Hi All,
Thought I would share some memories of mine about the Seattle scene in the late 80's. If anyone (Linda?) has any info on some of the players and their status today, please share with me. I was the Houseman at the 211 Club for a few years.
Some background on me. I grew up in a small farm town in Nebraska and moved to Seattle when I was about 23. I had never been to a big city and my pool experience was limited to slamming the balls as hard as could while pounding beers at a bar. I got to Seattle (Northgate) and needed to find a job quick, since I had moved there on a Greyhound bus <g>. I took a bus downtown and ended up at 2nd and Union St. I noticed a run down looking building with a faded sign that said 211 Club. As I approached the entrance, I noticed bums passed out in the alley and the smell of urine was strong. I stepped into the entrance and there was a elevator there. Punched the Up button and it rattled and rumbled to the top. The door opens and......I have never been the same since.
I had never seen a pool hall before and I had walked into one of the oldest on the West Coast (est. 1898). The hell with these strip mall pool places and the upscale places built after the Color of Money was released. Any of you that have been in a "Real" pool hall will know what I'm talking about. You walk in and your eyes have to take a minute to adjust to the darkness. The only light is the ones above the pool tables. The place reeks of history. It is quiet except for the balls being struck or the sound of them plopping in the leather pockets or traveling down the rails to drop at the foot amongst the others. Everything is old, very worn. There is nobody except regulars in there. No yuppies, no kids yapping their flaps, no jukebox, the only music is the beautiful sounds of pool and billiards. Beautiful old Brunswick 4 1/2 X 9, 5 x 10 and 6 x 12 Snooker along with Billiard Tables. All with Simonis cloth and maintained level.
I sat there that day, way off in the corner by myself, transfixed by so many pool tables with their bright Simonis cloth. I was in awe watching the wide range of characters playing. I had never seen the grace and beauty of a cueball being directed around the table like it was on a string. I had never seen the beauty and art of draw, follow, english, kill, stun, kick and banking. I was hooked that day and needless to say, I kept coming back there every day, taking a bus downtown and going right there, coming back later that night to lie to my brother and tell him I was looking for a job all day.
Over time I got to know people like Sammy, Roger Pettit, New York Mel, Joe Chun, Vince Frayne and California Red. I met and practiced with a young Todd Marsh before he got taken under the wing of Mike Zimmerman. I met my good friend John Doherty there when he was just starting. I remember when they filmed the House of Games there. I was going to be a extra, but couldn't get away from work. I remember Mike Massey coming in and giving a exhibition on the front table. I could not believe the stroke of that man. I had never seen the action he could get on a ball. Damn ball was bending all over the place.
Then in 1987, the 211 Club had to move to 2nd and Bell. Turns out it was a 1/2 block from where I was a manager of a store and a 1/2 block from where I lived. I decided I was going to do something strange. I was going to quit my management job and go work as a houseman at the 211 Club. John Teerink hired me on and I was now a fulltime pool junkie. Life for the next few years consisted of working from 6-2 am, followed by another 5 or 6 hours of practicing or watching action games after hours, sleep till 2:00 pm, eat and go directly to the pool hall again and play till I had to work. Days off gave me the chance to spend all day and night there. I WAS IN HEAVEN !!
Some memories of the newly relocated 211...
My first day of being the houseman... Vince Frayne advised me I needed to start gambling. He figured a good way to start was for us to flip a coin for 100.00. 4 flips later I was down 200.00. Welcome Greg !!
A bunch of us would get together and chip in 10.00 and walk over to the coffee machine and bet on who had the highest hand of poker from the coffee cups.
All the times we would get 8 or so guys to play Golf on the 6 x 12 Snooker table. That was a great Sat night game. We would play all night long. John Teerink was a monster at that game with his knowledge of 3 cushion billiards. We played the last hole had to be banked or kicked in.
The long grueling matches Joe Chun would get into where he usually came out behind. The man just loved to play.
Vince Frayne hauling Lila upstairs on his back with his stick in his hand, no case. There would be action with him always. Another man that loved to gamble at anything. Vince, with his slip stroke... never figured out how that stroke works. But he played well.
All the stories I heard from New York Mel... What a character.... I don't think he ever matched up a game where he wasn't a 2-1 favorite. He was going to have the nuts if he was going to play. He'd play for anything, SPLIT THE TIME, no matter how much he won. Very interesting guy and a friend.
Watching John Teerink and his friends come in and play 3 cushion billiards in his own area away from the rest of the room. Man was a great player. Wonderful guy that only wanted to have a pool hall if he could have it on his terms. No Music, No Whistling, No Bullshit, just Pool.
