An attack of nostalgia

W

weegee3

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Wee hours of the morning and ruminating over a game that has had me hooked for over 70 years. I was twelve when I first looked through the window of a neighborhood pool room. As a kid they would not let me in but even through the window I was all in. Did not know then nor do I know now why it grabbed me but i suspect it's similar to a child who sees a guitar and something deep inside kicks in and begins that life long love affair. I'm 82 and still enthralled when I see a subtle move or action that has escaped me all these years. I've met and interacted with giants in the business world. Nice but no big deal. Same in other sports. Played golf a few time where in a charity event golf scramble I got paired with Casey Jones of the Celtics, Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson of the Bruins. No doubt, that was cool but a picture of myself taken with The Iceman at the billiards expo is the one I have on my wall. If I had an occasion to have a beer or a chat with Earl Strickland or the Magician, that would be super cool. That is not to say that all pool pros are cool Have interacted with pros from the N. E. area that are obnoxious. They shall go unnamed and besides, I'm digressing.
One last thing, I have no natural ability for pool nor for any other sport. I suck as an athlete. I had to work my ass off to get proficient at the game I love but it was a beautiful trip and even at 82, I still shoot pretty good stick. It has been a great trip
 
Awesome. Thanks for sharing. I'm the same way when it comes to famous athletes from other sports. I'll take hanging out with a bunch of pool players any day over them.
 
Good for you pal.... It's a great game played by a wide range of "interesting" people.:grin-square:


We have a gentleman that hits 90 this year on our 8 and 9 ball leagues. Play's in them both, and still drives himself to the room twice a week. And still shoots at a level 6.
I remember my grandfather played golf well into his 80's, and would only walk, never take a cart....... That's the kind of stuff that keeps you young.
 
The small town where I grew up had 3 cigar store/soda fountain poolrooms. The sleaziest one had several pinball machines, and NO customer requirements (I think I was 10 or 11 when I started hanging there). The middle one seemed to attract mostly old men (continuous card or domino games in the back), and had only one pinball machine, though the billiard equipment was a bit shoddy. The primo action room had the best 9’ tables & cues (even a pristine carom table), but barred kids & women (no noisy pinball either).
The game of billiards is very much a microcosm of life in general: Teaches you the importance of planning, geometry & physics, and skepticism (first encounter with a ‘Flim Flam’ man).
 
Nice post... wring every minute you can out of it.

I was 12 also, the first time I ever went in a poll room. It's the same one I just came home from @ 30 minutes ago. It was the 1st or 2nd day of summer between 7th and 8th grade. They allowed us ( myself and my best friend at the time ) in, but there were no other kids inside so we would just get a coke and a candy bar and hang out in the parking lot. That lasted @ 3 or 4 weeks. After that I started going in, sitting quietly, watching everything.

That was when I left the world and never went back.... they can keep it. Just lemme put my cue together and hit some balls.
 
Count

Count me in on what you wrote also OP. Went in my first Poolroom at age 13 and in my heart I never came out. I have had the opportunity to travel to many of the US Opens and also SBE and Derby City and remember them all like yesterday .
 
I have to laugh when I see the daily news reports re: the numerous ‘ordinary’ citizens that fall victim to internet scams. The demise of the neighborhood pool hall also meant the loss of a critical ‘educational’ institution: Much like the George C. Scott ‘Flim Flam Man’ movie character, the pool hustlers & sharpies I encountered there when young provided an invaluable service. The small change they took me for then was certainly ‘money well spent’ in retrospect!
 
DynoDan said:
the pool hustlers & sharpies I encountered there when young provided an invaluable service. The small change they took me for then was certainly ‘money well spent’ in retrospect!
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A Diploma is earned.
 
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I learned a life lesson early in a pool hall.
...been playing about four months.....I could make a lot of shots...didn’t know much, though.
....playing on a 6x12, speared a long shot in from the end rail....
...the cue ball came flying off the end rail, kissed two reds...went in the side pocket.
....I was complaining bitterly about my bad luck....:angry:
...an old guy sitting on the bench said “Kid, that side pocket’s been there for a hundred years.”

I heard him....from then on I have taken responsibility for where ALL the balls end up on
my shots.....I still owe that old man.

That lesson spilled over into the rest of my life...I don’t complain much.
 
Great story weegee!!

My story started when I was a young child. I played pool on my buddies table growing up. We didn't know what the hell we were doing but we loved banging the balls. I was hooked on the game form then on.

