Mike Haines just sent me this shot from 1937 showing some of the finest pool players of that time. Do you know them all?
BillPorter said:Mike Haines just sent me this shot from 1937 showing some of the finest pool players of that time. Do you know them all?
8ballEinstein said:I kinda agree with Jay on this, except the guy between Greenleaf and Mosconi I believe is Johnny Layton. The fella on the far right, not sure.
8ballEinstein said:I kinda agree with Jay on this, except the guy between Greenleaf and Mosconi I believe is Johnny Layton. The fella on the far right, not sure.
Mike says that the players are, "Caras shooting. Left to right is Onofrio Lauri, Ponzi, Greenleaf, Seabach, Mosconi, and Fay Gainer."BillPorter said:Mike Haines just sent me this shot from 1937 showing some of the finest pool players of that time. Do you know them all?
sjm said:Layton was a three cushion player, not a pool player. Initial post in the thread says these are pool players, but maybe Layton competed at pool on an occasional basis. It does look something like him.
hondo said:Anybody know where Fay Gainer was from? Stories?
I've heard of him but can't remember anything.
Bump. Anybody know anything about Fay Gainer?
I remember hearing of him in my area.
Mike says that the players are, "Caras shooting. Left to right is Onofrio Lauri, Ponzi, Greenleaf, Seabach, Mosconi, and Fay Gainer."
Although Johnny Layton was mostly known for his 3-C expertise, he also played pool at the highest levels. Looking at the record book, I see he had a World 14.1 Championship and 2 runners-up in 1916. Many cueists took up both games (pool and 3-C), including Ralph Greenleaf and Willie Mosconi. Layton was one of the very few that could play both at world class speed.
I thought it was him in the photo since he looks a bit older than the others. Also, I thought there was little doubt that the guy next to Caras was Charlie Peterson.
Fay Gainer was my husband's grandfather. Your memory is good. He was born in Gilmer Co, WBGV, in 1904 and lived all over the state before decamping to Vineland, NJ, in the early 1930's. From there he moved to the Bristol VA/TN area. He died in Columbus, OH, in 1988.
Fay was a player, a pool hall owner and an all-around gambler who won and lost several fortunes.....rough on family life. His son Max (my father-in-law) is the spryest 85-year-old diabetic you'll ever want to meet. He has won the VA Senior Olympics title in Billiards and still plays several times a week.......he plays only for fun.
Max remembers Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi as dinner guests. His mother thought Mosconi was a gentleman, but detested Fats.....the rudest and crudest man she ever met. Max also remembers playing with a teenaged Mosconi when Max was so short he had to drag an orange crate around the table to stand on.
The tradition lives on........after lessons from Granddaddy Max my youngest daughter at age 11 hustled her sister's high-school-aged boyfriends to earn her entire Christmas shopping budget for the year!
Hope this was of interest to you. Nice to know someone still remembers the old reprobate.
Fay Gainer was my husband's grandfather. Your memory is good. He was born in Gilmer Co, WBGV, in 1904 and lived all over the state before decamping to Vineland, NJ, in the early 1930's. From there he moved to the Bristol VA/TN area. He died in Columbus, OH, in 1988.
Fay was a player, a pool hall owner and an all-around gambler who won and lost several fortunes.....rough on family life. His son Max (my father-in-law) is the spryest 85-year-old diabetic you'll ever want to meet. He has won the VA Senior Olympics title in Billiards and still plays several times a week.......he plays only for fun.
Max remembers Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi as dinner guests. His mother thought Mosconi was a gentleman, but detested Fats.....the rudest and crudest man she ever met. Max also remembers playing with a teenaged Mosconi when Max was so short he had to drag an orange crate around the table to stand on.
The tradition lives on........after lessons from Granddaddy Max my youngest daughter at age 11 hustled her sister's high-school-aged boyfriends to earn her entire Christmas shopping budget for the year!
Hope this was of interest to you. Nice to know someone still remembers the old reprobate.