to adopt him. As a teenager in California, McCready was mentored by Cole Dixon, an older California player who showed McCready how to survive as a pool player, and inspired Rudolf Wanderone, whom he had met as an adolescent. McCready was considered an old-school player who was fast and accurate at the table, acquiring the nickname "Keither with the Ether". However, he was later given the nickname "Earthquake". Today, McCready resides in Washington, DC, and was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame in January 2018. In January 2018, Keith McCready was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame for a "Lifetime of Pool in Action". In the late 2000s, McCready became a columnist for InsidePool magazine. Professional career When McCready was 21, he began competing at professional pool events throughout California. He made an impression in the final of the Sacramento Open, 6-2 from behind, he won the last nine of nine-ball in the final to defeat Larry Hubbart, 11–6. McCready won the 1984 Clyde Childress Memorial 9-Ball Open at The Maverick Club in Richmond, Kentucky. Having defeated Earl Strickland 11–2 earlier in the event, McCready also defeated Strickland in the final, 11–9. By June 1985, he was already considered among the top players in the country. McCready scored his first professional win in October 1985 at the B.C. Open 9-ball Championship in Binghamton, New York. Pool veteran player Grady Mathews commented that he was "a worthy champion and a colorful, exciting player, he deserved to win". He won the final 9-3 despite playing the tournament with a borrowed . At the 5th Sands Regent Open nine-ball tournament, held in June 1987 in Reno, Nevada, and won by Strickland, McCready was documented in the notable matches category by Accu-Stats because of his "brilliant and entertaining" performance, defeating Paul Brienza and Mike Sigel in the event. In April 2005, he won a Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour event at the Golden Cue in Albany, New York, winning the final match of the double-elimination format event against Canadian pool player Danny Hewitt. In December 1998, he was ranked 10th on the men's professional pool tour. While McCready won a few titles during his career, he was known for high-wager matches. Danny DiLiberto (now an Accu-Stats Video Productions commentator) has stated: "I like Keith McCready, he's entertaining all the time; he's colorful to watch, because he's going to shoot at a