How good was Mike Carella

wincardona

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
Hey its OK, it just looks like you're posting for Artie. LOL


For a guy so young when he died (wasn't 29 yet) he played like a MFer.


How you doin Steve? No i'm not posting for Artie, i'm posting for Carella.:D I love Freddie but when he has an agenda he's as fierce as they come.:help Do you think Freddie liked Carella? Plus Carella's Italian, and he still talks the way he does about him.:confused::(

Billy I.
 

stevelomako

Verified Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2004
Messages
1,322
From
Detroit, MI
How you doin Steve? No i'm not posting for Artie, i'm posting for Carella.:D I love Freddie but when he has an agenda he's as fierce as they come.:help Do you think Freddie liked Carella? Plus Carella's Italian, and he still talks the way he does about him.:confused::(

Billy I.

LOL I meant the duplicate post.

Its just cause he didn't throw too many gappers around. Not everybody was good to everyone.


This had me thinking about back then.....how the hell did everybody play good wearing tight ass dress pants and lizard skin dress shoes and tight polyester shirts??????
 

stevelomako

Verified Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2004
Messages
1,322
From
Detroit, MI
I need to add that I know someone that has one of Carellas' Balabushkas.

The damn thing has a butt so big around it feels like shit. I don't know how he could play with it but different strokes for different folks.
 

wincardona

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
LOL I meant the duplicate post.

Its just cause he didn't throw too many gappers around. Not everybody was good to everyone.


This had me thinking about back then.....how the hell did everybody play good wearing tight ass dress pants and lizard skin dress shoes and tight polyester shirts??????
:lol I knew what you meant, I was being facetious.:sorry I guess Carella liked showing off his package with the tight pants, but they were stupid looking. How do you remember stuff like that, I just remember things like, character flaws, gambling habits, and how well players played.

Billy I.
 

Fast Lenny

Verified Member
Joined
May 15, 2005
Messages
2,257
From
Arizona & OCNY
Very interesting thread, its funny how one guy can say one thing and another something different. We all know people differently and the stories we hear about a guy losing as Freddy told and of Billys winning story go to show you that you cannot base something on one session or one persons opinion of another. If Billy did not chime in we might think Carella was not as good as he was and marked him up as getting 9-7 from Ronnie and getting robbed along with being a cheap creep.
 
Last edited:

stevelomako

Verified Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2004
Messages
1,322
From
Detroit, MI
:lol I knew what you meant, I was being facetious.:sorry I guess Carella liked showing off his package with the tight pants, but they were stupid looking. How do you remember stuff like that, I just remember things like, character flaws, gambling habits, and how well players played.

Billy I.

You remembered after your memory was jogged.

Hey, I remember when I went on my first road trip out west. I thought everywhere in the country was like "The Rack" LOL. It was an eye-opener to say the least. I was only 20, so what the hell did I know. I knew quick that I was in a good spot compared to anywhere else at that time.

It seemed like when someone made a score there you could tell, cause it looked like they came back from a pimp convention. :lol
 

Ken_4fun

Verified Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2011
Messages
233
Well

Well

He couldnt be that great ... hell he wasnt from Chicago.:rolleyes:

ken
 

fred bentivegna

Verified Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
6,690
From
chicago illinois
What is the argument?

What is the argument?

How you doin Steve? No i'm not posting for Artie, i'm posting for Carella.:D I love Freddie but when he has an agenda he's as fierce as they come.:help Do you think Freddie liked Carella? Plus Carella's Italian, and he still talks the way he does about him.:confused::(

Billy I.

I didnt not like him, I despised him. Especially cause he was an Italian. Being a cheap and low class Italian earned him extra minus points with me.
Lomako didnt mind him so much? Like to bet my bankroll, Steve L had zero dealings with him. Billy liked him because he made money with him. Would anybody want to take a popularity poll out on this bird?

Excuse me, didnt I give him enough credit as a player? It is illegal for me to say I was not impressed with his 1pkt knowledge? I aint impressed with hardly anybody's 1pkt knowledge. Him losing getting 9 to 7 to RA with a 100k in his pocket and after putting on the greatest 1pkt offensive barrage in history at the Rack just proves my point. He got sharked? How terrible.
Plus no real knowledgeable 1pkt player (or real Italian) would have went to that Motel alone to meet with the Cartel after already getting busted in So. America.

