Looking for some old "players" names

dafatman

Registered
I have a friend, an accomplished player, who has played quite a few players over the years and many of them black. He only knows them by their "playing" names and he is looking for some help with identifying them with their real names. If anyone could help with some names it would be greatly appreciated!
"Shorty" from Richmond, VA - played good straight pool and one pocket

"Patch Eye" or "The Lieutenant"

"Monster John" from Florida - played good one pocket

"Shane" from Detroit? - played one pocket and banks

Also, add to the above a player named "Punky", a white player, from the Hagerstown area of Maryland.

Also, a slightly built black player from, I think, the Pittsburgh area. I think his name was Sy Brown.

Thanks for any help!
 

Eric.

Club a member
Silver Member
I have a friend, an accomplished player, who has played quite a few players over the years and many of them black. He only knows them by their "playing" names and he is looking for some help with identifying them with their real names. If anyone could help with some names it would be greatly appreciated!
"Shorty" from Richmond, VA - played good straight pool and one pocket

"Patch Eye" or "The Lieutenant"

"Monster John" from Florida - played good one pocket

"Shane" from Detroit? - played one pocket and banks

Also, add to the above a player named "Punky", a white player, from the Hagerstown area of Maryland.

Also, a slightly built black player from, I think, the Pittsburgh area. I think his name was Sy Brown.

Thanks for any help!

"Shorty" from Richmond, VA - played good straight pool and one pocket
White guy? Jim Henson

"Patch Eye" or "The Lieutenant"
Jaffar Bashir- passed away a few yrs back

"Monster John" from Florida - played good one pocket
John Rouse- i believe he passed away too

Sy Brown- that was his name, i believe. Somewhat taller, thin black guy, was a bit of a talker at the table? Originally from NJ.


Eric
 
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Duane Remick

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I grew up Baltimore-
Tom Vanover ….aka "CIGAR TOM ,,,,
Excellent 9 ball player- big table / bar box too!
 

Buster8001

Did you say shrubberies?
Silver Member
I have a friend, an accomplished player, who has played quite a few players over the years and many of them black. He only knows them by their "playing" names and he is looking for some help with identifying them with their real names. If anyone could help with some names it would be greatly appreciated!
"Shorty" from Richmond, VA - played good straight pool and one pocket

"Patch Eye" or "The Lieutenant"

"Monster John" from Florida - played good one pocket

"Shane" from Detroit? - played one pocket and banks

Also, add to the above a player named "Punky", a white player, from the Hagerstown area of Maryland.

Also, a slightly built black player from, I think, the Pittsburgh area. I think his name was Sy Brown.

Thanks for any help!

I knew Punky. Played with Doug Bracket & Charlie Renner out of the old Billiards Cafe on Rt 40. But only ever new him as Punky, sorry.
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
While you aren't incorrect that Henson was 'shorty', that isn't the guy from Richmond. There's another and he won an action pool tour event a few years back. Googles says Richmond one is shorty Davis.

Punky is carl jones: https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=296749

"Shorty" from Richmond, VA - played good straight pool and one pocket
White guy? Jim Henson

"Patch Eye" or "The Lieutenant"
Jaffar Bashir- passed away a few yrs back

"Monster John" from Florida - played good one pocket
John Rouse- i believe he passed away too

Sy Brown- that was his name, i believe. Somewhat taller, thin black guy, was a bit of a talker at the table? Originally from NJ.


Eric
 

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Jack "oak cliff shorty" Potter from Oak Cliff

Lucky Louie Harper

Johnny aka Cannonball, I forgot his last name
And I knew him well,we played a few times,but
memory is not serving me well

Black Sam from Dallas

The Train...Greg Stevens

Slip Stroke Junior
 
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terryhanna

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Slip Stroke Junior

I remember him from the days of The Cotton Bowling Palace, Times Square & The Eight Ball on Lemmon Ave. Back then he actually played tough games.

Later on Junior became the king of stalling. Only the people that knew him from early days knew his true speed.

He had so many people convinced he couldn't make a ball he made a killing.
 
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Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I remember him from the days of The Cotton Bowling Palace, Times Square & The Eight Ball on Lemmon Ave. Back then he actually played tough games.

Later on Junior became the king of stalling. Only the people that knew him from early days knew his true speed.

He had so many people convinced he couldn't make a ball he made killing.

I think there were a few on the big stall that I played as a youngster. I won lots of 50s and hundreds and perhaps I was getting played.

I always wondered.
 

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
wasn't there an old guy ,wore a sloppy suit

Suitcase Dave or something like that

Reminded me of the Flim Flam man
played by george C Scott

He taught John Baldauf some of the tricks

I don't remember his name,Billy might or Terry
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Who's your friend, by the way?
If he was in the pool world, people here are gonna know him and would probably be happy to hear of/ from him again.

This place is cool like that.

