What's your best Keith McCready story?

[bumpypickle]

When I first started playing pool and started becoming familiar with the legends of the game the name Keith McCready kept coming up as the guy who was the best at one time and yada yada. I became obsessed with seeing this guy play and made a trip to Hardtimes in Bellflower to go to an open. I think I was getting food and John schmidt was standing behind me and saw that I had some cash and asked if I would be interested in staking him against Corey Harper with the 7 or something. I asked around and learned that this was a good game at the time but the matchup fell through. Then a little while later John asked if I was interested in taking some of Keiths action in a midnight, $400 entrance fee, winner take all, race to 13, 10 ball tournament. I couldn't believe it, a chance to stake a guy that was in a way an idol of mine without ever seeing him hit a ball. Of course I said yes and took $100 of the entrance. There were 5 players. Tang Hoa, Efren, Santos, Victor?, and Keith. Keith got the bye. Tang and Efren played and Tang had Efren 3-0 and lost 13-3. Santos beat Victor. Keith then plays Efren with Efren breaking. In the first game Efren misses the 3 ball and Keith proceeds to run out and then break and run 5 racks. While running racks Keith was joking with the crowd and calling Efren "Effie Lou" and drinking like crazy. In the 7th game Keith breaks and has a good runout and misses the 7 ball. The next time Keith shoots it's 7-6 Efren. Keith loses the match 13-6. Even though my horse lost this was one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed.

 

[jay helfert]

I've got a few good stories about Keith in my book, POOL WARS.

 

[trustyrusty]

I saw him in a movie once (well he was in the movie, I was only watching the movie)....

 

[runout1961]

I've got a few good stories about Keith in my book, POOL WARS.

What book? :thumbup: I think this "book" is a hoax. :grin-square: Just kidding Jay. Just like everyone else I am anxiously awaiting the release.

John

 

[Bigtruck]

Come on!!!!

I've got a few good stories about Keith in my book, POOL WARS.

Come on Jay, Not even a teaser story??????

Ray

 

[jay helfert]

Come on Jay, Not even a teaser story??????

Ray

Well the first one is about how we sharked Mike Lebron in the Finals of the B.C. Open in '85. First prize was 25K and second only 10K. Ain't that something, over 20 years ago and the money was more then, than it is now. That was when $25,000 was a serious score.

Also have the inside story on how Keith got the part in The Color Of Money. And who really wrote the dialogue he used.

 

[TWOFORPOOL]

Keith McCready

I saw Keith playing Swanee at the Sports Arena in Anahiem Hills, CA. It was a tournament and Swanee had Keith 6-1 in a race to 7. The tables were tight pocket Rebco tables and Swanee broke and came up dry. Keith jump up out of his chair a said "that just cost you the set" in front of 100 people. He then ran 6 and out. He had that kind of confidence and talent. Unbelievable player, one of the best ever.

 

[Ken_4fun]

I saw Keith playing Swanee at the Sports Arena in Anahiem Hills, CA. It was a tournament and Swanee had Keith 6-1 in a race to 7. The tables were tight pocket Rebco tables and Swanee broke and came up dry. Keith jump up out of his chair a said "that just cost you the set" in front of 100 people. He then ran 6 and out. He had that kind of confidence and talent. Unbelievable player, one of the best ever.

That cracks me up.

Ken

 

[Steve C]

I was in attendance at the 2003 US Open during his semi-final match with Parcia. The match was captured on accu-stats and Keith was running on the right mixture and there are several great exchanges some that I recall;
HI a Effie - To Efren
Ooopsi - As Parcia jaws a ball.
After posting his first game on the wire how he just beat the spread.
Thanks for the post think I will watch this match again today.
PS Also if you catch the best of Danny DiLeberto DVD there is about a twenty minute exchage where Danny and Keith have Ralph Souquet (sp?) sandwhiched between them for about twenty minutes and again Keith's personality is reflected in the comments coming out of his mouth which is in dead stroke for the whole segment.

