mikepage said:
Here is the thread on Gene's passing. There is a lot of info in there, including his obituary.
Gene Nagy Passes
GENE NAGY-Looking for any and all info & stories about him and his life
- Thread starter VKJ
- Start date
Here is the thread on Gene's passing. There is a lot of info in there, including his obituary.
Gene Nagy Passes
jimmyg said:I'm pretty fuzzy on this, you are probably correct...sorry.
Jim
JG,
No apology necessary, just trying to clear the air.
I'm also a little fuzzy on the details, but I do believe that the Julliard part is correct.
Hey Blackjack!
I was in a local pool room tonite here in NYC and a friend mentioned that he saw or heard that you have history playing at the Clifton Billiard Lounge when Ray martin owned it.
Is this true? I played there for many years before and during and after Ray was the owner. Is it possible we know each other?
Also thanks for your comments about Gene.
VKJ
I was in a local pool room tonite here in NYC and a friend mentioned that he saw or heard that you have history playing at the Clifton Billiard Lounge when Ray martin owned it.
Is this true? I played there for many years before and during and after Ray was the owner. Is it possible we know each other?
Also thanks for your comments about Gene.
VKJ
Gene Nagy was a gifted pool player, an artist really. But he had an artist's tempermant. He expected absolute perfection out of himself and could not deal with any errors on the table. Even a slight position error was very upsetting to him. In practice, he could play for hours with NO mistakes or misses. But in tournaments, the pressure sometimes got to him and he would make simple mistakes. He just couldn't handle this and would get visibly upset.
Naturally his game would suffer, and the errors would compound. At one Los Angeles Invitational in the early 70's, Gene lost his first match and forfeited out of the tournament. He was always considered one of the favorites in any Straight Pool tourney he entered. He did have at least one or two high finishes in major 14.1 events back then. But the pressure of tournament play was too much for him and he gave up competiton altogether by the late 70's, or early 80's.
Naturally his game would suffer, and the errors would compound. At one Los Angeles Invitational in the early 70's, Gene lost his first match and forfeited out of the tournament. He was always considered one of the favorites in any Straight Pool tourney he entered. He did have at least one or two high finishes in major 14.1 events back then. But the pressure of tournament play was too much for him and he gave up competiton altogether by the late 70's, or early 80's.
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VKJ said:
Damn... the secret is out!
I was at Ray's room a time or two - I vaguely remember it - If I was in there with Mike Carella, I plead the 5th on all charges.
Do we know each other? I don't know. I am originally from Kearny, New Jersey. I played out of Guy's and Dolls in Belleville back in the late 1970's - I played in most of the major rooms in NYC, Newark, Elizabeth and Bayonne, got spanked mostly - but I learned a lot from all of the better players in the area, including Gene Nagy.
Not sure if we know each other - if we do - I wouldn't remember - I moved from Garfield, New Jersey to Hollywood, Florida in 1978 - and I have spent most of the last 30 years living in El Paso, Texas - now I am in Orlando, Florida. It's funny, most of the guys I knew up there - they live down here now- including Ray "Cool -as in NOW I AM COLD BLOODED - Cat" Martin - its like old times. lol
I met Gene when he first played pool at the Arcade Billiards in Jackson Heights queens, NY - He played trumpet at Julliard with his friend George. I played Gene when he couldn't play at all. The room was managed by then World champ Joe balsis. Joe taught us how to stand properly and ended up playing us 150 -25 every night. He never lost.VKJ said:
Gene first learnd all the aspects of pool from Old George "The Machine" as we knew him. He was about 70, stood straight up at the table and had shaky hands - He constantly ran 150 balls. He knew everything about the game and told us that a man named Sailor Barge was the best he had ever known - that sailor never once missed a shot - We asked George what his high run was - he said he didnt know because he never had to make it
Gene at that time stayed at the room all night practising his break shot until he knew the shot he would have after each break. He slpet there as well learning this art.After George taught Gene - Mike Euphemia taught and played Gene nightly for many hours while we all watched, and while Euphemias wife sat there knitting. They would help each other during these games with combos and difficult positions, and ran 100;s of balls every night. Mike was the most beautiful player Id ever seen at the table but never or didn't play for money. He was scorned by other players due to this but he was a great player regardless. Mike was the best straight pool player aside from Gene that I've ever seen. He played like the surgeon as he was nicknamed.
Mike was going to write a book about pool called "The weight of balls" theory but he died before starting it.
