"I don't have any opinion in the Tom v. Andrew debate, but I don't know about this "highest scorer = best player" argument that Eric puts forth." I would never put forth quite so crude an argument as that, as an equation, end of story. I simply think that Tom's incredible consistency as *always* the top scorer, for a period of over twenty years, in every tournament he entered, is an unmatchable achievement in our sport, and virtually unparalleled in any sort of competition, athletic or mental, over so long a period of time. No player on earth save Steve Wang (in that one anomaly mentioned in an earlier post) can point to ever having outscored Tom individually in a full tournament. That does not mean in itself that the argument is over, only that an argument for anyone else has to begin by explaining why someone else should be seen as better despite that. Such an argument can respectably be made for either Andrew Yaphe or Don Windham, I think, based on continued play since Tom's retired, or being much better at a younger age, in Andrew's case, or on winning all those Tennessee Masters team titles, in Don's. Don is particularly hard to compare, for me, because he simply played so much less, but his achievements as the top player on the winning team year after year in the best masters fields there were is powerfully impressive, and he must be given his due, whatever exactly that is. I don't see that a case can well be made for anyone else being ranked ahead of Tom. Tom played with Jeff Johnson as his teammate one time, I think, and was still that team's clear #1 gun. (Though I think they may have finished 1-2 in scoring at the tournament, or very close to it, which is quite an achievement in itself for both of them! My memory is hazy on this; was that when Jason King also played with Tom?) Tom played with Jim Dendy as his teammate at least once, at a Philadelphia Experiment, also with Al Whited on the team, I believe, and there Tom outscored Jim by A LOT throughout that tournament. At another Philly Experiment he led a stacked four-person team of Rob Hentzel, Tom Drucker, and me, and still got his usual top numbers. (That's the only time I've ever played on a team as the number four scorer!) He never played with Don or Andrew as teammates (thank goodness for any sort of competitive suspense), so no such direct comparisons are possible there. Though he played solo a lot, so of course he'd be top scorer in those tournaments, he still led fields even when teamed with some of the finest players in the game, and so had any shadow effect working against him. It is true that he wasn't so outstanding on the so-called "trash" subjects, and never played, so far as I know, in any sort of all-trash tournament. I don't see that as relevant to looking at who has been the best in the older. broader game, but others could weight their criteria differently, of course. Eric Hillemann
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