The night that I was having trouble with some punks in the back, getting drunk and loud and after warning them, I went back and picked up their balls. They started giving me crap and one of them was going to clock me with a pool cue and Bill Webb came out of nowhere and single handedly punched a few of them and then threw them all down the stairs. And I mean THREW them down the stairs. Bill Webb, great player, got into making cue sticks.
Any time Soje Boy would come in... This guy NEVER played with 2 hands, his only game was one handed, either jacked up or on the rail. The man was unbelievable playing one handed. He didn't come in much but he liked to bet and it was always a learning experience to watch someone one handed as good as he did.
J.D. learning the game of one pocket from California Red for 5.00 a game. They would be in the back playing for hours for months. He really taught J.D alot and J.D later become a top caliber player. California Red was a special man to me, years after he died, I used his nym for my Internet nym. He was a old black man with a good sized bush of frizzy grey hair that always wore suits. He told many stories of his life and the man was a treat to watch play. I loved watching him play these short rail one pocket banks along the rail where it would seem impossible to get the cueball out of the way of a kiss.
J.D was a good friend, we both loved the herb back then, and I felt like I got to watch him grow from nobody to a very accomplished player. Nothing flashy about him, very steady and very thought thru positioning. Went on some road trips together, really miss him as a friend. Helped me alot with the game.
Todd Marsh.... played with him back at the old place when he was first starting. Mike Zimmerman took him under his wing and the quickly became a good player. It was Mike Zimmerman, Bill Cress and Todd and Mike Danner that always hung out together at Harry's in Lynnwood. Waiting for Harry Platis to come down and match up. I spent countless hours there too because I wanted to see the matchups. I also wanted to watch some of the best players in Seattle play.... Mike Zimmerman held his cue so lightly but could really stroke the ball. He did some amazing things with the cue ball from anywhere. He was someone I really enjoyed watching and learning from. His patterns, his movement in one pocket. Bill Cress was a fun guy. He was also a very strong player to watch and learn. Bill would do his fast strokes while standing up, then lean over the table and he would make the table look small. He was a big tall man and he really ate up the table when he leaned over it.
Cole Dickson coming into town for awhile and playing out at Harry's. Very interesting to watch him. I always loved having the road players come in to town so I could study their stroke, their presence at the table, their moves, their matching up and their shot making. Cole would get down on the shot, legs spread as wide as you could imagine and it looked like he was sighting down a barrel of a gun. and that's what it looked like too... he would fire that cueball. In onehole, he would be doing these long rail banks and the hit them so hard, but the cueball would stop dead. Very fun to watch.
Weenie Beanie, Allen Hopkins and Warren Monk Cozstanza would also drop by and play. Everything was about a shot at Harry. Fun times and very educational. I would sit there for days watching the matches. Give me a couple of top caliber players playing one pocket, a Budweiser and a couple of hits off a joint and I was in heaven.
Smiley would drop by from Spokane. He was a tall black man that always smiled.. (Get the nickname? <g>) This man had a powerful stroke, was devastating at banks and his 9-ball break would drop 4 or 5 balls. I felt on top of the world when I ran 4 balls from the break in a short rack of bank pool on him, then he ran 5 and out on me. Rocketing in the banks.
Mark Tadd came in one night unannounced. It was a slow night and I was behind the desk watching a game and this guy walks in from outside, comes to me and says he wants to play some. I said how much you looking to play for and he said 100.00 a rack or something. That surprised me, hadn't had a stranger come in and say that before, usually we knew who was in town. I steered him to Raul cuz that was the best guy in the house at the time. He ran about 3 racks on Raul and Raul quit him. He really facinated me by his stroke. It was so long and natural. He would follow thru so far and his stroke was so long, it was amazing how much control he had with the cueball. You would think the ball was really going to travel around but it would stop.
Well, I've went on long enough here... I could write a book but I will stop. Hopefully someone up there in that area can tell me where the following are at these days.
New York Mel
Roger Pettit
Bill Cress
Mike Danner
John Teerink
Todd Marsh
Vince Frayne
Bill Webb
Joe Chun
From reading here and the onthebreak publication, I see Mike Z and J.D are still up there...
Linda can you say Hi to some of those guys for me and get some contact phone numbers for J.D or Roger or John T for me and PM me? Appreciate it!
Thanks,
Greg
Some links to the 211 Club Closing
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=5957
http://www.onthebreaknews.com/211Club.htm
http://www.math.washington.edu/~lind/Web/211.html
Thought I would share some memories of mine about the Seattle scene in the late 80's. If anyone (Linda?) has any info on some of the players and their status today, please share with me. I was the Houseman at the 211 Club for a few years.
