Maddest ever?

Michael Andros

tiny balls, GIANT pockets
Silver Member
Any stories about the *MOST* angry you ever saw anyone get in a pool room over pool or cards or whatever and what, if anything, happened? I've got a few but I'll wait a bit and see what anyone else has.
 

PoolBum

Ace in the side.
Silver Member
Any stories about the *MOST* angry you ever saw anyone get in a pool room over pool or cards or whatever and what, if anything, happened? I've got a few but I'll wait a bit and see what anyone else has.

I was playing a guy at House of Billiards in Santa Monica a number of years ago, and he kept slamming the rack on the table when he would rack, and slamming the balls, and slamming his cue on the floor. Finally, he punched the rail with his fist...and broke his hand.
 

Ak Guy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
One time.....

I was in one of Mark Griffins old pool halls in Anchorage back in the 60's and a good player name John Duclose was working and I was trying to win at least one darn game of 8 Ball against him, which I seldom did.

A guy named Lee was playing on another table and another guy came in and said some thing to him, very soon the two of them got into a argument about some thing unknown to me.

I noticed Lee was dragging the balls to his side of the table with a cue, which spoke volumes to me and then he hit the other guy on the head with a cue, grabbed him and slammed him on the table and punched him a couple of times. This all happened very quickly.

John walked over very calmly and said "Let him go Lee, let him go", which he did and that was it, fight over and John told them to leave and they did.

Now Lee did not need to hit the guy with a cue to win the fight, but that is just the way he was and the other guy should of known better then to argue with a guy like Lee, especially when he was holding a club.

Mark was not there and I never saw the other guy again and Lee did not show his face for a long time. I always viewed Lee as a dangerous man and would be surprised to find out he lived to old age.
 
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Johnny Rosato

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was in one of Mark Griffins old pool halls in Anchorage back in the 60's and a good player name John Duclose was working and two guys got into a argument about some thing unknown to me.

I noticed one of them was dragging the balls to his side of the table with a cue, which spoke volumes to me and then he hit the other guy on the head with a cue, grabbed him and slammed him on the table and punched him a couple of times.

John walked over very calmly and said "Let him go Lee, let him go", which he did and that was it, fight over and John told them to leave and they did.

Now Lee did not need to hit the guy with a cue to win the fight, but that is just the way he was and the other guy should of known better then to argue with a guy like Lee, especially when he was holding a club.

Mark was not there and I never saw the other guy again and Lee did not show his face for a long time. I always viewed Lee as a dangerous man and would be surprised to find out he lived to old age.
Yeah, and it was because of a fart during a 9-ball money game. About 10 or 12 folks ended up in a bar brawl, lol
 

wreiman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I had a teammate throw an 800 predator over my head to the other end of the bar after he lost a winnable match. I'm surprised he did not break it over his knee.
 

9ballrob

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Fabio Petroni having a meltdown and slamming his head into the corner of the table while Gabe Owen was getting ready to pocket a ball at the Super Billiards Expo. I was there in 2007 and 2008, but can't remember which year it was.
 

Michael Andros

tiny balls, GIANT pockets
Silver Member
I was playing a guy at House of Billiards in Santa Monica a number of years ago, and he kept slamming the rack on the table when he would rack, and slamming the balls, and slamming his cue on the floor. Finally, he punched the rail with his fist...and broke his hand.

Absolutely *Classic*
 

Michael Andros

tiny balls, GIANT pockets
Silver Member
Ok, so... I've posted this on another thread here but it was many years ago so I'm sure anyone seeing this will not have seen the other post. MANY years ago ( at least 35, maybe a few more ), the best player in this area ( not just my opinion ) was Randy Brown. He had been semi-retired for at least 6 or 7 years ( or so ) but still played at least 2 balls better than anyone in the area. A young-ish ( mid 20s ) roadrunner came into town and stuck around for a month or so, named Steve Gumphries ( WORLD CLASS player ). The first day in the room, he robbed one of the local players and so the room owner called Randy and told him to come down, he was staking hm against this road runner. So Randy comes in a bit later and after a while, he and Gumphries make a game, I believe for 50 a pop. They flip for the break, Gumphries wins and proceeds to put 6 on Randy from the snap. On the 7th break, he broke dry and Randy runs out, and then, to everyone's amazement, MISSES THE 9 STRAIGHT IN THE SIDE. Randy grabbed his poor, completely innocent ( very nice, rather expensive ) Viking Cue by the shaft and took his very best Babe Ruth home run swing, right into the metal cover of the corner pocket, making about a 1 inch deep, inch long dent in the corner. Then stomps out the door without a word to anyone.

We were picking up pieces of that cue all the way on the other side of the room.
 

Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
Any stories about the *MOST* angry you ever saw anyone get in a pool room over pool or cards or whatever and what, if anything, happened? I've got a few but I'll wait a bit and see what anyone else has.

The second worst thing: Guy lost an eye to a baseball bat.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A friend of mine was in the process of busting the owner of a bar in Ponca City, Ok. Guy got so mad he threw his cue javelin-style thru the wall into the cafe next door. About pissed myself i laughed so hard.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
A friend of mine was in the process of busting the owner of a bar in Ponca City, Ok. Guy got so mad he threw his cue javelin-style thru the wall into the cafe next door. About pissed myself i laughed so hard.

