Yeah , it may have been him, it wasn't Joe Salazar .Open bridge , nice looking guy about 5 7 or 8 Hispanic well built not overly big , just powerful looking.
Los Angeles area players from the past
- Thread starter jay helfert
- Start date
Yeah , it may have been him, it wasn't Joe Salazar .Open bridge , nice looking guy about 5 7 or 8 Hispanic well built not overly big , just powerful looking.
That's him. A really good guy too, but fearless on a pool table. He was a high speed player, the best around other than Parica or Keith, and I don't think Keith wanted to play him. It took a champion to take Gil down, and they still might not get there. He was that good! I spent a few days with him and we had a great time. He played a couple of good players and scorched them both. Gil had a really smooth delivery, a really sweet stroke. And he could repeat it all day and night. He smooth stroked all the balls into the pocket ala Denny Searcy. Some guys just knew how to caress those balls. I only saw a few like that; Kelly, Marvin, Denny, Gil come to mind first. Mike Massey could do that too. Mosconi was also really smooth the way he made the balls, everything went in nice and soft. Efren and Bustie also had some of that in their game, especially Francisco.
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Pete suffers from COPD and may be still alive. I used to keep in touch with him until he started smoking again.
I played him many times back in the day. He was a man that would go crazy if you quit winners on him.
The air in the old Hollywood Billiards, was like soup as folks smoked it up down there.
Pete on top of being a smoker lived in that room for years breathing the toxic air.
That room was a trip and the neighborhood was one of the worst in Hollywood.
Saw some wild stuff go down there.
All in all Pete isn't a bad guy. He never could walk away from the short money and that is a curse for someone that's trying to make money playing pool.
I wonder if you know "Charlie Brown", don't know his real name? He gave me 2 balls and we played nearly every day at Baker's Billiards in Fontana,Ca. I think he played a lot in L.A. in the 60's. Tall, slim, hillbilly type...could've given me 3 or 4 balls.
Slightly off topic...what do you think of Hard Times regulars Fach, Filipino Ricky. Lol, Ricky told me everyone of the regulars at Baker's was improving except me. I only slightly resented it.
Was Preacher Red an L.A. player. One of the best movers in 1 pocket I've ever seen.
Charlie Brown kept his game under wraps pretty good. I never played him. Fach is an amazing guy for what he has overcome to be a good player. He's shown a lot of courage and dignity, never complaining about his lot in life. You know I like all the Filipino's, and that includes Ricky, a very good friend of Dennis'. I'm not really sure what hole Preacher Red crawled out of, but I would definitely avoid the area if I did know. I got along with him all right and even did a little billiard memorabilia business with him, buying his entire stock of old mags. But I wouldn't turn my back on him either. He's been gone over five years now, may he rest in solace.
I played Red twice, once in my pool infancy, when he cheated me every way possible in One Pocket. That lesson at $5 a game taught me a lot about what to look out for, so he did me a favor. Years later in Vegas we played for 20 a game and I was older and wiser and played a lot better. I won two games and he stiffed me for the second game. :grin:
76-81
During my LBB dayz. He was the only player that I could not beat even, and Al Romero, one of us would of been up 1 game per hour....maybe....more likely him
, so I didn't go there I was young but not stupid. Beat every Mex. LA player during my 5 years cept Kieth....not because he was a Mex LOL, needed the 8 and won, but knew I couldn't win with it, and Brian, I just watched and listened and learned from him, House of Billiards Santa Monica. Brian had that Smile/look and that hat he always wore, Cap actually. Kept the bright lights outta his eyes, good for those long sessions.
During my LBB dayz. He was the only player that I could not beat even, and Al Romero, one of us would of been up 1 game per hour....maybe....more likely him
, so I didn't go there I was young but not stupid. Beat every Mex. LA player during my 5 years cept Kieth....not because he was a Mex LOL, needed the 8 and won, but knew I couldn't win with it, and Brian, I just watched and listened and learned from him, House of Billiards Santa Monica. Brian had that Smile/look and that hat he always wore, Cap actually. Kept the bright lights outta his eyes, good for those long sessions.
