"Old Timers" mad Respect, tell us more!!

when I'm an "old timer" I'll be sure to tell some stories

Shooter08 said:

Anybody who has stories please let is kids know, I'm 37 and a kid when you tell me what you did back in the day. We need to carry on the tradition and can only do it if you guys lest us know what happend 20,30 or even 40 years ago. Much respect and appreciation to my elders. THx in advance. PS Jerry for HOF

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In 20 years when I'm an "old timer" I'll be sure to tell some stories.

I'm "playing shape" on the one pictured below, although she wants me to start .......

Shooter08 said:

With what you have accomplished CJ you are a old man. I don't give chit if anyone on AZ says I'm a nut hugger. I speak the truth and you and Mr. Varner are the most down to earth Pros I've ever talked to. Thank you for giving a "kid" something to believe in.

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I appreciate that, and am certainly glad that "50 is the new 35" - at least that's what I tell the young girls.

I'm "playing shape" on the one pictured below, although she wants me to start playing snooker.....I told her it's actually more satisfying to hit those smaller pockets. :groucho:

The strange thing is , if you tell the story exactly the way it happened , most people won't believe it.
The truth is almost always stranger than fiction as far as I have seen in the pool world.
I have one I always thought was funny , I hope you do to.
I moved my family out of the city to a small country town about 30 miles away back in the late 70s.
About halfway between home and the city was a nice little country bar with 2 bar tables.
There was a hospital down the road that paid well and when I started going in there was 5 dollar action and 9 ball ring games all day and night long.
It was ridiculous , there would be 5 or 6 guys in a ring game and many times you got a second shot in a game.
I played terrible at the time , but they played even worse.
That went on for 2 or 3 years , I was making a nice nest egg and hiding my winnings so the other players never knew who was beating them.
The game gradually broke down and there were 2 guys besides me that played better than everyone else and we started playing 3 way .
I had been getting some lessons so I could now finagle the games so I won about 40 or 50% of the time which got all the money, it just took a while.
One guy quits playing and it's me and a guy with a jacket that says ,
"The Happy Hustler" on the back.
I bust him 3 or 4 times and he's done.
By now everyone knows I am the best player that comes in there so I don't get many games and I start going somewhere else for a while.
A year or so later I stop in and there are all the same people,and 2 guys I never saw before in the back playing each other who seem to be friends and "The Happy Hustler is at the bar .
I order a beer and sit down next to Happy and we start reminiscing about the "Old days".
One of the guys I never saw before comes up a little while later and says , do you guys play pool or just talk about pool!
Happy says he'll play you some, pointing to me.
We go back to the table and the guy says "I'm a 5 dollar nine ball player , can you handle that.
I said sure, I didn't add {but not for long } which had run through my head at the same time.
He wins the lag , breaks and runs out , beautiful stroke , plays great position , drew the ball like it was a yoyo.
Aha I thought , the jig is up. This guy is a real player.
After I pay him he says I'm really a 10 dollar nine ball player.there were people hoping I got my brains beat out and people rooting for me to beat this guy.
I said come on.
He breaks and runs out again , perfect , now I know I have zero chance of beating this guy and I am trying to find an excuse to hit the door.
Of course his next words are , want to play for 20?
I'm really a 20 dollar player!
I'm thinking , I'm stuck 15, can't win , and don't want to look like a nit or I might get my butt beat after the games over by one of the other guys I had taken money from.
I decided to play the last game, lose 35 dollars and act like I pulled a muscle in my back and can't play anymore today , I'll be back on Friday, but not say which Friday.
The guy breaks runs down to the 8 ball and is straight in the side pocket and the nine is near the corner, I start to concede the game and he puke strokes the 8 halfway to the pocket before I can throw the towel in.
I got up took a couple of deep breaths and made the 8 and then the 9.
I expect him to quit but he grabs the rack and racks again.
I break dry we play back and forth he runs down to the 9 and dogs it.
Lamb killer that I am, I start playing my best leveland he continues to dog his brains out.
I won 380 off the guy minus my 15 and I don't think he ever won another game.
He and his buddy left and everyone is either cheering or scratching their heads, wondering what just happened.
The owner comes over and says, that guy could really play , I never thought you would beat him , what happened?
I said he was right about everything but the most important one. He said , "whats that" , I said , "he was a 10 dollar player , not a 20."

