Where is Mark Belfuss now?
- Thread starter Jerry Forsyth
- Start date
mark also beat lassiter when he was only 12-13. he stopped playing to raise a family, i think in the mid 80s or so. he owns a machine shop and plays some local leagues in and around the hastings, mi area. still strokes smooth as glass.
his son brandon (who i worked with for a bit) plays some these days and shows some talent, but nothing like mark.
M.C.
Jerry,
Here's a link that has some info on Beilfuss.....http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=146142&highlight=mark+beilfuss
Here's a link that has some info on Beilfuss.....http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=146142&highlight=mark+beilfuss
Of course stories like that there is no way to verify but I saw him play a few times back then and he played good for his age but could only run maybe a 50 on a good day. There is "NO" way he could have ever beat Lassiter at anything other then maybe one game at like 9-ball or 8-ball. I did see him beat I think it was Ernie Costa in the US open when he was maybe 14 and he did have a 50 ball run. With all the attention though to the game Costa dogged it, he missed everything.
He played good but have to keep things in perspective. He never played as good as say Dennis Hatch at that age.
well, he did get a write up in the paper at the time for doing just that. and on a good day he would run around a hundred back then. i played in the 8 ball downtown and the sands with him back then. next time you see bob hunter, ask him if i made it up. he also was there back then.
M.C.
Beilfuss/Lassiter
He did indeed run back-to-back hundreds on Lassiter during an exhibition played out over several days, and he would have been about 17 then. I know because the feat made it into a Sports Illustrated piece, and that magazine doesn't visit pool very often. GF
He did indeed run back-to-back hundreds on Lassiter during an exhibition played out over several days, and he would have been about 17 then. I know because the feat made it into a Sports Illustrated piece, and that magazine doesn't visit pool very often. GF
You have to be more specific when you say "Back then". There is a big difference between a 12 year old and a 16 year old. I was running a 100 when I was 16. He played surprisingly good for his age but not a phenom. Those are few and far between. There have been many good young players over the years. Tommy Kennedy for that matter was winning tournaments by the bushel when he was just a teenager beating many top players. Every state has them, they become local legends but not many go to much later. Once they get a little older the novelty of the great kid player is gone. They are now just good young adult players with lots of equal competition.
The thing is, the poster made the claim with him as a 12 year old. Big difference between a 12 year old and a 17 year old. At 17 Dennis Hatch had runs over 200. Did you ever see Mike Caralla play? Holy Christ, that was a phenom. I just didn't see Belfuss as a phenom, just a very good young player and one of many who got some notoriety.
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my reference was to you saying he could not run 50 at 14 when i had seen him run over 100 on few occasions BACK THEN. i never said he was a phenom, although if he hadn't met and married a girl that didn't like the pool life, he very well may have become one of the greats.
not sure where anyone was comparing mark to any other players.
i do wish i had a chance to see actual good players back in the 60s and 70s but coming from michigan i guess we didn't have any.
M.C.
I was attending many of the tournaments at Joe Farhat's Velvet Rail in East Lansing when Bielfuss was at his best, watching him play many times. I was there the day he beat both Balsis and Crane respectively; one in the afternoon session and the other in the evening. IIRC, he defeated both with long runs and out.
However one might characterize his skill level, it was certainly impressive and he was a threat to run out any 14.1 contest while at the table.
And yes, in the later days of the Velvet Rail, Mike Carella did play numerous events (both 14.1 and 9 ball). I do agree: here was a guy that was born to play pool. I was fortunate to have watched him play many times as well. I still have one good picture of him in a old issue of the Billiard News. His stance over the ball was simply intimidating with a skill level to match. His whole demeanor was pure pool player and I've always said to my friends, if I could be granted any player's skill level, it would be his.
For your information mr knowitallguy there is only one question in the OP. "Where is he today?" It seems very clear to me you missed that part but want to flame others for there remarks.
You must be a very nice guy when you are sleeping !
Your right , so where is he? Last I heard he owned a farm.
My point was to the guys who posted some things about him was this. He was a very good player and that in it's self is enough, there is no need for embellishment. It is actually a bit disrespectful to him. I am sure he is proud of everything he did without added puffery.
I am always reminded of Danny Diliberto's quote regarding Johnny Irish,
The longer he is dead the better he plays".
I falls in line with many old timers who the older they get the better they used to play.
Internet boards are a great source of information but you have to constantly be on the watch for misinformation. After a while no one knows what the truth is anymore and the falsehoods get repeated as well as added on to.
I read one post on here where a guy is telling a story about himself and he says they were playing for $3000.00. I was there, it was actually $400.00. Some stories seem to have the need to be adjusted for inflation as time goes by to make them more relevant and interesting. I think some of these guys retell these stories so many times they don't know themselves what the truth is anymore. Not that it really matters anyway.
How many people do you know who claim to have been at Woodstock? Does it really matter if they are BS'ing?
By the way, you called me "mister it all". Isn't it better to get a response from someone who was actually there 40 years ago, then from someone retelling a story that has been retold and diluted and altered hundreds of times? The best I can do is tell the truth from my own experience, I am sorry if that offends you, it's the best I can do.
Good points . I like your response. You're ok Mr Okayguy !