tonygreen said:
1980 to 1990
1 Efren Reyes Allen Hopkins
3 Ronnie Allen Cornbread Burge
5 Bugs Rucker Ed Kelly
7 Jose Parica Jimmy Fusco
9 Marvin Henderson Jersey Red Breit
11 Grady Matthews Bill Incardonna
13 Nick Varner Jack Cooney
15 Danny Diliberto John Ervolino
17 Steve Cook Buddy Hall
19 Mike Sigel Ray Martin
Tony, I agree with about 90-95% of your picks, but I certainly don't agree with the order you placed them in...Did you mean to rank them by one pocket skills, action, tournament wins, or what ? Whatever, this is my take in that time frame.
1..R.A and Efren (tied until about '87 or so)
3..Ed Kelley and Jose Parica
5..Steve Cook, Grady,and Hopkin's (all very close)
7..Marvin H. and Varner (Marvin would be favored)
9..Cornbread and Cardone.
11..Cooney and Jersey Red.
To me, IMHO,.. there is not 1/4 ball seperating all the rest you named, in their respective primes. This is not to say that any one of them, might have won big $$$ in action or a short tournament race, against the other.. I am only speaking from personal observation, having played almost all you've named, either before, or after my hiatus, ('73 to '93) so some were past their prime, as I was.
If you had gone back to 1960 t0 1970, you could have started a flame war, with some of us old timers..Granted, there was no Accustat's, or tournaments...but believe me, we all knew the pecking order...
(or thought we did
I will try and put together my picks for 1990 to 2000, as I am more in tune with that era. Many will drop, and some may move up.... Remember, its JMHO...ICBW..
PS..Lots easier to pick the top 10...Theres a ton of guys, just below that level, that could win against the other, on any given day !..