Johnson City

[HawaiianEye]

That's a Frank Paradise cue he's playing with. All the rage back then. It was considered to be "state of the art."

There were quite a few cues made in that design back then.

I have an old A.E. Schmidt cue that is constructed very similar to that. Plastic in the joint rings, butt, etc. I think that may have a double metal joint, too. Metal joint on the butt and a metal collars on the shafts, right before the shaft rings.

 

[PoolBum]

Where the "Cosmo" came from was something he liked to do for some odd reason. He would set up a rack of nine ball, all spread out on the table in such a way that he could shoot all stop shots to convert the run out.

He must have been the consultant on the Tom Cruise pool scenes in The Color of Money.

 

[JAM]

Does anybody have the third-place wins of Johnston City?

First time I went on the road was with Geese. He was the ultimate American road warrior. Geese was a horrible loser, a superstitious gambler, and a hot-tempered Italian, but when he was winning, he was charismatic and fun to be around. His claim to fame, so to speak, was that he came in third place at a Johnston City tournament. I can remember him boasting that he was THIRD in the world at that time. Geese was an action player, a strong one-pocket man. Though most didn't know how strong his game really was, I personally witnessed his magic on a field of green.

How he got his nickname, he was living in Bladensburg, MD and entered a tournament at the Golden Cue as a teenager. Papa George (may he rest in peace) was putting the names up on the chart and left the "r" out of Geese's last name, which is "Gerace." When they called his name, the guy said "Geese? Geese?" Nobody replied. Finally, they realized that it was Michael Gerace who was up next. Everybody laughed at him being called "Geese"; thus, the nickname stuck with him forever.

His real name is Michael Gerace. He's passed away from cancer in his early 50s. He always smoked those Lucky Strikes with no filters.

Here's a great photo of Geese. I cut me off on the other side because I don't like my look in this photo.

 

[Ratamon]

He must have been the consultant on the Tom Cruise pool scenes in The Color of Money.

I think I read somewhere that he played a scorekeeper in “The Hustler”. I have a clearer picture of him from the 1972 Johnston City programme. Will post later


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[jay helfert]

Does anybody have the third-place wins of Johnston City?

First time I went on the road was with Geese. He was the ultimate American road warrior. Geese was a horrible loser, a superstitious gambler, and a hot-tempered Italian, but when he was winning, he was charismatic and fun to be around. His claim to fame, so to speak, was that he came in third place at a Johnston City tournament. I can remember him boasting that he was THIRD in the world at that time. Geese was an action player, a strong one-pocket man. Though most didn't know how strong his game really was, I personally witnessed his magic on a field of green.

How he got his nickname, he was living in Bladensburg, MD and entered a tournament at the Golden Cue as a teenager. Papa George (may he rest in peace) was putting the names up on the chart and left the "r" out of Geese's last name, which is "Gerace." When they called his name, the guy said "Geese? Geese?" Nobody replied. Finally, they realized that it was Michael Gerace who was up next. Everybody laughed at him being called "Geese"; thus, the nickname stuck with him forever.

His real name is Michael Gerace. He's passed away from cancer in his early 50s. He always smoked those Lucky Strikes with no filters.

Here's a great photo of Geese. I cut me off on the other side because I don't like my look in this photo.

One correction. most of us did know how strong he played One Pocket. Geese got in some tough games because they were often the only ones he could get. I almost always saw him matched up with the best players. Kind of like a Danny Smith or Chip Compton today. They can't get any soft action either. For instance he would probably have to play your buddy Keith even! Maybe 9-8 at the most. Just ask him. I don't think Keith could give Geese a full ball and if he did I would bet on Geese. :wink:

P.S. I liked the guy. We always got along fine and he was a straight shooter in life, not just on the table. He had a pretty good insight into most things as I recall.

 

[jay helfert]

I think I read somewhere that he played a scorekeeper in “The Hustler”. I have a clearer picture of him from the 1972 Johnston City programme. Will post later


Wrong post.

