Older Pool Halls

chefjeff said:
Our old old pool hall is still in business as the mortgage holders agreed to not foreclose until the current 1-P game is over.

Don't hate me, it's a disease,


Jeff Livingston
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This is a great thread. Really enjoying the pictures of these places. Coming from someone who lives a looonnngg way from a real poolroom it’s quite a treat.
 
Gold Crown Billiards...Erie, PA....since 1978...the owner, Paul Schofield, is also a great player.

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The Cue Ball on Main Street in Alhambra Ca has been there for years, as far as I know it has been family owned and run, I haven’t been there in years!


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As mentioned it was in the late 80’s the last time I was there, a group of guys would get together for warm ups, Frank the Barber, Tim P, and a host of others, they did have and probably still do make great street tacos.


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Ron, I played at the Cue Ball in 1964. Wow, that's a long time ago. The current owner (Sergio) fixed it up pretty nice and I still stop by once in awhile as Sergio and I have known each other for more than 30 years.
 
Ron Padilla said:
As mentioned it was in the late 80’s the last time I was there, a group of guys would get together for warm ups, Frank the Barber, Tim P, and a host of others, they did have and probably still do make great street tacos.


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I was just in there forty years ago! I think that's where I met Frank the Barber in person and he gave me a haircut, on my wallet. :)
 
Baby Huey said:
Ron, I played at the Cue Ball in 1964. Wow, that's a long time ago. The current owner (Sergio) fixed it up pretty nice and I still stop by once in awhile as Sergio and I have known each other for more than 30 years.
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If I am not mistaken but could be it has been years but I think J Henderson had something to do with way back in the 60s or 70’s then it was moved to its current location and been there ever since!


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jay helfert said:
I was just in there forty years ago! I think that's where I met Frank the Barber in person and he gave me a haircut, on my wallet. :)
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I wouldn’t be surprised! I firmly believe Frank and not just because it met him when I was all of 14 years old and now near 68 that he has been an unspoken treasure from that area! Of course a little bias on my part!


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I used to visit Coonies in Logansport Indiana whenever I was in the area.They had 10 or so Gold Crowns. No food or alcohol that I recall. The owner played pretty sporty,I did see tall Paul there one time.The owners wife racked em and collected 25 cents per game...early 80s time frame.I do not mess with Farcebook ,do not know if they are still open.
 
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If anyone wanders north of the border, Le Spot Billiards in Toronto opened in 1978.
...in the ‘80s, it was a mini—Rack....lots of action.

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I found Coonies Rack & Cue on the interweb. Until all of the covid smoke clears . . . not over till it's over.
 
I grew up at Smith's Billiard Academy, Springfield, Mass., in the early 1960s. It has been there since 1902. I've heard, but not verified, that it's the oldest pool hall in America. (A pool history website says it's the second oldest.) It opened at 8 a.m. daily back then (now it's 4 or 5 p.m.). Some of us would skip school and go there to play and hide out for the day. Some regulars sat around the periphery, never playing and sporadically watching; it was an alternative to the public library for them. Jim Relihan was recognized as the best player in the city. One day a traveling hustler played Jim in a strange variation of 9-ball that used eight balls instead of nine. Now there is 10-ball, sort of the same idea. I'd never seen that before, and never saw it again. Smith's was distinguished partly by not having a women's rest room, even though the daytime manager was a woman. She had to yell into the men's room to make sure it was empty before going in. It was located on the second floor, over a restaurant, on Worthington Street, across from the Loew's Poli movie theater. I'm guessing there were about 20 tables, including a number of antique 8-by-10s that I believe were obtained from a World's Fair. Some were pool, some were billiards. There were quite a few billiards players there, all old guys. A lot of people played straight pool at that time; "The Hustler" came out in 1961 and popularized straight pool, and pool in general. For a time, Smith's opened another floor of tables upstairs. It was busy all the time. In the years since, Smith's has renamed itself a "lounge." It has a restaurant and bar in an area where there used to be tables. It's website focuses more on the variety of beers being served than on pool. And because I don't go out at night much anymore, I don't go to Smith's, though it's a short drive from East Hartford. My current pool hall, Shooters in Southington, has been around quite a while, and it's open in the afternoons.

smithsbilliards.com

Billiards | Smiths Billiards & Beer Hall

Test your skills, beat your friends... and make them buy you beer! Rates: $10/Hour per Pool Table History Founded in 1902 by Fred Smith&nbs ...
smithsbilliards.com smithsbilliards.com
 
Larry Williams said:
I grew up at Smith's Billiard Academy, Springfield, Mass., in the early 1960s. It has been there since 1902. I've heard, but not verified, that it's the oldest pool hall in America. (A pool history website says it's the second oldest.) It opened at 8 a.m. daily back then (now it's 4 or 5 p.m.). Some of us would skip school and go there to play and hide out for the day. Some regulars sat around the periphery, never playing and sporadically watching; it was an alternative to the public library for them. Jim Relihan was recognized as the best player in the city. One day a traveling hustler played Jim in a strange variation of 9-ball that used eight balls instead of nine. Now there is 10-ball, sort of the same idea. I'd never seen that before, and never saw it again. Smith's was distinguished partly by not having a women's rest room, even though the daytime manager was a woman. She had to yell into the men's room to make sure it was empty before going in. It was located on the second floor, over a restaurant, on Worthington Street, across from the Loew's Poli movie theater. I'm guessing there were about 20 tables, including a number of antique 8-by-10s that I believe were obtained from a World's Fair. Some were pool, some were billiards. There were quite a few billiards players there, all old guys. A lot of people played straight pool at that time; "The Hustler" came out in 1961 and popularized straight pool, and pool in general. For a time, Smith's opened another floor of tables upstairs. It was busy all the time. In the years since, Smith's has renamed itself a "lounge." It has a restaurant and bar in an area where there used to be tables. It's website focuses more on the variety of beers being served than on pool. And because I don't go out at night much anymore, I don't go to Smith's, though it's a short drive from East Hartford. My current pool hall, Shooters in Southington, has been around quite a while, and it's open in the afternoons.

smithsbilliards.com

Billiards | Smiths Billiards & Beer Hall

Test your skills, beat your friends... and make them buy you beer! Rates: $10/Hour per Pool Table History Founded in 1902 by Fred Smith&nbs ...
smithsbilliards.com smithsbilliards.com
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