Name a pool hall you wish was still open today

[wagnew]

closed pool room

Casino in Harrisburg, Pa was a great room for many years.

 

[jay helfert]

The Circus in San Jose. Best action spot in California way back when.

 

[RunoutJJ]

Chalkers in San Francisco

 

[oldroller]

Dayton Ohio

Chalkers in San Francisco

Little room,Crips Three tables & a card room,some pretty decent nine ballers,and a double check pill game & kill pool
My dad was in on it early on.There was always talent in Dayton,way back when

 

[Roy Munson]

It would the billiard palace, bellflower .ca, when it was upstairs.

This was my favorite pool room..it's been gone for many years.

 

[kkdanamatt]

Great info, but a couple of minor corrections.

Jack Dempsey's longstanding Restaurant / saloon was on the west side of Broadway, not 8th Avenue. Check out his souvenir postcard:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/587/20845157475_1779128e99_b.jpg

And McGirr's didn't close until about 1983. There's a New York Times article from 1977 about a tournament that was held there.

https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/ti...gion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=34

OTOH you're right about the drop pockets at Julian's, and although the pockets at Ames were also forgiving, the ones at Julian's were among the biggest I've ever played on.

Taxi, The Jack Demsey's that you refer to was the second location.

Jack Demsey's original location was on 8th Avenue.
It closed and then it moved to Broadway.
From the NY Times:
"Jack Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant, known popularly as Jack Dempsey's, was a restaurant located on Broadway between 49th and 50th streets in Manhattan, New York.
Owned by world Heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Dempsey, it was considered by many as an American institution. The restaurant originally opened for business as Jack Dempsey's Restaurant on Eighth Avenue and 50th Street."

 

[Runner]

The original Hollywood Billiards, downstairs... second would
be Hollywood's second location.

Hollywood Athletic Club..

Billiard Palace..

Ye Billiard Den...

 

[Chip Roberson]

The old Coliseum Billiards (Before it burned Down) In Greensboro NC. What a spot that was , in it's day.

 

[1on1pooltournys]

Rack N Cue

I can think of many. Starting with Rack n Cue in Owensboro, Ky. 24 hour poolroom. Breakfast served.

 

[DynoDan]

Bensinger’s 2nd Chicago location (on Broadway-east side), before it moved across the street and became a hangout for hookers/junkies/pimps. First time I ever played on a 10’ pool table.
But, if I COULD turn back time, take me to (late 50s) Sickmond’s Cigar Store in Monmouth Illinois (used to be Earp’s Cigar Store), the birthplace of Wyatt Earp & Ralph Greenleaf. 3 antique Schmidt 9’ tables with leather-net pockets, & a 10’ carom table. 60 cents an hour for practice, and 10 cents a rack for ring games (rack-boy collected the dime each time). My ‘home-away-from-home’ growing up! Lost to history.

 

[Michael Andros]

Being from Southern California, there are lots that have closed down in the 15 or so years I've been playing. Golden Cue Billiards in El Monte CA is for sure the one I wished most was still open. What are yours?

Amsterdam Billiard Club in NYC... when it was actually *ON* Amsterdam. The East Village room is nice but it's not the same.

 

[dnixon]

For me Chicago billiards Westhaven Connecticut and the Milford Rec. Milford Connecticut

 

[rhinobywilhite]

"D's" Club, an upstairs pool hall in downtown Temple, Texas.

Darrel Norman, the owner, played many of the road players who came through. Very few took any of his money home with them. His son, Larry, was very young at the time but as he matured, played pretty "sporty" himself.

"Cannonball" spent the better part of one summer playing there, taking on any and all players.

Mosconi gave an exhibition there.

And the best part, "D" was like a 2nd father to the younger players. I miss the place and I miss him, also. When I wanted to open a pool hall in the 90's Darrell was one of two men that I asked for advice.

 

[jayman]

The Billiard Institute at Colfax and Sheridan in Lakewood Colorado.

