40
Jim Lively
Bob Long
Matty Marshall
Dave Massey
Russell Maynard
August 2014
Jim Lively and Sam Caldwell - Some of the must-attend events of early tournament and professional
paintball after the NSG days
included the Masters, a major tournament that, at one
time, drew players, teams,
sponsors and vendors like
the World Cup or Amateur Open. When paintball
made the transition from
fifteen-man to ten-man,
Jim Lively and Sam Caldwell
were there to promote major tournaments in the new
format. Alliances and organizations that later formed
the early NPPL were made
at events promoted by Lively and Caldwell. Jim Lively
can still be found playing
the sport he helped shape,
while, unfortunately, Sam
Caldwell succumbed to cancer severl years ago.
used by Oakland BLAST.
Matty Marshall
Matty was a long time member of the Ironmen, who
when he retired became the
best paintball broadcaster
the game has ever known.
Matty has called paintball
events around the world
but probably has been seen
and heard most often doing the PSP’s webcasts over
the years. He’s also done
hundreds of interviews and
various other paintball video
productions over the years.
Dave Massey and Ed Stapleton
Dave and Ed are co-owners
of Hell Survivors in Michigan,
one of the longest-running
paintball fields in the world
(started in 1984). Some of
the many things Hell Survivors has been credited for
Bob Long
include being the first field
The Ironmen, under Bob
to use barrel covers as stanLong’s leadership did amazdard equipment in 1986;
ing things in the 1990s. They first field to use a player
won the NPPL title three
ID system; and one of the
straight years, they introonly fields in the 80s and
duced non-camo apparel,
early 90s to allow full-auto
and in 1995 they went to
markers. Dave in particular,
the UK and won the Maywas a key contributor to the
hem Masters—a huge feat at growth of the early game
that time. Bob Long brought and was one of the more voan amazingly successful
cal field owners when manupaintball gun to the market
facturers were setting stanseveral years ago, the Indards in the 80s and 90s.
timidator, which still soldiers
on today as the Protégé and
Russell Maynard
Vice. Bob now manufactures Russell was a long time
other paintball guns too, like paintball player from Califorthe Marq Victory, which won
nia and the original Editor for
the World Cup in 2009 in the Action Pursuits Game maghands of the Red Legion and azine. Russ has contributed
the USPL/NPPL 2009 series
much to paintball in the form