Pearl mounts comeback, SVB takes cheese

SVB with his big checks for winning the DCC

Earl Strickland had a great run during this year's Derby City Classic. He placed high in the nine-ball field, and only fell a few balls short of winning the One-Pocket division outright. He beat Shannon "The Cannon" Daulton in the semi-finals (3-2 in a close match), and then narrowly lost to Shane Van Boening in the finals 2-3.  The Pearl expresses a few choice words after his One-Pocket defeat in the video above.

Van Boening went on to place second in the nine-ball division and took the Master of the Table award.  Dennis Orcollo won the nine-ball division (check out the video in the blog post below). Alex Pagulayan won the Nine-Ball Banks division, and placed second in the Straight Pool Challenge.  The Straight Pool Challenge went to Darren Appleton.  Rodney "The Rocket" Morris won the Fatboy 10-ball challenge, beating out Appleton in the final.

If you're trying to keep up, here's the list:

Derby City Classic, 2011

Master of the Table: Shane Van Boening

Nine-Ball: Dennis Orcollo (Second: Shane Van Boening)

One-Pocket: Shane Van Boening (Second: Earl Strickland)

Nine-Ball Banks: Alex Pagulayan

Fatboy 10-Ball Challenge: Rodney Morris (Second: Darren Appleton)

Straight Pool Challenge: Darren Appleton (Second Niels Feijen)

-- R.A. Dyer

Orcollo's final 9-Ball Run-Out at Derby City

Dennis Orcollo, left, and Lee Van Corteza

Dennis Orcollo was nearly unstoppable in nine-ball at Derby City this year. His only defeat during the entire event was to fellow Filipino Warren Kiamco -- and even then Orcollo shined. Kiamco had Orcollo way down and Kiamco was on the hill when Orcollo came roaring back to within one game of victory. Orcollo also ran over Mika Immonen and, as you can see in the video above, the great Shane Van Boening. Orcollo beat SVB in the nine-ball final 7-1. The video above shows Orcollo's last run-out. Fantastically, Orcollo jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the match after Shane left a shot in the first game. Orcollo finished that rack and then broke and ran four more.  I also saw Orcollo in action at Derby City giving Chris Bartram the 8 and the 10, playing 10-ball in a race to 30. I think they were wagering $3,000. Bartram, one of the nation's great road players, got the worst of it. The exchange made a believer out of me about Dennis Orcollo.

-- R.A. Dyer

Boston Shorty versus Harold Worst

Boston Shorty won the Johnston City One-Pocket competition four times. He is remembered today as one of the greatest one-pocket players ever. Harold Worst won the 1965 event outright, as well as that year's Stardust Open. He was nearly unstoppable when he was at the top of his game. Worst could have been remembered as the most dominant player of the 1960s if not for his premature death (at age 37) from cancer.

You can watch the two legendary players battling it out in the video above. I really love the groovy jazz music. Very atmospheric. And if you want to learn more, there's also Hustler Days. The book includes information about the famous Johnston City  tournaments, Worst's dominant play in 1965, and a reference to Jersey Red's travels with Boston Shorty. Freddy "The Beard" Bentivegna also has a link to a Jim McKay interview with Worst, which you can find here.

-- R.A. Dyer

PoolSynergy 14: The Holiday Gift Guide

Put Danny McGoorty in your stocking

There’s a reason why Robert Byrne is the best-selling author in pool. His books are really, really good. My favorites are his New Standard Book on Pool and Billiards, his Advanced Technique in Pool & Billiards, and his biography of Danny McGoorty.

Our PoolSynergy mission this month was to recommend a single book or video. But this was a task that was beyond me. I simply could not decide. So consider this part of first annual holiday gift-buying guide courtesy PoolSynergy, and the poolhistory.com blog. I recommend several of Bryne books, plus two others from different authors. All pool players should have these on their shelves.

McGoorty, A Pool Room Hustler.
This book is hilarious. Danny McGoorty was a poolroom hustler, ladies’ man, and drunk. Bryne recorded McGoorty’s life's story, and then used it to craft one of the most delightful biographies ever written about an American cueist. This book also includes fun anecdotes about some of the most important players of the last century, including Mosconi, Fats, Cochran and even Alfredo De Oro.

Byrne’s New Standard Book on Pool & Billiards
This is the first instructional book that I ever purchased. Who knew that a collection of table drawings and shot descriptions could be so funny?  A friend of mine had lent me a copy many many years ago. After reading only about 10 pages of it, I marched out and bought my own. You should too. (And while you’re at it, pick up Bryne’s second instructional book Advanced Technique  in Pool & Billiards.)

The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards.
Ever wonder how many possible ball arrangements there are in a straight-pool rack? Wonder no more. Mike Shamos, in this wonderful collection of the trivial and the historic, tells us. Here, you can learn about Kelly Pool, the Lambert Trophy, and the origin of the slang "weight." There’s plenty of pictures. As a hardback, it makes a perfect addition to any coffee table.

The Hustler
There is no more important novel related to American pool as The Hustler, by Walter  Tevis. Although not based on the life of Rudolf Wanderone, it nonetheless made success of his career. (Wanderone was the hustler who appropriated the Minnesota Fats name). The book also led to the 20th Century Fox movie, which led to a great renaissance for our sport during the 1960s. You also can read all about The Hustler, Minnesota Fats, the 1960s renaissance -- and the interrelation between the the three -- in my own book Hustler Days.

Videos

If you don’t feel like reading, here are a couple of video recommendations:

Accu-Stats
Anything from Accu-Stats. Call Pat Flemming over at Accu-Stats HQ and he'll recommend a good one. He's never steered me wrong once. Here's his number:  1-800-828-0397. You can also check out the website at accu-stats.com.

The Hustler (DVD release)
This film is awesome, one of my all-time favorites. The scenes between Paul Newman, as Fast Eddy, and Jackie Gleason, as Fats, are inspirational. The two-disk collector's edition also includes several extra documentaries, including one entitled “Swimming with Sharks” with commentary from Max Eberle and myself. So there’s that.

About PoolSynergy

Pool Synergy is an online collaborative effort by pool and billiard bloggers, in which each agrees to write about a single theme. PoolSynergy submissions are published simultaneously by each of the participating blogs on the 15th of every month. To read a list of the other fine contributions this month, check out the Pool Is A Journey blog, which you can find here.

-- R.A. Dyer

Mosconi and Greenleaf -- TOGETHER

Billiard Champs Entertain The Troops

Will the wonders of the Internet never cease? I just came across this very cool footage of legends Willie Mosconi and Ralph Greenleaf sharing an exhibition stage.  (Click here to see it.) Willie appears to be at the peak of his abilities.  Greenleaf looks hung over. The footage, from a website called British Pathe, was shot during a performance for injured troops at Gardner General Hospital, in Chicago. I suspect this footage was taken in January 1944, as it was in that month that Mosconi and Greenleaf went on a four-city tour together. Two months later Mosconi would be inducted into the army. Six years later, Greenleaf would be dead.

The two also reportedly joined together for a tour in 1934, shortly after Mosconi's debut in world competition.  Willie told biographer Stanley Cohen that Greenleaf was drunk for much of it. But even still, Greenleaf's staggering ability seemed undiminished. "I don't know how he did it," Willie said. "Even on long shots he seemed to be able to feel a ball right into the pocket, to shoot it just hard enough without banging away. It was like watching a virtuoso playing a violin, just beautiful."

You can also read about Greenleaf and Mosconi in The Hustler & The Champ. There's also more at the separate Greenleaf and Mosconi blogs at poolhistory.com.

-- R.A. Dyer