 

[Black-Balled]

I am sure I could come up with something zestier, but my favorite is:

Playing KM in a 1h tourney, race to 3 an iirc, he is leading 2-0 in games, ruling me, but the count is 6-4 or 8-5...I basiclly nee all the balls that are playable. He leaves me a 1rail kick bank (Srail/ Lrail) where I hav a good chance to stop CB and get what I need to go out. Since he is ruling me, I ask him about how to hit it- it looks like a little IE ins needed to make CB stop, but is wasn't the natural way to shoot it- he looks at it and tells me that he knows I want to hit it centerball with left, but to draw with the tiniest bit of inside.

I shoot my version of what he said and I completely blew it. the OB went 2rails toward his hole and the CB trickled over t leave him pretty much straight in. A complete failure! You shoulda seen the look in his eyes- appearing very disappointed in my effort to please the pool gods- he just said, "No, not like that."

He won from there.

 

[JAM]

Reprint but one of my faves!

One tournament I will never forget took place in April 16-17, 2004, at the Golden Cue in Albany, New York. I was a broke dog and didn't want to go to the Joss event because I had just paid out a huge amount of taxes to Uncle Sam. :sorry:

However, for the love of pool and my counterpart, I bit the bullet and drove up to Albany, hoping for the best. After all, the Joss tournaments occur on the weekend, so how much could we get stuck, I figured. :shrug:

We went to the Golden Cue early, before the high noon cut-off time, so that Keith could get a little practice in. Soon the players began to arrive, and it was an all-star cast, with some of the best guns in Yankee Country, to include Jerry Slivka, Karen Corr, Julie Kelly, Kid Delicious, Santos, Danny Hewitt, Pooky, Mike Davis, Frankie Hernandez, Ryan McCreesh, Tony Ruberto, and Mike Zuglan, just to name a few. :tongue:

The tournament was full of excellent match-ups. Ryan McCreesh was getting ready to knock Keith in the losers' bracket in this double-elimination format, with a straight-in shot on the 9-ball in the side pocket. Maybe it was the pool gods that Saturday that were on Keith's side because Ryan miscued badly, and the 9-ball popped straight up in the air and landed on the floor. Keith swooped in and took the set. You could have fried an egg on Ryan's head at that moment. :angry:

But now I come to the match that I will always remember. It was between Spanish Pete and Frankie Hernanez, both from the Big Apple. Frankie was hitting 'em strong that weekend and was plowing right through Spanish Pete. Frankie seemed to be unbeatable.

Racing to 9, Frankie had Pete stuck 8 to 2. Spanish Pete was sitting in his chair looking quite dejected, like he gave up, and just when it should have been all over, Frankie missed the case shot, leaving Pete a safety.

Frankie, thinking it was a done deal, then began to unscrew his stick and pack his gear. Spanish Pete looked at him in disbelief and decided to show Frankie a thing or two. He glared at Frankie long and hard. It was as if he got a second wind. Spanish Pete won the next 7 games in record time, defeating the cocky Frankie Hernandez, 9 to 8, as Frankie never won another game, knocking him in the loser's bracket. :grin-square:

I was standing outside smoking a butt, when I saw Spanish Pete exit the premises to light up. He was still shaking from the set, but he was one proud man. He told me, "I couldn't believe that guy, just packing up his gear like I was dead meat. He disrespected me, and that's all I needed to get back in stroke." The moral of this story is don't ever give up the ship until it's sunk. :wink:

But my story doesn't end there, even though that is one of my favorite matches of all time. By Sunday, Keith was still on the winners' side, bless his little heart, and me, I'm happy as can be that he made the money rounds, thinking we were going to come home at least winner for the weekend. Ka-ching!

Soon the pool room filled up. Folks were enjoying the Italian delicacies provided by the owner, Rocco Spinelli, and his family, and it was standing room only. Even the tavern next door, Joe's Grill, emptied out, as all the patrons walked over to see the finals. Keith had made a few friends at Joe's Grill between matches, and he must have left an impression because they were all pulling for him. :yes:

Keith advanced to the finals, but who should he have to face, none other than Frankie Hernandez. I knew it was going to be a bloody battle. First place paid $1,620, and second place was $1,200. Having just cleaned out my checking account for the IRS, we really needed those monies to survive.

