By Elliott West
Introduction
Mike Massey is an instantly recognisable face in the world of pool with trademark waistcoats and an impressive beard to match. A man who knows his way around a pool table has represented his country, the USA in many Mosconi Cup tournaments and has impressed audiences with a wealth of knowledge in the art of creating trick-shots. This gentle giant has loved bathing in the atmosphere of countless pool venues and has been rewarded with various pieces of silverware as a result of the hour of victory.
Career
Born 1947 in Loudon, Tennessee, Michael or Mike Massey began his long career in pool, turning professional in the late 1970s. An ambassador for the sport, Massey is unique because he has been able to spread his skills across various disciplines, travelling the globe to take part in pool and trick-shot championships. He could make a coloured ball travel into a precarious wicker basket at the other end of the table and guide a ball down several carefully placed cues to an intended pocket as if it was gliding on ice. He could also pick up twice as many pool balls with one hand like anyone else, a party trick that won him numerous bets. One such occasion was with Steve Davis when he picked up eight balls compared to Davis who could only manage five.
Mike was part of the victorious USA team to win the Mosconi Cup in 1996, the 1996 Dutch National Eight-ball champion and the Senior Nine-ball Masters champion in 1997 and a string of trick-shot titles during the 1990s and early 2000s, titles that won by filling his performance with illusions and various props. He was so impressive that when he lost out on the World Trickshot Championship in 1991 to Terry Griffiths, Griffiths commented:
“I feel quite embarrassed to have won actually; Mike Massey is miles ahead of the rest of us. I think it was maybe a touch of nerves that put him off tonight.”
Terry Griffiths
Mike Massey also worked as a contributing editor on Snap Magazine, a pool periodical from 1989-1991 and lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee for several years where he owned his own pool hall. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Billiard Congress of America in 2005 and in 2007 came eighth in a poll for Pool and Billiard Magazine in the top 20 of popular players.
Summary
Mike Massey clearly loves cue sports and injects his enthusiasm into his work. His knowledge is second to none and widely respected across the worlds of pool and snooker. A visual artist, he intrigues and amuses the crowd with his spectacular performances and knows all the shots and safety play to win a game of pool. He is a player that I would have loved to have seen join the snooker tour but perhaps his wise head chose to avoid it. Although I still believe he would have taken to the sport like a duck to water, a glimpse is shown in his snooker trick-shots, winning the title in 1992 and 1996. Massey can now be considered to be the Grandfather of pool and someone who must have his ear bent on numerous occasions for advice. A player who believes that his gift was given to him by God and a journey that has taken him from his hustling days where knives and guns were often brandished at him when he won to the heady days of fame in recent years.