 

[Ratamon]

Few more photos from The Snap, Winning One Pocket and 1972 Johnston City Program



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[Ratamon]

I think I read somewhere that he played a scorekeeper in “The Hustler”. I have a clearer picture of him from the 1972 Johnston City programme. Will post later


Wrong post.

Oh yes, it was Mosconi, wasn’t it ?

That’s where I read the info - https://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=3708081&postcount=6.

It must be wrong then I guess.

As good a reason as any to watch The Hustler again tonight!


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[alstl]

Found the Link above intresting, but I question why the F.B.I., decide to get involved in gambling in Tennessee. Sounds like a local thing, for the local Cops, not a Federal Crime.

Anyone know why the F.B.I., decided to raid the pace, was there more then gambling going on. Laws change, and I am not a historian on the Laws back then.

I've read Minnesota Fats was on KMOX in St Louis trying to promote the tournament and talking about all the gambling taking place. KMOX is the big AM station in St Louis and at that time it was even bigger. FBI has a big field office in St Louis in the 2200 block of Market.

I think it's as simple as someone at the FBI field office heard Fats talking about all the gambling and decided to take the place down.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

The great thing about this thread, or post is POOL History is being shared, to be told & told again.

 

[maha]

johnson city was a tournament but really was more of a gathering of the pool hustlers so to speak. many there didnt enter any of the tournaments. just gambled. they started a second tournament at the stardust in vegas and that became the main one after johnson city got closed down.
then the pool players as always got greedy and dumped a few of the owners and casino managers and that one went away as well. they never learn.

 

[Paul Schofield]

In that Johnston City video, I always liked the footage of Hubert Cokes.

 

[sjm]

Those of us who were lucky enough to attend the 2019 BCA Hall of Fame dinner abut six months ago were privileged to see a lot of photographs of the Johnston City events during the induction of the Jansco brothers. I hope that, somehow, all posters at AZB, get to see all the photos shown on the big screen at that gathering. The pictures were priceless.

 

[middleofnowhere]

I just wondered how many on here went to Jansco,s tournament in Johnson City. And can remember the cue club out back.50 years ago and it is what got my juices going and still does.Anyone have any great old stories (especially gambling ones ) before the raid.

Went a few times, Johnston city. It was kind of ridiculous actually, It went on like three weeks.

 

[JAM]

One correction. most of us did know how strong he played One Pocket. Geese got in some tough games because they were often the only ones he could get. I almost always saw him matched up with the best players. Kind of like a Danny Smith or Chip Compton today. They can't get any soft action either. For instance he would probably have to play your buddy Keith even! Maybe 9-8 at the most. Just ask him. I don't think Keith could give Geese a full ball and if he did I would bet on Geese. :wink:

P.S. I liked the guy. We always got along fine and he was a straight shooter in life, not just on the table. He had a pretty good insight into most things as I recall.

Keith told me that the best laugh he ever had in his life was
with Geese. They would pal around together and go to
different spots.

When Geese got in action, he was wearing
an old fisherman's hat with the brim pulled back. When
he'd make a good shot, he looked back to find Keith
and give him a goofy look with that hat. Keith laugh and
laughed and laughed.

Geese is one of Maryland's best players and always
will be. I actually met Geese through another well-known
Marylander named Tom Wirth aka Tom-Tom.

Someday I'll find out what year it was that Geese came
in third place. For him to say he was third in the world
at Johnston City, that means to him and others, that was a
prominent event for sure.

Thanks for the memories, Jay. :smiling-heart:

The photos in this thread are too large. I am having
difficult reading other people's posts. I did a hard return
on this post so the words wouldn't go on and on and
on. I wish there was a way to allow folks to
make their photos smaller automatically like there
is on OnePocket-dot-org forum. :wink:

 

[Ratamon]

Does anybody have the third-place wins of Johnston City?