Gene was the most preecise player I ever saw - if his position was off by 1/2' he would break his Bushka across his kness - George Balabushka who we knew well stopped making cues for Gene and Gene had to have others buy them for him. Gene was mentioned in a book with George the Machine where Mosconi said " No one pockets balls like Nagy". Trust me this was true - Every ball went straight to the middle of the pocket unless he has to cheat for position.
Gene played at te golden cue then at the rack and balls club.
He was a weird guy but it was great knowing him. Sorry to hear of his death.
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Gene's instrument of choice was actually the trumpet and was accepted to the Julliard School of Music, this according to Grissim's book. The trumpet is a very difficult ax to master. I played it myself and couldn't make the grade. But word has it, Gene was a natural.jimmyg said:
For another source of information, I understand Buddy Dennis and his wife knew Gene real well.
You're right, I didn't read the whole thread before I jumped up to respond. I also didn't realize how old this thread is. It kinda looked familiar to me.jimmyg said:
Are there any videos of Gene on the internet? I wanna see...
Gene Nagy: Trumpet Player / Pool Player
Sorry if this is long winded but I probably know more than anyone about how/when Gene started playing pool because I was the first person to put a pool cue in his hand and introduced him to the game. My name is David Adamovich, today I'm well known as The Great Throwdini — The World's Fastest and Most Accurate Knife Thrower, and when wearing another hat, The Rev. Dr. David R. Adamovich, former professor of Sports Sciences, and minister. But this isn't about me, it's about remembering Gene.
He and I were good friends back in Newtown High School (Elmhurst, NY) in the early 60s. I had the HONOR of playing first trumpet with Gene despite his playing ability being in the stratosphere compared to my playing ability. So one day after school I invited Gene back to my home in Corona, Queens. to practice trumpet together. We took a break and I showed him the small 4x8 (if I remember correctly) pool table in my basement. He had never played pool up to that day. I put a cue in his hand and we were off and running. All I recall of that day was he liked it and wanted to play more. But our biggest concern was graduating high school and going off to college. I pursued a physical education career and Gene was accepted to Julliard because of his extraordinary trumpet abilities.
We went our separate ways. I lost track of Gene and then stumbled upon him one day when I went into the Rack and Ball on Queens Blvd, just before it joins with Roosevelt Avene. I knew the face immediately and we hugged and backtracked our careers. As a professor at Queens College at the time I finished teaching my evening graduate class in electrocardiography and would then scoot off to the "Rack and Crack" as Gene would say and relieve him from his day shift for me to take over with the night shift from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. (I wanted to get back in to the game so I took the evening shift to have time to play after we closed.) I would play with Gene, either 9-Ball or Straight (which I loved) and he would literally run 100 balls with a broom stick. He'd finish off a case of beer or bottle of hard liquor that he started earlier in the day and still be able to run ball after ball. (I suppose it's no surprise to anyone that knew him he abused just about everything there was to abuse and could still play pool very, very, well. Oddly enough, he's play great pool with a 9 mm shaft akin to the style of a snooker cue. He had a one stroke style of playing with his hand open at the back end, close and stroke forward. It was a beautiful thing to see.
When it was time for him to leave, circa 8 p.m., he'd say "I'm going to hit the door." Out he went and bicycled several miles back home to his home where he lived with him mother if I remember correctly. I have many more stories to tell but I don't want to bore anyone. I presume anyone that knows Gene would know I've revealed enough to be 100% accurate in what I'm saying. It's for real. I was the guy who introduced Gene to pool and I'm damn proud of it. He was an incredible talent that excelled in everything he did.
David R. Adamovich aka The Great Throwdini (knifethrower.com)
If anyone want to share some conversation about Gene feel free to call me at 516 546-1425.
Sorry if this is long winded but I probably know more than anyone about how/when Gene started playing pool because I was the first person to put a pool cue in his hand and introduced him to the game. My name is David Adamovich, today I'm well known as The Great Throwdini — The World's Fastest and Most Accurate Knife Thrower, and when wearing another hat, The Rev. Dr. David R. Adamovich, former professor of Sports Sciences, and minister. But this isn't about me, it's about remembering Gene.
He and I were good friends back in Newtown High School (Elmhurst, NY) in the early 60s. I had the HONOR of playing first trumpet with Gene despite his playing ability being in the stratosphere compared to my playing ability. So one day after school I invited Gene back to my home in Corona, Queens. to practice trumpet together. We took a break and I showed him the small 4x8 (if I remember correctly) pool table in my basement. He had never played pool up to that day. I put a cue in his hand and we were off and running. All I recall of that day was he liked it and wanted to play more. But our biggest concern was graduating high school and going off to college. I pursued a physical education career and Gene was accepted to Julliard because of his extraordinary trumpet abilities.