Keith had the crowd on his side, which is quite deadly for any opponent of his when this happens. It fueled Keith's engines, and he was ready to fly. Julie Kelly and Karen Corr came to sweat the finals match. Between shots, he'd bellow out to Julie sitting on the rail, "How do you like me now, Julie?" Julie and Karen were giggling throughout the finals. Keith really likes Karen and Julie a lot.

Soon Keith came to the pivatol shot for the almighty win, and I was sitting on pins and needles, but he fired at it and won. He immediately turned around and looked at me. The expression of his face was one of pure happiness, so proud that he put some much-needed monies in our pockets. It was one of the sweetest wins for me on the tournament trail. Actually, the whole tournament was pretty cool! :thumbup:

Picture of Julie Kelly, Keith McCready, and Karen Corr, with their collective Irish eyes a smiling!

 

[JAM]

The next year, come April 2005, Keith returned to the Golden Cue in Albany, NY to compete, once again, in the Joss tournament. He defeated Canadian champion Danny Hewitt in the finals twice in the true double-elimination format.

The next year, come April 2006, Keith returned to the Golden Cue in Albany, NY and was ready to rock and roll, hoping to win there three times. He was greeted with a banner welcoming him and other players to the event. What a surprise and treat it was to see that banner.

Unfortunately, three times was not a charm, and he did not win the tournament that weekend. The owner of the poolroom in Newburgh, NY, whose name escapes me -- Fast Lenny knows -- triumphed this time, a very well-deserved win too, I might add! :smile:

 

[mosconiac]

Awesome story, Jam. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[8ballEinstein]

A good Keith McCready story?

OMG there are so many, you could write a book the size of War and Peace.

Here's one from over twenty years ago:

I was at the Reno Open, late 1986 the way I remember it. Upon arriving I run into an acquaintance who says, "Have you heard about Keith?"

I thought, "Oh, oh, what happened now?"

He says Keith has been partying and gambling like crazy ever since he got there. Then he started some trouble in the casino and was thrown out. After that they found out he was in the pool tournament and they let him play in the event, but was not allowed to play in the casino.

Later on, I show up at the tournament room to watch Keith in a winners side match with Mike Sigel. Now realize, Mike was on a tear all year long, winning something like 8 out of the last 12 major events. In short, Mike Sigel was in the best form of his career. This didn't seem phase Keith at all. In fact, it looked like he was thrilled to be playing him. Problem was, Keith looked like he didn't get much sleep the night before.

The match stayed relatively close. Mike got on the hill first 10-9, going to 11. Mike breaks, makes a ball and has a tough cut on the 1. Mike decides to try to make the shot but barely misses, afterward claiming that the ball skidded. Keith popped out his chair as if he was shot out of a cannon. By now the crowd is expecting something crazy is about to happen. He was left with a shot almost identical to what Mike had. Keith makes the shot but couldn't hold the cueball for position as it rolls to the short side of the next object ball. The crowd sunk back into their seats thinking these boys were now going to be trading safeties. With little thought, Keith fires the object ball at warp speed into the side pocket and the cueball does a cute little dance by the corner pocket and gets excellent shape on the next ball - absolutely no one saw this coming!

At this point, all the other matches stopped as everyone wanted to see what all the commotion was about. All eyes in the room were on this table now. Keith gets out of the rack to make it hill-hill. Mike is now racking and Keith is at the other end of the table doing an imitation of a Suger Ray Leonard windup. The crowd just eats it up, hooting and hollering. Well you can guess what happened next, Keith ran out for the win and Mike looked sick as a dog.

A friend and I ran into Mike shortly afterward in the bar. Mike couldn't believe he lost that match. My friend told Mike, "I've seen Keith a lot and I've never seen him freak out like that". Privately I told my friend, "Actually I've seen him do that many times". My friend says, "I know, I know, I was just feeling sorry for Mike".

I wasn't around for their rematch on the losers side but I got the word, Keith stuck it to him again, 11-9 I think. He ends up finishing 3rd or 4th in the event but when it comes to entertainment value, Keith wins hands down.