First time I went on the road was with Geese. He was the ultimate American road warrior. Geese was a horrible loser, a superstitious gambler, and a hot-tempered Italian, but when he was winning, he was charismatic and fun to be around. His claim to fame, so to speak, was that he came in third place at a Johnston City tournament. I can remember him boasting that he was THIRD in the world at that time. Geese was an action player, a strong one-pocket man. Though most didn't know how strong his game really was, I personally witnessed his magic on a field of green.

How he got his nickname, he was living in Bladensburg, MD and entered a tournament at the Golden Cue as a teenager. Papa George (may he rest in peace) was putting the names up on the chart and left the "r" out of Geese's last name, which is "Gerace." When they called his name, the guy said "Geese? Geese?" Nobody replied. Finally, they realized that it was Michael Gerace who was up next. Everybody laughed at him being called "Geese"; thus, the nickname stuck with him forever.

His real name is Michael Gerace. He's passed away from cancer in his early 50s. He always smoked those Lucky Strikes with no filters.

Here's a great photo of Geese. I cut me off on the other side because I don't like my look in this photo.

Jennie,

I have the info on the 1st-4th place finishers for most years but, as luck would have it, Geese must have come in third in one of the other four years. Maybe someone on this forum could help fill in the gaps? I will also post this on onepocket.org: Keith Thompson is still with us and posts regularly there. Billy Incardona may also chip in.

Update: Geese came in 3rd in 1971. Many thanks to onepocket.org member jd67 for providing input.

*Some years had the 3rd and 4th place tied.


1961 one pocket: 1. "Connecticut" John Vevis 2. Jimmy Moore 3. Hubert Cokes 4. Fats

1962 one pocket: 1. Marshall "Squirrel" Carpenter 2. Eddie Taylor 3. Boston Shorty 4. "Racine" Al Miller
1962 9-ball: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Boston Shorty 3. Eddie "Detroit Whitey" Beauchene 4. Joe Cosgrove
1962 14.1: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Earl Shriver 3. Joe Procita 4. Eddie Taylor
1962 all-around: Luther Lassiter

1963 one pocket: 1. Eddie Taylor 2. Marshall "Squirrel" Carpenter 3. Bill Staton 4. Jersey Red
1963 9-ball: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. "Portland" Don Watson 3. Eddie "Detroit Whitey" Beauchene 4. Eddie Taylor
1963 14.1: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Bill Staton 3. Alton "Babyface" Whitlow 4. Don "Duke" Tozier
1963 all-around: Luther Lassiter

1964 one pocket: 1. Eddie Taylor 2. Bill Staton 3. Luther Lassiter 4. Ed Kelly
1964 9-ball: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Harold Worst 3. Danny Jones 4. Cisero Murphy
1964 14.1: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Ed Kelly 3. Cisero Murphy 4. Harold Worst
1964 all-around: Eddie Taylor

1965 one pocket: 1. Boston Shorty 2. Danny Jones 3. Hubert "Daddy Warbucks" Cokes 4. Jersey Red
1965 9-ball: 1. Harold Worst 2. Danny Jones 3. Johnny Ervolino 4. Bill Staton
1965 14.1: 1. Harold Worst 2. Jersey Red 3. Johnny Ervolino 4. Boston Shorty
1965 all-around: Harold Worst

1966 one pocket: 1. Ed Kelly 2. Ronnie Allen 3. Jersey Red 4. Dick McMorran
1966 9-ball: 1. Ed Kelly 2. Dallas West 3. Irving Crane 4. Eddie Taylor
1966 14.1: 1. Joe Balsis 2. Irving Crane 3. Danny Diliberto 4. Jersey Red
1966 all-around: Joe Balsis

1967 one pocket: 1. Boston Shorty 2. Cisero Murphy 3. ??? 4. ???
1967 9-ball: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Ronnie Allen 3. ??? 4. ???
1967 14.1: 1. Irving Crane 2. Ed Kelly 3. Dallas West 4. Danny Diliberto
1967 all-around: Luther Lassiter

