Earl, According to Earl

It's not always pretty: Strickland most recent flare-up came early in the 2005 Mosconi Cup.

Then, at 18, Strickland had the sort of awakening that seems so common among fledgling pool stars. While working at Oxirane chemical plant in Channelview, Tex., Strickland, who hadn't saved more than $500 in eight months of work, beat a car dealer out of $5,000 at a local poolroom.

"I said, 'That's the end of the job!' And I haven't had a job since."

For the next eight years Strickland reigned as one of the most fearless, relentless money players in the game. With a slew of road partners, Strickland toured the country, rifling through Yellow Pages and opponents with equal ease.

"You didn't want to touch me gambling," Strickland says boldly. "I lost my share, but there were a lot of times I was unbeatable."

It was also during that period that Strickland began to make his mark on the tournament scene. In 1982 he won his very first tournament, a qualifier for promoter Richie Florence's $200,000 Caesars Tahoe Classic, where he finished an astonishing ninth among 106 of the game's best. Writer John Grissim's account of Strickland's debut was revealing:

"The talk of the tournament was 21-year-old Earl Strickland of Houston, who breezed into the contest sporting long blond hair, yellow poplin pants, pastel polo shirts and a cocky, fast-talking, friendly stance that sharked not a few opponents. From the start he played with flashy confidence, sometimes loose with his shape but getting the rolls. His pace was fast and deadly and he clearly enjoyed the gallery attention. With more seasoning, 'Earl the Pearl' should be nothing short of awesome."

"I saw a different atmosphere in Tahoe," recalls Strickland. "I still gambled, but I knew right then that tournaments was what I wanted to do. I liked the crowds, and the fact that people came to watch me for my ability, not to bet on me or against me."

And Strickland had plenty of ability to show off. Over the final three months of 1982, he would play in four pro tournaments and finish no worse than third. The quartet of events also saw Strickland win his first two titles - back-to-back wins at the Dayton 9-Ball and Akron Open events. In Dayton, Strickland beat Buddy Hall twice for his first trophy.

Ironically, with high expectations in 1983, Strickland suffered through a miserable year in which his disruptive side made its first appearances. But in the year's final major event - the Caesars Tahoe Classic - Strickland staged a coming-out party of sorts on ESPN that remains one of the game's great performances. In the title match, Strickland fired in shots from every angle against a helpless Steve Mizerak. The TV tilt, featuring the brash young gun against pool's celebrity player, made a star of Strickland, who punctuated his performance by firing in a table-length jump shot … perhaps the first on TV. The shot even made ESPN's famed SportsCenter highlight reel.

"When I saw Earl jump that ball on TV against Mizerak, I said, 'Well, that's what I want to do,'" said Johnny Archer, 14 at the time. "Earl was my inspiration. I copied his bridge, his stroke, his stance … everything I could detect watching him on TV."

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