Dewey Song -


Say what you will about Dewey Song, but he is the standard to which all players, past and present have been measured against. And, I dare say, he will be the standard for all future players as well.


Dewey was not the first player to reach 2000, but he sustained that level for an ungodly number of seasons. It took Dewey two full seasons to reach 2000, and then over the next 18 seasons, he had a ranking of 2000 or more at some point during the season. Of those 6 seasons that he did not hit 2000, he reached highs of 1990, 1985, 1980, 1965, 1924 and an embarrassing 1873.


I consider a nine-game winning streak to be somewhat of a benchmark for being a long streak. I think most players would be quite proud of a nine-game winning streak. Dewey Song had 27 nine-game-or-longer winning streaks. He had 14 fifteen-game-or-longer winning streaks. He had 3 twenty-game-or-longer winning streaks, and he holds the record (unless I am mistaken) with a 34-game winning streak. The longest winning streak recorded since 2010 is 19.


His 34-game winning streak was broken in a doubles game, in which Dewey's partner was 1549, and they were playing against Brian Preckler (1774) and Shawn Doscher (1800+). Dewey then went on to win 18 more consecutive games, finally losing a singles in a tournament against Rod Veltman. That would have been 52 consecutive wins, if not for one doubles game. Unfathomable. Do you realize how many things can go wrong in a game that could result in a loss?


He also introduced what I call “The Dewey Factor”. Most players were beaten before they even went up to the table. Most were beaten when they looked at the lineups. It was astonishing how many players missed a two-foot straight-in shot on the eight against Dewey, simply because they knew it was Dewey and they weren't supposed to be able to beat him. The only time that I had random players, whom I had never met before, come up to me for weeks to congratulate me was when I beat Dewey in 2006. Of course, I had to play him the second round of the night too, and he made an 8-ball run on me.


The point is, Dewey will forever be the standard that we will measure greatness against in the Itaewon Pool League.


I will admit that Dewey rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Once you took the time to get to know him, however, he was a very good-hearted person. He often invited me to come to King Bar when he worked there and play pool with him, and he would share his pool knowledge and help me with my game. Sure he ridiculed me, but he could take it as well as he could give it.


Sadly, Dewey Song passed away June 23^rd, 2014. The last few seasons that he played in the league, he was a shell of his former self do to kidney failure. He still managed to end his Itaewon Pool League career, 22 days before his death, with a rating of 1971 – the 32^nd highest ranking all-time.


And if anyone was present at the Summer/Fall 2013 mid-season doubles tournament, and you saw him call and make a jump-Z-bank on the 8 ball to win the tournament, you would know that Dewey Song deserves to be in the Itaewon Pool League Hall of Fame.


Lenny Erickson