Dennis "Whitey" Young
Verified Member
I have trouble with this one!
thanks, Whitey
What is the secret/technique in doing this masse'? He makes it look so darn easy!
I have trouble with this one!
thanks, Whitey
I am sorry, I should of stated it was Rudolph that did the masse'.I thought the same, whitey ^_^
I'm sure ralph was talented physically, but I'm wondering if using an old cue had something to do with it?
different weight/balance compared to our stuff today- bigger tip, as mentioned above- ?
I am sorry, I should of stated it was Rudolph that did the masse'.
But, yes, Greenleaf has such a wonderful free stroke, it is as if the cb ball floats to the next position. That footage is the most I have seen of Greenleaf.
The cues at that time were naturally balanced, because they were rosewood lamented into hard rock maple butts with a large butt 1-3/8" to 1-7/16. The thickness of the heavy butt wood would give it a natural balance. A 57" cue should have a 17" balance point, a 58" cue a 18" balance point and so on. My original Tad is that way, as is the cues of the golden era.
I have always felt that a larger tip/shaft dia. was more accurate than smaller dia., but does not get as much english/spin. I always played with an 11mm but I got to shoot with my shooting partner's 13-1/2mm and I felt that way.
Once your stroke improves the more you stay on center/closer to center, for now you are getting the juice through the stroke and also through it derives the power with less force.
Greenleaf's stroke is so beautiful, it is like a snake charmer putting you to sleep. I do not believe I have ever seen a stroke so free and relaxed as that.
I have to feel for Greenleaf, he went from being a tremendously highly paid Broadway performer, money$$$$$, to seeing his once widely celebrated sport wane.
Whitey
I would say confidence and follow-through. Notice he pretty much follows through right to the cloth.What is the secret/technique in doing this masse'? He makes it look so darn easy!
I have trouble with this one!
thanks, Whitey
Page 83, I missed that. Thanks.I see nobody mentioned that our very own Steve Booth was mentioned in one of the footnotes with his Patcheye interview.
Greenleaf used to have someone put a large coin on the table and have the cueball hit it after pocketing a ball. Apparently he was the only one to do it consistently.
Great videos! I've been around Pool forever and never seen these before. By far the most I've ever seen of Greenleaf shooting. Loved the full masse shot that Rudolf shoots in the match! Misses and all I like watching Ralph shoot the trick shots, many still being used today by exhibition players. Ralph is fairly tall, a good six feet. Like Doc said, he's got that short little jabby stroke and kind of an awkward looking stance. In Pool, it's not how you look, but what the results are. Noticed also that he and Rudolf don't waste any time when they are at the table. Very cool, thanks.he was tall!
The Eufaula Kid (Glen Womack I believe) was from there and Ralph probably stopped by to meet up with him. A little tidbit about Eufaula. His daughter lived in Bakersfield where I had my first poolroom in the 1970's. One day I come in and there is almost no one in there. It was early in the day and we had just opened. I went about my business and could hear the distinctive click of the balls on the back table where an older man was practicing. It was definitely not the sound a banger makes when hitting balls. I kept hearing this sound of balls being hit cleanly and it really got my attention. I look back to the table in the very back of the room and see this guy getting down and shooting, walking around and making the next shot. I could see that he was a player, and now I was interested. I was probably hoping to get a game when I approached him. I stood and watched him shoot from a distance and could see that he knew what he was doing. My curiousity got the best of me and I walked over and told him he played pretty good. We started talking and he told me who he was and why he was in town. He'd come out from Oklahoma to see his daughter and her family. We chatted awhile and then I had to get back to work. Maybe a year or two later he came in again. I regret that I didn't spend more time talking with him. One thing I do remember though was that his style of play (stance, stroke, how he moved around the table) reminded me a lot of my friend Ronnie Allen, who was also from Oklahoma. I know Eufaula was a great One Pocket player in his prime so I suspect he had an influence on Ronnie, maybe a big influence.It looks for all the world like Ralph actually shot his way out of jail once.
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He grips the cue at about --or ahead of-- the balance point, which is much further up than most players grip the cue, with the exception of slip-strokers. Because he grips so far forward, his cue rather see-saws. which must take some variation on the grip depending upon where he wants to strike the cue ball.Great videos! I've been around Pool forever and never seen these before. By far the most I've ever seen of Greenleaf shooting. Loved the full masse shot that Rudolf shoots in the match! Misses and all I like watching Ralph shoot the trick shots, many still being used today by exhibition players. Ralph is fairly tall, a good six feet. Like Doc said, he's got that short little jabby stroke and kind of an awkward looking stance. In Pool, it's not how you look, but what the results are. Noticed also that he and Rudolf don't waste any time when they are at the table. Very cool, thanks.
Greenleaf died in 1950 at fifty years old. The decades of alcohol abuse had taken it's toll on him. By the time I came along 12 or 13 years later, the old timers still talked about Greenleaf, even more than Mosconi. They all had a reverence for Greenleaf and a disdain for Mosconi. I picked up on that pretty quickly.
I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but he was not well liked by many of the other players. I don't want to speculate on all the reasons why but I have a good idea why.Jay,
First off, sorry for going off topic. What seemed to be their main problem with Mosconi?
Thanks,
Keith
That interview with Patcheye was excellent. Just to add on to the commendations for Steve in both getting the interview and letting it go its own direction. A lot of insight beyond pool.I see nobody mentioned that our very own Steve Booth was mentioned in one of the footnotes with his Patcheye interview.
Greenleaf used to have someone put a large coin on the table and have the cueball hit it after pocketing a ball. Apparently he was the only one to do it consistently.
Yes, he was my most interesting interview I would have to say. He was a deeply thoughtful man, unexpected to that extent in the pool world in my naivete anyway.That interview with Patcheye was excellent. Just to add on to the commendations for Steve in both getting the interview and letting it go its own direction. A lot of insight beyond pool.