Some background on me. I grew up in a small farm town in Nebraska and moved to Seattle when I was about 23. I had never been to a big city and my pool experience was limited to slamming the balls as hard as could while pounding beers at a bar. I got to Seattle (Northgate) and needed to find a job quick, since I had moved there on a Greyhound bus <g>. I took a bus downtown and ended up at 2nd and Union St. I noticed a run down looking building with a faded sign that said 211 Club. As I approached the entrance, I noticed bums passed out in the alley and the smell of urine was strong. I stepped into the entrance and there was a elevator there. Punched the Up button and it rattled and rumbled to the top. The door opens and......I have never been the same since.
I had never seen a pool hall before and I had walked into one of the oldest on the West Coast (est. 1898). The hell with these strip mall pool places and the upscale places built after the Color of Money was released. Any of you that have been in a "Real" pool hall will know what I'm talking about. You walk in and your eyes have to take a minute to adjust to the darkness. The only light is the ones above the pool tables. The place reeks of history. It is quiet except for the balls being struck or the sound of them plopping in the leather pockets or traveling down the rails to drop at the foot amongst the others. Everything is old, very worn. There is nobody except regulars in there. No yuppies, no kids yapping their flaps, no jukebox, the only music is the beautiful sounds of pool and billiards. Beautiful old Brunswick 4 1/2 X 9, 5 x 10 and 6 x 12 Snooker along with Billiard Tables. All with Simonis cloth and maintained level.
I sat there that day, way off in the corner by myself, transfixed by so many pool tables with their bright Simonis cloth. I was in awe watching the wide range of characters playing. I had never seen the grace and beauty of a cueball being directed around the table like it was on a string. I had never seen the beauty and art of draw, follow, english, kill, stun, kick and banking. I was hooked that day and needless to say, I kept coming back there every day, taking a bus downtown and going right there, coming back later that night to lie to my brother and tell him I was looking for a job all day.
Over time I got to know people like Sammy, Roger Pettit, New York Mel, Joe Chun, Vince Frayne and California Red. I met and practiced with a young Todd Marsh before he got taken under the wing of Mike Zimmerman. I met my good friend John Doherty there when he was just starting. I remember when they filmed the House of Games there. I was going to be a extra, but couldn't get away from work. I remember Mike Massey coming in and giving a exhibition on the front table. I could not believe the stroke of that man. I had never seen the action he could get on a ball. Damn ball was bending all over the place.
Then in 1987, the 211 Club had to move to 2nd and Bell. Turns out it was a 1/2 block from where I was a manager of a store and a 1/2 block from where I lived. I decided I was going to do something strange. I was going to quit my management job and go work as a houseman at the 211 Club. John Teerink hired me on and I was now a fulltime pool junkie. Life for the next few years consisted of working from 6-2 am, followed by another 5 or 6 hours of practicing or watching action games after hours, sleep till 2:00 pm, eat and go directly to the pool hall again and play till I had to work. Days off gave me the chance to spend all day and night there. I WAS IN HEAVEN !!
Some memories of the newly relocated 211...
My first day of being the houseman... Vince Frayne advised me I needed to start gambling. He figured a good way to start was for us to flip a coin for 100.00. 4 flips later I was down 200.00. Welcome Greg !!
A bunch of us would get together and chip in 10.00 and walk over to the coffee machine and bet on who had the highest hand of poker from the coffee cups.
All the times we would get 8 or so guys to play Golf on the 6 x 12 Snooker table. That was a great Sat night game. We would play all night long. John Teerink was a monster at that game with his knowledge of 3 cushion billiards. We played the last hole had to be banked or kicked in.
The long grueling matches Joe Chun would get into where he usually came out behind. The man just loved to play.
Vince Frayne hauling Lila upstairs on his back with his stick in his hand, no case. There would be action with him always. Another man that loved to gamble at anything. Vince, with his slip stroke... never figured out how that stroke works. But he played well.
All the stories I heard from New York Mel... What a character.... I don't think he ever matched up a game where he wasn't a 2-1 favorite. He was going to have the nuts if he was going to play. He'd play for anything, SPLIT THE TIME, no matter how much he won. Very interesting guy and a friend.
Watching John Teerink and his friends come in and play 3 cushion billiards in his own area away from the rest of the room. Man was a great player. Wonderful guy that only wanted to have a pool hall if he could have it on his terms. No Music, No Whistling, No Bullshit, just Pool.
The night that I was having trouble with some punks in the back, getting drunk and loud and after warning them, I went back and picked up their balls. They started giving me crap and one of them was going to clock me with a pool cue and Bill Webb came out of nowhere and single handedly punched a few of them and then threw them all down the stairs. And I mean THREW them down the stairs. Bill Webb, great player, got into making cue sticks.