I have a friend, an accomplished player, who has played quite a few players over the years and many of them black. He only knows them by their "playing" names and he is looking for some help with identifying them with their real names. If anyone could help with some names it would be greatly appreciated!
"Shorty" from Richmond, VA - played good straight pool and one pocket

"Patch Eye" or "The Lieutenant"

"Monster John" from Florida - played good one pocket

"Shane" from Detroit? - played one pocket and banks

Also, add to the above a player named "Punky", a white player, from the Hagerstown area of Maryland.

Also, a slightly built black player from, I think, the Pittsburgh area. I think his name was Sy Brown.

Thanks for any help!
 

Duane Remick

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Jack "oak cliff shorty" Potter from Oak Cliff

Lucky Louie Harper

Johnny aka Cannonball, I forgot his last name
And I knew him well,we played a few times,but
memory is not serving me well

Black Sam from Dallas

The Train...Greg Stevens

Slip Stroke Junior

GREG HAD QUITE A REPUTATION WITH THE PEOPLE HERE IN Tulsa
 

Eric.

Club a member
Silver Member
While you aren't incorrect that Henson was 'shorty', that isn't the guy from Richmond. There's another and he won an action pool tour event a few years back. Googles says Richmond one is shorty Davis.

I guess it isn't a stretch that there are two short, white pool players named Shorty from VA, lol


Eric >stretch...
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I guess it isn't a stretch that there are two short, white pool players named Shorty from VA, lol


Eric >stretch...

I think the one from Richmond is actually black...but I am so far out of the pool loop, I really don't know what I don't know.
:shrug:
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
Jack "oak cliff shorty" Potter from Oak Cliff

Lucky Louie Harper

Johnny aka Cannonball, I forgot his last name
And I knew him well,we played a few times,but
memory is not serving me well

Black Sam from Dallas

The Train...Greg Stevens

Slip Stroke Junior

Cannonball was Johnny Chapman. One of the best bank pool players of all time. The stories about him were that back in the 1950's he would go to the World Championships (all Straight Pool) and challenge anyone to play any game (of course he couldn't play in the tournament, being black). He must have been a monster player back then. I never met him until the late 60's in Los Angeles. I rank him third at Banks behind only Taylor and Bugs.
 

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Chapman,my memory is terrible
But I was visiting with him in Dallas one day

he would set up shots and shoot them

One that impressed me was a spot shot with the cue ball
about an inch from the left rail

He cut the ball on the spot into the left pocket with draw english
and beat the scratch in the right hand corner pocket

cannonball was a friendly fellow and fun to play pool with
or discuss shots,patterns etc

I didn't know he was better tham Brumback,SVB ,etc
I have never known enough about pool to compare players
that much above me

I had one gift,I knew fairly well exactly how I played and how
much I needed to win

Other than those times when I didn't
 

Gunn_Slinger

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I guess it isn't a stretch that there are two short, white pool players named Shorty from VA, lol


Eric >stretch...

In the 70's , there were 4 'shorty's in the DMV area.
One shorty played in DC . He liked playing at 7th & T room.
He also came to Bennies where I played him.
He was a young black man who lover to play and gamble.
There was another 'shorty' from Richmond . shorty Davies.
Played good and gambled .
Jim shorty Henson was a very good player. Played out of Tops pool room.
He came to Beenies at times, but could usually be found at Tops.
Then there was 'shorty' . I didn't know his name for a while but
we became friends. He was in high school. He loved to gamble !
Would cut classes and stay at Beenies all night.
Later in the late 70's - into the 80's, Beenie got him a job as a dealer
in Atlantic City. He hooked up with Alan Hopkins who taught him 1 pocket.
They made a ton of money together.
His name is Mike Surber . Most on AZ know he was killed in a home invasion
in 2010.
Thats the 'shorty's I know from the 70's & 80's.
 

Eric.

Club a member
Silver Member
In the 70's , there were 4 'shorty's in the DMV area.
One shorty played in DC . He liked playing at 7th & T room.
He also came to Bennies where I played him.
He was a young black man who lover to play and gamble.
There was another 'shorty' from Richmond . shorty Davies.
Played good and gambled .
Jim shorty Henson was a very good player. Played out of Tops pool room.
He came to Beenies at times, but could usually be found at Tops.
Then there was 'shorty' . I didn't know his name for a while but
we became friends. He was in high school. He loved to gamble !
Would cut classes and stay at Beenies all night.
Later in the late 70's - into the 80's, Beenie got him a job as a dealer
in Atlantic City. He hooked up with Alan Hopkins who taught him 1 pocket.
They made a ton of money together.
His name is Mike Surber . Most on AZ know he was killed in a home invasion
in 2010.
Thats the 'shorty's I know from the 70's & 80's.

No shortage, fo sho...


Eric >didnt know Surber went by Shorty, too
 
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