U J Puckett vs Cowboy Jimmy Moore Legends of Pocket Billiards

U J Puckett vs Cowboy Jimmy Moore Legends of Pocket Billiards is a classic match between these two legends. See more retro pocket billiards at www.InsidePOOL.tv and The Billiards Channel on Roku.

[@larryford6034]

I lived in Albuquerque for a few years and use to take lessons from Cowboy Jimmy Moore at the billards place on Lomas.... People would say your paying him to teach you and your getting one shot an hour. your stupid, I said nope I am remembering his angles, how he views the table, his leaves and its all in how you look at it.... Cowboy said lets see if you have learned anything, he set the table up and said run it.... I did,,,, then I find out 2 months later when my dad moved to ABQ and the family went to Corner Pockets that my dad knew and played against Cowboy.... Cowboy said how do you know this man and I said he is my dad. Dad said how do you know Cowboy, I said I paid him to teach me... what a small world... I finally beat my dad one game that night after trying to beat him for years... All because Jimmy taught me. I even beat him on a shot Jimmy taught me.. the money shot. 8 ball froze on the end rail and the cue in the middle of the table and cut the 8 into the corner because the banks were taken away.... I have shot that shot 10 times and that was the only time I have ever made it.... Thank you Cowboy for the great memories....

[@terryglenweaver]

I visited a tournament in Austin, Tx. I showed up because a couple friends, Bushwacker (Gary Nolan and Fast Eddie (Eddie Carver) were playing. Call Eddie what you want, I call him friend. (Yeah he was capable of wrecking a cue when he got a bad roll), but he would quickly recover his composure (I was in Austin to help my brother) While there, I sat and talked with UJ. It was in the late 80s. He discussed his desire to win the tourney but the likelihood he would not, as old age had crept up on him. He seemed a kindly spirited gentleman and I treasure our meeting and that my Dad (an avid pool player himself) had been given a chance to meet UJ. A few years later at the Glass City Open I got the chance to introduce my Dad to Bushwhacker and we sat and talked for a couple hours, catching up on old times in OKC a bit. My Dad never got to the level of play he wanted, but he did get to see his Son enjoy the spotlight and he enjoyed that. I never went on the road with other players that my Dad was not also encouraged and invited along and most of the time he went with us. Due to my disability I never really maintained the level of play within me... and for the last few decades my disability has halted my play. However, I surely had many moments. I just wished my Dad would have had some time at that level of play also. RIP Bush Whacker, UJ and all the other old timers that have passed and RIP Dad... We should all find a pool room in Heaven.

[@bradstephan7886]

1987. UJ was 76 and was born in 1911. Great stuff, thanks! (I probably watched this live on ESPN in 1987.)

[@anthonyscott5407]

The black gentleman is none other than Cicero Murphy (sitting by Minnasots Fats as he is standing.) At 3:35. Cicero Murphy is in the Billiards Hall of Fame.

[@banjocantrell838]

I watched hi play in a 14 ;1 tournament It is on the googled page of shows

[@terrybrown8113]

If people seen them back in their prime they were great players.

[@2na-phish]

they are great players now IMO.

[@williamclinard2438]

Jimmy had a beautiful smooth slip stroke

[@RealAmateurPoolMatches]

I love these old matches.

[@pentest]

I love the nostalgia, thanks for sharing.

[@johnwalding9457]

i envy you Larry any lessons from Cowboy Jimmy Moore would be awesome. Knowledge from the legends is priceless.

[@barbarasteed3966]

You were lucky to have lessons from the legendary Cowboy Jimmy Moore..at any price it was a bargain...

[@jeffc4545]

I shake my head every time I see people comment about the poor level of play, big pockets etc..etc...........Most of them were close to eighty at the time.......good grief. Even today's great prolly want be able to play any better at that age....just saying.

[@Betterthangoldandsilver]

Exactly.

[@wombra8314]

☺️👍

[@terryglenweaver]

*Jeff C* I have seen tournament reporters speak of the tighter pockets of the older tables. And here you are speaking about their bigger pockets. I was around during the transition from older tables to the newer tables. I have played on and had older tables. (6 legged models requiring a forklift to move them.) Some with tighter pockets and some with more forgiving pockets. Usually the pockets were more forgiving but it did not mean you could relax as they were also more forgiving for your opponents as well.

[@banjocantrell838]

@@terryglenweaver , yes and that humidity kills the pockets

[@jamesmccullough9607]

I would roll these old timers.

[@sheilamclaughlin963]

Read about those old guys and they all said uj was quite a character

[@johnseal56]

I like that seven ball "money" design, with the black base color. The version nowadays is distinctive enough, but this one has panache.

[@elh3fe88]

people are idiots to complain that they aren't playing well. they are in their 70s and can barely see but are still doing well. it's laughable to compare them to pros in their prime today.

[@stevecrazy9491]

Well you can play bad in your 70's or 30's. ... Don't you think......... the power of a pool player is know how when he's playing bad and when he's playing good.......actually I should say the power of a hustler.....................cripple Bill age 61, in 2018.............lol

[@cjr3559]

Photo of a tournament from 21 years prior to this airing got a “that was a long time ago” from Alan Hopkins. Wonder how he’s feeling now that this video is 36 years old...

