The Jack & Jills in VA was before my time but I sure do miss Jack & Jills in Glen Burnie.
Plenty of time spent at USA and Hot Shots too, but out of all the pool rooms we've lost around us I miss Running Out the most.
Name a pool hall you wish was still open today
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The Jack & Jills in VA was before my time but I sure do miss Jack & Jills in Glen Burnie.
Plenty of time spent at USA and Hot Shots too, but out of all the pool rooms we've lost around us I miss Running Out the most.
The Ellijay Pool Room in Ellijay, Georgia. The room only had two Snooker tables, one Nine footer and few smaller tables in the adjoining room. It was a very old pool room with wood floors and it had the best Chili dogs you ever tasted. There was no alcohol and people were there for the pool and snooker, as well as the fellowship as the place was usually filled with talk and laughter. It was what I thought a pool room should be when I started playing there in the mid 80's.
House of Lords
House of Lords, Hicksville NY
House of Lords, Hicksville NY
A few people have said Chelsea in NYC.
My friends and I loved it there so much one of them named their daughter Chelsea.
The other room I really miss is Milford Rec in Milford CT.
I think the actual place might still be there, new name maybe. But it will never be the same as it was late 80's early 90's.
A room can still exist but die because it looses it's character and characters.
My friends and I loved it there so much one of them named their daughter Chelsea.
The other room I really miss is Milford Rec in Milford CT.
I think the actual place might still be there, new name maybe. But it will never be the same as it was late 80's early 90's.
A room can still exist but die because it looses it's character and characters.
2 votes CBP
Cotton Bowling Palace, Dallas. Road players from all over came through
very few left with the money. San Jose Dick one of the few. Regulars
included. Jack Terry, Little Hand, U.J. Puckett, my buddies Billy Stroud
Alf Taylor. Many if not most of the road players that won got heisted
in the restroom by Charlie Boyd. Other regulars included some very
dangerous characters, R.D. Mathews, George McGann ( investigated
as possible shooter in Kennedy assassination ) Stanley the creeper
Cook ( Dixie Mafia Hitman suspected in over 50 murders) Jack Ruby,
house Tush Vernon Linton, big time book maker Bobby Chapman,
and the Grand Daddy of all big time gambler proposition men
Titanic Thompson who brought in champions of all sorts too try and
get some of the cash that filled the CBP. world class sprinters, schuffle
board champion Billy Mays and on and on. I know to all of the That's
why pool has such a bad reputation and that's what is holding it
back crowd this sounds like a terrible place. But if I could do it over
the only thing I would change is I would have slept in the big chairs
or under the tables and not missed a thing. I LOVED IT.
jack
Cotton Bowling Palace, Dallas. Road players from all over came through
very few left with the money. San Jose Dick one of the few. Regulars
included. Jack Terry, Little Hand, U.J. Puckett, my buddies Billy Stroud
Alf Taylor. Many if not most of the road players that won got heisted
in the restroom by Charlie Boyd. Other regulars included some very
dangerous characters, R.D. Mathews, George McGann ( investigated
as possible shooter in Kennedy assassination ) Stanley the creeper
Cook ( Dixie Mafia Hitman suspected in over 50 murders) Jack Ruby,
house Tush Vernon Linton, big time book maker Bobby Chapman,
and the Grand Daddy of all big time gambler proposition men
Titanic Thompson who brought in champions of all sorts too try and
get some of the cash that filled the CBP. world class sprinters, schuffle
board champion Billy Mays and on and on. I know to all of the That's
why pool has such a bad reputation and that's what is holding it
back crowd this sounds like a terrible place. But if I could do it over
the only thing I would change is I would have slept in the big chairs
or under the tables and not missed a thing. I LOVED IT.
jack
I'm surprised noone has said Fieldston Billiards in the upper bronx next to manhattan college.
also, i do miss the old billiard club in yonkers. it was on broadway down an alley. a lot of tables and tough local play. The owner actually opened up a new place billiard club 61 in yonkers again. i heard he missed the pool hall business.
also, i do miss the old billiard club in yonkers. it was on broadway down an alley. a lot of tables and tough local play. The owner actually opened up a new place billiard club 61 in yonkers again. i heard he missed the pool hall business.