 

[jimmyg]

Ames Billiard Academy in NYC, the poolroom featured in "The Hustler".
I went there a few times right after the movie came out in the Fall of '61.
One flight upstairs at 160 West 44th Street near 7th Avenue.
They had nothing but pool and billiards tables.
No food was available, as I recall.
I remember they had toward the back of the room a lonely red Coca-Cola machine, dispensing those very small glass bottles of Coke.
It was usually very dark back there because those tables were rarely in use.
The nicer front tables were covered with a black cloth when not in use.
Tommy the Hat, who appeared in "The Hustler", was the daytime houseman, and sat inside a wire cage. He time-stamped a card, wrote down the table #, and gave it to you. The lights on the tables were all dark until you got to the table and then he turned them on. Ames provided no powder because of the cleanup.
Ames raised their hourly rate after "The Hustler" from about $1/hr to 1.50/hr.

By that time, most of the action had moved over to Paddy's 7-11 Club, which was above the Metropole Cafe on Seventh Avenue and 48th Street. The Metropole featured topless dancers on top of the bar, wearing nipple pasties, and some pretty fair jazz players. I couldn't get in because I was under aged (18), and looked like I was about 12 years old. But, I used to catch a glance of the topless dancers before I walked upstairs to Paddy's.
The regulars there were the stuff of pool legends: Jersey Red, Johnny Ervolino, Brooklyn Jimmy, Deano, Boston Shorty, Slim, Richie From The Bronx, Snag, Blood, Country, Staten Island, Rockaway Abe, Flaco, Miami, Agusatate, etc.
They had 6x12 snooker, 5x10 pocket and 3-cushion, and 9 foot tables.
It was 24-7 at Paddy's in the '60's...the room where real action usually began after midnight. When the uptown NYC pimps found their way upstairs to Paddy's it became a feeding frenzy. Sometimes women would be present for these sessions.
Tommy the Hat was also the part-time houseman here during the graveyard shift.
There was no place to hang up your coat, so players rolled them up and stuck them under the pool table when they were in action. A lot of guys played with their winter coats on because they were afraid of somebody stealing them from under the table.
The room was huge, filled with smoke. They served coffee and some snacks, but had no tables where you could sit down, so everybody had to juggle their food, coffee, cigarettes, cues, and clothing.
Wooden floors, worn out and covered with cigar and cigarette butts.
There was a horrible brass spittoon near the houseman's desk.
I remember that I tried not use the bathroom at Paddy's. You can imagine why.
Very few road players left Paddy's without having their bankrolls lightened.
It was also a hotbed for swag jewelry and watches. I was approached several times to buy gold bracelets, rings and watches.

Across town, on the West Side, was McGirr's, which was downstairs at 45th Street and Eighth Avenue. Jack Dempsey's Bar was upstairs, on the street level.
McGirr's moved there around 1956 and I began visiting around 1960. Abe Rosen was a fixture on the front billiards table. Johnny Irish was there, half-sleeping on a wooden chair. I saw Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, and Jerry Orbach play there.
There was another actor, African-American, who starred on a children's TV show, who name I can't remember. He usually wore a fancy ascot under his collar. I think that several years later he was accused of inappropriate behavior with children.
One time, Eddie Taylor stopped by and fooled around, showing some bank trick shots. McGirr's had beautiful wooden individual cue lockers lined up along the walls and big wire clothing baskets on rollers under the tables. Cigar John was the houseman during the day. I never saw him without a cigar between his teeth. The bathroom was OK and nobody spit on the floor. Their tables were in pretty fine condition back then.
African-American women would bring the balls to your table, uncover it, turn on the lights, serve coffee, etc. Many of the men were executives, who wore suits and ties. It was much more refined than were Ames' or Paddy's. Later on, it deteriorated and became a hang-out for bums and drugs. I think it closed around '65. After McGirr's closed, the cues that were never removed from their private lockers were bought by Dennis Glenn's father. Some of those cues formed the basis for the Glenn Cue Collection.

