Daniel (Danny) Basavich (September 25, 1978 – May 2023) was an American professional pool player. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he spent much of his life in New Jersey. He acquired the nickname "Kid Delicious" after defeating a player monickered "Kid Vicious".[1]
Basavich grew up in Manalapan Township, New Jersey.[2] He died on either May 15[3] or 17,[4] 2023, at his later home in Manchester, New Jersey.
Professional career
editBasavich was a notorious road player who hustled pool games across the country, but later decided to compete professionally in tournaments after becoming too well known to continue hustling.[5]
In 2004, Basavich was named "Rookie of the Year" by the United Pool Players Association.[6]
He made his first television appearance in the 2005 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, beating Hsia Hui-kai in the preliminary stages. He made another appearance at the 2005 Skins Billiards Championship. Basavich nearly won that tournament, but Santos Sambajon defeated him after winning the lag for last part of the sudden-death game and running out from the break.
In November 2004, Basavich defeated Corey Deuel as the Glass City Open in Toledo, Ohio, in a televised match where he broke and ran nine consecutive racks of nine-ball, resulting in a score of 10–2. He was defeated by Charlie Bryant in the finals.[7]
L. Jon Wertheim wrote an article in Sports Illustrated about Basavich in its 2004 Super Bowl edition entitled "The Amazing Adventures of Kid Delicious and Bristol Bob".[8] Wertheim subsequently wrote a book on Basavich's adventures entitled Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler which was released in September 2007.[9]
In 2005, Lions Gate entered into negotiations for a feature film to be loosely based on the life of Danny Basavich.[10][11]
In 2006, Basavich released the first in his new line of billiards tutorials, The Kid Delicious Advanced Clock System and Banking Secrets produced by Pooljax productions.[12]
Filmography
edit- The Kid Delicious Advanced Clock System and Banking Secrets DVD (2006)
- Big Time Delicious Racking Secrets and Ultimate Pro Shotmaking DVD (2007)
Titles
edit- 2005 Ocean State Championship
- 2004 Sands Regency 9-Ball Open
References
edit- ^ "The Happy Hustler",[dead link] The New York Times, October 6, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2010
- ^ McGrath, Charles. "The Happy Hustler", The New York Times, October 6, 2007. Accessed June 12, 2008. "Mr. Basavich grew up, one of two children, in Manalapan, N.J.", has 3 other brothers and sisters.
- ^ "Daniel Basavich, September 25, 1978 - May 15, 2023". HorizonFunderalServices.com. May 2023. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ Weirtheim, Jon (May 18, 2023). "Among the Most Successful Pool Hustlers, 'Kid Delicious' Did Things Differently". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ "Shooting Pool in Grand Central" Archived July 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, by Dan Ackman, Page D12, The Wall Street Journal Online, WSJ.com, October 7, 2004 Retrieved June 17, 2007
- ^ Player Profile Archived March 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, InternationalPoolTour.com. Retrieved June 17, 2007
- ^ PoolBilliardNews, November 2005. Retrieved June 21, 2007
- ^ Sports Illustrated, February 2004. Retrieved June 17, 2007
- ^ "Running The Table" With Pool Hustler Danny Basavich, by Darren Rovell, CNBC.com, October 2007. Retrieved October 14, 2007
- ^ Lions Gate Plans a Movie Based on the Life of Kid Delicious Archived June 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, About.com. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
- ^ Untitled Danny Basavich Bio Project Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, TheMovieInsider.com. Retrieved June 21, 2007
- ^ pooljax.com Archived May 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, PoolJax Productions. The Official Kid Delicious Website.