When I was 16, I walked into this bar that had 6 tables. The owner said I could stay and play but had to leave by 6pm. Any day that I didn't have after school sports was spent in that bar...until 6pm. A couple of years later I finally convinced the owner to let me stay and watch some games a little later. That night happened to be a league night, which got me hooked even more.

I went home asked my dad (police officer) if he would take me to DMV to get a fake ID. I told my dad I wasn't interested in drinking, that I only wanted to join a league. The owner of the bar obviously knew I wasn't 21 but said if I could get a fake ID, I could join. My dad asked that I didn't betray his trust.

With my older brother's birth certificate, we went to DMV and got a fake ID and I joined the league. I played everyday and night for 3 more years. It was my plan to enter the 88 US Open until I was hit by my first drunk driver.

It screwed up my left arm and I couldn't play anymore. Life went on and 15 years later, my buddy with the pool table asked me if I wanted the table we used to play on as children for which I said....yes!

I played on the table 1 or 2 times a week for the next 15 years until a bar opened down the street with a couple of tables. After playing against people in there, it rejuvenated my interest in the game.

I now play about 2 hours a night (again) and play in 2 or 3 tournaments a week. I hope I can play as long as you weegee.

A couple of side notes to my story...

Because of a major since of responsibility I felt for my father getting me my fake ID...I never touched a beer (alcohol) until I was 21.

After my 1st drunk driving accident...I was hit 3 more times by drunk drivers. In all, 2 in my personal car and 2 in my police car.
 
weegee3 said:
Wee hours of the morning and ruminating over a game that has had me hooked for over 70 years. I was twelve when I first looked through the window of a neighborhood pool room. As a kid they would not let me in but even through the window I was all in. Did not know then nor do I know now why it grabbed me but i suspect it's similar to a child who sees a guitar and something deep inside kicks in and begins that life long love affair. I'm 82 and still enthralled when I see a subtle move or action that has escaped me all these years. I've met and interacted with giants in the business world. Nice but no big deal. Same in other sports. Played golf a few time where in a charity event golf scramble I got paired with Casey Jones of the Celtics, Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson of the Bruins. No doubt, that was cool but a picture of myself taken with The Iceman at the billiards expo is the one I have on my wall. If I had an occasion to have a beer or a chat with Earl Strickland or the Magician, that would be super cool. That is not to say that all pool pros are cool Have interacted with pros from the N. E. area that are obnoxious. They shall go unnamed and besides, I'm digressing.
One last thing, I have no natural ability for pool nor for any other sport. I suck as an athlete. I had to work my ass off to get proficient at the game I love but it was a beautiful trip and even at 82, I still shoot pretty good stick. It has been a great trip
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I love this story and this thread. I can totally relate to what Weegee said. I snuck into a poolroom at the age of 15 to watch a gambling match going on and was enthralled by how the two players could control the path of the cue ball. I really wanted to learn how to do that. Unfortunately in the town I grew up in (Dayton, Ohio) there were strict rules about allowing kids into a poolroom. I finally was able to find one poolroom that the owner would let me come in after school (at age 17), but I had to leave by 5 PM to go home for dinner. It wasn't enough to whet my appetite for this new game that was so difficult. I got a very late start in pool and that ultimately hindered my ability to be a top player. Almost every high level pro started at a very young age, where you can develop skills faster.

The next year was my Freshman year at Oklahoma U. and they had a big poolroom in the Union building and I begun to hang out in there after classes and neglect my tennis practice with the Frosh squad (I got cut!). I was totally hooked on pool and that year began my lifelong addiction to the game. It took me three solid years of constant play before I became a decent player and even at age 74 I can still learn something more every so often.

As someone else said on here, the poolroom education I got has supported me more in life than anything I learned in school. I can spot a phony a mile away and to this day know what questions to ask automatically before making an investment. In a poolroom you learn how to read people and their motives, and that's a good thing. Without sounding too political, I recently watched a Supreme Court nominee fabricate some stories to cover his ass on TV. He was evasive and untruthful several times and it was pretty obvious too me.
 
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jay helfert said:
I love this story and this thread. I can totally relate to what Weegee said. I snuck into a poolroom at the age of 15 to watch a gambling match going on and was enthralled by how the two players could control the path of the cue ball. I really wanted to learn how to do that. Unfortunately in the town I grew up in (Dayton, Ohio) there were strict rules about allowing kids into a poolroom. I finally was able to find one poolroom that the owner would let me come in after school (at age 17), but I had to leave by 5 PM to go home for dinner. It wasn't enough to whet my appetite for this new game that was so difficult. I got a very late start in pool and that ultimately hindered my ability to be a top player. Almost every high level pro started at a very young age, where you can develop skills faster.

