Ames Billiards
- Thread starter RickLafayette
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That's a 1957 Ford.
Rarely would I disagree with you Jay, but I believe that is indeed a 1961 Ford Fairlane plane jane version. The Ford Starliner was the top model.
Yep, I think maybe you're right. The fins are very similar on the '57 and '61 models, but the front end is very different between them. We can't see that on this photo though.
Dear Jay and Others,
I'll stop being coy. I think the name of the younger player I saw at Ames was Billy Maloney.
On Tom Smith, at some point I was in downtown Cincinnati taking my mother shopping. There was a popular restaurant on Sixth Street called The Wheel Cafe. My mother and I were just getting up from our table when Tom Smith walked past us. As always he looked like a million dollars in a nicely cut suit. He was charm itself with my mother. When she and I got out on the street she said to me, "Well, if the people you are meeting at that pool room are like that gentleman, I guess it's all right."
You may know that later on Tom was mugged by two guys down in Florida. He took some licks but, as a Mergard's regular said at the time, "They did NOT get the cheese!" Another regular speculated that the only reason the two muggers weren't dead was that Tom didn't want the publicity.
I'll stop being coy. I think the name of the younger player I saw at Ames was Billy Maloney.
On Tom Smith, at some point I was in downtown Cincinnati taking my mother shopping. There was a popular restaurant on Sixth Street called The Wheel Cafe. My mother and I were just getting up from our table when Tom Smith walked past us. As always he looked like a million dollars in a nicely cut suit. He was charm itself with my mother. When she and I got out on the street she said to me, "Well, if the people you are meeting at that pool room are like that gentleman, I guess it's all right."
You may know that later on Tom was mugged by two guys down in Florida. He took some licks but, as a Mergard's regular said at the time, "They did NOT get the cheese!" Another regular speculated that the only reason the two muggers weren't dead was that Tom didn't want the publicity.
Bill Maloney was a regular at Julians, which was located on 14th Street just west of Third Avenue. Although as a teenager I was there often and knew George Makula, I didn't meet Billy until I moved to Fort Lauderdale Florida where he had opened The Corner Pocket in Wilton Manors. His first love in pool was 3 cushion billiards and was a very good player himself, he regularily hosted some excellent 3 cushion tournaments with top rate talent at his room there, which if I believe had 4 heated Olhausens.
Although Billy passed several years ago his room and those heated Olhausens remain alive and well cared for by a couple of great new owners, he had moved the room to Oakland Park before his passing.
Stopped up to both Ames and 7/11 a few times back in the day, mostly to watch as I was more in the Julians player league than the Ames or 7/11 league. If I recall correctly 7/11 was more action than Ames, but Ames was still no Sunday school. Funny, during that period I lived in Queens and passed The Golden Cue regularly but for some reason avoided it thinking that the Manhattan rooms were where the better players were...wasn't until 25 years later when I returned to pool after that long a lay off that I went there to play in their weekly tournaments, by then, although Ginky and many other excellent players hung out there, all the older legends were gone.
No it's a 1961.
COAL: 1961 Ford Fairlane - My First Car - Curbside Classic
The very first car I ever purchased was a 1961 Ford Fairlane 500 two door sedan. There are a surprisingly large number of photos available online for 1961 Fords but […]
Any guesses on the green one over by the dress shop?
That looks like a 53 or 54 Olds.
That's a good guess.
sonny burnett
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Damn what a great thread! Thanks to everyone that added to it. I was smelling the smoke, chalk and stale beer and hearing the sounds I've heard for 50 years when the hair on my neck stood up while reading it a second time.
Thanks again!
Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Thanks again!
Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Yes, seems to have an optional bumper of some sort too...found this:
1953 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight ROCKET 88
THIS VEHICLE LOOKS AND RUNS UNBELIEVABLEONE OF THE BEST PERFORMERS OF ITS ERA: POWER 303 ROCKETLARGELY ORIGINAL EXAMPLE: 4-BARREL CABURETOR. YDRO-MATICORIGINAL WITH REPAINT AND RE-CHROMED BUMPERSORIGINAL INTERIOR: LOW INDICATED MILEAGE BELIEVED TO BE CORRECTCLEARLY ONE OF THE CLEANEST 53'...
car-from-uk.com
If you were coming in from north Jersey that would have been the view entering what they call the "helix" leading down to the entrance of the Lincoln tunnel. The road curves down like a corkscrew. There is an amazing view of the city on your left as you head toward the tunnel. Port authority is right there when you come through the tunnel. If you were coming up from south Jersey/Princeton then it could have been the Holland tunnel. Not sure if there are any revealing views of the city like that from the NJ side down there and the drive in Manhattan to get to Port Authority is much longer, if that helps.
I've been in that area many times in the 60's and always was amazed at the smoke coming out of the sign.
The one thing I always remembered was coming in from Jersey and exiting the tunnel was that N.Y. city had a smell that was different from the Jersey side of the tunnel.
Funny how different places have their own smell.
Mexico, Japan and Viet Nam been to all three.
This was before pool entered my life so I never was in Ames.
Later on after pool was my thing I did go to 7-11,Guys and Dolls and Mcgirrs.
The one thing I always remembered was coming in from Jersey and exiting the tunnel was that N.Y. city had a smell that was different from the Jersey side of the tunnel.
Funny how different places have their own smell.
Mexico, Japan and Viet Nam been to all three.
This was before pool entered my life so I never was in Ames.
Later on after pool was my thing I did go to 7-11,Guys and Dolls and Mcgirrs.
Speaking of cars I have a picture of both of my Grandpas standing next to their cars. 1955 Chrysler 300 and I think the other was a 1955 Belair.
The 300 is the car that won NASCAR that year and Grandpa Jay was a retired farmer, blind in one eye, lived with one of my Mom's sisters whose husband was a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer and special ordered that 300. Two four barrel Carter carburetors built for the purpose of winning NASCAR. I remember riding in the car but I was just a small child and didn't realize it was a race car. Retired farmer, blind in one eye, always wore overalls, driving the gravel roads of Iowa in a race car.
I have a picture but I get a message file is too large when I try to post it.
The 300 is the car that won NASCAR that year and Grandpa Jay was a retired farmer, blind in one eye, lived with one of my Mom's sisters whose husband was a Chrysler/Plymouth dealer and special ordered that 300. Two four barrel Carter carburetors built for the purpose of winning NASCAR. I remember riding in the car but I was just a small child and didn't realize it was a race car. Retired farmer, blind in one eye, always wore overalls, driving the gravel roads of Iowa in a race car.
I have a picture but I get a message file is too large when I try to post it.
Yes, you will need to resize the image some and make it smaller. I think many of us would love to see that picture if you can manage to get it posted!!
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My Grandpas - the one standing in front of the 55 300 wearing suspenders is Jay who owned it. The other picture is when my uncle showed it to me and was willing to sell it but I had no place to put it. The car was solid. Mice had eaten the leather seats and the owner's manual was just powder but the engine was complete and not much rust. Would have been an easy restoration. A true barn find.Yes, you will need to resize the image some and make it smaller. I think many of us would love to see that picture if you can manage to get it posted!!
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These are great pictures. Thanks for sharing them here with us.
I always loved going through the long tunnels (well over a mile long) when I was a kid. When we were in New York visiting family, I would ask my dad can we go thru the Holland or Lincoln tunnel today. Last time I was there in 2019 I made sure to visit my beloved tunnels. There are also seven long tunnels through the mountains if you take the Pennsylvania turnpike across the state. All are marvels of engineering built nearly 100 years ago.
The Philippines also has it's own special smell. It's there when you get off the plane. To me it smells like a place that's been well lived in and equally well used.