“Miracle Man” Richard A. Ferreira demonstrates the proper way to set up for a shot in Loker Commons. His disciples at Harvard are known as the “Fearsome Five.”
Off to the side of Loker Commons, away from the strains of the jukebox and the chatter of math students preparing for tests, a local resident known as “The Miracle Man” showcases the right way to sink the eight-ball.
Sporting a Red Sox sweatshirt and jeans, the unshaven Richard A. Ferreira stands next to the pool table, coaching his students as they play, and offering tips on everything from stances to aiming techniques to bank shots.
Ferreira, 49, who lives with his daughter in Cambridge, spends about 20 hours a week in Loker offering lessons to members of the Harvard community—all free of charge.
“When I see them finally getting the game, that’s my pay,” he says.
He and his top students at Harvard, collectively known as “the Fearsome Five,” have been gathering for hours each week since last September to work on their accuracy and positioning.
The close-knit group has even adopted nicknames for each other. Peirce Assistant Professor of Mathematics Albert Chau is known as “The Professor” for his tendency to over-analyze shots, while James C. Lee ’05 goes by the moniker “The Kid.” Due to the painstaking attention he pays to the details of the game, Jonathan P. Lee ’08 has become known as “The Perfectionist.”
Yangda Ou ’08, the newest Fearsome Five member, received the title of “the Rookie” and credits Ferreira’s instruction with improving his game.
“I had never really played for real before Harvard,” Ou says. “But Rich knows the game really well, all the mechanics, better positions. He made me a good pool player.”
Ferreira himself—who admits to having once playing pool for 24 hours without stopping—has earned the title of “The Miracle Man” for his ability to sink the improbable shots.
“I can basically make the cue do whatever I want it to,” Ferreira says.
Lee says Ferreira is known for his bold moves on the pool table.
“It’s his personality to try big things that have big payoffs,” he says. Ferreira started playing at Loker five years ago when his daughter Jessica discovered the tables, which are reserved for Harvard students but open to outside guests who want to join them. He says the guards questioned him when he first began playing, but now that he has a regular group of fellow pool players from Harvard, the guards don’t give him any trouble.
Chau, who has known “The Miracle Man” the longest, says he considered himself king of the Harvard pool tables—until he met Ferreira.
“There was a time a couple years ago when I was the best,” Chau says. “I heard there was an older guy better than me. Finally I met him and I wasn’t disappointed. Rich is a master.”
Ferreira grew up on Kirkland Street in Somerville, but at the age of five he moved to Cambridge and was raised by his eldest sister Dorothy on Beacon Street. He says he can still remember the moment he first picked up a pool stick—it was a Saturday in 1964, and he was nine years old.
When he turned sixteen, Ferreira dropped out of high school and began working at a pool hall that used to exist in Inman Square, earning $1.95 per hour, which he says was a good wage at the time.
He was told that if he swept the floors and cleaned tables, he could shoot pool for free. For seven years, he watched the experts at the pool hall and took tips from each one, playing for as much as 100 hours each week.
“I was making five to seven hundred dollars a week shooting pool,” he remembers. “Pool saved me. It was a good way to get money, and I didn’t have to steal.”
Ferreira has also held down stints as a bartender and now works at various odd jobs. His eyes light up with pride as he describes his role teaching his daughter Jessica how to play softball and coaching her teams in elementary and middle school.
“I’ve never missed a single game,” he says. “I would ride a hundred miles on my bike to see her play.”
After what he describes as a difficult childhood, Ferreira says athletic programs are an essential positive outlet for youth.
Ferreira—who says he wishes he could have been a teacher—also derives satisfaction from the lessons he gives at the pool tables.
“I was born to show people how to shoot,” he says. In all of his coaching roles, he says he tries to convey “the three D’s—desire, determination, and dedication.”
Pool is a hard game to master, Ferreira says, but he emphasizes that practice, not luck, is the key to success. “You can only be consistent if you play every day,” he says. “You have to create muscle memory. Drill. Break it down to mechanics. Repeat it over and over so you don’t ever have to think about it.”