[@stevecrazy9491]

You might point out Puckett died in 1992, and Jimmy Moore died in 1999, so this has to be an video from the 80"s, aprox. 1985 time frame. Great post but add that. Important information.

[@RichardsWorld]

I think they were saying Puckett was 76, he died at 81. So, this must be 5 years before 1992.

[@anastaciogriego9279]

Legends of pool in 1984 Jimmy Moore won the tournament.

[@elh3fe88]

also with Cowboy Jimmy Moore, he starts out cueing left on the cue ball and ends up going back to center ball on his final stroke.. i wonder if he's using an aiming system? that would be very cool if he started using one later in life and back then aiming systems were not prominent and weren't talked about much. they kept thatstuff secret and didn't want to share it. anyone else think it's an aiming system or had he always just shot like that?

[@bobbyjojo]

Did you notice his "slip" stroke?

[@gecobrarrett4532]

justin buckler Jimmy Moore’s pool stroke kind of reminds me of the shooting technique both the brothers in Winchester 73 shared where they would take aim at their target by tilting the rifle before aiming straight on at their point. It would have been cool if that’s how Jimmy got his nickname and not just because he wore some boots and a hat one time.

[@adamg9518]

Quite a few pro and very good players do this or different versions of it. Francisco Bustamante cues on the cloth low, then strikes the cueball where needed on the actual hit. It is simply a "feel" thing. The most important thing is the exact repetitive nature of the stroke.

[@RichardsWorld]

U J Puckett is still hot. He has been beating the other legends also.

[@believer4445]

If cowboy was younger pj couldn't win, plus pj is a lucky player, easy to see that

[@jasonsweeton8368]

It’s obvious that UJ PUCKETT was a far better HUSTLER n player than the others, I don’t even think Mosconi could’ve beat him here at this age, they never got to play in this event, mosconi didn’t want none of it to be embarrassed on National TV by a ol Road Man

[@kingpreemo7]

What year was this?

[@maury8441]

1984

[@bobbyjojo]

13:00 is not a scratch shot. He hit it thick with right English instead of thin with left hand English. Another interesting thing that I noticed, when Cowboy uses his CTE aiming system, his position gets worse.......hmmmmm, I wonder why..........

[@gboy0820]

這是阿公盃比賽嗎?

[@anastaciogriego9279]

Legends tournament

[@truthwarrior122]

Gimme more huge pockets says Jimmy Moore and U.J. Puckett.

[@rogerscottcathey]

Back when they smoked

[@marcman5109]

I know im gonna get some criticism for saying this but to me it looks like these guys are really not that strong of players in comparison to the professionals of today. Not saying that these guys are bad but there is a clear line in my oppinion from the professionals of then and the professionals of today. Am I the only one who see this or do others see that too.

[@nono4805]

marcman5109 None of the players of today are as good as Crane was. To compare 70+ year old's to players in their 30's at pool is folly.

[@14.1guy2]

marcman5109 Mike Sigel learned to play straight pool by watching Irving Crane. The first time Sigel played Crane, Irv ran 200 balls and then played safe. How strong is that?

[@nono4805]

14.1 guy Strong enough. BTW Puckett and Moore were not at Mosconi or Cranes level. There were not even a Lassiter's level. I saw them all play in the very early 60's. When tv started pushing Fats. Willie would say that he would send a cab for Fats, if Fats would play him. Wonderone was very over rated imo Fats would claim he did not play in matches as he wanted the cash. The real reason was he was not good enough to win and he knew it.

[@danzigmcnaniel5226]

They're old

[@tuomokemppainen484]

I heard one time a commentator said: "The top players of today are just as tough as the best of yesteryear; there's just more of them". Of course we have better cues, instructors, all kinds of guides and books and videos. Before, it was a given that a good player not spread information about the game and it was a money game for the most part. A player in those early years couldn't even enter a poolroom until he was 18 years of age. The game has also changed in emphasis, although one pocket and 14.1 are making a slow revival. I would even dare say that the average player in 1950's is better than the average player nowadays, because they would run more balls in 14.1. as it was the main game. I'd like to hear your opinions on these matters too but in the meantime, let's enjoy these videos and thanks to whoever shared them.

[@catweasle5737]

The quality of play is not the best. Those pockets are huge and they were missing easy shots. And their positional play is terrible at times.

[@R1pp3d]

+Cat Weasle They're definitely not playing that close to the level of the best players today.. But remember the game has evolved a lot since then. The equipment has changed, people have learned more about position and technique, and the level of competition has risen consequently. The same thing has happened with snooker. They said at the start that UJ Puckett was 76, so this was almost 30 years ago!

[@catweasle5737]

R1pp3d Fair comment.

[@Betterthangoldandsilver]

All of these players are not even remotely close to their prime, let's not forget. For crissakes, they're all in their 70s! Get your Grandpa out there, see if he can play as well.

[@RichardsWorld]

People like Efren Reyes isn't doing as good as he was when he was younger and he's about 64. This other guy was 76, and he actually stopped playing unlike Efren Reyes who didn't stop playing. Even Earl Strickland will admit he can't play as good as he used to and he is 57.

[@jamescathcart4762]

Read your reply when you are eighty. Why dont you play the best there ever was and on national tv to boot. Stupid!