Rod Curry "Surfer Rod" Has Passed Away

TWOFORPOOL

TWOFORPOOL

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As reported by Andrew Monstis on Facebook:

It is with great sadness that I'm am writing this post. I was asked to post this to inform Rod Curry's friends of his passing. Some may know him as Surfer Rod. Rod was found at home on December 24th...apparently he had passed 4 or 5 days prior. His nephew, Tyke Nielsen, asked me to post the obituary that Rod wrote himself (Mr. Organized) on Rod's timeline which I will do when I get home around 3 am this morning. Gravesides services will be Monday, December 30th, at 1 pm at Evergreen Memorial Park, 100 Monroe Blvd. in Ogden, Utah. RIP Rod. You will be missed. I know you're already playing pool with the other great pool players that passed before you!!! — with Lisa Tommy Baker and 12 others
 
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Sleep Easy Surfer Rod

Rest in Peace Rod , You will always be remembered as a great player and one of Pools most colorful Characters , You will be sorely missed
 
OMG! I just communicated with him recently. Keith said he remembers Surfer Rod as having quite a good physique, maybe one of the strongest player body-wise from California.

His website is full of cool pool stories and photos. Rod's website.

So sudden, his passing. RIP, Surfer Rod.
 
Sorry To Hear This,,I remember Rod running around the South back when,,He drove a white Jag and My Road Partner and I would see him from time to time--He was origanally from Front Royal Virginia--RIP Surfer Rod
 
Chip Roberson said:
Sorry To Hear This,,I remember Rod running around the South back when,,He drove a white Jag and My Road Partner and I would see him from time to time--He was origanally from Front Royal Virginia--RIP Surfer Rod
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I did not know that he hailed form Front Royal. Wow!
 
Another legend gone. My generation is fading fast. Brutal. Rod was a great character, big-betting and big-hearted hustler, and a master of the "big" cue ball on the bar tables.

Later, Rod. (much later I hope)

Beard
 
I've known Rod forever, and I am shocked !..I know he was at least 10 or 15 yrs. my junior, and as others have said, he always seemed to be in excellent physical condition.. He always ate good, and took very good care of himself !..Just curious, does anyone know what led to his demise ?

RIP Rod, you were definately one of the 'good guy's' !
 
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First saw em at BCA Nationals?? Workin' it, then saw em and played em @ Gradys summer of 76. From then on just kept seeing him here and there and anywhere. He seemed to appear at all the big events, he loved the action and limelight, and both. Good man, he was fun to be around. RIP
 
Another branch of our tree to the golden era of pool in the 60's and 70's gone. But never forgotten. I first met Rod in 1964 or 65 in Dayton. He blew into town in his '50 Chevy and stopped off at the little poolroom on Salem Ave. It was mainly a kids joint and I was the senior citizen and resident hustler.

Rod came in, cue in hand, and announced that he wanted a game and who wants to play. Everyone looked at me, the king of the $1 players :). I took one look at Rod, his well muscled physique bulging in a tight tee-shirt, and his almost cartoonish face contorted into a grin. Frankly he scared me and I didn't want any part of him. I was pushed and cajoled into playing him and I promptly lost my $5. Just like that he jumped back in his Chevy and was off to the next poolroom.

I heard later that night he was meeting the Sarge at a local bar downtown and playing for $25 a game. I took a drive down there about 9PM and peeked in the bar. There was no game in progress and I didn't see Rod so I went back home, a little disappointed. The next day the word got around town that Rod had beaten Sarge four straight games of last pocket Eight Ball and that was it. I had gotten there too late to see the game.

I didn't run into Rod again until several years later, but by then I had heard many stories about his exploits all over the country. He had won and lost large sums playing name players. Most of the best players of my generation have at least one Surfer Rod story. He played EVERYONE! Rarely turning down a game. Rod was one of kind, made from a different mold then most men. He was a gladiator on a pool table and fearless in all situations. Rod was the only guy I ever knew who did not back down from the fearsome Charlie the Ape. From what I heard Rod got the best of that fracas as well.

Thank God for Surfer Rod and men like him. They are the men who made that era of pool so unforgettable. I will miss you buddy. You seemed invincible to me.
 
Rod would like this so here I go. I remember it pretty vividly as it was just a few months since my shoulder/pin operation. Rod was passin' thru Colorado Springs and stopped in Gradys on Union & Platte summer 1976. I could NOT break the balls due to being semi Gimmped at the time and Rod and I played on a 9 footer, which he knew at the time was not a good move, but I had Zero break speed. Anywho, to make it a rod story, I went to the bathroom after a few hours and came back and noticed he'd replaced the cue ball with a Heavier one but the same size and color. Humm, this was a Bad move on his part. Now I could Roll my ball that much better as I was gimped up and unable to draw much.
 
