sigh.
 
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unfortunately id say the movie stars have a bigger impact on public perception of pool, than the actual players themselves.

as for the players with the biggest impact id go with mosconi. maybe steve davis at #2 there are a number of players who were stars back in the day, so its hard to say.

although efren and earl have had a huge impact on those who are in tune with the pool scene as of late.
 
i never realized how much jay helfert had done for pool until i read his book, i don't think there was much if any of a tourney scene out west until he moved out there, also he adds a lot w just his posts on here as well he knows what's goin on and doesn't sugar coat it which pool desperately needs, also he wrote the best book i've ever read

here on az i think that sjm and blackjack are the 2 most positive influences even though blackjack doesn't post much if @ all
 
Johnson said:
i never realized how much jay helfert had done for pool until i read his book, i don't think there was much if any of a tourney scene out west until he moved out there, also he adds a lot w just his posts on here as well he knows what's goin on and doesn't sugar coat it which pool desperately needs, also he wrote the best book i've ever read

here on az i think that sjm and blackjack are the 2 most positive influences even though blackjack doesn't post much if @ all
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Thank you for your kind words.
 
François Mingaud. He was the guy who invented the leather tip. That did more for pool than anything else. I doubt pool would still be around if we were only poking balls with a stick and not able to draw, follow and apply english to the cue ball.
 
cueman said:
François Mingaud. He was the guy who invented the leather tip. That did more for pool than anything else. I doubt pool would still be around if we were only poking balls with a stick and not able to draw, follow and apply english to the cue ball.
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Wonder who invented the tip shaper, without which the leather tip wouldn't be reliable. First guy I ever saw carrying a tip shaper was Lou Butera in the mid-1970's, but I'll bet it goes back further than that.

Mingaud definitely is pretty high on the obscure list. Was he a cue maker?
 
I can't believe nobody has put Tor Lowry's name in this list. Here is a guy traveling the country at his expense to do nothing but try to teach people the game. He is looking for nothing and asks for nothing. Yes he has DVD's to sell but that is small in comparison to his contribution to our great sport. His 14 Day Pool Experiment is an incredible journey for anyone fortunate to be picked to receive his fine guidance.
 
sjm said:
Thank you for your kind words.
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The only reason you're appreciated is because you consistently deliver knowledgeable posts combined with tact and class.

I'm a pool player, so I'm not easily impressed by another person's skills. :D

For those who don't know, BlackJack David Sapolis is posting a ton of content on facebook, and he is one of the few reasons I still have a FB account.

On topic, I have to vote for Pat Fleming., and maybe Justin Collet from the young upstart category... those guys aren't getting rich from giving us all this awesome stuff to watch.
 
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Can't argue too much with "Fats" he is practically synonomous with pool.

I'll go with a little favorable mention here:

That's Mr. Bob Jewett.

I open a manual from the 70's-80's ............. there he is...............
I look up old issue of Billiards Digest............. there he is...............
On "other" forums/blogs.................................. there he is...............
Making contributions to the Colo st site.......... there he is.............

The guy loves pool, and has been making contribution to the sport for 30+ yrs.:cool:
:thumbup::thumbup:
 
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