 

[lfigueroa]

When I first started playing pool and started becoming familiar with the legends of the game the name Keith McCready kept coming up as the guy who was the best at one time and yada yada. I became obsessed with seeing this guy play and made a trip to Hardtimes in Bellflower to go to an open. I think I was getting food and John schmidt was standing behind me and saw that I had some cash and asked if I would be interested in staking him against Corey Harper with the 7 or something. I asked around and learned that this was a good game at the time but the matchup fell through. Then a little while later John asked if I was interested in taking some of Keiths action in a midnight, $400 entrance fee, winner take all, race to 13, 10 ball tournament. I couldn't believe it, a chance to stake a guy that was in a way an idol of mine without ever seeing him hit a ball. Of course I said yes and took $100 of the entrance. There were 5 players. Tang Hoa, Efren, Santos, Victor?, and Keith. Keith got the bye. Tang and Efren played and Tang had Efren 3-0 and lost 13-3. Santos beat Victor. Keith then plays Efren with Efren breaking. In the first game Efren misses the 3 ball and Keith proceeds to run out and then break and run 5 racks. While running racks Keith was joking with the crowd and calling Efren "Effie Lou" and drinking like crazy. In the 7th game Keith breaks and has a good runout and misses the 7 ball. The next time Keith shoots it's 7-6 Efren. Keith loses the match 13-6. Even though my horse lost this was one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed.

The last time I told my bestest Keith McCready story, I was called a Pucker Sunching Monkey Scribe (or somethin' like that) and was beaten about the ears, nonstop, at the rate of 120 WPM, for like, oh, five years.

I'll pass this time

Lou Figueroa

 

[Ken_4fun]

Picture of Julie Kelly, Keith McCready, and Karen Corr, with their collective Irish eyes a smiling!

Freakin Irish...You thought the Phillipinos were bad.

LOL:grin:

Ken

 

[CrownCityCorey]

When I first started playing pool and started becoming familiar with the legends of the game the name Keith McCready kept coming up as the guy who was the best at one time and yada yada. I became obsessed with seeing this guy play and made a trip to Hardtimes in Bellflower to go to an open. I think I was getting food and John schmidt was standing behind me and saw that I had some cash and asked if I would be interested in staking him against Corey Harper with the 7 or something. I asked around and learned that this was a good game at the time but the matchup fell through. Then a little while later John asked if I was interested in taking some of Keiths action in a midnight, $400 entrance fee, winner take all, race to 13, 10 ball tournament. I couldn't believe it, a chance to stake a guy that was in a way an idol of mine without ever seeing him hit a ball. Of course I said yes and took $100 of the entrance. There were 5 players. Tang Hoa, Efren, Santos, Victor?, and Keith. Keith got the bye. Tang and Efren played and Tang had Efren 3-0 and lost 13-3. Santos beat Victor. Keith then plays Efren with Efren breaking. In the first game Efren misses the 3 ball and Keith proceeds to run out and then break and run 5 racks. While running racks Keith was joking with the crowd and calling Efren "Effie Lou" and drinking like crazy. In the 7th game Keith breaks and has a good runout and misses the 7 ball. The next time Keith shoots it's 7-6 Efren. Keith loses the match 13-6. Even though my horse lost this was one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed.

You and I have to "know" each other! I was in on that corporation too. I think I organized it. LOL!

We were all hoping Keith had a BIG flashback! LOL!

 

[Dan Harriman]

My Keither dity

I was house Pro at a Pool Room in Tulsa, OK and Keith came through during one of the Monthly 9ft table tournaments they used to have. Tulsa was and still is a great pool town with many great players and lots of young talent. It came down to Keith and I in the finals, Before the match he said to me "your the house pro here right?" I nodded yes with a smile on my face to which he replied "I guess that means if I win here then I am the new house pro does'nt it? I agreed that he could hold that title, Keith was playing great at the time and was very colorful.

