HOF inductees

[Scrzbill]

Every year we have a discussion on players who, because on when they played, get little or no recognition for induction. Voting them in with a percentage of votes is difficult because who knows them or how they played? Couple of names come to mind, Johnny Irish, Marcel Camp, Johnny Ervolino. I don’t know anything about them except their names come up as feared players. I don’t know if they played one pocket or what. How do I vote for them?
When did the OPORG HOF begin? Do we go back thirty years and make a list of those whose reputations put them playing pool for a living? Then, let’s say a list like that was made. Then...............
If the members find their is no need for a solution then this thread will be short.

 

[NH Steve]

Every year we have a discussion on players who, because on when they played, get little or no recognition for induction. Voting them in with a percentage of votes is difficult because who knows them or how they played? Couple of names come to mind, Johnny Irish, Marcel Camp, Johnny Ervolino. I don’t know anything about them except their names come up as feared players. I don’t know if they played one pocket or what. How do I vote for them?
When did the OPORG HOF begin? Do we go back thirty years and make a list of those whose reputations put them playing pool for a living? Then, let’s say a list like that was made. Then...............
If the members find their is no need for a solution then this thread will be short.

Our HOF started in the fall of 2004. It came about because I wanted to add a section on onepocket.org to honor the great One Pocket players, and at first I thought I would just go through the BCA Hall of Fame and highlight certain players known for One Pocket. But the problem that you guys probably guessed, is there were very few One Pocket legends in the BCA HOF. Glaring omissions included Grady Mathews and Ronnie Allen for example. We had a vote in the fall of 2004. Initially I thought it would only be a virtual HOF on our website, but Grady suggested a HOF dinner at the upcoming Derby City, in January of 2005. He helped me throw a dinner together with the cooperation and support of Greg Sullivan. Seeing how much the honor meant to players like Danny DiLiberto, Weenie Beenie, Ronnie Allen and Bugs Rucker who were all able to attend made it clear our HOF dinner was something we had to carry on with.

The first few years we had extra inductions exactly because an entire generation was fast disappearing, with a number of notable players of course already gone, like Jersey Red.

But here we are, 15 years later, I think we do have the cream of the crop in there, of the older generations of know players. I know there are more great long past players that certainly are good deserving candidates, but maybe none that have not had their own opportunity on one or more ballots. If there are more we have missed, then we need more diligence in the nomination process. Some of them, like Ervolino, have supporters but also detractors, and that makes it even tougher because not all the comments about those candidates are positive. Some are just not well enough known by our membership, and it is not so easy to educate them because it isn't that easy to find the raw information!

 

[lll]

But here we are, 15 years later, I think we do have the cream of the crop in there, of the older generations of know players. I know there are more great long past players that certainly are good deserving candidates, but maybe none that have not had their own opportunity on one or more ballots. If there are more we have missed, then we need more diligence in the nomination process. Some of them, like Ervolino, have supporters but also detractors, and that makes it even tougher because not all the comments about those candidates are positive. Some are just not well enough known by our membership, and it is not so easy to educate them because it isn't that easy to find the raw information!

steve
with all do respect
you have done interviews with the old timers
they mention players like john lineen and marcel camp with high regard .
johnny vives too althought his carreer was not long lived
nor was harold worst who all (i think) agree could be the greatest all around player of all time
if onepocket.org is to be the reference site for all onepocket
shoudnt these greats be remembered somehow
under some category to get the respect they deserve??????
i can see borderline or controversial players being excluded
but lineen/camp perhaps vives
and if i am forgetting an old timer feared by his peers in one pocket
they should be included someway
jmho
icbw

 

[Scrzbill]

Somehow Steve I don’t know if I wrote the thread for comprehension. I am glad you gave some background on the beginning and it was very educational. I don’t want to vote for someone who concentrated their pool with straight pool, which was the dominant form of commercial tournaments. We want the players who hung out at rooms with straw or sand on the floor and places like Chris’s, Parkmoor, Jansco brothers action in Illinois. What I was hoping to do is find a consensus of ideas to put this to rest for the next 20 years. My suggestion is what you have done previously, inducted by fiat. It may be harder to find the missing players but John, Frank, Doc still carry with them memories. Do we get a list of who may be missed? Someone who could be a big help would be Mary Kennison. Is she a member? There’s a guy who should up for the seniors many years ago, Black Bart and if you were watching the stream, this guy played some very exciting one pocket and put Incardona on the losers side. He belongs. That tournament is a who’s who of former hustlers that got jobs. Man can they play. Black Bart belongs but he would be one of those votes should be for senior players with a 30% rating. I believe we would be doing a service to the HOF by having separate ballot elections for the elders. For instance, Alec, Busty, inducted Category 1, Category 2, Wayne Pullen, and then a section from Category 3, long time contribution to one pocket, an education, respected for his game, Frank Almanza. This is just a pipe dream of how members to HOF get inducted. And we solve the problem of the older deceased, (how do we vote for them).