Does anybody know what chance they would have had to get to me alone?
I myself once had a problem with Columbians. I would not appear on the street unless I had my pistol in my hand under my coat. Ditto for my partner, Wayne who checked doorways, corners, etc. Getting captured was not a possibility.

Beard
 

Jimmy B

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
6,897
I didnt not like him, I despised him. Especially cause he was an Italian. Being a cheap and low class Italian earned him extra minus points with me.
Lomako didnt mind him so much? Like to bet my bankroll, Steve L had zero dealings with him. Billy liked him because he made money with him. Would anybody want to take a popularity poll out on this bird?

Excuse me, didnt I give him enough credit as a player? It is illegal for me to say I was not impressed with his 1pkt knowledge? I aint impressed with hardly anybody's 1pkt knowledge. Him losing getting 9 to 7 to RA with a 100k in his pocket and after putting on the greatest 1pkt offensive barrage in history at the Rack just proves my point. He got sharked? How terrible.
Plus no real knowledgeable 1pkt player (or real Italian) would have went to that Motel alone to meet with the Cartel after already getting busted in So. America.

Does anybody know what chance they would have had to get to me alone?
I myself once had a problem with Columbians. I would not appear on the street unless I had my pistol in my hand under my coat. Ditto for my partner, Wayne who checked doorways, corners, etc. Getting captured was not a possibility.

Beard



That's right. And it was horrible about the way he did Bugs, tool. Bugs was not just some dude hanging around for a handout. He was on the job. If I had been gamekeeper for 24 hrs. and watched him make a score like that, and then told me to go collect some debt from some other guy, I would have gotten a crew to relieve him of his whole roll and give him a beatdown to boot. I call bullshit on that. That's like saying all black people are together and the same. You can't swap a debt like that anyway. What if you had been racking for Rosy for 24 hrs and he lost tens of k and they told you well go collect this old debt from so and so. Would you go for that? No way. Also when you get popped down there in SA you pay and negotiate your way out of trouble. I thought when you got bailed out, that's it, you are free. Why kill a good pilot for getting jailed 'down there'. Wasn't there more to it?? Freddie knows what time it is. He was born into the darkness, but it wasn't last night.........................
 

wincardona

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
I didnt not like him, I despised him. Especially cause he was an Italian. Being a cheap and low class Italian earned him extra minus points with me.
Lomako didnt mind him so much? Like to bet my bankroll, Steve L had zero dealings with him. Billy liked him because he made money with him. Would anybody want to take a popularity poll out on this bird?

Excuse me, didnt I give him enough credit as a player? It is illegal for me to say I was not impressed with his 1pkt knowledge? I aint impressed with hardly anybody's 1pkt knowledge. Him losing getting 9 to 7 to RA with a 100k in his pocket and after putting on the greatest 1pkt offensive barrage in history at the Rack just proves my point. Once again he played Ronnie with me, getting 9 to 8 and robbed him. When he was alone Ronnie sharked him so badly that he couldn't win getting 9 to 7. He got sharked? How terrible.
Plus no real knowledgeable 1pkt player (or real Italian) would have went to that Motel alone to meet with the Cartel after already getting busted in So. America.

Does anybody know what chance they would have had to get to me alone?
I myself once had a problem with Columbians. I would not appear on the street unless I had my pistol in my hand under my coat. Ditto for my partner, Wayne who checked doorways, corners, etc. Getting captured was not a possibility.

Beard

This thread is about how good was Carella, he was great but had insecurities as a person, which doesn't make him a bad guy but it did lend to his death.

Billy I.
 
Last edited:

wincardona

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
That's right. And it was horrible about the way he did Bugs, tool. I'm not saying that Fred is lying about what happened there, but hat's hard for me to believe, especially since I never heard the story before.Bugs was not just some dude hanging around for a handout. He was on the job. If I had been gamekeeper for 24 hrs. and watched him make a score like that, and then told me to go collect some debt from some other guy, I would have gotten a crew to relieve him of his whole roll and give him a beatdown to boot. I call bullshit on that. That's like saying all black people are together and the same. You can't swap a debt like that anyway. What if you had been racking for Rosy for 24 hrs and he lost tens of k and they told you well go collect this old debt from so and so. Would you go for that? No way. Also when you get popped down there in SA you pay and negotiate your way out of trouble. I thought when you got bailed out, that's it, you are free. Why kill a good pilot for getting jailed 'down there'. Wasn't there more to it?? Word had it when he got bailed out in S. A. he had to answer questions in the United States, well people may have not liked his answers to the questions. Freddie knows what time it is. He was born into the darkness, but it wasn't last night.........................

