JossWest 1973 Louie Roberts Cue- Pictures

Fantastic looking cue! Bet it has seen some great games in past 36 years.

I was in Columbia Mo. in 1974 or 5 and Louie was in a straight pool tourny. Steve cook won that tourny anyway.
Louie was playing the ghost for 20 a rack against NY Blackie and that is the cue he was using. After he ran 11 racks then he ran16 racks and later I hit some balls with that cue and ask him if he would sell it and he said no but he would rent his girlfriend out. She was a buxom beauty brunette and I told him I only wanted the cue. He told me there was no way to get the cue. I believe they said it was the first time he had run a hundred balls before. He was playing Dick from Dallas and beat him like 125 to 30 or so.
Great hitting cue with a lot of history.

A beauty for sure.....What is the hit compared to your Schons?

Now all you need is a Cashmere Sweater and Sharkskin pants.:grin:

lol, how much was louie renting his gf out for?

louie and girlfriend

When Louie got broke he would put her on the line. I don't know how much to rent her but I always thought he was serious. The most amazing thing to me was watching him run all those racks against the ghost. He came to Shreveport several years later to play Buddy at Guys and Dolls and I had just met buddy. I told him that that kid sure could play and he better be careful. Buddy just said Richey just make sure you don't bet on him. And I didn't and it was something to see.

Simple, subtle & elegant WMD with a storied history - very nice find

knifemaker said:

When Louie got broke he would put her on the line. I don't know how much to rent her but I always thought he was serious. The most amazing thing to me was watching him run all those racks against the ghost. He came to Shreveport several years later to play Buddy at Guys and Dolls and I had just met buddy. I told him that that kid sure could play and he better be careful. Buddy just said Richey just make sure you don't bet on him. And I didn't and it was something to see.

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knifemaker

Louie was Louie and I have seen him play 24 hr or longer sessions and then put his total winning on the line for the toss of a coin. There are a few more stories about Louie that might not be Politically Correct to post on the net. I believe Louie met his maker some time in the middle 80's. and that has been a story in it's self.

atthecat said:

No pc pool players on this site! Lay those stories on us.
I'll take the blame. Lol

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Atthecat

I googled St Louie Louie and then Louie Roberts to find ZIP, NADA on the net about Louie. While I have seen Louie play several times most of what I could say is in fact hear say. But the first time I saw Louie he was bigger than life and walked like a peacock. He always worn a front button cashmere sweater and Sharkskin pants every time I saw him with a white dress shirt. He had a presents about him that made all women want to be with him and all men to be him. He was a truly entertaining pool player to watch. I have seen him make games that no one would make and win them. Louie was a real self promoter and might be the second Minnesota Fat as far as getting press. But the last time I saw Louie he was crawling out from under table 12 where he had spend the night. I am guessing the year around 1982. Louie's passing is still debated. Ruled a suicide, but there are many theory about it which I will not go into because they are only hear say to me.

OK, this brings up a trivia question. Since this is a Joss West, it was made after the split between Bill Stroud and Danny Janes. So here is the question: What year did the JW logo first appear in any form and was it after the split?

Jerry Forsyth said:

OK, this brings up a trivia question. Since this is a Joss West, it was made after the split between Bill Stroud and Danny Janes. So here is the question: What year did the JW logo first appear in any form and was it after the split?

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I had a Joss that I sent to Dan Janes to authenticate and he said it was made about 1972. It was not signed and had a 5/16 18 pin.

The first real pool tourny I ever saw was the one in Colmbia Mo That a friend Ken Bernard took me to see. I was in the air force as was ken and we played a lot on base and then in KC at Don Brinks place Raytouwn Recreation. Louie would come in there and beat everybody at everthing except Don in billiards I never did see him play that game and Don ask several times to get him to play. In all of his antics and such Louie was good for the game, he made people want to watch him play and he would outrun the worst game inthe world. Since I was not competion for him we would talk and he would always help me with any question about the game. He watched me at Don one time and told me I was trying to be to concerned about the white ball when I did not know what I was doing anyway. Just learn to make the ball and then learn the white rock. Same thing Buddy told me 3 years later and I still had not learned either. I wonder what happento Ken Bernard
Great memories about two great players.
I would love to read Buddy's book but the cost is too high.

Joss logo

That is a great question because I had a Joss West with the same logo I bought in 75. Lot of Ivory with oivory joint and butt cap and ivory ferrels.
Wha a cue. Stolen out of my car in front of a Bar in North houston after giving someone a ride from the pool hall to the bar and not putting three cues in my trunk. Stupid never did that again. It was a great Joss and Earl used to play with it at Cassidy's some and often tried to buy it from me. I should have sold it I guess.
Let us know about the Logo

Jerry...I first met Bill, in 1972, while going to school in Gunnison. CO. A buddy and I drove over the mountain passes (summertime...only about 60 miles, vs. 250 in winter), to his shop in Aspen. He had a Ferrari Daytona parked in the driveway, and a Gold Crown in the shop, which was below his house. He had split from Dan at least a couple of years before, and had a nice glossy paper "catalogue", showing all the cue lines (I still have it!), from simple to fancy (plus he would do custom work too). All his cues had the J, with the sideways W on them. The prices then ranged from $165, for a 4 pt with veneers; to $850 for a cue loaded with ivory. All cues came with two shafts (14mm was standard back then). I had "designed" (read: drawn on a piece of notebook paper), a custom cue that I wanted Bill to make for me. He told me it would be $500, and I about fainted! LOL I was too dumb (and broke) to know better, and ended up buying a Meucci for $90, as my first cue. I did, however, have him make me a cue (similar to Louie's...different veneer colors and no blocks in the butt sleeve), 3 years later, which he delivered to me, at the Burlington Open 9-ball tournament, held in Burlington IA in Oct. '75. That was the cue that I beat Keith out of $1800 in less than 15 minutes (but that's another story! :grin. It got stolen 2 days after the tournament ended. I finally had the custom cue I had designed made for me, for my 30th birthday ('83...this time it cost $1500! LMAO). It was Bill's first cue, after he went to CNC, and was a beautiful box cue, with lots of ivory, including joint and ferrules. It came with a Fellini case. Beautiful cue, and played great! Bill refers to me as "the only guy to sell a Balabushka, to keep a Joss West"! LOL I sold my Balabushka in '91 (for $4K), to buy my APA franchise.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Jerry Forsyth said:

OK, this brings up a trivia question. Since this is a Joss West, it was made after the split between Bill Stroud and Danny Janes. So here is the question: What year did the JW logo first appear in any form and was it after the split?

Click to expand...

Scott Lee said:

I finally had the custom cue I had designed made for me, for my 30th birthday ('83...this time it cost $1500! LMAO). It was Bill's first cue, after he went to CNC, and was a beautiful box cue, with lots of ivory, including joint and ferrules.
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

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$1500 for a CNC cue in 1983.....wow.