BigTown Billiards Atlanta 1954

GoldenFlash

GoldenFlash

Banned
This is where all the road agents stopped when coming though Atlanta. It was quite a place, upstairs, bar/lunch counter, and well lighted. It was Danny Jones' home base when he was starting out.
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Mr. Bond

Mr. Bond

Orbis Non Sufficit
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Silver Member
nice !

do you know the address? can we get a google pic of that building today?


by the way - check out the name of the store 3 doors down to your left (vertically)

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hunger strike

hunger strike

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Photo...

GoldenFlash said:
This is where all the road agents stopped when coming though Atlanta. It was quite a place, upstairs, bar/lunch counter, and well lighted. It was Danny Jones' home base when he was starting out.
View attachment 198653
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Is there a way you could copy your photo of Big Town for a friend of mine? His name is Eddie Craft, and he played there when he was a young man....did you know him? I know it would mean a lot to him to have a nice copy of this picture so let me know if this is possible.... Eddie drove me around there and I believe the building is gone....
 
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buckhead

New member
That is a great shot-the Kimball House would be another..can't remember it's address either.

Question, was Big Town on Auburn Avenue near town? I remember it being very nice inside-fora pool hall-pretty good hotdogs if memory serves. Seems like the tables were really fast..
 
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Ben903

Registered
Big Town

I spent many Saturday's there when I was a kid. My dad was one of the regulars and I'd go there and then go to the movies and wait till time to go home.
 
GoldenFlash

GoldenFlash

Banned
Ben903 said:
I spent many Saturday's there when I was a kid. My dad was one of the regulars and I'd go there and then go to the movies and wait till time to go home.
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Some of the guys I remember (they were all older than me) were: Charlie Johns, Preacher Atkins, Roy Johnson (one of the best dice men I ever saw), Curly Mullinax, Hooch Hawkins, Virgil Petty, Ralph Guest, Buck Jordon, Frank Wright, Abie The Jew, Sweet Thing, Slim Burrell, Bus Driver Tibbets, Tommy The Painter, Doodles, Pete Pierce, Chuck Pierce, and of course, Joe Cosgrove. I don't remember Billy Johnson (Wade) ever coming in there...he played up at York's and over at The Cushion & Cue down from the Rialto Theatre.
I lived out in West End.
 
Matt90

Matt90

Trust the Process
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I love it

GoldenFlash said:
Some of the guys I remember (they were all older than me) were: Charlie Johns, Preacher Atkins, Roy Johnson (one of the best dice men I ever saw), Curly Mullinax, Hooch Hawkins, Virgil Petty, Ralph Guest, Buck Jordon, Frank Wright, Abie The Jew, Sweet Thing, Slim Burrell, Bus Driver Tibbets, Tommy The Painter, Doodles, Pete Pierce, Chuck Pierce, and of course, Joe Cosgrove. I don't remember Billy Johnson (Wade) ever coming in there...he played up at York's and over at The Cushion & Cue down from the Rialto Theatre.
I lived out in West End.
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I love Atlanta History and Pool History .....this is both , I'm about to tear up .Thanks gentlemen ,I wish every thread had this sort of character and style.:)
 
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Ben903

Registered
GoldenFlash said:
Some of the guys I remember (they were all older than me) were: Charlie Johns, Preacher Atkins, Roy Johnson (one of the best dice men I ever saw), Curly Mullinax, Hooch Hawkins, Virgil Petty, Ralph Guest, Buck Jordon, Frank Wright, Abie The Jew, Sweet Thing, Slim Burrell, Bus Driver Tibbets, Tommy The Painter, Doodles, Pete Pierce, Chuck Pierce, and of course, Joe Cosgrove. I don't remember Billy Johnson (Wade) ever coming in there...he played up at York's and over at The Cushion & Cue down from the Rialto Theatre.
I lived out in West End.
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I remember most to the names you mentioned. Roy Johnson was a very close friend of my Dad's. I used to see him at the pool room in Riverdale when he was still with us. To tell you how long ago it was at Big Town, Roy used to send me to the Krystal at 5 points to get him hamburgers. They were 10 cents each. He'd give me a dollar and get 7 hamburgers and I could keep the change.
Sometimes there would be several baseball games going on radios around the room with the men betting on them.
 