I understand how you feel if Carella actually was the kind of person Freddie portrays him as being, i'm just sayin.

Billy I.
 

Jimmy B

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
6,897
This thread is about how good was Carella, he was great but had insecurities as a person, which doesn't make him a bad guy but it did lend to his death.

Billy I.

I understand how you feel if Carella actually was the kind of person Freddie portrays him as being, i'm just sayin.

Billy I.



I understand Bill. And I am the worlds worst about hijacking threads and changing the subject. Vapros first asked us about poor Mikes demise, so I blame it on him, and if you say he deserves the HOF vote over the other nominees then I will do so. I just get very jealous of people that can play that good that young even if they have passed on years ago......;)
 

onepockethacker

Verified Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
3,408
I understand how you feel if Carella actually was the kind of person Freddie portrays him as being, i'm just sayin.

Billy I.

My backer UPS Gary was friends with Mike when they were kids and they grew up together at The Congress Bowl in Miami. Gary has been telling me how great Mike was(and i knew he was) but i always bust garys balls and tell him Carella sucked and was overrated just to get his ass hairs in an uproar. Since this thread kind of took on its own life with billy taking one stance and freddie another. This is what I know from gary as well as 50 other guys over the years that hung at congress. As Billy said Mike was a ball running machine. Gary has told me over and over how mike would fire in balls and send the cueball off a rail crashing into the stack and running out. As Billy stated Mike was a world class 9 ball player. Wade Crane aka billy Johnson came to congress and played Carella even 9 ball and mike robbed him and busted him. Jimmy Mataya came to the Congress and mike busted him playing 9 ball and jimmy and the girl he was with had to sleep in the car. I have been told by countless people that Mike played better one pocket than 9 ball. In my opinion Freddie is being blinded by his hate for Mike. Someone with Freddies experience, knowledge, and love of the game of one pocket and its history has to be able to put aside personal feelings and give credit for ability where its due. Mike was taught straight pool by Danny Diliberto, and he was taught one pocket by Marcel Camp. Camp bet on Mike every chance he could. Also just a little tidbit Freddie, i notice you say the guy that taught you the most was Gene Skinner. Skinner lived down here and also would teach and show Mike a few things here and there whenever he could and he would also bet on Mike. Its strange that the guy that you clamied taught you so much also would teach and bet on Mike whenever he could.
P.S. Cuban Joe and Toby sweet came to Congress. Mike offered to give Cuban Joe the 8 and play Toby even. Cuban Joe and toby got in an argument over who should play Mike. They split up their money right there and ended their partnership. Cuban Joe played Mike with the 8 and got robbed and after that Toby left and didnt play Mike. I have EXTREME respect for Tobys 9 ball game and that story is not to put down Toby but instead to show what a ****ing monster THE LITTLE GORILLA was!!
Also let me add before someone says im listing Mikes 9 ball wins when were talking one pocket. The reason is because everyone that i have talked to said Mikes best game was one pocket and nobody really came to Congress to play him one pocket.
 
Last edited:

fred bentivegna

Verified Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
6,690
From
chicago illinois
What are we talking about?

What are we talking about?

