Name a pool hall you wish was still open today

Doctor Snap

New member
McGirr's on 8th Avenue in NYC, with Georgia Boy and a million road players. Every type of table and every conceivable type of action. If it were still around, HBO should've featured it in The Deuce.

Guys & Dolls in Silver Hill, MD, home of Strawberry, Lefty Joe, Jackie Robinson, Bus Driver Ronnie, Geese, Little Gus, Lawrence "Slippery" Jackson (who one night dropped $100,000 in cash in a 1-hole match and paid off out of a suitcase), and too many road players to mention. Before Beanie's Jack & Jill opened up in early 1968, it was the best DC area room ever.

That was a great spot, in its day. Also, Eddie Taylor (Knoxville Bear) was around those parts in the 60's with "Champagne Ed Kelly" before his World Championships. Also, Frisco Jack Cooney and his wife were robbed and she got shot there after the place got rough. Little Gus used to run around with Buddy Dennis from Baltimore, who frequented that place as well. My favorite room in Baltimore was the Alemeda, a place that had it all, between '69 and '76 when it burned down. It had good food and a great tournament room that seated 150 people for the MD State events in which I participated in that time frame. The tables were great and the conditions perfect. John Carter, the owner had the tables for the real players set apart from the casual tables for ball bangers. That's a spot I wished was open today.
 

gesan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Before beenie opened Jack and Jill's in Arlington va the cue palace on route 1 in Alexandria and guys and dolls in Maryland

Then fast eddies Alexandria- fast eddies fairfax and fast eddies Springfield va.

Qball in Springfield and ducks in Alexandria va long times ago

All had action and the palace was a place to get anything you wanted and some things you didn't want.

I spent many years in many poolrooms doing many things, gambling and associating with what some would call the dregs of society. my biggest regret is that I didn't spend more time with those dregs and in those poolrooms.
 

ydjack

New member
Hollywood Billiards (corner of Hollywood & Western) early 80's when Arne Satin owned it. Also Broadway Billiards in Santa Ana in the 60's when Adam the Hat owned it. Also a little known pool hall on 11th & San Pedro in L.A. across the street from Central Market in the 60's called Chico's Pool Hall. It was behind a restaurant called Jessie's Cafe and they played a great pea pool game called Ga-Hom (Chinese?). You didn't have to know how to shoot, you just had to be able to count. I miss those good ol' days.
 

bobco729

bobco729
Silver Member
You must mean Brunswick Billiards at 1419 Irving St, which opened in 1950 and closed in 1969. The Starlight NIGHT CLUB was on the ground level, with the pool room above it, sandwiched in between the post office to the east and Jack Blank Pontiac to the west. It featured a shimmed 5 x 10 pre-Gold Crown Brunswick table at the front of the room, with ongoing 9 ball ring games or one pocket matches.

Great room with a fair amount of action, but it had the filthiest loo I've ever seen. Totally nasty.
That's the place Taxi. I used to play Gracie and Rick the arab nine ball and watch Rags spot Mosconi a ball playing one pocket. Inky was the house man that i knew then. I was around 18-19 yrs old then. Also used to go to 14th&G down stairs below a barber shop with Hahn Shoes on R the corner of 14th&G &Little Tavern on left. I'll pm you my cell # if you want to talk old times."country" Bob
 

jazznpool

Superior Cues--Unchalked!
Gold Member
Silver Member
Was a great room. Had a 5x10 pool table "iron jaws" and 5 x 10 American snooker table. All of the great Detroit players and many road agents came at one time or another including Cornbread. Mark Jarvis from Chicago, about age 18, rolled in on a bicycle one summer day and worked the room pretty good for a few weeks. Had a big laugh with him about that at Derby City about 10 years ago.

At least 3 full size 6x12 Gold Crown snooker tables. The Cushion and Cue under Ray Abrams had one of the best pool room food counter's I've seen---only Table Steaks in Denver was better.


Playland brings back some fond memories...I used to go there for smaller action...
...honing my game for the Rack.
A guy was playing one pocket for $5 a game...missed an easy shot and broke the cue
over a garbage pail....it was a top of the line Joss with ivory joint, inlays, and ivory ferrules
on both shafts...a regular gave him $20...when I showed up, he sold it to me for $40....
....I ended up eventually with a Szamboti for a $50 investment....long story....

