Who, is your pool playing hero, and why?

military john said:
jim rempe.......class act
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I had two. The first back in his day was near unbeatable, Buddy hall. He played the game of 9 ball like a machine. his mental game was just beyond belief.
My next was never the top player in the world. he was though one of the strongest men I ever met. I am not just talking physical strength either. Mike Massey.
Few in this life have gone through what Mike did and gone on to be the person he is today. i won't out of respect go into what happened to him, simply because he rarely does, but I was there when he got jarred with what would have killed most Elephants. his story is one of the most painful I have ever heard and few even know of it.
We talked until the wee hours of the morning a couple of years back and I said then his life should be titles,"To hell and Back"!!
 
peppersauce said:
My friend Paul.

I'm sure nobody on here knows who he was, but he was my mentor and a good friend. I met Paul when I was about 6 and never knew he played pool. He was a family friend, owned a barber shop, and cut my hair as a kid. I moved all over the states while growing up but eventually moved back to my home state during high school and my parents bought a house right next door to Paul. I use to do little odd jobs around the neighborhood for money and he hired me to help him add a room on to his house one summer that was big enough for the 5x10 snooker table he had in storage. When the room was finished I helped him move the table in and set it up. After that we began to play...day after day. Mostly snooker, but he had snooker-size pool balls too and taught me how to play 8-ball and 9-ball as well.

He played very well and, as I learned later on, was an old school road player. The more I came over and subjected myself to his torture, the more he spoke about his past. He NEVER let me win, ever, but he seemed amused by the fact that I wouldn't quit trying to beat him and began to teach me things here and there. Not so much in the technique department. He taught me more about gambling and matching up than anything else. The first thing he ever taught me about making money is to be honest with yourself and know YOUR true speed first and foremost. He always said, "Until you can do that, you'll never be able to make any money and keep it in your pocket." One of my favorite road stories/lessons from him was on that subject.

He told me he was very cocky starting out on the road and that his attitude cost him a lot of money. In particular, one day while on the road in Texas. He was breaking a ring game in some pool room and was convinced nobody in the area could beat him. The ring game dwindled down to just a couple guys and him and a big fellow asked if he could get in, to which Paul responded, "Your moneys as good as everyone elses guy." The two of them cleaned up the ring game and matched up head to head afterwards. Paul lost it all. Not just the money from the ring game, but most of his bankroll as well. Paul, tail now firmly between his legs, asked the man's name, to which the gentleman responded, "UJ Puckett".

Unfortunately Paul passed on a couple of years ago but I'll never forget him. Sorry for the long winded post, but I just wanted to share a little bit in memory of my good friend. :smile:
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GREAT story about you and Paul!
 
Well....

Right now I have to say it's a guy named Randy Cole..Not so much my hero, but he's one of the best around here. He's just a roofer. But still plays all road players when he gets off work. He still drives all the nails by hand, usually plays with a bar cue. When he's feeling preppy he plays with the Dufferin that his girlfriend bought him. He is 50 years old now and his eyes aren't that great, and he usually will only play about 200 dollar sets.

He can be an assh***, but everyone can be at times. I don't think there is anybody that works as hard as he does, at his age, and plays his speed, with a bar stick....
 
Players

When I was young, Mosconi was my hero, but today, I kind of like Rodney Morris.
 
Nice post, Mrsmith1976....

mrsmith1976 said:
Right now I have to say it's a guy named Randy Cole..Not so much my hero, but he's one of the best around here. He's just a roofer. But still plays all road players when he gets off work. He still drives all the nails by hand, usually plays with a bar cue. When he's feeling preppy he plays with the Dufferin that his girlfriend bought him. He is 50 years old now and his eyes aren't that great, and he usually will only play about 200 dollar sets.

He can be an assh***, but everyone can be at times. I don't think there is anybody that works as hard as he does, at his age, and plays his speed, with a bar stick....
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Good story as well. I thank you for your input.
Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
Arthur "Babe" Cranfield. The biggest reason, but not the only, his arrow training aid.

He really gets overlooked alot because his time was more or less at the end of the real pool competition area.
 
It is impossible for me to have just one. I have my favorites in three different categories.

Sportsmanship-
I always admired Varner in his prime when I was learning to play. He has always been a perfect sportsman. He always took the high road above any trash talk or gamesmanship.

Pure Talent-
But as far as talent, to this day I've never seen anyone make the game look so effortless like Earl did back in the late 80s - early 90s when his A game was on. It's love/hate for most with him, but there is no denying his speed back then.

Innovation-
Efren for sure. He brought precision kicking into the game along with inspiring a whole generation of champions from the PI.
 
Like everyone else, I have a hard time picking one. So, I'll list four (including a 3-way tie).

My Grandfather (Jody Hart) - He was an old school straight pool player. In the summer, when I was a kid, he was my baby sitter. Almost everyday, he took me to Nick Varner's Rack-n-Cue, in Owensboro, KY. I'd watch him play with the other gentlemen for a while, but would quickly lose interest. He would give me money for a cheeseburger and a couple of cokes, plus $20 in quarters. I would spend the rest of my day killing Space Invaders or Donkey Kong while he played/gambled. He's the reason I play pool now. When he passed away about 8 years ago, my mom sent his old Meucci to me. It sat in my closet for about a year and finally, while cleaning, I took it out and decided to go play. The rest is history. I wish I hadn't wasted those days on video games. I wish I would've spent them with him, not only learning the game, but learning more about him.

Vivian Villareal - She is the most upbeat, positive player and person I know of. I've always known she was a great player, but I watched her play in Hollywood, FL in 2009 and fell in love with her style at the table. She spoke with me at the event like she knew me forever. Jam up!

Pat Fleming, Jay Helfert and David Sapolis (Blackjack) - All guys I have a ton of respect for. They promote, document and educate about our sport with an unmatched enthusiasm.

AkaTrigger (Melinda Bailey)- Need I say more? The blog, the videos. She motivates me to play when I can't motivate myself.

Sorry for the long post
 
Efren.HE has the heart to be a STK and a nice guy at the same time.The man displays humility as well as pride.

I do know some local players who have these qualities but I won't name them.
 
Jimmy Rempe, Francisco Bustamante, Oliver Ortmann, Ralf Souquet, Efren Reyes and Earl Strickland are my heroes over the last 25 years.
 
I have to go with Efren for his humble demeanor. It's not too often you see a pro miss a shot in a major tournament and they just smile.

I will also have to go with Earl. Regardless of anyone's opinions of him the man is a brilliant pool player and has an unmatched intensity for the game.
 
Reyes because of his creativity, skills and demeanor. When he misses a shot, which is rare, he will laugh at himself. I like that and think that pool needs more of that.
 
Diamond Jack said:
Jimmy Rempe, Francisco Bustamante, Oliver Ortmann, Ralf Souquet, Efren Reyes and Earl Strickland are my heroes over the last 25 years.
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Oliver Ortmann is one of my favorite all time players. I have to say that I just love his rotation play and of course his 14.1 game. I've also heard he is hilarious to be around.
 
Like many others, I wouldn't say I've ever had a pool "hero" (heroes are those who put their life on the line for everyone but themselves... imho). But 2 players come to mind when it comes to how I like to play the game:

1 - Oliver Ortmann: For his pure class on and off the table coupled with unbelievable natural talent. He is the epitome of a world class pool player.
2 - Jimmy Mendoza: He's always been my favorite local/regional player to watch... great fundamentals, very strong desire to win, makes the game look so easy.

I would say that I try to incorporate both of their styles into my own play.

Ray Robles
 
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