Is It a Doc Frye??

Storman Norman

Registered
Hi All,
I bought this a while back for a few hundred dollars, sent it Proficient for some refinishing and wrap.
I bought it as a Doc Frye, I have seen other Doc Frye's with the Green and Black rings, and this one looks just like them. There is a cue on craigslist similar to this cue, it also has green and black rings.

Soooooo, With no makers mark i come to the experts on what your thoughts may be.

Doc? Or no Doc?


Note: Last pic is of a Green and Black ring Doc Cue I found via Google images, If this pic is yours I hope you dont mind me using it for a comparison pic.
 

Attachments

  • Doc_Frye.jpg
    Doc_Frye.jpg
    47.3 KB · Views: 662
  • Doc_Frye_1.jpg
    Doc_Frye_1.jpg
    34.2 KB · Views: 664
  • Doc_Frye_2.jpg
    Doc_Frye_2.jpg
    42 KB · Views: 662
  • Doc_Frye_4.jpg
    Doc_Frye_4.jpg
    28.5 KB · Views: 599
  • docfry5.jpg
    docfry5.jpg
    22.3 KB · Views: 677
Last edited:

Hunter

The King of Memes
Silver Member
It looks like Doc's work to me. Did you take the buttcap off to see if there was a penny under it?
 

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i have only seen one doc fry cue in my life
or at least i was told it was a doc fry

in fact i had never heard of there even being a doc fry in those days
he was barely heard of by regular people like me

i am getting to a point,i think Verl horn picked it up and let me have it for $100
verl knew Doc,George, and gus well

I called Dennis and got a quick background and Barry gave me
some of the story of Doc Fry that he remembered from Gus

The cue had green stuff with black lines running throught it
I thought it was basic,common ,ugly even ,no offense, not really

I just glanced at the second picture of green showing some
black,but my memory fails me still.It is closer to what I had


i am not a self styled or any other kind of expert
in the league with George,or Gus for sure

I let it go to someone who thought history made it important
next time i looked in the Encylopedia of billiards and there was my cue

only thing was,now it was a Balabushka

now ,i don't have any idea if it is a Bushka or became one,
i don't know,and don't mean to imply otherwise

i think Doc made about 80 cues,,rough by todays standards,and his
claim to fame or recognition was his proximitty to George and
friendship or acquaintance with Gus. I think doc was a pharmacist,
but I don't even know that

The green stuff whatever it is is not the same as George used nor does it look like
what was on my cue,but I don't really know what I had. Those ioneers
used all kinds of different materials. i thought he used the same delrin butt caps
and this one looks different to me

I don't want to imply that I even halfway know what you have,perhaps
it is a really valuable piece of pool lore
 
Last edited:

cueman

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
The sleeve is Doc style but not as much on the rest of the cue.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Looks very much Doc Frye...especially with that hex screw in butt cap. Joint looks correct. However the original shafts have 1/2" ivory ferrule. The butt cap perimeter has slight bevel...not rounded. Not sure if that buttcap is original ...judging by the material.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1219.jpg
    IMG_1219.jpg
    116.7 KB · Views: 302
  • IMG_1216.jpg
    IMG_1216.jpg
    103.6 KB · Views: 305
  • IMG_4002_3_2.jpg
    IMG_4002_3_2.jpg
    190.9 KB · Views: 421
Last edited:

Storman Norman

Registered
The Butt cap is rounded and not beveled. A little more on the backstory of the cue. When It arrived there were two small cracks where the handle met the forearm, the wrap was original, other than someone trying to keep the cracks from getting worse by using glue or fingernail polish covering these two small crack it didn't look messed with. I sent the cue to Proficient billiards, Scott from proficient called and said that there was a crack where the forearm and the handle met. He suggested replacing that part of the cue. I agreed. When he took the wrap off of the cue, underneath the wrap was a section of a sneaky pete used to make that part of the cue. Once the Handle was fixed a new wrap was put on and i asked that the forearm be refinished because of the two small crack and the amateur repair "glue" job that was done.
So the forearm does look a little too "polished" than would be on an un-refinished forearm.
As for the sneaky pete handel section, An AZ member contacted me and i brought up that there was a section of sneaky pete under the wrap that was discovered during the correction work, It did concern me.

The AZ member stated that he had a Doc Frye that needed a handle replaced, under the original wrap was also a section of sneaky Pete used for the handle.

I want to thank everyone that has PM'd me and posted with information. I am new to the vintage collector cue hobby, and its nice that you would share your knowledge.
 
Last edited:

Type79

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The Butt cap is rounded and not beveled. A little more on the backstory of the cue. When It arrived there were two small cracks where the handle met the forearm, the wrap was original, other than someone trying to keep the cracks from getting worse by using glue or fingernail polish covering these two small crack it didn't look messed with. I sent the cue to Proficient billiards, Scott from proficient called and said that there was a crack where the forearm and the handle met. He suggested replacing that part of the cue. I agreed. When he took the wrap off of the cue, underneath the wrap was a section of a sneaky pete used to make that part of the cue. Once the Handle was fixed a new wrap was put on and i asked that the forearm be refinished because of the two small crack and the amateur repair "glue" job that was done.
So the forearm does look a little too "polished" than would be on an un-refinished forearm.
As for the sneaky pete handel section, An AZ member contacted me and i brought up that there was a section of sneaky pete under the wrap that was discovered during the correction work, It did concern me.

The AZ member stated that he had a Doc Frye that needed a handle replaced, under the original wrap was also a section of sneaky Pete used for the handle.

I want to thank everyone that has PM'd me and posted with information. I am new to the vintage collector cue hobby, and its nice that you would share your knowledge.

One of my Doc Frye cues was built using a Titlist for the handle. Do you have any knowledge what was used for the replacement handle in your cue?
 
Top