Cushion n Cue had 6x12 Gold Crowns....lotta golf action
 

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
Can’t remember the name of the room at Fourth and Main in LA...
....lotta players wouldn’t go there....I loved it...had the best lighting I ever played under.
The light was like a big flat frosted bulb...almost the same size as the table....
.....It wasn’t real bright but it was easy on the eyes...I could’ve seen a fly’s wing at the
other end of the table.....never liked lighting that glared..
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Can’t remember the name of the room at Fourth and Main in LA...
....lotta players wouldn’t go there....I loved it...had the best lighting I ever played under.
The light was like a big flat frosted bulb...almost the same size as the table....
.....It wasn’t real bright but it was easy on the eyes...I could’ve seen a fly’s wing at the
other end of the table.....never liked lighting that glared..
This old post doesn't give the name of the room, but....

Who was that 3 Cushion Player in the Billiard Segment of the (Donald
Duck in Mathmagic Land) Video?
I bought this VHS tape a long time ago and recently Bought the DVD version.
The 3 Cushion Player made about 6 shots in a row. The film seemed "un-cut"/edited...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_in_Mathmagic_Land

Thanks for viewing
Alton - Cue Caps


Bob Jewett responded:
Here is a post from 1999 in the newsgroup rec.sport.billiard by Robert Byrne...

The demonstrator in the old Disney short called Donald Duck in
Mathmagic Land is the late Romie Yanez, a very good three-cushion player
who used to own a billiard room at 401 South Main in Los Angeles back in
the 1960s, where such champions as Bill Hynes, John Fitzpatrick, Al
Gilbert, and Gus Copulus used to play. Robert Byrne

Here's a reference from one of the editions of "McGoorty". Not all of the editions have pictures.

Misc 001.jpg

I think I heard the room referred to as "Fourth and Main" a long time ago.
 
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GoodStick

Registered
It would the billiard palace, bellflower .ca, when it was upstairs.
Lakewood Colorado - It was Max Moscow's Pool Hall. Our Dad used to take us down there.... and point out the fellows who would be trouble. ie. "Hey sons.... see those guys over there - They will probably stealing hubcaps after it turns dark." The floor was Cracked linoleum. 2 pinball machines. Pool was 60 cents per hour. The 2 snooker tables were 50 Cents / hour. We were making our money mowing lawns @ $2.00 per lawn. We were always on the snooker table.
 

RogerO

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I almost lived in the wooster from about 1961 to 1968. My uncle, Al Gilbeaut, was a mentor. Chris Columbo. about 70 years old, was still a rack boy in 1964

If your uncle was Hal Guilbeault and Ray was your cousin, you had a great mentor. I knew them both very well. The Wooster was just a little before my time, but Hal and Ray talked about it often.

RogerO
 

JeffreyNV

Mr. Clean
So many great friends and fond memories:...

Bensinger's - (Several Locations over the years) - Chicago, IL

(Frequented by Willie Mosconi, Harold Worst, Leo Sheppard, many others. - not far from Herman Rambow's old shop).

https://medium.com/vantage/long-lost-photos-of-a-legendary-pool-hall-64588e5f0416


The Velvet Rail - Lansing, MI

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lugnut215/14892802567/in/photostream/


Snooks - Grand Rapids, MI

http://www.weststatebilliards.com/blog-post.php?15


Golden Q Billiards - Mishawaka, IN

(Owned by Kevin Stuber)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWwM0O_nt9Q


Keystone Cue & Cushion - Reno, NV
(Owned by Mickey Wade, RIP)
 

GoodStick

Registered
In Lakewood Colorado - Max Mosco's Pool Hall. 1964. My Dad used to take us there when we were preteen. He liked pool, and he used to point out the guys who might be trouble.

Hey, boys, he would say. If you look over there- those guys will probably be stealing hubcaps later tonight.

Pool was 60 cents per hour. Snooker tables- 50 cents. When we used to ride our bikes down there we always played on the snooker tables. We mowed lawns for $2.00 each back then. Broken linoleum floors - two pinball games in the corner. A nickel per 5 ball game.
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Laurel Billiards in Winsted,CT and Connecticut Billiards in Torrington,CT and one more Bristol Billiards in Bristol,CT. There are no more rooms around!!!!!!!