There was little difference in the prize $ between 1st and 2nd but I thought it was friendly wolfing, he made sure to tell everyone watching also that if he won he would be the new house pro. I will not say who won except it was nice to get the chance to play him and watch him play, his personality reminded me a little of Louie Roberts who was also friendly outgoing and full of life while at the table. Guys like him are a rare breed andI wish I could have seen him play in the early 70's, he is not only one of the best 9 ball players ever but one of the most fun players to watch.

 

[Matt_24]

Well, personally Keith disgusts me. Yeah...I said it.

When a guy plays so natural (although his "style" is unnatural for anyone else) and looks like he never has to practice...just gets up and plays like that, well...it is disgusting. That much talent in one player is crazy.

I honestly think if he decided to play again (like he did the last time he was playing a lot and placed, what...3rd in the US Open) you would continue to see these top tier tournament finishes. Great..great player.

 

[JAM]

I have quite a few Keith stories, some of which I have never shared on the pool forums, as I am hoping to have them published sine die. I don't understand how Phil Capelle, as an example, can write a book in six months. For me, it takes two days to write one page, as I'm constantly editing it, going back and forth, et cetera, et cetera. I am about as good a writer as I am a pool player. I love to write, but it just does not come easy.

Here is an excerpt of a Keith story I wrote. It took placed at the Carolinas Open in 2003. I've posted it before, here and elsewhere, but it is one of my faves:

There were two sessions I will never forget. A guy named Keith Bennett approached Keith McCready, and the two got into a real bark-fest, getting a little heated at times. Keith McCready, who is not happy with his 9-ball break, told Keith Bennett that he would play him even, only if McCready gets to have a designated breaker. Keith Bennett agreed. :grin-square:

Well, McCready's designated breaker was a fellow who is 6'7" and about 260 pounds, Big Jerry from VIrginia. I think after the first couple of games with this giant breaking the balls for McCready, Bennett knew he was screwed. The big guy would break and Keith McCready just ran out, plain and simple. This race-to-10 was over in minutes, with McCready realizing he is a force to be reckoned with, if only he had a better break.

The next night, after the matches were over, the barking began again. There was a lot of little side games going on, leaving only a few available targets for Keith. Ron Wiseman was also not engaged in any action, and so a brief colloquy ensued with Keith saying, "Well, Ronnie, I'll play you even, only if I can have a designated breaker," thinking he had the dead nuts again. :grin-devilish:

Much to Keith's surprise, Ronnie liked the idea and replied, "Fine, no problem, Keith. Then I get to have a designated breaker too. Let's get it going." Keith went to the car to retrieve his cue stick and got the same big guy who broke for him in his Keith Bennett match, feeling pretty confident and cocky. :yeah:

When he came to the table, he looked around to see what big guy Ron Wiseman had chosen to be his designated breaker, and lo and behold, there stood a man of small stature. It was little Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan. How in the world, Keith thought, would Alex be any competition against his big breaker?

After winning the flip of the coin, Alex and Ronnie got the first break in the race to 10. Alex's first break sounded like a cannon, and the balls spread out like a flower, with Ronnie running out. Keith shot four times the entire match-up, with three of them being safeties that Ronnie left him.

Keith only had one shot he could actually see in this barbecue, a difficult long shot on the 4-ball. Meanwhile, as the score came to 10-zip, with Alex pocketing balls on every single break and Ronnie running out, the set was over in minutes.

After the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth game, Keith tried diligently to settle out of court, but Ronnie and Alex wouldn't hear of it and kept it going. In fact, the two of them were laughing so hard they could hardly shoot pool, as Keith sat on his perch chirping all the way. :rotflmao:

After the win, Ronnie, Alex, and Teddy the Greek taunted Keith by saying, "Hey, maybe next time you should get a better breaker," knowing full well that Big Jerry never got up off the stool. I have to admit, it was a costly but funny exhibition.

Here's Big Jerry, Keith's designated breaker. I loved that tournament at Fast Eddie's in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Though pool tournaments can be quite draining on the pocketbook and one's health, mainly due to lack of sleep, traveling with Keith McCready is a trip unto itself. And I feel blessed to have him in my life.