George Rood - a life well lived. Although not as well known as his contemporaries like Luther Lassiter, Eddie Taylor and Don Willis, George was every bit the player that they were. Every top player knew George and respected him, from Mosconi, Crane and Caras on down. George was the last surviving link to Ralph Greenleaf. Yes, he even played pool with Ralph in the 1940's and told me that he was the best player he ever played. Maybe the only player that George truly felt was better than him.
Lassiter once called George Rood the best player he knew. And Don Willis (his buddy) said that George was the best he ever played. Unlike Luther and Don, George found other ways to make a living besides playing pool. But if a hustler happened to come through Dayton in the 60's or the 70's, George was not adverse to trying them out. Let's just say it never ended well for the hustler! It didn't matter if his name was Eddie Kelly or Ronnie Allen, George got the cash! George was not much into tournaments, having to make a living at pool when he was a young man. He was more in the mold of Don Willis in that he preferred money games. What was different about George was that he didn't try to hide his speed. He went in looking for the best player. That was the guy he wanted to beat, and many of the top road men of the his era had only sad stories to tell about the day they ran into George Rood.