We went our separate ways. I lost track of Gene and then stumbled upon him one day when I went into the Rack and Ball on Queens Blvd, just before it joins with Roosevelt Avene. I knew the face immediately and we hugged and backtracked our careers. As a professor at Queens College at the time I finished teaching my evening graduate class in electrocardiography and would then scoot off to the "Rack and Crack" as Gene would say and relieve him from his day shift for me to take over with the night shift from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. (I wanted to get back in to the game so I took the evening shift to have time to play after we closed.) I would play with Gene, either 9-Ball or Straight (which I loved) and he would literally run 100 balls with a broom stick. He'd finish off a case of beer or bottle of hard liquor that he started earlier in the day and still be able to run ball after ball. (I suppose it's no surprise to anyone that knew him he abused just about everything there was to abuse and could still play pool very, very, well. Oddly enough, he's play great pool with a 9 mm shaft akin to the style of a snooker cue. He had a one stroke style of playing with his hand open at the back end, close and stroke forward. It was a beautiful thing to see.
When it was time for him to leave, circa 8 p.m., he'd say "I'm going to hit the door." Out he went and bicycled several miles back home to his home where he lived with him mother if I remember correctly. I have many more stories to tell but I don't want to bore anyone. I presume anyone that knows Gene would know I've revealed enough to be 100% accurate in what I'm saying. It's for real. I was the guy who introduced Gene to pool and I'm damn proud of it. He was an incredible talent that excelled in everything he did.
David R. Adamovich aka The Great Throwdini (knifethrower.com)
If anyone want to share some conversation about Gene feel free to call me at 516 546-1425.
Thanks for this David. What a monster you created. Even players like Lassiter, Balsis and Crane marveled at how well he played Straight Pool. For whatever the reason Gene could never handle the pressure of tournament play. Gambling was another story. He was a killer!
Actually, there are a couple of facts about Gene that I've been told over the years. They may be apocryphal and I have no sources, but can anyone confirm/deny?
1) Gene was playing in a straight pool tournament once in which a TV production company came to film the action. They offered a large cash prize for anyone who could run out (150? 125? whatever the race was) on camera, during the tournament. Gene runs out, but the TV crew had technical problems and wasn't able to get it on film. No film, no prize.
2) I've also heard that in addition to being a top-notch trumpeter, Gene was also a skilled archer. Has anyone heard the same?
1) Gene was playing in a straight pool tournament once in which a TV production company came to film the action. They offered a large cash prize for anyone who could run out (150? 125? whatever the race was) on camera, during the tournament. Gene runs out, but the TV crew had technical problems and wasn't able to get it on film. No film, no prize.
2) I've also heard that in addition to being a top-notch trumpeter, Gene was also a skilled archer. Has anyone heard the same?
I've heard quite a few interesting things about Gene from very good sources:
He couldn't handle tournament pressure well but could gamble well, at least in the early years...later on he couldn't even gamble at all...pressure situations became a 'thing' with him. He would run 200+ balls like it was nothing but then throw $50 on the game and his hands would tremble even against a far inferior player.
He once ran seven...yes seven 100+ runs in one day.
He would become obsessed with nearly anything he became interested in. Apparently he became fascinated with chess and stopped playing pool completely for a year because he was so caught up with chess (I guess he had an obsessive personality) then he loses interest in chess and picks up a house cue and plays like he never stopped at all.
He'd obsessively practice 14.1 breakshots for endless hours. He was known to be the greatest authority on breakshots.
He couldn't handle tournament pressure well but could gamble well, at least in the early years...later on he couldn't even gamble at all...pressure situations became a 'thing' with him. He would run 200+ balls like it was nothing but then throw $50 on the game and his hands would tremble even against a far inferior player.
He once ran seven...yes seven 100+ runs in one day.
He would become obsessed with nearly anything he became interested in. Apparently he became fascinated with chess and stopped playing pool completely for a year because he was so caught up with chess (I guess he had an obsessive personality) then he loses interest in chess and picks up a house cue and plays like he never stopped at all.
He'd obsessively practice 14.1 breakshots for endless hours. He was known to be the greatest authority on breakshots.