1968 one pocket: 1. Boston Shorty 2. Danny Jones 3. Ronnie Allen 4. Jersey Red
1968 9-ball: 1. Danny Jones 2. Jersey Red 3. Cornbread Red 4. Danny Gartner
1968 14.1: 1. Al Coslosky 2. Ronnie Allen 3. Jim Reliham 4. Kazuo Fujima
1968 all-around: Danny Jones

1969 one pocket: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Ronnie Allen 3. Jose Valdez 4. Joey Spaeth
1969 9-ball: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Louis Goff 3. Billy Incardona 4. Charles DeValliere
1969 14.1: 1. Joe Russo 2. Jim Relihan 3. Cisero Murphy 4. Boston Shorty
1969 all-around: Luther Lassiter

1970 one pocket: 1. Ronnie Allen 2. Larry "Boston Shorty" Johnson 3. Paul Malniduk 4. Ed Kelly
1970 9-ball: 1. Keith Thompson 2. Joe Spaeth 3. Irving Crane 4. Nick Varner
1970 14.1: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Irving Crane 3. Steve Cook 4. Larry Lisciotti
1970 all-around: Keith Thompson

1971 one pocket: 1. Jim Rempe 2. Ronnie Allen 3. Mike Gerace 4. Nick Varner
1971 9-ball: 1. Jim Marino 2. Jim Rempe 3. Jeff Sparks 4. Cisero Murphy
1971 14.1: 1. Luther Lassiter 2. Jim Marino 3. Dallas West 4. Irving Crane
1971 all-around: Jimmy Marino

1972-I one pocket: 1. Boston Shorty 2. UJ Puckett 3. Charles Jones 4. Danny DiLiberto
1972-I 9-ball: 1. Bill Incardona 2. Richie Florence 3. Larry Lisciotti 4. Don Watson
1972-I 14.1: 1. Danny DiLiberto 2. Larry Lisciotti 3. Alton Whitlow 4. Jim Marino
1972-I all-around: Danny Diliberto

1972-I Women 14.1: 1. Jean Balukas 2. Jeri Titcomb 3. Madeline Whitlow 4. Evelyn Del Porto

1972-II one pocket: 1. Jimmy Fusco 2. ??? 3. ??? 4. ???
1972-II 9-ball: 1. Boston Shorty 2. ??? 3. ??? 4. ???
1972-II 14.1: dropped
1972-II all-around: Boston Shorty

 

[Ratamon]

The photos in this thread are too large. I am having
difficult reading other people's posts. I did a hard return
on this post so the words wouldn't go on and on and
on. I wish there was a way to allow folks to
make their photos smaller automatically like there
is on OnePocket-dot-org forum. :wink:

Wow, I didn't realise that. They look perfect size in tapatalk. I will shrink them and re-post

Edit. Done but it was no mean feat! Phew! Just in case Mike Howerton is not reading this thread, I will drop him a note to see what can be done as, you are right, this should be a lot easier to do!

 

[Ratamon]

From The HyperTexts:

"16 titles: Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter was the overall winner of the Johnston City tournaments, with eleven category and five all-around wins."

[But it looks like there may be some question about the 1964 All-Around title, so it as either 15 or 16 titles for Wimpy.]

Both sources I know of (i.e. The National Billiard News and Chalk Up!) list Eddie Taylor as a winner (see the excerpts below) so 15 titles it is. Still, no mean feat!

 

[alstl]

Both sources I know of (i.e. The National Billiard News and Chalk Up!) list Eddie Taylor as a winner (see the excerpts below) so 15 titles it is. Still, no mean feat!

We know who won the tournaments. Who left town with the cash could be a different list although I suspect Wimpy did well in both areas.

 

[AtLarge]

Jennie,

I have the info on the 1st-4th place finishers for most years ...

Both sources I know of (i.e. The National Billiard News and Chalk Up!) list Eddie Taylor as a winner (see the excerpts below) so 15 titles it is. Still, no mean feat!

Good info you posted; thanks!