.......................

book collector said:

I said he was right about everything but the most important one. He said , "whats that" , I said , "he was a 10 dollar player , not a 20."

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One of the best descriptions of a player I have ever heard, +1 to you

Shooter, you should start by purchasing one of Freddy the Beards books. The Gospool, Banking with the Beard, or the Encylopedia of Pool Hustlers.

If you want some good road stories, not only of Freddy, but the guys he knew. You won't be disappointed.

www.bankingwiththebeard.com

I looked at Allen and he just smiled, with a sparkle in his eye "Joe's a trip"

It was the early 90s, and a few pro players were in Las Vegas playing at the Mirage , a tournament called 'Challenge of Champions' - we had a day off and Bobby Baldwin (Pro Poker player and then President of the Mirage Casino) invited 4 of us to play Steve Wynn's private golf course called 'Shadow Creek'. *

This virtual "Shangri-La" is a 60 million dollar golf course with trees, grass and sand from different countries on every hole. Steve W. only allowed (at the time) 4-6 groups to play on any given day. It was free to play and you were not allowed to tip Steve's employees (he paid them handsomely, and it would have been an insult to tip them).

After the round we were sitting in the clubhouse and in walks Joe Pesci.

I didn't know what to say, however, Allen didn't hesitate "hey Joe, how's the golf game these days?" Joe looked quickly at Allen and lit up, smiling ear to ear, "Allen Hopkins, it's been a long time, did you get lost, there's no pool tables around here!" both smiled in acknowledgment and Joe came right over and sat down with us.

Allen introduced us and we sat and talked for about 45 minutes, what a serene moment. Joe seemed like just a normal, humerus fella - who would have guessed he is a Hollywood star? I was a bit uncomfortable at first, however, they both made a point of including me in the conversation, which immediately "took the edge off" the scenario.

Allen and Joe traded stories about the pool room in New Jersey they both frequented a few years earlier. They knew many of the same pool players and Joe sounded like he'd spent his share of hours watching the "action" games.

We all traded "good by's" - Allen and I headed out to the waiting Limo, my mind still trying to process what had just happened. It was like I had been transported into a movie for an hour and was now attempting to get back to "reality".

On the way to the front, in the lounge, we saw one of the most visually stunning women I had ever seen.....was she waiting on someone? (I was pretty sure it wasn't me)

That's right, she was accompanying Joe Pesci (it was that moment I realized Joe was no "normal" guy) - Joe and the lovely lady left out of the side entrance to their waiting car and were gone in an instant. I looked at Allen and he just smiled, with a sparkle in his eye "Joe's a trip isn't he?" ......I just nodded my head, mesmerized by the moment.

Later that evening we found out they were both in Las Vegas working on a movie called 'CASINO'. The Vegas opinion at the Mirage was the movie should do "pretty well" at the Box Office.....and so it did. 'The Game is our Teacher'

When I was a teen in the early '60's we would play Pill pool. Pretty common game back then. Usually we had 4 or 5 players. But we would add a couple twists to the game.
Sometimes we would play mum pool. If you spoke you had to pay all the other players. Then along with the mum pool we made a rule that if the butt end of your cue touched the floor you had pay all the other players.
It made for a lot of fun trying to get someone to speak and watching the butt of their cues.

CJ Wiley said:

.... Joe seemed like just a normal, humerus fella - ...

our Teacher'

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I thought you were arming us for a sneack joke attack. You were not.

Shooter08 said:

Anybody who has stories please let is kids know, I'm 37 and a kid when you tell me what you did back in the day. We need to carry on the tradition and can only do it if you guys lest us know what happend 20,30 or even 40 years ago. Much respect and appreciation to my elders. THx in advance. PS Jerry for HOF

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My advice would be to work full time and play pool as a hobby. A lot if not most of the old timers ended up broke. Some of the stories make it sound like a glamorous lifestyle but the coin has two sides.

