| April 18, 2012
Tribute to Grady 'The Professor' Mathews
January 3, 1943 - April 18, 2012 They called him ‘The Professor’, but they could just as aptly
have called him Mr. One Pocket. It is hard to imagine a model for
contributing more to the game of One Pocket than exhibited
over the career of Grady Mathews; he has truly been
an ambassador to the game.
Born January 3, 1943 in San Antonio, Texas, when Grady
was a teenager his family moved to San Mateo, California,
just about 25 miles outside of the pool Mecca of San Francisco.
Grady was a good natural athlete, but once he got
started with pool, that is where he turned his attention. He
proved to be an adept student of pool, especially the game
of One Pocket, honing his skills at fabled Cochran’s in San
Francisco in the early 1960’s before he took to the road.
Just about every great player of that era made appearances
at Cochran’s. As Grady tells it, “You had guys there
at Cochran’s like ‘Bananas’ Rodriguez. ‘Mexican Phil’ was
another one. Those two guys couldn’t run a lot of balls, but
boy could they play One Pocket! The young guys like me
and Rich Marques and Ronnie Barber and Denny Searcy
and ‘One Eyed Hank’; we’d kick shots around, trying different
ways to do things. We learned pretty quickly as young
people are wont to do. I don’t think you could find a better
learning facility than Cochran’s.” Grady actually worked at
Cochran’s for a while, until it became clear he could make
more money playing pool than he could working.
In the late 60’s, Grady moved to Texas and
ended up at another great action room, Le
Cue in Houston, frequented by such greats
as Jack ‘Jersey Red’ Breit, Danny Jones and 'Connecticut' Johnny
Vevis, the winner of inaugural Johnston City One Pocket tournament.
In 1975 Grady opened his own poolroom in
Colorado Springs, CO, which he ran for seven years. It
was during this time that Grady’s One Pocket game really matured. It was also during
this time that he recalls first starting to take
notes about the nuances and details of One
Pocket – the kind of studying that may have
contributed to his moniker, ‘The Professor’. | | 
Grady competing in 1981
Photo courtesy Billie Billing
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A bearded 'Professor' photographed at one of the Red's tournaments in '83 or '84
Photo courtesy Bill Porter |
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In his role of Master of Ceremonies for the One Pocket Hall of Fame,Grady congratulates inductee and old friend Billy Incardona
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Those notes certainly contributed to his
wealth of knowledge about the game, and
over the years Grady really developed his
role as teacher, including many years of regular
magazine columns, eleven instructional
videos on the game, hundreds of exhibitions,
clinics and private lessons all over the US –
mostly featuring One Pocket.
As a tournament player, Grady topped very tough fields to
win four major One Pocket tournaments:
• 1983 Red’s Open One Pocket
• 1984 Sid Mann’s World One Pocket
• 1985 Red’s Open One Pocket
• 1995 Olathe, KS Legends of One Pocket
As a One Pocket tournament promoter Grady brought
fans of the game 19 major One Pocket tournaments spanning
twenty years, including his gold standard, Legends of
One Pocket. The “Super”One Pocket tournament he and
his good friend Richie Florence promoted in 1993 (won
by Ed Kelly) featured what to this day is the highest purse
for a One Pocket event. Many of his Legends of One Pocket
tournaments were filmed by Accu-stats featuring excellent
expert commentary, leading to a wide distribution of One
Pocket knowledge to a whole new generation of players
and fans.
All of this adds up to why Grady was the top vote-getter
for our very first One Pocket Hall of Fame election back
in 2004. He was the ideal candidate -- a great player, great
teacher and tireless promoter of the game. Yes, he is ‘The
Professor’, but you could also call him ‘Mr. One Pocket.’
Thank you, Grady Mathews, for your unsurpassed contribution
to the legacy of pool, and especially One Pocket.
Click here for a beautiful video slideshow tribute to
Grady Mathews
(Created by ' Calired' -- approx 12 minutes long)
| |
Grady with tournament winner Ed Kelly
photo courtesy Dennis Wilson
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Click here to read the 2005 OnePocket.org interview with Grady Mathews
All text ©2012 Steve Booth OnePocket.org
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