Seven Seas on Broadway in San Diego were a 17yr old sailor could learn the art of a DUMP.Thanks Dave Le Big Ralph, Swan and low lifes.But having learned that i knew not to ever trust a poolplayer again. Like them yep trust nope.Yea id go back to 7SEAS in a heartbeat.
I hung in there for a bit a little while when I was a kid ( 16-17 amd at that point it was called The Players Club ). I befriended a few of the local Jew kids one of which was the son of a locally famous lawyer always on tv. He and I became " friends " and he used to pay me for lessons. Being friends with him gave me access to all his friends. They all would play all night for like $5 bucks a game and each and every one would lose about $100 each time and were always happy as could be. To be honest; right across the street, was Greenies ( the basement pool room ) amd that was definitely more my kinda place!
New York City Poolrooms I remember
Ames Billiard Academy in NYC, the poolroom featured in "The Hustler".
I went there a few times right after the movie came out in the Fall of '61.
One flight upstairs at 160 West 44th Street near 7th Avenue.
They had nothing but pool and billiards tables.
No food was available, as I recall.
I remember they had toward the back of the room a lonely red Coca-Cola machine, dispensing those very small glass bottles of Coke.
It was usually very dark back there because those tables were rarely in use.
The nicer front tables were covered with a black cloth when not in use.
Tommy the Hat, who appeared in "The Hustler", was the daytime houseman, and sat inside a wire cage. He time-stamped a card, wrote down the table #, and gave it to you. The lights on the tables were all dark until you got to the table and then he turned them on. Ames provided no powder because of the cleanup.
Ames raised their hourly rate after "The Hustler" from about $1/hr to 1.50/hr.
By that time, most of the action had moved over to Paddy's 7-11 Club, which was above the Metropole Cafe on Seventh Avenue and 48th Street. The Metropole featured topless dancers on top of the bar, wearing nipple pasties, and some pretty fair jazz players. I couldn't get in because I was under aged (18), and looked like I was about 12 years old. But, I used to catch a glance of the topless dancers before I walked upstairs to Paddy's.
The regulars there were the stuff of pool legends: Jersey Red, Johnny Ervolino, Brooklyn Jimmy, Deano, Boston Shorty, Slim, Richie From The Bronx, Snag, Blood, Country, Staten Island, Rockaway Abe, Flaco, Miami, Agusatate, etc.
They had 6x12 snooker, 5x10 pocket and 3-cushion, and 9 foot tables.
It was 24-7 at Paddy's in the '60's...the room where real action usually began after midnight. When the uptown NYC pimps found their way upstairs to Paddy's it became a feeding frenzy. Sometimes women would be present for these sessions.
Tommy the Hat was also the part-time houseman here during the graveyard shift.
There was no place to hang up your coat, so players rolled them up and stuck them under the pool table when they were in action. A lot of guys played with their winter coats on because they were afraid of somebody stealing them from under the table.
The room was huge, filled with smoke. They served coffee and some snacks, but had no tables where you could sit down, so everybody had to juggle their food, coffee, cigarettes, cues, and clothing.
Wooden floors, worn out and covered with cigar and cigarette butts.
There was a horrible brass spittoon near the houseman's desk.
I remember that I tried not use the bathroom at Paddy's. You can imagine why.
Very few road players left Paddy's without having their bankrolls lightened.
It was also a hotbed for swag jewelry and watches. I was approached several times to buy gold bracelets, rings and watches.
Across town, on the West Side, was McGirr's, which was downstairs at 45th Street and Eighth Avenue. Jack Dempsey's Bar was upstairs, on the street level.
