Waterdog Pool Player
This article is more than 2 years old
Donnie Edwards more commonly known as the Waterdog was an American amateur pool player who is regarded as one of the best during his peak years. The life of Donnie was full of struggles to make the ends meet and the saddest part is that he was not able to do justice with his immense talent. Waterdog was a kind of a player who takes straight 5 racks without missing a single ball and pay only for the in the club.
Born to a troubled family in Waterbury Connecticut, Donnie’s dad was addicted to alcohol while his mother suffered from heroin addiction. He left his home at age of twelve and found shelter at Cue and Cushion. Away from home, not having a proper diet he suffered from quite some diseases such as bronchitis, asthma and iron deficiency. Throughout his childhood, he was optimistic and prayed to the God to give him the Talent to be excellent at something in Life.
Apart from all sports, he realized that the pool felt natural to him. He would take few dollars from his mother and would go to Cue and Cushion every day to play with experienced players. The owner of Cue and Cushion spotted the talent in the boy and allowed him to play at his club.
Just in a year at age of 13 Waterdog started going to New York on the weekend to play with good players. He would sleep on the pool table or cheap hotel rooms and had only one ambition and that was to become the world champion. His first mentor was Gene Nagy a new jersey state champion but he tried to charge him for some food that turned Donnie off from him.
Coming back to his home town Waterbury, Donnie was practicing 5 to 10 hours a day. He would play with novices and make some good money. Soon the authorities were after him because he was skipping the school and his grades were slipping. The young lad flew from the Waterbury to Norfolk with just few hundred dollars.
He had tough time in Norfolk but still managed to make a living by winning games in the clubs. Still considered a kid by the looks, players would bet $20 to $30. By the end of his teenage, he realized that big money is not at Norfolk so he moved to California where he earned his nickname Waterdog because he was from Waterdog.
Soon Waterdog got addicted to Heroin because it was prevalent in the area. A kid who wanted to be the world champion by the end of teenage his goal had become to work only for his Heroin addiction. He would play to earn $30-$40 a day and buy his drugs. He would push himself to limits to get his heroin by not having meals for days.
Years passed on like this and Waterdog addiction tool a toll on him. Once a player who would win against anyone was not losing to the rookies. His muscle coordination had suffered massively over the years. The looks were unrecognizable. The drugs just took away a destined pool champion. It was a shame and a disappointment.
The end was nearing, methadone had eaten him from inside. He had a broken ankle that made life for him more difficult. For some people, honest friendship and luck can change the course of life. With all the talent he had, he missed someone whose words would force him to leave his addition. On 9 or 10th of August 2006 he passed away at a nursing home in Chicago.