Pool players live like temporarily embarrassed millionaires

alstl said:

My advice would be to work full time and play pool as a hobby. A lot if not most of the old timers ended up broke. Some of the stories make it sound like a glamorous lifestyle but the coin has two sides.

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Pool players live like temporarily embarrassed millionaires, just not burdened by the fear of losing what they have, or not getting more of what they want like rich folks. :groucho:

I can't remember the exact year, but Willie Mosconi came to Mankato Minnesota during our state operators state tournament and I had a chance to chat with him for about 20 minutes. He then started one of his performances and recalled a question I asked him about how he would shoot a certain shot and get to the other end of the table for shape. He stunned me as he hit the shot and made shape with stroking very high on the cue ball.
I spoke out and said I thought you would hit that with some sort of low ball. He set the shot up, switched hands with the cue and pretty much got to the location for shape and turned to me and said, depends which hand I'm holdng the cue in. lol. Mr. Mosconi was nearing his end at this time and pretty frail, but, that stroke was still golden.
Cherish the photo's with him taken that day.

"What's your best game buddy?" said Cornbread in a menacing tone.

One of my all-time favorite pool hustlers/gamblers was named "Cornbread Red" from Detroit. He bet more money in a game than many will wager in a lifetime. Here's my version of one of the funniest stories about Cornbread and his "hustling days" on the road.

"Cornbread Red" was hustling pool down south and was told this "huge red-neck" would go off for a lot of money gambling, and he considered pool his "best game".
Cornbread went into the bar his "steer-man" said this red-neck was at and saw him sitting by the bartender having a shot and a beer.

Cornbread marched right up to the guy and tapped him boldly on the shoulder..

"What's your best game buddy?" said Cornbread in a menacing tone.

The guy turned around and said "Fighting's my best game!!!" and hit Corn right in "the kisser" knocking him back over some tables and chairs and flat on his back!!!

Cornbread raised up, shook himself off, trying to bring himself back to consciousness. Picking himself up, still dazed from the punch he saw the guy in the same chair, now finishing his beer.

Corn stood up, and marched right back up to the guy, tapping him on the shoulder again!!! "What's your 2nd best game buddy?"

The guy turned around and said "pool's my 2nd best game!"

Cornbread quickly busted the guy out of all his money and headed to the next "spot," with a black eye and a pocket full of money.
'The Game is the Teacher'

measureman said:

It made for a lot of fun trying to get someone to speak and watching the butt of their cues.

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Did you have your Lucasi back then?
What about the time at Hank's when you had a 3 pack going, until I finally put the
rack to you...:sorry:.. and you almost broke your shoulder breaking.
Then I proceeded to put 3 1-packs on you>>:smile:

1960

Shooter08 said:

Anybody who has stories please let is kids know, I'm 37 and a kid when you tell me what you did back in the day. We need to carry on the tradition and can only do it if you guys lest us know what happend 20,30 or even 40 years ago. Much respect and appreciation to my elders. THx in advance. PS Jerry for HOF

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Back around 1960, when Wisconsin instituted its first sales tax, Art Sheldon, owner of Sheldon's Cigar Store on Fourth Street in La Crosse, raised his price for pool from 10 cents a game to 11 cents, and the price of a bottle of beer from 15 cents to 16. The big spenders would graciously buy a roll of pennies and line them up under the rail for players to use!

cuesblues said:

Did you have your Lucasi back then?
What about the time at Hank's when you had a 3 pack going, until I finally put the
rack to you...:sorry:.. and you almost broke your shoulder breaking.
Then I proceeded to put 3 1-packs on you>>:smile:

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No I played with a Wallabuska.
The great custom cue maker Ling Chou Lucasi was not born until 2001.
I was in dead stroke and might have run racks all day until you put the Portland rack on me.
Your three 1 packs were great. Too bad accustats was not there to record it.