R.I.P. Steve Knight

“Steve Knight” was one of the first names I learned in pool when I first began competing five years ago.

You know that proud, incredible feeling you get when someone you truly admire and look up to encourages you? Well, over the past year, Steve has always been nothing but encouraging and supportive of my progress. He would go out of his way to recognize my steady improvement, knowing how much more it means coming from him.

A couple times after the Friday night Rack ‘Em tournament, a group of us would go out to eat and on one night in particular, he had a friend visiting from out-of-town. His friend was a little cocky and borderline rude to me. Steve could not apologize enough for his friend’s disrespectful behavior.

“This wasn’t what I signed up for,” he once said about his pool playing life.

He was brilliant, hilarious and intellectual. I don’t believe many people in the pool community got to see that side of him, at least not often. He didn’t like to lose, but he couldn’t afford to, literally. Winning & losing to him meant eating or not eating.

It’s strange. I don’t even know that much about his personal life, but over the last year, we really shared some great conversations and in a way, he really touched my life.

It was that unspoken mutual respect that was expressed with a simple knowing glance.

Where ever you are, Steve, I hope you’re runnin’ racks right now, not because you have to, but because you want to.

Well said, Samm! Steve was serious and I remember his intensely serious countenance at the table and nearby. However, he did let his guard down with me on several occasions and I was ever so grateful for his feedback on my game. He was a man of genuine cloth and he will be missed. I hope your flying high now Steve!

Steve and I butted heads on the pool table quite often. I respected him as a player and he always brought out the best player in me. I didn’t know Steve Knight off the pool table. My impressions were that he was a very intelligent man who wasn’t short of problems. He was always respectful of me and I appreciated that. I’m compelled to post here because I feel once a persons time comes all that’s left is the people that remember you. With that said I think it is honorable of you, Samm, to provide this forum. R.I.P.

I had the opportunity to play a match with Steve in on of the Top Gun Tournaments at the Mirage a while back. I learned a lot from just watching him play. I lost 6-2. But I took a valuable lesson away from that match, I learned NOT to fear my opponent. Thanks for the lesson Steve, may you truly rest in peace.

[...] had been so long since I’d been in there, and I especially hadn’t been in there since Steve passed away, I kept thinking I saw him on Tuesday night. I would see someone out of the corner of my eye with [...]

I was told Steve was in the hospital the day before he passed, and I am as embarrassed that it took this long to give my tribute, as I am that I didn’t make the trip into Denver to say my goodbyes in person.
I left my pool days behind me when I moved to the CO plains over 10 years ago, but destiny made me one of the lucky few who’s path was crossed with Steve’s not once, but twice. You see I lived in Tucson in the 80s, and I was lucky enough to be taught the finer points of the game by none other than Steve Knight. Even then he was a legend, everyone knew who he was, and players traveled from across the country to the Mecca of pool in Tucson, Old Pueblo Billiards, just to take him on. At 17, he was my idol, and luckily my mentor. His humble demeanor allowed him to be just as impressed with my youthful expertise at ground-breaking video games like Asteroids & Defender, as I was with his eagerness to teach me the nuances of both our favorite game, billiards. Beyond 8 & 9-ball, he taught me snooker, skittles, 6-ball, one-pocket, and even billiards. All games he used to hone the skills required to be a complete player.
But on Friday night I would also learn to gamble, I would always reserve $20 to place against him on 9-ball. I would have to wait my place in line, and of course the outcome was inevitable, but I would measure my progress by not how much I lost, but by how long it took to loose the $20. Then of course I would use that lesson to win it back at the bar across the street!
But Steve had the quality that transcended anything he could teach me. He was one of the few that could take your money on a fair bet, and make you happy to pay up! I can give you my favorite example. At 18 I became the houseman at Old Pueblo, but my lowly stature always had me on the graveyard shift, which could often be the most entertaining time of the night. One evening Steve came by after hours with no action in sight. So he announced that he would bet that he could walk from the bar to the back door, on his hands! This was a distance of what, 8 full-size tables, at least 100 ft., and it was 2AM! There were only 4 of us at the bar that night, and he insisted that all of us pitch in if he was going to try it. We agreed, and of course not only did he cover the distance, but come the last 20 ft., damn if I wasn’t rooting for him to make it!
Sorry if I’m dragging on, but it’s not that often that you meet a man like Steve, and I’m deeply sorry that I didn’t realize how incredibly blessed I was to have the opportunity to meet him again. What are the odds that he would make his home here in Denver, 20 years after we first met, and that I would be so lucky as to be able to reminisce with him about the ‘good old days.’ Whether or not I made pool my life journey, the lessons learned from Steve still sound true in many of my life’s decisions. Thank you Steve, there is most definitely a place in heaven for a man like you!

Mark Rogers,
‘The Kid’

Thank you, Samm, for providing this space to write about Steve Knight. I’ve been struggling to accept his death. I’m so grateful to find you and this posting. It’s been wonderful to read everyone’s comments and learn about the impact he had on people. While I’m not part of the pool community, pool was definitley a part of my life because of Steve.
Following are some of my memories of Steve:

I met Steve when I was 16. Shortly after meeting, we fell in love and spent the next 15 years together. Even after we “parted ways”, we remained close friends. While we didn’t spend a lot of time together in person, we talked on the phone often and provided emotional support for each other through the years.