McGirr's moved there around 1956 and I began visiting around 1960. Abe Rosen was a fixture on the front billiards table. Johnny Irish was there, half-sleeping on a wooden chair. I saw Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, and Jerry Orbach play there.
There was another actor, African-American, who starred on a children's TV show, who name I can't remember. He usually wore a fancy ascot under his collar. I think that several years later he was accused of inappropriate behavior with children.
One time, Eddie Taylor stopped by and fooled around, showing some bank trick shots. McGirr's had beautiful wooden individual cue lockers lined up along the walls and big wire clothing baskets on rollers under the tables. Cigar John was the houseman during the day. I never saw him without a cigar between his teeth. The bathroom was OK and nobody spit on the floor. Their tables were in pretty fine condition back then.
African-American women would bring the balls to your table, uncover it, turn on the lights, serve coffee, etc. Many of the men were executives, who wore suits and ties. It was much more refined than were Ames' or Paddy's. Later on, it deteriorated and became a hang-out for bums and drugs. I think it closed around '65. After McGirr's closed, the cues that were never removed from their private lockers were bought by Dennis Glenn's father. Some of those cues formed the basis for the Glenn Cue Collection.
Julian's Billiard Academy was upstairs at 138 East 14th Street, near Union Square.
It had huge windows running along 14th Street, so it was very bright during the day.
By the time I found my way there in the early '60's, the action had moved elsewhere.
George Mikula, the great 14.1 player, was one of Julian's top shooters. (When Julian's closed, Mikula moved a few blocks north to Chelsea Billiards, where he became the house pro and counterman. George also became an early mentor to Ginky Sansouci.) Julian's had a 6x12 snooker table, one or more 3-cushion tables and about 30 pocket tables. Some of the tables were very old and had drop pockets with ball nets and were in pretty bad shape.
I can't recall if they sold any food, but I recall that they had a soda machine.
Their bathroom was avoided by most normal folks.
I played there once and the set of balls I was given were mixed between Brunswick Centennials and the old "mud" balls. They had the powder "in a cone" available at the counter and near some tables. I was used to paying about $1 per hour, but Julian's charged $1.50/hour, I think. There was a tiny bowling alley downstairs, but it was so dark down there that I never ventured inside.
Ames Billiard Academy in NYC, the poolroom featured in "The Hustler".
I went there a few times right after the movie came out in the Fall of '61.
One flight upstairs at 160 West 44th Street near 7th Avenue.
They had nothing but pool and billiards tables.
No food was available, as I recall.
I remember they had toward the back of the room a lonely red Coca-Cola machine, dispensing those very small glass bottles of Coke.
It was usually very dark back there because those tables were rarely in use.
The nicer front tables were covered with a black cloth when not in use.
Tommy the Hat, who appeared in "The Hustler", was the daytime houseman, and sat inside a wire cage. He time-stamped a card, wrote down the table #, and gave it to you. The lights on the tables were all dark until you got to the table and then he turned them on. Ames provided no powder because of the cleanup.
Ames raised their hourly rate after "The Hustler" from about $1/hr to 1.50/hr.
By that time, most of the action had moved over to Paddy's 7-11 Club, which was above the Metropole Cafe on Seventh Avenue and 48th Street. The Metropole featured topless dancers on top of the bar, wearing nipple pasties, and some pretty fair jazz players. I couldn't get in because I was under aged (18), and looked like I was about 12 years old. But, I used to catch a glance of the topless dancers before I walked upstairs to Paddy's.
The regulars there were the stuff of pool legends: Jersey Red, Johnny Ervolino, Brooklyn Jimmy, Deano, Boston Shorty, Slim, Richie From The Bronx, Snag, Blood, Country, Staten Island, Rockaway Abe, Flaco, Miami, Agusatate, etc.
They had 6x12 snooker, 5x10 pocket and 3-cushion, and 9 foot tables.