Yale Billiards, Pool Table Magic, World Championship Billiards, A1 Billiards (Jayson Shaw plays there, his wife's family runs it) those are just the ones I visited. I think there are 2-3 others worth going to in CT.
 

Taxi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That's the place Taxi. I used to play Gracie and Rick the arab nine ball and watch Rags spot Mosconi a ball playing one pocket. Inky was the house man that i knew then. I was around 18-19 yrs old then. Also used to go to 14th&G down stairs below a barber shop with Hahn Shoes on R the corner of 14th&G &Little Tavern on left. I'll pm you my cell # if you want to talk old times."country" Bob

I remember Ricky from Brunswick but not Rags or Mosconi, since I didn't start playing there until late 1967. The only house man I remember was a black guy named Flip, and after I busted him on that 5x10 a second time he gave me a package and I never saw him again.

That 14th & G place was a piece of work. Sloppiest pockets ever made, and a house man named Meyer who would sit in a corner and hurl dystopian rants at anyone who was within shouting distance.

And then there was Angelo from the barber shop upstairs, who was a complete score, and had the charming habit after he'd dogged the cheese of firing his cue stick like a javelin up against the back wall. You'd often have to duck in order not to be maimed. Many years later, I owned a book shop in Bethesda, and one of his daughters happened to come in to buy a book, and however it happened I realized that she was Angelo's daughter. When I mentioned the javelin bit to her, she just laughed in recognition and said, "Yes, my father always did have a bit of a temper.":grin:
 

Taxi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
McGirr's on 8th Avenue in NYC, with Georgia Boy and a million road players. Every type of table and every conceivable type of action. If it were still around, HBO should've featured it in The Deuce.

Guys & Dolls in Silver Hill, MD, home of Strawberry, Lefty Joe, Jackie Robinson, Bus Driver Ronnie, Geese, Little Gus, Lawrence "Slippery" Jackson (who one night dropped $100,000 in cash in a 1-hole match and paid off out of a suitcase), and too many road players to mention. Before Beanie's Jack & Jill opened up in early 1968, it was the best DC area room ever.


That was a great spot, in its day. Also, Eddie Taylor (Knoxville Bear) was around those parts in the 60's with "Champagne Ed Kelly" before his World Championships. Also, Frisco Jack Cooney and his wife were robbed and she got shot there after the place got rough. Little Gus used to run around with Buddy Dennis from Baltimore, who frequented that place as well. My favorite room in Baltimore was the Alemeda, a place that had it all, between '69 and '76 when it burned down. It had good food and a great tournament room that seated 150 people for the MD State events in which I participated in that time frame. The tables were great and the conditions perfect. John Carter, the owner had the tables for the real players set apart from the casual tables for ball bangers. That's a spot I wished was open today.

I remember Taylor from Guys and Dolls, along with Joe Dimaggio, Jackie Robinson, and Joey Spaeth, but not Kelly. I used to play Little Gus all the time, along with Jimmy Mack and Charlie Justice, but no way I was going to try to match up with Buddy Dennis. That man was a stone assassin on a pool table.

The only minor correction I'd make to what you wrote is that Cooney and his wife got robbed at the Golden Cue in Bladensburg, not at Guys and Dolls, though there were several other robberies that took place there. You probably know this, but they eventually tracked down Frisco Jack's robbers, and let's just say they were never heard from again. Little Petey was there that night and told me about it first hand.
 

islandboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How about Guys and Dolls on Marshall and Milan in Shreveport, LA? Open 24-7, 365 days a year.
Home court of the incomparable Buddy Hall during the early and mid 70's.

Open invitation to any living soul in a long ahead match. If you were unknown, you automatically got the wild rolling 7. Many tried, Billy Incardona, Jimmy Mataya, Louie Roberts, Grady Matthews, etc, etc... Nobody got there. Slow methodical death, like matching up with the "Big Casino." Hour upon hour, rack after rack of perfect pool.......nobody could fade it.

Man, what a mesmerizing world that was. You could feel and taste the action. Once I entered those doors it was all over. So hypnotic and addictive, it makes me drool just thinking about it.
 
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