Steve was an impressive athlete as a young man. He was a champion diver and gymnast. He would literally WOW people with his graceful dives, and was especially impressive while diving off the cliffs of Rose Canyon on Mt. Lemon in Tucson, Arizona.
He had a unbelievable mind. Once I invited him to an event where everyone spoke French. I told him we wouldn’t stay long, since I knew he didn’t speak french. Within a few minutes of our arrival, Steve was speaking almost perfect French. Perplexed, I asked him when he learned to speak it. He told me that he “studied” french in 3rd grade… and, that it was all coming back to him. He never spoke french after 3rd grade, yet, there he was speaking it almost like a native.

And of course, there was his prowess at pool, as all of you know. It seemed to me that he had an amazing ability to concentrate, to block out the world while playing. One Christmas eve at around 8 a.m., Steve said he was going out to make some money at the pool hall. After waiting up for him until around 11 p.m., I finally fell asleep on the couch by the Christmas tree. I heard Steve come in at midnight, but, just as quickly, I heard him leave. When he returned about a half hour later, Steve had a nylon stocking full of all kinds of “treasures” from our local 7/11 convenience store. He explained that he had completely forgotten about Christmas while he was playing. When he came home and saw the tree, he remembered and didn’t want to come in empty-handed. So, he left to buy presents at the only place open after midnight on Christmas eve. Talk about blocking out the world…!!

Steve loved dogs, particularly, puppies. [And, he loved kittens, too.] Just before his death, Steve sent me a beautiful dairy with golden retriever puppies on the cover. He sent it in memory of our golden retriever, Bert. He had such a loving heart: during Bert’s last few months of life, Steve came to live with me in Laguna Beach so that he could help take care of Bert.

Music (especially, the Moody Blues and Jethro Tull) and laughter were also a big part of Steve’s life. His capacity for puns (even the bad ones) was a result of his extraordinary intelligence and his love of humor. Steve was also fiercely loyal to his friends and was unfailing in his support. He made me feel like I was the most special person on earth- who could ever replace that?

As Christmas approaches, I’m trying to enjoy it since it was one of Steve’s favorite times. It’s hard, though, knowing he won’t be with his family, who he loved so much.

I feel lucky to have known Steve. He had a immense impact on my life.
I wish with all my heart, he were still here.
Jacqueline Warner

Hello, friends of Steve Knight.

I am so upset to hear of an old friends passing, indeed, Steve Knight deserves all of your accolades. I knew him well. My father, Jack Gage, taught Steve, and I, many things about the game beginning at the age of about 12 and continuing until Steve left Lancaster,PA.

Jack owned ‘Jax Billiards’ in Lancaster and, being a friend of mine Steve often played free of charge! Steve learned quickly and became a real terror on the tables even at that young age, as was even more apparent later in his life. He was a formidable opponent by 16, and as such Jack was the one who taught him three cushion billiards, at which Jack himself was a highly notable player. Steve excelled at it, learning as much in 3 months as I had learned in 3 years of my Dads instruction. He was an ‘information sponge’ anytime the opportunity arose. He always used everything he had ever learned to defeat an opponent. But always, THE GAME was respected by Steve.

Steve and I went to the same high school, lived in the same neighborhood a block apart, and even rode the same school bus throughout our high school years. I remember Steve’s wit as well as the rest of you all. His absolute love for the language goes back before I knew him even, and he was absolutely brilliant with his
“PUN-ishment” even back that far. He was a favorite of us all in
the group we hung out in, in high school, and after.

I have yet in my minds eye the way he could dive. I remember his trip to see Greg Louganis dive and how impressed he was with Greg’s abilities. He strove to add what he had seen to his own repertoir,
which was aided also by his love for gymnastics.

I am amazed to find out he spent time in Laguna Beach, as I did too, although I was there 20 years previous to him. I am currently planning a trip west and had hoped to find Steve in San Diego, my last known address for him. I had hoped to talk him into a dinner meeting in SoCal while I am there. I am distraught that will now never happen.

I know well of Steve’s love for the Moodies as he influenced my choice of popular music at the time. we all listened to that band
for hours and hours. I remember him telling me of the first Moody’s concert he attended, (probably 1969 or 1970,and with his eloquence
with the discription I truly felt I had missed something.

I was in Knight family Mustang when Steve wrecked it, (arg!),
a beautiful little green one, as I was shouting “slow down,slow down” but alas, the corner was MORE than 90 degrees and he had no chance to miss the other car waiting for us at the intersection. Blam! A fender, hood and light assembly trashed. I remember he didn’t drive the family car after that. I know that was tough on him. He had just started driving and the mistake was just that. A mistake.

In the time after his brutal beating and robbery in Arizona he came back to Lancaster to visit and stopped by my place. We reminisced about “old times” … (hey … we though they WERE old times) and
spent a day together. It was to be the last time I saw Steve. I wish I’d said more then. I didn’t, so I say it now. You were a good friend.
I’ll miss you more than you will know. I’ve thought about you more than you could imagine, even though we didn’t maintain contact over the last 15 years.

I’ll think about you, Steve as I look off the Main beach in Laguna,
and out to sea. I still remember a conversation in a little apartment in Lancaster about what we wanted to see in our lifetimes. Steve answered “Catalina Island” that day. I’ll see it again for you buddy, real soon.

Bill Gage

PS:

Steve will always be “THE ONE” as far as those very many young men whom Jack Gage taught … me included! I really hope he’s playing Jack at 3 cushion right now! (Jack taught Steve because Jack saw that ’spark’ that the others lacked.) So, play Jack one for me
till I get up there will you?

See ya Steve!

Thank you for writing, Bill. We miss him so. It is such a gift to read about his escapades and his impact on friends around him. He was unique in his talent and his heart and his wit and…in every way. I think of him every day. Again, thanks for this gift. Kathy (Knight) Melamed (his sister)