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THE MONTREALER

THE MONTREALER
Silver Member
GoldenFlash said:
This is where all the road agents stopped when coming though Atlanta. It was quite a place, upstairs, bar/lunch counter, and well lighted. It was Danny Jones' home base when he was starting out.
View attachment 198653
Click to expand...

HI Was Danny Jones nickname handsome Danny Jones if it was he came to Montreal back in the sixtys and Seventys

By the way is he still living maybe some one knows
 
cueman

cueman

AzB Gold Member
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GoldenFlash said:
Some of the guys I remember (they were all older than me) were: Charlie Johns, Preacher Atkins, Roy Johnson (one of the best dice men I ever saw), Curly Mullinax, Hooch Hawkins, Virgil Petty, Ralph Guest, Buck Jordon, Frank Wright, Abie The Jew, Sweet Thing, Slim Burrell, Bus Driver Tibbets, Tommy The Painter, Doodles, Pete Pierce, Chuck Pierce, and of course, Joe Cosgrove. I don't remember Billy Johnson (Wade) ever coming in there...he played up at York's and over at The Cushion & Cue down from the Rialto Theatre.
I lived out in West End.
Click to expand...

I knew Ralph Guest, Frank Wright and Slim Burrell, but never got to go to that pool room. Ralph once got arrested for playing $5 pool in Atlanta. Some plain clothes detectives were watching them play while having their lunch. The loser was dropping a $5 bill in the pocket after each game. That is the only time I have heard of someone getting arrested for playing for small money.
 
eddie0776

eddie0776

Bishop Cues
Silver Member
Ben903 said:
I remember most to the names you mentioned. Roy Johnson was a very close friend of my Dad's. I used to see him at the pool room in Riverdale when he was still with us. To tell you how long ago it was at Big Town, Roy used to send me to the Krystal at 5 points to get him hamburgers. They were 10 cents each. He'd give me a dollar and get 7 hamburgers and I could keep the change.
Sometimes there would be several baseball games going on radios around the room with the men betting on them.
Click to expand...

Which room in Riverdale? Family Billiards (across from Krystals) or the Cedar Room?
 
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Ben903

Registered
I think it was Family. I used to take my Dad up there to see Roy when both of them were quite old. My Dad passed away in 81. I don't know when we lost Roy.
 
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Ben903

Registered
Don't know if this will make the boards or not, but there is a novel out that has Big Town as a setting. It takes place in Atlanta in the early 1950's. It's a mystery and if you know BT or Atlanta, you'll recognize everything in it. The name is: THE WRATH OF THE DIXIE MAFIA. It's on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble
 
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Logandgriff

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Bus Driver Tibbitts

Here's a piece of Big Town Billiards trivia. Bus Driver Tibbitts, mentioned above as one of the good players at Big Town, is world famous cue maker Danny Tibbitts' father.
 
GoldenFlash

GoldenFlash

Banned
Logandgriff said:
Here's a piece of Big Town Billiards trivia. Bus Driver Tibbitts, mentioned above as one of the good players at Big Town, is world famous cue maker Danny Tibbitts' father.
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I used to play with Lloyd Tibbits the bus driver, every day.
We'd team up and play snooker as partners against any 2 other guys...the bet was what we called "3 and 1"...that meant $3 on the total score and an extra $1 if you made the last 7 ball at game end. Plus the losers had to pay the time.
Long time ago...in the late 60's.
 
GoldenFlash

GoldenFlash

Banned
Ben903 said:
Don't know if this will make the boards or not, but there is a novel out that has Big Town as a setting. It takes place in Atlanta in the early 1950's. It's a mystery and if you know BT or Atlanta, you'll recognize everything in it. The name is: THE WRATH OF THE DIXIE MAFIA. It's on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble
Click to expand...
A lot of those Dixie Boys hung around Big Town and also York's up near Houston St.
I think I will get that book you mentioned. That's interesting news.
 
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