Billiards Press

Mr. Egeling - An Unsung Hero

My first book on pool, Play Your Best Pool was a result of the efforts and support of many people whose names you'll find in the acknowledgements of the book. One of the names that particularly stands out in my mind is Emil E. Egeling. When I left the financial services industry in 1994 and began work on Play Your Best Pool, Emil showed great faith in the project right from the start. We would discuss business matters and he would give advice or suggestions that were almost always on target. Emil did not play pool but his background in finance and business, which included 25 years on Wall Street, gave him a keen grasp on business matters. One of Emil's many acts of friendship came in 1996 when he drove over to Las Vegas from his home in Long Beach CA for the last couple of days of the BCA Tournament. For two days he sat in my booth and softly whispered "please don't pass us by" as players would walk by the booth in an effort to help sell books. To this day I'm not sure if anyone heard him or not. He then gave me a ride back to Huntington Beach (I had gotten a ride to Las Vegas with another friend who owned a truck). Although I sold a fair number of books, I had significantly overestimated sales. As a result, Emil's car was packed solid with cartons of books. I first met Emil in 1981 shortly after I started working at Paine Webber, a stock brokerage. John Valenzuela, who joined the firm the same day as I did, made up the third member our trio. We soon become dinner companions, thus forging a tradition that lasted over 20 years. John and I gave him the nickname "The Triple E" for obvious reasons. Three or four times a year we'd get together for dinner. We'd discuss the stock market and other assorted topics. A good percentage of our dinners were at Vittorio's, an Italian restaurant in Huntington Beach. And on many occasions our dinners were hosted by Emil. The menu was always the same: a tasty dinner salad, a delicious assortment of German sausages, and his specialty, the world's best garlic bread. I last saw Emil on Friday, July 18th at Hogue Hospital. A couple of months ago he was struck by lung cancer, and it was obvious that his condition was worsening rapidly. I had a nice visit with him and Betty, his lovely girlfriend of the last five years. In his condition, I suspected that the timetable he'd been given for his remaining days could be even shorter than expected. So I made it a point of telling him what a wonderful friend he had been, and that it had been a pleasure to know him. I was planning to see him on the Thursday the 24th when John called on Wednesday to say he had passed away at age 68. Emil was not wealthy or famous, but he was a hero to me. Without the friendship and support of people like Emil, I'm not sure I would even be in the billiard book business today.