My backer UPS Gary was friends with Mike when they were kids and they grew up together at The Congress Bowl in Miami. Gary has been telling me how great Mike was(and i knew he was) but i always bust garys balls and tell him Carella sucked and was overrated just to get his ass hairs in an uproar. Since this thread kind of took on its own life with billy taking one stance and freddie another. This is what I know from gary as well as 50 other guys over the years that hung at congress. As Billy said Mike was a ball running machine. Gary has told me over and over how mike would fire in balls and send the cueball off a rail crashing into the stack and running out. As Billy stated Mike was a world class 9 ball player. Wade Crane aka billy Johnson came to congress and played Carella even 9 ball and mike robbed him and busted him. Jimmy Mataya came to the Congress and mike busted him playing 9 ball and jimmy and the girl he was with had to sleep in the car. I have been told by countless people that Mike played better one pocket than 9 ball. In my opinion Freddie is being blinded by his hate for Mike. Someone with Freddies experience, knowledge, and love of the game of one pocket and its history has to be able to put aside personal feelings and give credit for ability where its due. Mike was taught straight pool by Danny Diliberto, and he was taught one pocket by Marcel Camp. Camp bet on Mike every chance he could. Also just a little tidbit Freddie, i notice you say the guy that taught you the most was Gene Skinner. Skinner lived down here and also would teach and show Mike a few things here and there whenever he could and he would also bet on Mike. Its strange that the guy that you clamied taught you so much also would teach and bet on Mike whenever he could.
P.S. Cuban Joe and Toby sweet came to Congress. Mike offered to give Cuban Joe the 8 and play Toby even. Cuban Joe and toby got in an argument over who should play Mike. They split up their money right there and ended their partnership. Cuban Joe played Mike with the 8 and got robbed and after that Toby left and didnt play Mike. I have EXTREME respect for Tobys 9 ball game and that story is not to put down Toby but instead to show what a ****ing monster THE LITTLE GORILLA was!!

I said he was a cheap creep. Can anybody refute that? I mentioned the Bugs thing and Billy says he never heard it. What is that supposed to mean? Every old timer in Chicago knows that story. Billy shouldnt have questioned my word like that -- in public --- without any evidence to the contrary. We have San Jose Dick for that job. I told something that I know.

You, OPH are telling something that you heard. Toby wouldnt play, Billy Johnson and Jimmy Mataya got robbed? If you knew all those players as well as I knew those players you would have to say that there must have been more to those stories. Those 3 birds feared nobody. And even if they got beat they certainly werent going to turn tail and run. You had to keep beating those guys. Now if a spot was involved.... I couldnt see Mike playing Wade Crane even in those days.

You see I hung out at the Congress every winter from 65 to about 75. In the times I spent in Congress, everybody there pulled for Mike to lose and hoped he would fall off his motorcycle. The people that bet on him didnt like him either.
The fact that DiLiberto had put his arm around him was the only thing that kept him from frequent beatings. And even Danny came within inches many times of giving him a thrashing.

Next, Camp did not teach Mike 1pkt. Camp did not teach people. Mike may have learned stuff from Camp by watching and playing -- as I did.

Finally, I never said he wasnt a terrific player with an abundance of talent. What does that have to do with him being a creep?

Finally, finally, just exchanging with you on the forum tells me that if you knew Mike Carella you would feel the same way I do.

Beard
 

onepockethacker

Verified Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
3,408
I said he was a cheap creep. Can anybody refute that? I mentioned the Bugs thing and Billy says he never heard it. What is that supposed to mean? Every old timer in Chicago knows that story. Billy shouldnt have questioned my word like that -- in public --- without any evidence to the contrary. We have San Jose Dick for that job. I told something that I know.

You, OPH are telling something that you heard. Toby wouldnt play, Billy Johnson and Jimmy Mataya got robbed? If you knew all those players as well as I knew those players you would have to say that there must have been more to those stories. Those 3 birds feared nobody. And even if they got beat they certainly werent going to turn tail and run. You had to keep beating those guys. Now if a spot was involved.... I couldnt see Mike playing Wade Crane even in those days.

You see I hung out at the Congress every winter from 65 to about 75. In the times I spent in Congress, everybody there pulled for Mike to lose and hoped he would fall off his motorcycle. The people that bet on him didnt like him either.
The fact that DiLiberto had put his arm around him was the only thing that kept him from frequent beatings. And even Danny came within inches many times of giving him a thrashing.

Next, Camp did not teach Mike 1pkt. Camp did not teach people. Mike may have learned stuff from Camp by watching and playing -- as I did.

Finally, I never said he wasnt a terrific player with an abundance of talent. What does that have to do with him being a creep?

Finally, finally, just exchanging with you on the forum tells me that if you knew Mike Carella you would feel the same way I do.