Julian's Billiard Academy was upstairs at 138 East 14th Street, near Union Square.
It had huge windows running along 14th Street, so it was very bright during the day.
By the time I found my way there in the early '60's, the action had moved elsewhere.
George Mikula, the great 14.1 player, was one of Julian's top shooters. (When Julian's closed, Mikula moved a few blocks north to Chelsea Billiards, where he became the house pro and counterman. George also became an early mentor to Ginky Sansouci.) Julian's had a 6x12 snooker table, one or more 3-cushion tables and about 30 pocket tables. Some of the tables were very old and had drop pockets with ball nets and were in pretty bad shape.
I can't recall if they sold any food, but I recall that they had a soda machine.
Their bathroom was avoided by most normal folks.
I played there once and the set of balls I was given were mixed between Brunswick Centennials and the old "mud" balls. They had the powder "in a cone" available at the counter and near some tables. I was used to paying about $1 per hour, but Julian's charged $1.50/hour, I think. There was a tiny bowling alley downstairs, but it was so dark down there that I never ventured inside.

After getting a little "seasoned" in several of the smaller local rooms on the Lower East Side, mainly Mikes, on 7th Street and Ave A, Julians had become my home room. Recall George Mikula & Prince very well. George was an amazing player...in all disciplines including 3 cushion and snooker, but straight pool was his specialty. He would run his hundred every day. When he was in action, I don't believe that the stakes were very high, Prince, on the other hand was in 9 ball action every time I went up there.

But you are right, the big action and top players were uptown...at 7-11 and Ames. I recall McGirrs but I'm not sure if I ever played there...do recall seeing Peter Falk (Columbo) playing there one time. Made a few visits to both 7-11 and Ames, but I immediately realized that I was very far from being able to play and survive, in the "Bigtop"... I was a pretty decent player for a 17 year old, but still bush league. I knew it was time to enlist....never looked back.

 

[jtompilot]

The Rochester Club - East Avenue Rochester NY

Golden 8 Ball Billiards - Grand Avenue Phoenix AZ.

Golden 8 ball, especially after it moved across the street to the old roller skating rink. Danny D was the house pro for a while.

 

[Michael Andros]

After getting a little "seasoned" in several of the smaller local rooms on the Lower East Side, mainly Mikes, on 7th Street and Ave A, Julians had become my home room. Recall George Mikula & Prince very well. George was an amazing player...in all disciplines including 3 cushion and snooker, but straight pool was his specialty. He would run his hundred every day. When he was in action, I don't believe that the stakes were very high, Prince, on the other hand was in 9 ball action every time I went up there.

But you are right, the big action and top players were uptown...at 7-11 and Ames. I recall McGirrs but I'm not sure if I ever played there...do recall seeing Peter Falk (Columbo) playing there one time. Made a few visits to both 7-11 and Ames, but I immediately realized that I was very far from being able to play and survive, in the "Bigtop"... I was a pretty decent player for a 17 year old, but still bush league. I knew it was time to enlist....never looked back.

I used to play some in Julian's @ 87 through 90 or so. I think they closed sometime not long after that. I actually made a few small scores in there, always in the afternoon or evening. Nothing big and only a few times. Sometimes ( after an attitude adjustment ) I would just stand at the windows and stare at the traffic. I liked that place. But yeah, the bathroom was best left to its own devices.

 

[Michael Andros]

I knew Russ well. He was a triple smart hustler and schooled me pretty good in Gin Rummy! He was actually a decent shortstop level player himself. Last I heard he was doing exhibitions at Senior citizen centers in Florida where he lived. He would be well into his 80's now (or 90) if he was still alive, but I think he passed away about five years ago. You're right about the room on High St. in Springfield, Ohio where Willie ran his 526. I hit balls on that table about ten years later. I remember hearing about the game between Snooker Sammy Blumenthal and Chenier. I knew George beat Sammy but I didn't know it was Russ who put it together. Sounds like something he would do. Sammy bet high in his own room!

