I am 68 years old now. About 40 years ago I created Rack-A-Shot. It was accepted by the Billiards community. Mosconi, Fats, and others thought it was the coming thing. Mosconi said that it was the best thing to happen to pool in 50 years. Fats said that this little gizmo would revolutionize pool. I believe Lou Butera would remember—I don't know how to get in touch with him to prove what I say.
I had trouble marketing Rack-A-Shot. I wrote the system and I had two partners in our business. One partner supplied the money and the other was the manufacturer. We were invited to Sears in Chicago and they were going to place Rack-A-Shot in 900 (I think) stores. We were working on relationships with Brunswick and other Pool and Billiards companies to market our product. Anyway, the manufacturing partner, when we got back to Calif. from Chicago, required that he get 51% of the profit or as he said, "I will lay down." I got angry?very angry?and told him you know what. I knew though, that it was written in the corporation papers, that if any one of us was inactive for one year, that person would be dropped from the corporation.
During the year I was waiting, things happened. I was living with a girlfriend that went to Church and came home and told me that we could not live together until we were married. Whoa, did I get out of shape. I was studying physics and Rack-A-Shot was my thesis (another story). I did not believe in God. I was so angry that I got a Bible and went to the beach for six weeks to prove to my girlfriend that there was no God. I read the Bible and became a believer. I stopped what I was doing and went out into the hills of Missouri and studied. I studied theology for five years. Then I went into laboring in two and then Directing a homeless shelter. I am retired now. I have always believed in Rack-A-Shot as a learning tool and a trick-shot template for Pocket Billiards.
Now that we are retired, my wife and I are Workampers. We live in a 5th Wheel and go around the country working where we can. We are now working in Bear Country USA near Rapid City SD. We must work because we have very little retirement funds. Little pay as a homeless shelter director produced very little Social Security funds.
I would like to try again with Rack-A-Shot. I believe in the product. I love Pocket Billiards and I believe it should be in our school curriculum. I believe Rack-A-Shot is a good critical thinking tool.
I hope some of you will accept my offer to try Rack-A-Shot and discuss it on the forums. If you do not like it, please tell the world. If you do like it, hopefully it will benefit the pool community. Our intention is that the greater percentage of any profits will be given to the poor and back into the billiards community.
There are, as I understand, 2,000,000 pool tables in homes in the US and Canada. So far, I think most can be reached via the internet. Got any ideas? I hope you will allow me to send you a Rack-A-Shot so I can get the ball rolling. If you do not like Rack-A-Shot please tell us so we can know the truth about the product.
Blessings to all of you who read this...
Keith
