Who is the best player of the last 40 years not to win a major event?
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in the past when there were not lots of tournaments and players were gamblers , there were so many very top players that never even entered one or tried to win.
most, few even knew their names because we did not have the internet.
just a couple// bernie swartz,, norm hitchcock,, joey spaeth, weldon rogers, richie ambrose ,mike euphemia, jimmy marino,
cuban joey, etc. all could beat anyone on a given day
most, few even knew their names because we did not have the internet.
just a couple// bernie swartz,, norm hitchcock,, joey spaeth, weldon rogers, richie ambrose ,mike euphemia, jimmy marino,
cuban joey, etc. all could beat anyone on a given day
Morra unless you count derby bank or Texas open.
He has to be one of the most talented to never win a big one
He has to be one of the most talented to never win a big one
I'll add Neptune Joe Frady(RIP) from N.J. to your above list.
Joe was a real good player that could beat anyone on a given day.
CJ was world champion, as a brief search will show.*
So, we're talking 1985 and later. That eliminates some of the old guys I was going to mention.
CJ won probably the biggest tournament of the 1990's, when he won the ESPN World Championship held in Santa Rosa, CA in the 1990's. I actually did some commentary alongside Lon McEachern of World Series of Poker fame there. CJ won something like 75 or 80 thou at that event.
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Jimmy Marino did win 9-Ball division at Johnston City in 1971, and Bernie Schwartz won the 9-Ball at the Stardust in 1970. Norman Hitchcock won the last 9-Ball tourney at the Stardust in 1973. Mike Eufemia won the 14.1 at the Stardust in 1967. They were considered to be major tournaments during that era. Billy Incardona won the last 9-Ball tourney at Johnston City in 1972. Oops, all were pre 1980's.
What was the field like?
Mostly corn and soy beans.
Jeff Carter won many regional events but never a major as far as I can remember. He frequently finished in the top four to six players but never quite got it over the goal line. He was a damn good money player too. He is the best one I can think of right now. There were several primarily money players from the Philippines who cut a path across America but rarely played in or won a major tournament. Andam, Lining and Manalo are three I remember. Luat came right after Efren and did play quite a few tournaments and his best finish was a second to Alex in one of them. Steve Knight came over from England in the late 1990's and best everyone he played (mostly up and down the East Coast) but may have played in only one or two major events. Tang Hoa won many local tourneys out west but his best finish in a major was second to Buddy Hall in 1998. Marcus Chamat was another damn good player who never quite got there, but for the cash he killed.
Strong, big money at stake.
Here's the group that Might.... have the one you seek.
Attachments
Old AZB thread with some links to YouTube videos of some of the matches.
Really good 14.1 player(324 hi run) who came in 2nd in US Open one year but that was about it. He got to be pretty fair 9b player but never won anything big.
Maybe not the best of this group but George Breedlove is a guy a i thought was going to win everything. First time i saw him play here in Tulsa i thought how can anybody fade this action? He won a few events on tour and did really well in action matches but i had him picked to be an Open type player. Harriman had the chops but he was/is nuttier than squirrel-shit. I know people who tried taking him on the road and they said they needed therapy after just a couple weeks. Reynolds would have to run extra shifts to make all the tin-foil for his hats.
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