Joe treated me like a son and even gifted me with one of his thousand dollar bills before he died. He used to carry a dozen or more of them in his pockets every day. He was the best Bank Pool player in Dayton and not a man to cross. He was packing at all times! There's more I could say about Joe but it does not belong on here. :wink:

Lassiter used to visit George and they would come to the Cue & Bridge to shoot some pool and have some fun talking about old times. Then Luther would go off to Pickwick or Airway to play some cards and gamble a little. I loved to watch him fold every dollar bill neatly in his pocket after he won. I got that habit from him. Don Willis was also friends with George and would stop by to visit him too. He never hit a ball unless he had a game. He might sit around for days and then get up there and make everything. By far the best wing shot shooter ever and he could do it for the cash!

All these great players were coming around Dayton and the guy I loved to see the most was Fats. I was totally smitten by him and all his chatter, as was everyone else. He liked me enough to let me carry his cue and that was a thrill for me.

Jay - Russ died probably 15 years ago or so. He was a regular at Family for @ 20 years. Played in the golf game or played gin, all day, every day. This would've been mid 70s to mid 90s? Somewhere in there. Lots of action back then. And even though he could barely see by then, Russ still played pretty sporty when he wanted to.

 

[jimmyg]

I used to play some in Julian's @ 87 through 90 or so. I think they closed sometime not long after that. I actually made a few small scores in there, always in the afternoon or evening. Nothing big and only a few times. Sometimes ( after an attitude adjustment ) I would just stand at the windows and stare at the traffic. I liked that place. But yeah, the bathroom was best left to its own devices.

I was only about 20 plus years ahead of you. :smile: I don't recall the bathrooms, but it makes sense. The room had two entrances/exits, long, steep, staircases...and they stunk pretty bad, like some people just refused to go into those bathrooms.

By 1990, except for one or two times a year, I hadn't really played pool in 20 some odd years. I had already reinvented myself several times by then and hadn't returned to playing again until around 1995 or so. Learned a "new" (for me) game, 9-ball, and began playing weekly tournaments around Queens and, later, LI, for several years...actually until someone ratted out the rooms for having calcuttas and the police raided several rooms around 2000. At the time there was a weekly tournament in just about every good NY room, and they all had full fields and good money, especially with the calcuttas. Living in Queens and already playing regularly in two weekly tournaments, I always passed on the Chelsea and Amsterdam ones, I think that I probably missed out on some interesting matches. Anyhow, without the calcuttas the tournaments died.

 

[Michael Andros]

I was only about 20 plus years ahead of you. :smile: I don't recall the bathrooms, but it makes sense. The room had two entrances/exits, long, steep, staircases...and they stunk pretty bad, like some people just refused to go into those bathrooms.

By 1990, except for one or two times a year, I hadn't really played pool in 20 some odd years. I had already reinvented myself several times by then and hadn't returned to playing again until around 1995 or so. Learned a "new" (for me) game, 9-ball, and began playing weekly tournaments around Queens and, later, LI, for several years...actually until someone ratted out the rooms for having calcuttas and the police raided several rooms around 2000. At the time there was a weekly tournament in just about every good NY room, and they all had full fields and good money, especially with the calcuttas. Living in Queens and already playing regularly in two weekly tournaments, I always passed on the Chelsea and Amsterdam ones, I think that I probably missed out on some interesting matches. Anyhow, without the calcuttas the tournaments died.

My closest friend from school moved to NYC @ 80 and I began taking the train up to visit ( I don't fly ) beginning in 87. He worked a lot of hours so I was on my own a lot and I got to know the city pretty well pretty quickly ( Manhattan at least ). I had tons of time to kill in the afternoons and evenings so I spent a lot of time at Julians and ABC and, whatever the room was called down @ St. Mark's Place that later *became* ABC. Also there was a little dive bar down in Soho that was action-packed on weekends I would stop in. Picked up a few bucks in that place. Even though Julian's was pretty seedy, I missed it once it closed shop. Spent a lot of time there.

Yeah, the stairwell was, ummmm... yeah.