Keith McCready facts for kids
McCready at International Pool Tour King of the Hill event December 2005
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Keith Howard McCready |
| Nickname(s) | "Earthquake" |
| Born | April 9, 1957 Elmhurst, Illinois |
| Occupation | Pocket billiards player, actor, columnist |
| Life partner(s) | Jennie Ann (2002–present) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United States |
| Sport | Pocket Billiards |
Keith McCready (born April 9, 1957) is an American professional pool player. He is known by his nickname "Earthquake". Keith was once considered one of the best pool players in America. Since the 1970s, he has traveled to compete in tournaments and was known for being a clever player who could win money games.
Keith is famous for making jokes and talking with the audience during his matches. He also wrote articles for InsidePool magazine from 2003 to 2006. In 1986, he acted in the movie The Color of Money. He played a character named Grady Seasons, who was also a skilled pool player.
Keith plays with a lot of energy and is very bold. He has a special way of hitting the ball, using a side-arm stroke. Even with his unusual style, he is great at making difficult shots. Many other players would not even try the shots he makes. In 2017, Keith McCready received the Lifetime of Pool in Action Award. This award was given at the One Pocket Hall of Fame event.
Early Life and Pool Journey
Keith McCready was born on April 9, 1957, in Elmhurst, Illinois. Later, he moved to Anaheim, California, with his brother and father. When he was very young, he had to stand on a box to reach the pool table. This is how he developed his special "sidewinder" stroke.
His father, after getting divorced, would give Keith and his brothers $20 each. They would play different games, and his father would usually win his money back. This helped Keith learn about playing games for money from a young age.
One night, Keith won a lot of money playing games at the horse racetrack. He was worried his brothers would take the money if he left it at home. He also did not want to leave it in his school locker. When his teacher saw he had $14,000 from his winnings, Keith was suspended from school.
School officials contacted the California Department of Social Services. They looked into his home life, which had become difficult after his mother passed away. His father was also struggling. Keith was then placed in foster care. The owner of his local pool room, Bob's Billiards, liked Keith. He successfully asked to adopt him.
As a teenager in California, Keith learned a lot from Cole Dixon. Cole was an older pool player who taught Keith how to make a living playing pool. Keith was seen as an "old-school" player. He was fast and very accurate at the table. He first got the nickname "Keither with the Ether," but later became known as "Earthquake." Today, Keith McCready lives in Washington, D.C. He was added to the One Pocket Hall of Fame in January 2018. This was for his "Lifetime of Pool in Action."
In the late 2000s, Keith McCready started writing articles for InsidePool magazine.
Professional Pool Career
When Keith McCready was 21, he started playing in professional pool events across California. He made a big impression at the Sacramento Open. He was losing 2–6 in the final, but then he won the last nine racks of nine-ball. He defeated Larry Hubbart 11–6 to win the match.
In 1984, Keith won the Clyde Childress Memorial 9-Ball Open. This event was held at The Maverick Club in Richmond, Kentucky. He had already beaten Earl Strickland 11–2 earlier in the tournament. Keith then beat Strickland again in the final, 11–9. By June 1985, many people already thought he was one of the best players in the country.
Keith got his first big professional win in October 1985. This was at the B.C. Open 9-ball Championship in Binghamton, New York. Grady Mathews, a well-known pool player, said Keith was "a worthy champion and a colorful, exciting player." He won the final 9-3, even though he played the whole tournament with a borrowed cue stick.
At the 5th Sands Regent Open nine-ball tournament in June 1987, Keith had a "brilliant and entertaining" performance. He defeated Paul Brienza and Mike Sigel in the event. This tournament was held in Reno, Nevada, and was won by Strickland.
In April 2005, Keith won a Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour event. This was at the Golden Cue in Albany, New York. He won the final match against Canadian pool player Danny Hewitt.
In December 1998, Keith was ranked 10th on the men's professional pool tour. While he won some titles, he was most famous for playing in high-wager matches. Danny DiLiberto, a pool commentator, said, "I like Keith McCready, he's entertaining all the time." He added that Keith is "colorful to watch, because he's going to shoot at a white flag." This means Keith would try very difficult shots, even if he was winning easily.
Keith continued to play professionally and put on shows for charity events. In 2005, he won the Virginia State Nine-Ball Championship title.
Acting Career
In 1986, Keith McCready played a character named Grady Seasons in the movie The Color of Money. Grady Seasons was a fictional, very skilled and tricky player who won a lot of money in pool. Keith acted alongside famous actors Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in this Academy Award-winning film directed by Martin Scorsese.
In 1985, Martin Scorsese, Tom Cruise, and their casting director, Gretchen Rennell, visited the US Open Nine-ball Championship in Norfolk, Virginia. They were looking for real pool players to act in the movie. Keith McCready was playing a high-stakes game with Efren Reyes at the time. He was chosen for the movie because of his exciting way of playing. Keith was already known in the pool world as one of the best players in money games.
Achievements and Awards
- 1979 Sacramento 9-Ball Open
- 1983 King of the Hill
- 1984 Clyde Childress Memorial 9-Ball Open
- 1985 B.C. Open 9-ball Championship
- 1987 Southern California 9-Ball Open
- 1991 Lexington All-Star 9-Ball
- 1994 Smokey Mountain 9-Ball Shootout
- 2004 Northeast 9-Ball Tour
- 2005 Virginia State 9-Ball Championship
- 2017 Lifetime Pool in Action Award