TWOFORPOOL said:
As reported by Andrew Monstis on Facebook:

It is with great sadness that I'm am writing this post. I was asked to post this to inform Rod Curry's friends of his passing. Some may know him as Surfer Rod. Rod was found at home on December 24th...apparently he had passed 4 or 5 days prior. His nephew, Tyke Nielsen, asked me to post the obituary that Rod wrote himself (Mr. Organized) on Rod's timeline which I will do when I get home around 3 am this morning. Gravesides services will be Monday, December 30th, at 1 pm at Evergreen Memorial Park, 100 Monroe Blvd. in Ogden, Utah. RIP Rod. You will be missed. I know you're already playing pool with the other great pool players that passed before you!!! — with Lisa Tommy Baker and 12 others
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never knew this fella but definitely heard OF him, may of played him but didn't realize

maybe decades ago someone did mention he hailed from Va, my neck of the woods, but never registered again until a poster mentioned here

found him 5 days later :frown: possible scenario for many of us oldschool players living alone these days

... condolences to the family of Rod Curry ...

rip mr. poolplayer

Rest In Peace sir
 
Just got woken up to the bad news, horrible news. I've known Rodney over 30 years. We had some serious battles back in the days. He broke me, I broke him, he broke me, I broke him. One thing about Rodney, he had a lot of staying power. Would not quit unless he was broke. Very seldom he would pull up loser, and he would never pull up winner. He would play till he broke the guy.

One cute story I'll share with you. He loved to play last-pocket 8-ball. We would start out playing 100 a game and went to 200 a game, and I beat him out of about 20-some hundred, and he took a break. About 30, 40 minutes later, he comes back in the pool room, and we start lagging coins, which he was very good at. So we had another game. Anyways, he beats me out of almost all the money back that he lost, except for 400. We start playing the pool game again, 400 a game. He proceeds to break me, and this was after 6, 7, 8 hours after the first play.

Then we went out and got drunk together, and he put me in the box. That's the type of guy Rodney was. I'll miss him very dearly, and I just don't know how many more deaths I can take. This 2013 year has been a horrible one for me. I'd like to take it off the map. Too much grieving for me. I really haven't had time to grieve. Everything is happening so fast.

For those who know Rodney, I know that they will be as tore up as me, because deep down inside, he was a down-to-earth guy and a perfect gentleman to play with.

Earthquake out.
 
Yep, stayin' power he was Known for. Nice read Kieth. He was the Battler for sure. How did King Kong do with em? 70-80's
 
Island Drive said:
Yep, stayin' power he was Known for. Nice read Kieth. He was the Battler for sure. How did King Kong do with em? 70-80's
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I remember them playing a couple times. King Kong was a good 8-ball player as well. I believe that King Kong beat him once, and Rodney beat him once. I think Rodney lost more than King Kong did. But back then, I would have to say that that was actually a pretty close game. Even in 9-Ball they were pretty close.

Rodney was sort of like me. His break always held him back, and he would try to capitalize with his shooting and knowledge. We sort of come from the same mold, me and Rodney. Overall, I would say they were an even game.

Earthquake out.
 
Good Post Keith--Just last night ,,I was looking through pictures of back when and thinking about Wade Crane,,he was my Mentor, when just getting into the scene back around 75 or so, He helped me in more ways than I could have thought , I was just thinking about it last night,,2 years ago and the news about his car wreck--still remember the days and wouldn't have it any other way---I only got to travel to the West coast once,,didn't get the chance to see you ,or Cole back when,,for my wallets sake ,,that was probably a good thing,,for the chance to see both of you and the caliber of your playing ability ,,that's probably a bad thing .
RIP Surfer Rod
 
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Rod was an respected man that lived life to it's fullest. - RIP "Surfer" Rod

JAM said:
OMG! I just communicated with him recently. Keith said he remembers Surfer Rod as having quite a good physique, maybe one of the strongest player body-wise from California.

His website is full of cool pool stories and photos. Rod's website.

So sudden, his passing. RIP, Surfer Rod.
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Surfer Rod was an incredible athlete, he could do more "one handed" push ups that any normal person could do with two hands......he even did them on his head which is amazing.

I'm just reading this news and it's a sad day for me. His main partner, Omaha John, was one of my greatest mentors and I've shared a lot of communication with Rod on Face Book the last couple of years.

Rod was an respected man that lived life to it's fullest. - RIP "Surfer" Rod
 
Saw him for the last time some years back at the RiV during the BCA nationals. He was doing his fall down drunk act across the hallway from the main ballroom. He busted the mark and most of his buddies side betting, playing last pocket 8-ball.

RIP, Rod
 
Wow, so very sad to hear this. Another cog in the wheel of my generation. Gone but never to be forgotten. I remember him well, but have not seen him for many years. Great character and personality, and a great fighter on the table.

I believe he had a website for a while, loaded with pictures of dozens of top players he had played over the years. And beat most of'em!

RIP Surfer Rod.

Will Prout
 
I'll never forget the time Surfer Rod was in Las Vegas over thirty years ago. He got matched up with Walter Glass, playing barbox straight pool, 100 points for $300 a game. Walter took the first three games and appeared to be hitting his stride. On the flip side, it looked like with each loss Rod's game was slipping worse and worse.

Finally, it's about 1:30 in the morning and Walter's backer is tired and wants to leave but Rod wants to keep going. So Rod reaches in his pocket and throws his whole wad on the table and says he wants to bet it all. Rod's cute little girlfriend jumps up and says, "No Rod, no!" Someone in the room counts out the money and it comes to $2000. Walter's backer realizes he isn't going anywhere unless he busts Rod, so he matches the bet.

The game starts and Rod is the first one to see a shot. He runs a real clean 61 (Walter remembers it as a 47). Walter tries to fire back with a good run of his own but got an empty break along the way. Rod eventually takes the cash.

After all these years I recently asked Walter if he remembers that encounter. He said he remembers it like it was yesterday.

Surfer Rod was a character I'll never forget either.

RIP, Rod.
 
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