onepockethacker
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How good was Mike Carella?
Keith McCready told me 10 years ago that Carella was one of the five best one pocket players he's ever seen play.
I know Carella's game very well, he played in Detroit in the 80's when the gambling was super high. I watched him give players huge spots and win consistently. He may of been the best one pocket player in the world at that time. I have a story about Ronnie Allen and him playing that i'll share at a later time, but they were right...he was a monster...He was from where i live. Alot of the older guys still talk about him. They say he was a monster. I was curious what freddie and some of the other elder statesmen on the site have to say. All i know is we have a 6 x 12 snooker table they have played golf on down here for 40 years. Its the table from the original Congress poolhall/bowling alley in Miami long since closed. This is the tightest table on the planet. Anyone who doubts it can come down here and play the 3 BALL GHOST!! with the snooker balls bet what you want. Golf has been played on that table for 40+years and Mike Carella is the only player to run all 6 pockets during a game..and he did it twice!!
I know Carella's game very well, he played in Detroit in the 80's when the gambling was super high. I watched him give players huge spots and win consistently. He may of been the best one pocket player in the world at that time. I have a story about Ronnie Allen and him playing that i'll share at a later time, but they were right...he was a monster...
Billy I.
Did you and Mike ever play anything? Were you playing pool when he was playing well before he was killed or was that during one of your layoffs? You mentioned you watched him that why i ask.
While we are talking about him, somebody tell us what happened to him.
I knew him from when he was 15 yrs old. (He played good then too) A spoiled brat, from a rich family and a cheap creep. Also a terrific player and a world class lamb killer. He played a guy at the Rack 50 to 8. I think he played Jones 30 to 8. He would run 20s and 25s on people.
At the Rack they used to have Gamekeepers. Players that ran the game like a referee. After the match they would get a jelly from the winner. Bugs was the gamekeeper for a 24 hr match where Carella won about 25,000. When Bugs asked for his jelly, Carella told him that Romburg owed him $200 and if Bugs could collect it, he could keep it.
He was a pilot and was flying in drugs for one of the Cartels. They murdered him for whatever reason. Probably his mouth.
He was one of the few people in the pool world that I really despised.
Beard
After putting on one of the greatest demonstrations of 1pkt offense at the Rack and winning 1 or 2 or 3 hundred thousand, he went to LA and played Ronnie Allen. Ronnie gave him 9 to 7 and trounced him!
He probably was the best player on that ridiculously tough 6 x 12 at the Congress Bowl. The width of a snooker ball and the width of a matchbook cover was the size of the pockets.
He was arrogant, obnoxious and supercilious -- and dirt cheap --- he wouldnt throw you a bone if he owned a graveyard.
I used to spend every winter in Miami or Ft Lauderdale, Hacker. I married 2 wives out of Florida.
While we are talking about him, somebody tell us what happened to him.
Thanks for the input freddy. "he wouldnt throw you a bone if he owned a graveyard. LMFAO that was a good one. Did Mike and Artie ever play? Of all the one pocket players you ever saw how would you rate Mikes offense? just curious. He ran 20' and 25' s lol HOLY SHIT
I knew him from when he was 15 yrs old. (He played good then too) A spoiled brat, from a rich family and a cheap creep. Also a terrific player and a world class lamb killer. He played a guy at the Rack 50 to 8. I think he played Jones 30 to 8. He would run 20s and 25s on people.
At the Rack they used to have Gamekeepers. Players that ran the game like a referee. After the match they would get a jelly from the winner. Bugs was the gamekeeper for a 24 hr match where Carella won about 25,000. When Bugs asked for his jelly, Carella told him that Romburg owed him $200 and if Bugs could collect it, he could keep it.
He was a pilot and was flying in drugs for one of the Cartels. They murdered him for whatever reason. Probably his mouth. His plane ran out of gas and he had to land on the beach in South America, he was arrested, they found guns and ammo in the plane. Later he was bailed out and returned to the United States, he was asked to meet the people he was flying for at a motel, that's where they found him later, dead.
He was one of the few people in the pool world that I really despised.
Beard
After putting on one of the greatest demonstrations of 1pkt offense at the Rack and winning 1 or 2 or 3 hundred thousand, he went to LA and played Ronnie Allen. Ronnie gave him 9 to 7 and trounced him!
That's not true, he played Ronnie in California years before he played his best pool, I know for a fact. After he beat every body he played at The Rack he went to a tournament in Mobile Al. and that's where Ronnie gave him 9 to 7. Like I said earlier, Mike was a very insecure person and couldn't deal with Ronnies sharking, Ronnie beat him for about $9,000 and supposedly broke him. Mike called me up in Detroit,... I was still living there....and told me that Ronnie beat him and he couldn't take the brutal sharking and he wanted me to come down there to stake him. I told him to tell Ronnie that I would stake him but Ronnie wasn't allowed to shark him...I wasn't goin for that....Ronnie said ok. I flew down there and Ronnie wouldn't give him 9 to 7, I was mad because he said that he would, but Ronnie knew he had us in a spot. He said that he would give Mike 9 to 8 no sharking. I was forced to let Mike play because I knew Ronnie couldn't spot Mike anything and win, he was lucky to beat him even. They played 9 to 8 and Carella robbed him. Ronnie only played one set I don't remember what kind of a set it was but it lasted about 3 hours. We bet $4,000, after the set Ronnie broke his cue down.
He probably was the best player on that ridiculously tough 6 x 12 at the Congress Bowl. The width of a snooker ball and the width of a matchbook cover was the size of the pockets.
He was arrogant, obnoxious and supercilious -- and dirt cheap --- he wouldnt throw you a bone if he owned a graveyard.
I used to spend every winter in Miami or Ft Lauderdale, Hacker. I married 2 wives out of Florida.
You're coming on pretty strong, I understand that you didn't like Carella, but he played a style of one pocket that could of beaten anyone. He moved balls toward his pocket as good or better than anyone I have ever seen play...including Ronnie..He was an excellent shot maker that ran a ton of balls, He knew how to apply pressure and did that also as good as anyone. Bottom line he was a champion, make no mistake about it.Carella and Artie never played. Carella's power was running balls and shooting in long shots. I wasnt particularly impressed with his 1pkt knowledge. You did see where he lost getting 9 to 7 from RA right? That was at the top of his game.
He had the nuts of course, but he shit all over himself.
Beard
Mike was a cheap guy...to say the least...but he wasn't the creep you make him out to be. He paid when he lost, he died not owing anyone that I know, and when he played he played like a gentleman and a gambler. And I also think that he should be on the ballot for the next Hall Of Fame induction.
Billy I.
Carella and Artie never played. Carella's power was running balls and shooting in long shots. I wasnt particularly impressed with his 1pkt knowledge. You did see where he lost getting 9 to 7 from RA right? That was at the top of his game.
He had the nuts of course, but he shit all over himself.
Beard
You say you weren't impressed with his one pocket knowledge:lol Mike was a champion 9 ball player along with being a champion straight pool player, plus he played golf as good as anyone on the 6x12 snooker table. Wouldn't you think that a player as savvy as Carella with the imagination he had should be an excellent one pocket player?:frus Knowledge that's what he's about, plus he can execute with the best of them. When Mike was at the table he was as efficient as anyone playing one pocket... He made tough shots...he was a ball running machine...he was an excellent banker... he applied pressure better than anyone...and he was smart..... Am I missing something:sorry Oh yea, he took his act on the road and won too.
Billy I.