Any time Soje Boy would come in... This guy NEVER played with 2 hands, his only game was one handed, either jacked up or on the rail. The man was unbelievable playing one handed. He didn't come in much but he liked to bet and it was always a learning experience to watch someone one handed as good as he did.
J.D. learning the game of one pocket from California Red for 5.00 a game. They would be in the back playing for hours for months. He really taught J.D alot and J.D later become a top caliber player. California Red was a special man to me, years after he died, I used his nym for my Internet nym. He was a old black man with a good sized bush of frizzy grey hair that always wore suits. He told many stories of his life and the man was a treat to watch play. I loved watching him play these short rail one pocket banks along the rail where it would seem impossible to get the cueball out of the way of a kiss.
J.D was a good friend, we both loved the herb back then, and I felt like I got to watch him grow from nobody to a very accomplished player. Nothing flashy about him, very steady and very thought thru positioning. Went on some road trips together, really miss him as a friend. Helped me alot with the game.
Todd Marsh.... played with him back at the old place when he was first starting. Mike Zimmerman took him under his wing and the quickly became a good player. It was Mike Zimmerman, Bill Cress and Todd and Mike Danner that always hung out together at Harry's in Lynnwood. Waiting for Harry Platis to come down and match up. I spent countless hours there too because I wanted to see the matchups. I also wanted to watch some of the best players in Seattle play.... Mike Zimmerman held his cue so lightly but could really stroke the ball. He did some amazing things with the cue ball from anywhere. He was someone I really enjoyed watching and learning from. His patterns, his movement in one pocket. Bill Cress was a fun guy. He was also a very strong player to watch and learn. Bill would do his fast strokes while standing up, then lean over the table and he would make the table look small. He was a big tall man and he really ate up the table when he leaned over it.
Cole Dickson coming into town for awhile and playing out at Harry's. Very interesting to watch him. I always loved having the road players come in to town so I could study their stroke, their presence at the table, their moves, their matching up and their shot making. Cole would get down on the shot, legs spread as wide as you could imagine and it looked like he was sighting down a barrel of a gun. and that's what it looked like too... he would fire that cueball. In onehole, he would be doing these long rail banks and the hit them so hard, but the cueball would stop dead. Very fun to watch.
Weenie Beanie, Allen Hopkins and Warren Monk Cozstanza would also drop by and play. Everything was about a shot at Harry. Fun times and very educational. I would sit there for days watching the matches. Give me a couple of top caliber players playing one pocket, a Budweiser and a couple of hits off a joint and I was in heaven.
Smiley would drop by from Spokane. He was a tall black man that always smiled.. (Get the nickname? <g>) This man had a powerful stroke, was devastating at banks and his 9-ball break would drop 4 or 5 balls. I felt on top of the world when I ran 4 balls from the break in a short rack of bank pool on him, then he ran 5 and out on me. Rocketing in the banks.
Mark Tadd came in one night unannounced. It was a slow night and I was behind the desk watching a game and this guy walks in from outside, comes to me and says he wants to play some. I said how much you looking to play for and he said 100.00 a rack or something. That surprised me, hadn't had a stranger come in and say that before, usually we knew who was in town. I steered him to Raul cuz that was the best guy in the house at the time. He ran about 3 racks on Raul and Raul quit him. He really facinated me by his stroke. It was so long and natural. He would follow thru so far and his stroke was so long, it was amazing how much control he had with the cueball. You would think the ball was really going to travel around but it would stop.
Well, I've went on long enough here... I could write a book but I will stop. Hopefully someone up there in that area can tell me where the following are at these days.
New York Mel
Roger Pettit
Bill Cress
Mike Danner
John Teerink
Todd Marsh
Vince Frayne
Bill Webb
Joe Chun
From reading here and the onthebreak publication, I see Mike Z and J.D are still up there...
Linda can you say Hi to some of those guys for me and get some contact phone numbers for J.D or Roger or John T for me and PM me? Appreciate it!
Thanks,
Greg
Some links to the 211 Club Closing
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=5957
http://www.onthebreaknews.com/211Club.htm
http://www.math.washington.edu/~lind/Web/211.html
I see Mike Danner regular as he now lives in Baton Rouge and comes to BUffalo's in Metarie La. almost every nite. I knew N.Y. Mel very well and I have to agree he certainly was an unteresting guy who matched up " to get the nuts". I have played Monk and gambled with Billy Cress before and would love to "match up" with Harry so I really enjoyed your post. I've been wondering if Mel was still alive too, hopefully, someone will let us know. 
What fun.
With a few on the list. Have stories....