Beard

I talked to gary. Wade came down down to the Congress after winning a tournament in Georgia. Gary said it took place sometime between 1968 and 1971( your going back over 40 years so the exact date is tough.. as im sure it is for alot of people after that long passes. They played $100 a game. Gary, Mike and Jery hunt were partners on the game. Mike beat Wade out of 15 games. Jimmy Mataya came down with his girlfriend and hes pretty sure jimmy brother. Mike and jimmy played all weekend( 3 days) and Mike ended up busting Jimmy. As far as Camp. He would constantly show Mike things he should of done or could of done after matches. he would set up shots and scenarios for Mike. Camp also showed Gary alot of things in one pocket.
Gary verified the fact that Mike was brutally cheap!! but that didnt take away from what a player he was. Gary has told the story about Carella, Cuban Joe, and toby a few times while i have been present and Toby was there and Toby never disputed it so it must be true.
P.S. You got my backer worked up about mike LMFAO
 

SJDinPHX

Suspended
Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
9,226
And you wonder why RA has me on speed dial !!!

And you wonder why RA has me on speed dial !!!

;)
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.

Being as there is no fear of repercussion,...as the guy is definately 'dead' ! :eek:... RA steered Mike into me, with his usual "either way" jelly in place..;) I remember him, as being a very strange dude.

They stayed about 3-4 days, and the end result was, I wound up giving him a ball at 1P, and then the break, and the first shot after the break, playing golf on a 6 X 12, ( the same way I played RA, at the that time)... I used to play 'some' golf...("witnesses abound", Fred)..:p

Just a few K score, but I sent him to Western Union twice, and I think one of his "bitee's", may have been the good Doctor...At least thats what RA told me, as RA was firmly in my corner by that time...(he actually sharked him for me)..:p...Might you have any recollection of wiring some $$$ to him in San Jose, or S.F Billy ?..(It would have been early 70's, just before I went straight)
 
Last edited:

wincardona

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
;)

Being as there is no fear of repercussion,...as the guy is definately 'dead' ! :eek:... RA steered Mike into me, with his usual "either way" jelly in place..;) I remember him, as being a very strange dude.

They stayed about 3-4 days, and the end result was, I wound up giving him a ball at 1P, and then the break, and the first shot after the break, playing golf on a 6 X 12, ( the same way I played RA, at the that time)... I used to play 'some' golf...("witnesses abound", Fred)..:p

Just a few K score, but I sent him to Western Union twice, and I think one of his "bitee's", may have been the good Doctor...At least thats what RA told me, as RA was firmly in my corner by that time...(he actually sharked him for me)..:p...Might you have any recollection of wiring some $$$ to him in San Jose, or S.F Billy ?..(It would have been early 70's, just before I went straight)
That's possible but I had nothing to do with it, Mike in the early 70's would of been about 20 years old. Mike played his best when he was around 25 thru 28 years old, that's when he was in Detroit, around that time. I'm thinking he got killed no longer than a year after he left Detroit. I started to hit my stride when I was around 27 years old, I quit when I was around 30 or 31 years old. I believe most players start playing their best around that age, and their prime would be from 27 to 35 years old. Unfortunately Mike didn't play much after he turned 28, he was starting to play really great.

Billy I.
 
Last edited:

wincardona

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
That's possible but I had nothing to do with it, Mike in the early 70's would of been about 20 years old. Mike played his best when he was around 25 thru 28 years old, that's when he was in Detroit, around that time. I'm thinking he got killed no longer than a year after he left Detroit. I started to hit my stride when I was around 27 years old, I quit when I was around 30 or 31 years old. I believe most players start playing their best around that age, and their prime would be from 27 to 35 years old. Unfortunately Mike didn't play much after he turned 28, he was starting to play really great.

Billy I.
I believe that was around the time when Ronnie gave him 9 to 7 in Cal. maybe Jay Helfert can chime in here because he talked about that time in Carella's life.

Billy I.
 

onepockethacker

Verified Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
3,408
I believe that was around the time when Ronnie gave him 9 to 7 in Cal. maybe Jay Helfert can chime in here because he talked about that time in Carella's life.

Billy I.

I checked and you are right Bill. He was playing his best between 25 and 28. Some of the golfers that played on that table from Congress included Bob Osborne and Carlos Hallon and those 2 could really play golf. Well consensus is that Mike was by far the best golf player. From what im hearing I dont think SJD could of beaten Mike when he hit 25...but who knows
 
Top