It was 24-7 at Paddy's in the '60's...the room where real action usually began after midnight. When the uptown NYC pimps found their way upstairs to Paddy's it became a feeding frenzy. Sometimes women would be present for these sessions.
Tommy the Hat was also the part-time houseman here during the graveyard shift.
There was no place to hang up your coat, so players rolled them up and stuck them under the pool table when they were in action. A lot of guys played with their winter coats on because they were afraid of somebody stealing them from under the table.
The room was huge, filled with smoke. They served coffee and some snacks, but had no tables where you could sit down, so everybody had to juggle their food, coffee, cigarettes, cues, and clothing.
Wooden floors, worn out and covered with cigar and cigarette butts.
There was a horrible brass spittoon near the houseman's desk.
I remember that I tried not use the bathroom at Paddy's. You can imagine why.
Very few road players left Paddy's without having their bankrolls lightened.
It was also a hotbed for swag jewelry and watches. I was approached several times to buy gold bracelets, rings and watches.
Across town, on the West Side, was McGirr's, which was downstairs at 45th Street and Eighth Avenue. Jack Dempsey's Bar was upstairs, on the street level.
McGirr's moved there around 1956 and I began visiting around 1960. Abe Rosen was a fixture on the front billiards table. Johnny Irish was there, half-sleeping on a wooden chair. I saw Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, and Jerry Orbach play there.
There was another actor, African-American, who starred on a children's TV show, who name I can't remember. He usually wore a fancy ascot under his collar. I think that several years later he was accused of inappropriate behavior with children.
One time, Eddie Taylor stopped by and fooled around, showing some bank trick shots. McGirr's had beautiful wooden individual cue lockers lined up along the walls and big wire clothing baskets on rollers under the tables. Cigar John was the houseman during the day. I never saw him without a cigar between his teeth. The bathroom was OK and nobody spit on the floor. Their tables were in pretty fine condition back then.
African-American women would bring the balls to your table, uncover it, turn on the lights, serve coffee, etc. Many of the men were executives, who wore suits and ties. It was much more refined than were Ames' or Paddy's. Later on, it deteriorated and became a hang-out for bums and drugs. I think it closed around '65. After McGirr's closed, the cues that were never removed from their private lockers were bought by Dennis Glenn's father. Some of those cues formed the basis for the Glenn Cue Collection.
Julian's Billiard Academy was upstairs at 138 East 14th Street, near Union Square.
It had huge windows running along 14th Street, so it was very bright during the day.
By the time I found my way there in the early '60's, the action had moved elsewhere.
George Mikula, the great 14.1 player, was one of Julian's top shooters. (When Julian's closed, Mikula moved a few blocks north to Chelsea Billiards, where he became the house pro and counterman. George also became an early mentor to Ginky Sansouci.) Julian's had a 6x12 snooker table, one or more 3-cushion tables and about 30 pocket tables. Some of the tables were very old and had drop pockets with ball nets and were in pretty bad shape.
I can't recall if they sold any food, but I recall that they had a soda machine.
Their bathroom was avoided by most normal folks.
I played there once and the set of balls I was given were mixed between Brunswick Centennials and the old "mud" balls. They had the powder "in a cone" available at the counter and near some tables. I was used to paying about $1 per hour, but Julian's charged $1.50/hour, I think. There was a tiny bowling alley downstairs, but it was so dark down there that I never ventured inside.
Thanks, Karl, interesting stuff.
MalibuMike
Banned
MalibuMike
Banned
I remember Julian's in New York City!
I think it was open all night! Anyway I remember playing there one New Years Eve, after a concert by The Cramps! Michael Chandler of The Raunch Hands took me there! It snowed that night!
Now its 80F and I'm shleping over to sweat at Hard Times!
I think it was open all night! Anyway I remember playing there one New Years Eve, after a concert by The Cramps! Michael Chandler of The Raunch Hands took me there! It snowed that night!
Now its 80F and I'm shleping over to sweat at Hard Times!
