Trick King, Pool Shark, Cue Man

These are some of the names that billiard enthusiasts give to the best in the business. Gerry Watson is better known as ‘The Ghost.’ During a recent visit to the campus to perform one of his pool tricks shows at the Ob, ‘The Ghost’ explained the two reasons behind his nickname. “A friend from Boston called me ‘The Ghost’ because, when I missed (a shot), I was always hiding the cue ball and putting it in bad positions,” said Watson. The nickname also stems from the infrequent and irregular visits he has with friends of his from all over the world. “Two or three years can pass between visits,” he said, adding that he’s always floating in and out of his friends’ lives because of his touring schedule.

He provided proof of the former reason during games of pool that he played with members of the crowd, one of many features of his two-hour show. “I didn’t think he’d be that good at playing a practical game because he usually sets up his shots,” said Stephane Murphy, a student in the motive power technician program. Murphy lost to Watson during their game of pool at the show.

The rest of Watson’s performance involved the demonstration of a number of tricks, offering tips and even teaching a few audience members how to execute simple tricks. “It made a difference in the first shot I did,” said Aimee King, a first-year business administration student, about the advice Watson offered her on her form as he taught her a trick in front of the crowd.

As Watson performed tricks, he would tease the crowd by shouting out that if he missed the shot he would treat them to rounds at the bar. But he never had to resort to fulfilling such promises. Watson added later that, during moments when he’s having difficulty making a shot, he’ll scold his cues. “I threaten them sometimes: ‘If you’re going to behave like that, you’re going to go back in the box and it’s very dark in there,’” he said with a laugh. Watson has been performing his pool shows at post-secondary campuses and other corporate venues for 25 years and was recently inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame – the first billiard player to receive such an honour in his hometown.
 Despite being a veteran in the industry – or, as he calls himself, “one of the old guys” – Watson isn’t concerned with having his age affect his game in the near future. “I don’t think about things that could go wrong because that’s the first step to getting sick,” said Watson. Ironically, it was for health reasons that Watson ended up pursuing a career in billiards instead of one as a hockey player. “I fell off a trapeze in our backyard,” said Watson of the accident he had as a child, which caused the arches in his feet to fall and prevented him from continuing to skate. “I’m very fortunate to have found this.” While Watson said that he loves being a professional billiard player, he admits that his favourite part of performing his pool shows on campuses is the opportunity to entertain people and make them laugh. “I like making people happy. I know it’s temporary,” said Watson. “It’s a game of fun.