Gene Nagy: Trumpet Player / Pool Player
Yes, what you guys are saying about Gene is all true. He was obsessive about anything and everything he did, all this atop his incredible natural talent. When I rehooked up with him I spoke to his mother for awhile and she told me about his archery obsession. He kept it to himself but she told me he was performing at high national if not Olympic level.
Regarding his short temper it was more than that and I know the exact reason and we've had long discussions over quite a few beers. The bottom line is that he took criticism very poorly. I can almost quote him like I heard it seconds ago, "When you miss just one shot someone in the crowd will call you a bum." So Gene's short fuse was not about not being recognized for how talented he was but because he hated hearing some loser in the crowd comment on how a shot was played or that Gene was a bum for missing a shot.
I forgot to mention in my other post that I had a term called "Nagy knees." It was an ongoing joke I would make when I'd cross shifts with Gene at the Rack and Crack (Rack and Ball) and we'd play straight pool before he went home. Since I rarely saw Gene rack for me I was the one constantly racking for him and my knees were the ones taking the abuse every 15 balls.
One more GREAT story as it won't cause any harm at this point in the game. One night when I relieved Gene to begin my shift I saw him take his receipts to the back room to put in the drop safe. He stood over the opening of the safe and outright took a huge beer piss into the safe. We laughed our asses off as he said, "The owner will leave us a message about not putting any liquids on top of the safe." Sure enough, next day there was a note from the owner complaining about someone who spilled orange juice in the safe. Gene was so proud of himself he brought it up every time we met. Gosh, I miss him and still have difficulty understanding how incredibly his natural talent was.
Incidentally, if anyone doubts the authenticity of my interaction with Gene, ring up Fran Crimi. We were dating at that time as it was Gene who introduced us when she was there one day playing with Gene. I've no reason to make any of this up or fabricate it in any way. Fran will tell you about Gene's issues with being in a car as well.
I opened Doc's Billiard Emporium in Bay Shore, Long Island, NY. As Gene and I were good friends I wanted him to come to the hall to play on my best table, number 7. It was like pulling teeth as he was phobic about being in a car. Perhaps a "hang over" from his days hustling on the road. He came out there once but never again. He'd stay local with his bicycle.
Yes, what you guys are saying about Gene is all true. He was obsessive about anything and everything he did, all this atop his incredible natural talent. When I rehooked up with him I spoke to his mother for awhile and she told me about his archery obsession. He kept it to himself but she told me he was performing at high national if not Olympic level.
Regarding his short temper it was more than that and I know the exact reason and we've had long discussions over quite a few beers. The bottom line is that he took criticism very poorly. I can almost quote him like I heard it seconds ago, "When you miss just one shot someone in the crowd will call you a bum." So Gene's short fuse was not about not being recognized for how talented he was but because he hated hearing some loser in the crowd comment on how a shot was played or that Gene was a bum for missing a shot.
I forgot to mention in my other post that I had a term called "Nagy knees." It was an ongoing joke I would make when I'd cross shifts with Gene at the Rack and Crack (Rack and Ball) and we'd play straight pool before he went home. Since I rarely saw Gene rack for me I was the one constantly racking for him and my knees were the ones taking the abuse every 15 balls.
One more GREAT story as it won't cause any harm at this point in the game. One night when I relieved Gene to begin my shift I saw him take his receipts to the back room to put in the drop safe. He stood over the opening of the safe and outright took a huge beer piss into the safe. We laughed our asses off as he said, "The owner will leave us a message about not putting any liquids on top of the safe." Sure enough, next day there was a note from the owner complaining about someone who spilled orange juice in the safe. Gene was so proud of himself he brought it up every time we met. Gosh, I miss him and still have difficulty understanding how incredibly his natural talent was.
Incidentally, if anyone doubts the authenticity of my interaction with Gene, ring up Fran Crimi. We were dating at that time as it was Gene who introduced us when she was there one day playing with Gene. I've no reason to make any of this up or fabricate it in any way. Fran will tell you about Gene's issues with being in a car as well.
I opened Doc's Billiard Emporium in Bay Shore, Long Island, NY. As Gene and I were good friends I wanted him to come to the hall to play on my best table, number 7. It was like pulling teeth as he was phobic about being in a car. Perhaps a "hang over" from his days hustling on the road. He came out there once but never again. He'd stay local with his bicycle.
I guess Gene was the "Bobby Fischer" of pool.
Another very talented but VERY strange man.
Another very talented but VERY strange man.