who are the best "old" players today?

Joseph Ortega

Joseph Ortega

Daddy's little girl
Silver Member
I played in Wilson, NC tonight. I played an older man for a few hours and he played pretty good. He was probably in his mid to late seventies and made me start thinking about the top players his age.

Who are the best players over seventy, eighty or even in their nineties? Are there former pros from the 40s, 50s who still play good?
 
I know there are a few in their 70's that can still play well. I know that Buddy Hall is only in his 60's but he still plays pretty sporty. Every once in awhile he gets a flashback from the 1970's...and nobody has to like that. Johnnyt

PS. I'm sure Jay and a few of the others on here that have been in action for ever can come up with some names in their 70's that still can run some racks.
 
My picks are Buddy Hall, Nick Varner, and Ray Martin! They can still give a player a good run for their money, and don't ever discount them when they step foot in the pit! :)

JAM
 
From all the threads about gambling lately it sounds like Billy Incardona can still play pretty sporty, I look forward to sweating some of his action at DCC this year. I'm also glad to hear that Billy and Grady will be back together in the Accu-stats booth soon, its hard to listen to Jim Wytch.

Leonard
 
poolcuemaster said:
... I'm also glad to hear that Billy and Grady will be back together in the Accu-stats booth soon, its hard to listen to Jim Wytch.

Leonard
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I hadn't heard that and am very glad to hear it. Wytch really ruins the accu-stats experience, he is just plain irritating.
Last night I had a bout of insomnia and was watching old accustats tapes, some of which had Grady as the primary commentator. I've always felt and implied in post that Billy was a better commentator, but listening to Grady by himself or with somebody other than Billy, I decided Grady is equally as good a commentator. When he is teamed up with Billy, Billy just takes over control of the mic. My apologies to Grady for my past opinion of his commentary.

Oh yeah, though I don't think he is quite in his 70's, Grady I believe can still carry a stick pretty well.
 
JAM said:
My picks are Buddy Hall, Nick Varner, and Ray Martin! They can still give a player a good run for their money, and don't ever discount them when they step foot in the pit! :)

JAM
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Ray was the first person I thought of.
 
Squirrel

Marshall Carpenter aka Tuscaloosa Squirrel. 78 years old, I think. Been playing great for a lot of years. I think Jay or Fred will agree with this choice.
 
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Pushout said:
Ray was the first person I thought of.
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A funny story about Ray Martin. We were in Dayton Ohio at a pretty large tournament watching a game where they were betting $500 a rack. It was an intense game with a large crowd watching. From another table near by, two guys get into a heated discussion about making the eightball. One guy made the eight by hitting the short rail before it struck the eight. The other guy claims he didn't call the little rail bump. The argument got so loud that it stopped the money game until things cooled down. It was Ray and some local C player playing for $5 a game. You would have thought this guy was playing for his rent money. They had me rolling on the floor, primarily because they were oblivious to what was going on around them. I thought they were actually going to start throwing punches.
 
Danny Di

I think Danny DiLiberto, who is over 70, can probably beat anybody his age. He can still probably whip anybody his age in a brawl.

the Beard
 
I don't know how old those videos on propoolvideo.com are, nor how old the man himself is, but Bob Ogburn plays pretty sporty in the matches they have out there. I was also always impressed with Rempe's game, even when he was on the senior tour, but I don't know how/if he still plays today.

Aaron
 
Aaron_S said:
I was also always impressed with Rempe's game, even when he was on the senior tour, but I don't know how/if he still plays today.

Aaron
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Seems to me that Rempe is two years older or younger than me, which would make him either 56 or 60. I used to live 60 miles from Scranton, in Binghamton, NY. We used to see Rempe a lot at tournaments there. Haven't heard anything about him in a while, now.
 
Ted Ito in Sacramento still plays pretty good. I'm not sure how old he is but I think he's pushing 80 maybe more.
 
Calvin Lawton in Topeka, Ks. has to be over 70 now. He can play One-Pocket or One-Handed jacked up with MOST!
 
freddy the beard said:
I think Danny DiLiberto, who is over 70, can probably beat anybody his age. He can still probably whip anybody his age in a brawl.

the Beard
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I think Danny DiLiberto is ABSOLUTELY a great player, but even more so, I can't get enough of his commentating. He is amazing.

He is witty, fun to listen to, extremely insightful and knowledgeable. He sees things on the table so very well.

Danny, if you are out there …. Great Job. You are my billiard hero! Thanks for the entertaining informative work you do.

You should hope I never get your ear, cause I'd never let you go. :)
 
Some very good choices here. Over 60, there are a lot of good players. Over 70, not so many. Danny and Bob Vanover have to be two of the best old timers.

The best I ever saw at a ripe old age had to be Jimmy Moore. He could run 100 balls when he was 80, and would still gamble with youngsters (and beat them!). He played in one of our Hard Times pro events when he was over 80 and finished in the money.

For tournament play, no one has yet matched Onifrio Lauri, who won a major 9-Ball tournament at Beenie's poolroom in the late 60's. He was 69! and ALL the young guns were there. Eddie Kelly, Ronnie Allen, both Richies (Florence and Ambrose), Jersey Red, Shorty, Ervolino, Cornbread, Blackie and many more.

On a bar box, Clyde Bowles from the Northwest has got to be around 70 and he is showing no signs of letting up. Bunny Rogoff from Vegas won the Super Seniors when he was over 70, and was still gambling at the local bars. It took a strong bar table player to beat him.
 
Hey Jay is Bunny-Pots and Pans still alive? I sat with him several times at the DCC while Earl was playing and he is a hoot, calling Earl- Stricknine and saying playing him was just like taken poison ten years ago.

Leonard
 
Kenny Dodd

Kenny Dodd is 70 years old and still play very well. He just won 4 local tournaments in a row. He can still put racks together.
 
'Patch-eye'

Henry 'Patch-eye' Basheer from Philly is in his 70's and still playing strong one pocket....matter of fact, he might very well be the best 72-or-older one pocket player in the country...I don't believe 'Squirrel' can beat him.
 
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