During my LBB dayz. He was the only player that I could not beat even, and Al Romero, one of us would of been up 1 game per hour....maybe....more likely him
I ducked you and I'm proud of it. You asked me to play at Yankee Doodles when I was running the tourneys there and giving lessons. I had seen you play and knew it would be an uphill climb so I just said no. You wanted to play 9-Ball and my best game back then was Banks and One Pocket second. Not sure why I didn't ask you to play Banks cause I beat some good players at that game. At that point in my life I had a good bankroll and would only play if I was pushed or liked the action. You didn't fit the bill.
After I said no you left me alone. If you had put a big hustle on me I would have offered to play you some banks, but it never got to that point. Like I said, some pretty fair country shooters got a big surprise when we played Banks.
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John Borba
He disappeared from thr scene about 10-15 years back. Santos retired him as John couldn’t win getting the 7-out & the breaks playing nine ball. They must have played for a week like this in So. El Monte. John had previously believed no one in the world could have beaten him with that spot.
Little did he know, Efren gave better players than he the 6-out & the snaps winding up winner.
Thanks for the info.
Good info, thanks. He was always nice to me until i played him. He went bonkers when i beat him. We werent even gambling.
It's by a fairly new maker named Adrian, I think. I don't have much info other than that, but he is a relatively new maker in socal.
His family had big money so John didn't have to worry about making money at pool. He did have a lot of gamble though. You had to like that about him.
I ducked you and I'm proud of it. You asked me to play at Yankee Doodles when I was running the tourneys there and giving lessons. I had seen you play and knew it would be an uphill climb so I just said no. You wanted to play 9-Ball and my best game back then was Banks and One Pocket second. Not sure why I didn't ask you to play Banks cause I beat some good players at that game. At that point in my life I had a good bankroll and would only play if I was pushed or liked the action. You didn't fit the bill.
After I said no you left me alone. If you had put a big hustle on me I would have offered to play you some banks, but it never got to that point. Like I said, some pretty fair country shooters got a big surprise when we played Banks.
I wish we would of played banks, I had no idea you played that game at the time. Growing up in Chicago we always played Full Rack Banks, it was a great game to learn, for the ''roll out'' 9 ball days.
I almost parked it in CA if were not for Adam Brostoski/Owner of Paramount Billiards on Long Beach Blvd and his final decision to retire and go to Siezure World in Orange County.
Adams son Still, owns Golden West Billiards, you see his tables at times on the Price is Right.
Anywho, we had the building picked out, the rent and the equipment in order. It was to be located ''within'' the traffic circle as it cuts and heads sound to Seal Beach. It sat on the west side of the circle.
Seal Beach/Horny Corner....is where Dave Thompson and I first ran into each other, Acapulco Inn 1976-77. He was driving a broken down Fiat 128 and just moved from Europe.
Frank Bartolini from Canada opened the first Yankee Doodles (where I ran into you) just up the street from there, and he made a fortune out of the place. For those who don't know, it was a huge place (15,000 sq. ft.) right on the beach, with over 30 tables, a full bar/restaurant and a variety of other games. Kind of a forerunner to the giant Dave and Buster's we see now. He added a few more successful Yankee Doodles before retiring a very wealthy man. I was his partner and manager in a couple of places (Santa Monica and Marina del Rey) for a period of time. He was the smartest room owner I've ever met.
Anyone remember a small time scruff that hung out at HAC (or was it the Hollywood Billiards, the one that was below ground level)? Somewhat taller, thin guy with longer, stringy hair and sunglasses? Kind of a hippy looking dude. I think his name was Danny?
Eric
Eric
All these names are straight outta central casting!
The infamous " Danny Shades " or in some quarters the " Bug ".