How good was Mike Carella

[onepockethacker]

How good was Mike Carella?

 

[BackPocket9Ball]

Keith McCready told me 10 years ago that Carella was one of the five best one pocket players he's ever seen play.

 

[lll]

How good was Mike Carella?

why do you ask???
just curious

 

[onepockethacker]

Keith McCready told me 10 years ago that Carella was one of the five best one pocket players he's ever seen play.

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!!

 

[wincardona]

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.

 

[onepockethacker]

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.

 

[wincardona]

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.

I don't remember years very well, my past seems to be all jumbled and I really can't remember one year from the next. I don't remember when I first quit playing pool, what year it was, and I don't remember how long I quit for. Seems kinda crazy but it's true. I know I quit 4 times, each time for at least 3 years, and everything seems like it just ran together. I believe I was around 31 or so years old the first time I quit and i'm thinking I quit for at least 5 years, when I came back I didn't play nearly as well as I was playing before I quit but I started to play pretty good, but it wasn't the same. I played Carella 9 ball in Dayton Ohio at Joe Burns's tournament and he beat me. He played very good at that time playing 9 ball but his best game was one pocket, I believe he was around 28 and I was in my late 30's. A year or so later (I think) Carella went to Detroit to play, he beat everyone he played, playing one pocket, I was hanging with him and betting on him. He was playing as good as i've seen anyone play. He was a very aggressive player and he ran a lot of balls, a lot. He would play players that played like Dippy 26 to 6 and games like that. He gave Red a ball and Red never had a chance. (Cornbread) Carella's weak point was that he was very insecure and I was good for him, I built him up and kept him confident, something he needed. Mike was a good guy with a lot of talent and a lot of gamble, which ended up costing him his life. I flew to Miami for his funeral, it was a sad time for me I really liked him. Mike would of been recognized as one of the best, had he lived. Yes he was the best on Big Birtha (playing golf) he knew all the moves and was fearless.

Billy I.

 

[vapros]

While we are talking about him, somebody tell us what happened to him.

 

[Jimmy B]

While we are talking about him, somebody tell us what happened to him.

I think he got involved with Miami drug importers and died a mysterious death that was violent. Reminds me a little of Sizemore. I remember going to the funeral home with two guys one hot summer afternoon to visitation the day before Davids funeral. One of my passengers was too drunk to get out of the car so Loftis and I went inside. There was a big crowd at the funeral home. I thought this is good. When we got inside, they were having visitation for two people. A middle aged local man who worked in a cotton mill weaving or loom fixing. I forget which. He had visitors lined up out in the hall. When we got to Sizemores room, there was his dad and his mom and ONE friend (Of his mom). I was drunk and would say anything to anybody, so I asked out loud first thing "Do ya'll know what happened to him? Who killed him?" His dad gave me a quick little shake of the head. That one little shake was a shake that I would get to be so familiar with later in life. That quick shake said to me "No we don't know what happened, we don't need to know, and you should quit asking about it also. Comprendo?? I turned and signed the little visitor booklet thing there. I was the only one signed up. And I left. The Beard has written about Mike before. He may know more......

 

[fred bentivegna]

A stone creep

A stone creep

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.

 

[onepockethacker]

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.

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

 

[John Brumback]

While we are talking about him, somebody tell us what happened to him.

I remember hearing that they they found him dead in a hotel room somewhere.
Don't know how or what happened.I also heard he was a monster player.I never got to see him play though
John B.

 

[fred bentivegna]

Carella

Carella

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

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

 

[wincardona]

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.

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.

 

[wincardona]

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'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.

Billy I.

 

[stevelomako]

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.

I agree with you Billy. I always thought Mike was alright.


When someone is legendary at a place like "The Rack" it means something and Mike definately was.

 

[stevelomako]

I always bring up Carella to Superfly aka Gangster Mike aka Mafia Mike about Carella giving him 35-5 and he gets pissed and says it was 35-8 and he robbed him!

I remember when the balls were all gone from the table they would be spot up all at once in a line and he would pick them off from the bottom to the top.

 

[wincardona]

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.

 

[wincardona]

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.

You say you weren't impressed with his one pocket knowledge 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?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, Oh yea, he took his act on the road and won too.

Duplicate post, sorry the green was tough to see.
Billy I.

 

[stevelomako]

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.