A legend, A player, A killer, and me, road trip
I really like this story. I only ran across Titanic once and he must have spent an hour laying down a spread to get me to bet pitching quarters to the spot. He was pretty old then, but he still beat me out of twenty or thirty dollars. He seemed pleased. I didn't know who he was until much later when someone told me who I'd been gambling with. I don't remember if it was Billy, Blackie or Pancho who told me.
When Titanic was hanging around the Cotton Bowling Palace, I was running with a
top notch bowler Danny Mayfield. We were both about the same age(I was better
looking), I would get us winner and he would get us beat some way or another. He
couldn't play pool very well but was always in action. I would take off a good score
and he would get us in some kind of a trap, He convinced me that he had the nuts
playing Ty golf on the local par three pitch and putt. Well we didn't. There was a guy
in Corcicana Tx. Harold Coffee who played jam up in this little pool room there. It
took a real player to beat him but you could bust the whole town if you could. Ty
comes in with Greg Stevens (aka Big Train) and George McGann ( Dixie Mafia
killer and hit man. He was a suspect in the killing of Buford Pusser's wife). Ty
wanted to take Greg and try to take off Coffee. Ty and George knew that I had
been to his place with Billy Stroud and Alf Tayor . Ty asked me to go with them
since I had been there a few times. We get to the place and Harold is there with
his entourage but he wouldn't play. Ty is talking about every proposition in the
world trying to get something going, I'm leaning on the coke machine talking to
George, we're not paying any attention as we've heard all this before. All of a
sudden everyone in the place dashes for the door a hundred miles an hour.
George reaches for his pistol and yells at Ty "what the hell is going on". Ty
hurries over and says to me , you can bowl with a house ball can't you. George
and I are looking at each other and Ty says we're in action you're giving the
best bowler in town 20 pins for $ 500 a game. Well I'm thinking I hope he can't
bowl over a hundred, George snaps and says G-- D--- it Ty that's Danny that's the
Bowler not him. Needless to say we headed back to Dallas without me even
given a chance to bring home the bacon. Ty was old and forgetful then, but still
always trying to get something going.
jack