My guess is that LWW is Marty lol.
Unknown "monster" players
- Thread starter DoubleA
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My guess is that LWW is Marty lol.
I believe his name was Raymond Saint Jean , he was one of the Masked Marvels, I have a couple of pictures of him .
Could ran 100 balls regularly.
I played Poochie in a big tournament and was playing pretty good , the score was 4 to 4 going to 11 and then he forgot to miss.
The next day he had Nick Varner who was at his prime down 8 to 3 and Nick "forgot" to miss.
He was probably in his mid to late 60s then. Played great.
I'm pretty sure he and Jack Hines and another great player were on a top level Busch League Team together also.
I think his first name was Don can't remember his last name
I only saw him play a couple of times in the late 80s but he was a very strong player.
Arthur John Clemons, know him very well, definitely a bubble off plum but a very good player.
In the early to mid nineties a fellow rolled into OKC with a local racehorse trainer. Who knows what his real name was but he went by Rusty, supposedly from Kentucky, which would actually make sense judging by who he was running with. He carefully uncovered his true ability as necessary. At the time I would guess he was fifty-ish, maybe 5'9", kind of stocky. Ring any bells for anyone?
i remember something about a horse trainer...but i thought he was the backer...?
Very smart guy and a great player. I learned a lot from watching him.
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There is a kid out here in the Portland area named Tarek, can't be older than 24-25 and says he first picked up a cue THREE years ago. You'd never guess it. I haven't seen him on a full size table, but he is MEAN on a bar box. My APA team played his at a tourney, and he won 20-0 against an 8 in 9 ball and shut out a 6 in 8 ball (in 3 innings!)... never seen anyone break and run like this kid. Impressive table knowledge and decision making for someone who has been playing for such a short time. But again, it was only a 7'. Look out for him in the future; he could be a top player if he keeps progressing at this rate.
I know exactly who the horse trainer is (or was... not sure if he's still alive or not) and he definitely was the money. I just never believed that the player's real name was Rusty.
Around 2000 I was palying at Plush Pocket in Northridge. The topic came up about “monster” road players. Two names stood out as most notable - Jack Cooney and Vaughn Lucas. I was all ears, since I had never heard of either until then. Lo and behold, a month or so later a guy walks into the Plush Pocket on a Friday night and all the tables were going full blast. I was on a table all by myself, and so the guys - who carrying a 2x4 case just like most of us did - came over and asked if he could join me. I never saw him before, but had a gut feeling to be careful. He was a good-sized fellow who looked to be part Black or part Samoan. It was late and told him I only had time for one set of 9-ball, race to seven, no wager. All the time we played I was trying to figure if he was hustling me. He shot exactly the same speed as I did. Exactly, although I won the set 7 to 5.
The next day I came back to the pool hall my friend asks me if I knew I had been playing Vaughn Lucas the night before. Bingo! That’s when I knew that Vaughn had been setting me up for a later match - no doubts some “cheap sets.”
Punch line to the story came about three weeks later when my friend - who traveled all over to catch the action - reported that went down to Hard Times and watched a 9-ball match - a hill-hill match, race to eleven - between Vaughn and Parica. That told me everything about Vaughn’s real speed, although Parica nipped him.
Kenny V
The next day I came back to the pool hall my friend asks me if I knew I had been playing Vaughn Lucas the night before. Bingo! That’s when I knew that Vaughn had been setting me up for a later match - no doubts some “cheap sets.”
Punch line to the story came about three weeks later when my friend - who traveled all over to catch the action - reported that went down to Hard Times and watched a 9-ball match - a hill-hill match, race to eleven - between Vaughn and Parica. That told me everything about Vaughn’s real speed, although Parica nipped him.
Kenny V
Vaughn was my dad. I commented on this thread along time ago and forgot about it and saw the thread tonight, went to the last page and found this post. Great story, thanks for telling it, my dad passed away in 2002 so it's always good to hear a story about him. If I remember correctly that was the tournament when my dad ran 9 racks on somebody. I was in HS then and into my own stuff so I didn't really understand how good he was, now that I play I realize how well he really played. I've within the last year dedicated myself to pool in his honor and I can only hope that I could be talked about in the same breath with my dad some day. If only I was into pool then like I am now maybe I'd be farther along but I'm enjoying the journey and enjoying the stories my dad left behind. Thanks again for the story.
how bout Brin Groce I was glad to find your post about Vaughn. I can’t believe there is not more info about him. But that’s the way it has to be for road players. But really and truly insider knowledge about your dad was revealed after he took over the main pool hall in Palmdale. I’ll always remember - it must have been about 2001 when he put out flyers announcing the grand opening. As I recall it was a three-day event culminating in an open nine-ball tournament. Several professionals showed up, who were obviously friends with Vaughn and wanted to support him. He had three lady pros who would give everybody an opportunity in match play. All we had to do was sign a list and show up on Saturday. I signed up because I want to be able to say I had played a world champion. It was Robin (Bell) Dotson! Evidently she knew Vaughn very well. She had to play a whole bunch of matches against us amateurs for free, in support of Vaughn. After the break I was able to lock her up with a real good safety. I got ball in hand and thought I might run out, but I was so excited about who I had sitting in the chair I choked on the four. I don’t think she lost a match all day.
I went back on Sunday to watch the open tournament, and was thinking I finally get to see Vaughn’s real ‘speed.’ But he didn’t even play in his own tournament. Robin was playing lights out and took third place. In the finals was “King Kong” against John Bryant. Come to think of it that was one of the best nine-ball finals I ever saw - just a great hill-hill match with Bryant playing flat out his top game to come out victorious.
Maybe a year later news came down about Vaughn passing. I think he was under 50 - right?
Best regards, Kenny
I went back on Sunday to watch the open tournament, and was thinking I finally get to see Vaughn’s real ‘speed.’ But he didn’t even play in his own tournament. Robin was playing lights out and took third place. In the finals was “King Kong” against John Bryant. Come to think of it that was one of the best nine-ball finals I ever saw - just a great hill-hill match with Bryant playing flat out his top game to come out victorious.
Maybe a year later news came down about Vaughn passing. I think he was under 50 - right?
Best regards, Kenny
Was Big Sam out of Texas? We had a fella by the same name come through my area in the mid-80's. Real strong player.
Your dad could move real good, I remember. He hid his top speed as good as anyone.