The next year was my Freshman year at Oklahoma U. and they had a big poolroom in the Union building and I begun to hang out in there after classes and neglect my tennis practice with the Frosh squad (I got cut!). I was totally hooked on pool and that year began my lifelong addiction to the game. It took me three solid years of constant play before I became a decent player and even at age 74 I can still learn something more every so often.

As someone else said on here, the poolroom education I got has supported me more in life than anything I learned in school. I can spot a phony a mile away and to this day know what questions to ask automatically before making an investment. In a poolroom you learn how to read people and their motives, and that's a good thing. Without sounding too political, I recently watched a Supreme Court nominee fabricate some stories to cover his ass on TV. He was lying and untruthful several times and it was pretty obvious too me.
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What year(s) were you at OU? Were Dick Lane or Randy Jones there then?
 
garczar said:
What year(s) were you at OU? Were Dick Lane or Randy Jones there then?
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I met Dick Lane there, as well as Don Owen of OB cues and John Guffey. I think I met Randy Jones shortly after that when I was hanging around OKC playing pool. The best player in school at that time was Tom Fisher from St. Louis, who became a noteworthy gambler. Tom was a top poker player who moved to Vegas a few years later and became one of the best high limit players and a great sports handicapper - he teamed up with David Baxter - who were able to move the line with their big bets. Tom made millions in Vegas playing poker and Gin Rummy, betting sports and shooting golf. It took a pro to beat him on a par three course, and even they didn't have to like it. Tom has since passed away.
 
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me too

Thanks to all your inspirational stories. I remember when I was about 10 years old and wandered into some empty employees' game room near where I lived. There was the first pool table I ever laid eyes on, and the pool balls were on the table, but no cue ball or cues. I hand rolled the balls around the table and into the pockets, wishing I could play; but somebody showed up and shooed me out of there. It's also that something when you're a kid when they say you can't participate that makes you want to do it. I cut a lot of high school to play pool, and I'm lucky I was still able to make a good living later and now retirement. I thought I was old at 71.
 
jay helfert said:
I met Dick Lane there, as well as Don Owen of OB cues and John Guffey. I think I met Randy Jones shortly after that when I was hanging around OKC playing pool. The best player in school at that time was Tom Fisher from St. Louis, who became a noteworthy gambler. Tom was a top poker player who moved to Vegas a few years later and became one of the best high limit players and a great sports handicapper - he teamed up with David Baxter - who were able to move the line with their big bets. Tom made millions in Vegas playing poker and Gin Rummy, betting sports and shooting golf. It took a pro to beat him on a par three course, and even they didn't have to like it. Tom has since passed away.
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Very cool. Randy is in the Tulsa area and started playing again after a few years off. Dick still lives in Dallas but doesn't play at all anymore.
 
Michael Andros said:
Nice post... wring every minute you can out of it.

That was when I left the world and never went back.... they can keep it. Just lemme put my cue together and hit some balls.
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Spot on... I need to get on a table and feel the balls hitting the pockets, get into some
action.. then I can deal with the everyday madness.

More than a game.
 
Great thread! My love affair started while watching my father play straight pool at a friend's house in their basement/bar/den on a 12 foot Brunswick. I was about 7, my brother and I would "serve" the drinks (Harvey Wallbangers) as they were prepared at the bar to the adults playing poker. Of course we would sip the dregs of the empties on the way back. Before long, my brother and I were sawing logs under that Brunswick. In Junior High School, me and another delinquent would jump the fence at lunch time and run over the Billie's Tavern in Flatonia, Texas and play as many games of .15 cents per game 8 ball on a hundred year old 10 foot Brunswick as we could before we had to be back.

My Grandpa Navy Vet showed me how to play Rotation, letting me win until he couldn't beat me. He regaled me of tales of road agents moving through Iowa in the 30s, 40s and 50s. The Color of Money came out, I bought my first "quality" two piece cue and the rest is all a blur. :)
 
I,m from Hamilton Ontario Canada i played in mostly 2 pool rooms,the main one was Mikes
the other cue and cushion i was at the time 14 when first went in the poolroom back in 66-67.
I liked the game so much i skipped school just to watch,than i started playing and kept on until my late twenties.I got married raised 2 boys and quit playing for 30 yrs family commitment,7 years back i retired from work my boys have their own family now and i started playing again in league i still love the game and play at least 3 times a week sometimes more.
 
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