A guy at my old pool hall javelined his cue straight past the heads of two girls playing on the table in front of him, embedding the cue in the wall. It was over missing a 50 dollar 9 ball. This was a huge, strong guy, and one shudders at the thought of what would happen if that cue had hit the girls in the head...The cue flew straigth with very little drop, indicating that it had tremendous speed. The other indicator was the depth of it's penetration into the wall. It went in past the grip, butt first. This guy was a very bad player, compulsive gambler and very bad loser. Not a good combo. He also habitually broke his cues in creative and spectacular ways.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A guy at my old pool hall javelined his cue straight past the heads of two girls playing on the table in front of him, embedding the cue in the wall. It was over missing a 50 dollar 9 ball. This was a huge, strong guy, and one shudders at the thought of what would happen if that cue had hit the girls in the head...The cue flew straigth with very little drop, indicating that it had tremendous speed. The other indicator was the depth of it's penetration into the wall. It went in past the grip, butt first. This guy was a very bad player, compulsive gambler and very bad loser. Not a good combo. He also habitually broke his cues in creative and spectacular ways.
Butt first? That dude had MLB quality heat!!
 

cubswin

Just call me Joe...
Silver Member
Don't know how mad he was, but know a guy that pulled a knife on someone. Got a gun in his face in return. Cops took the knife guy to jail since he started it.

Had a guy threaten to stab me at a card game once, buddy next to me had his gun drawn under the table, and I had a knife in my hand in case it escalated. Friend of mine talked everyone into calming down.

Pool room, saw a lot of fights back in the 80's and early 90's.

Probably the most amped up I saw anyone was a police offer. They were after some drug dealers from out of town that came through. Girl and a guy, dropped a duffel bag under a table and got the hell out. Cop found a fully loaded mac10 in the bag, and was waving it around yelling "Who the **** owns this".

And I was playing a guy one time, getting the wild 8. I was breaking good, and the 9 and 8 counted on the break. Think I made 17 of them while we played. He snaps his shaft in half and storms out after paying me on the last one. Comes back in as someone was getting the butt out of the trash can, took it and broke it in half. I don't think he has played a game of pool since and that was 1990.
 
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Michael Andros

tiny balls, GIANT pockets
Silver Member
Don't know how mad he was, but know a guy that pulled a knife on someone. Got a gun in his face in return. Cops took the knife guy to jail since he started it.

Had a guy threaten to stab me at a card game once, buddy next to me had his gun drawn under the table, and I had a knife in my hand in case it escalated. Friend of mine talked everyone into calming down.

Pool room, saw a lot of fights back in the 80's and early 90's.

Probably the most amped up I saw anyone was a police offer. They were after some drug dealers from out of town that came through. Girl and a guy, dropped a duffel bag under a table and got the hell out. Cop found a fully loaded mac10 in the bag, and was waving it around yelling "Who the **** owns this".

And I was playing a guy one time, getting the wild 8. I was breaking good, and the 9 and 8 counted on the break. Think I made 17 of them while we played. He snaps his shaft in half and storms out after paying me on the last one. Comes back in as someone was getting the butt out of the trash can, took it and broke it in half. I don't think he has played a game of pool since and that was 1990.


I was 22, 23 ( circa 76, 77 )... friend and I dropped in at a large strip club in Tampa, the Matador Lounge. 3 stages for dancing, six 8'x4' bar boxes, maybe 20-25 dancers on duty. Weekend night, place was packed. One of the tables had a large crowd around it, lots of customers and maybe 6 or 7 dancers, all watching this skinny kid, our age, strutting around the table, with a REALLY nice, VERY expensive Tillis cue ( TONS of ivory and mother of pearl inlay ). Long blonde hair ( middle of his back ), scraggly beard. Obviously the "house" champ. All eyes were on him and he knew it. Played maybe a ball and a half, 2 balls under me. I put a quarter up ( 10 or 12 ahead of me ) and we got drinks and waited. Finally, I'm up, stick the quarter in, rack ( 8 ball ). Kid says "We're playing for 5.". I go... I don't gamble. He says "No, man, we're playing for 5." I go, "It's my quarter and we play for whatever I want and I don't gamble." He's now slightly pissed, rolling his eyes to his "audience". My friend says "He'll play you for 2." Kid smirks and nods, then breaks. I never use a closed bridge the entire game, make 2 balls at a time then leave him tough or dead safe. After 6 or 7 innings, I win. Now he is OFFICIALLY pissed. He jumps all the other quarters on the rail ( 15 or more by now ) and "announces" "This is a money game, its's my table." The next guy up was not happy about it but didn't say anything. As the kid racks he says "We're playing for 5.". I say "Like I said, I don't gamble. Talk to my pal." My friend says "Yeah, we're good for 5." SO now he jumps up and says "Flip for the break!" I'm like... "Ummm, no. I just won. You're racking, My break." He says "No no noooooooo! We adjusted, flip for the break!". I go... "Whatever, flip for it." So we do. He wins the flip. He breaks.

Now, at this point, I'll say this: This kid was probably a natural nit to begin with but I really had no idea. I may've been able to milk him for a lot more but some people I just had a hard time drawing things out with. And he qualified, big time. All I wanted to do at that point was shut him the f**k up and bring him down a few notches at the same time.

So... he breaks. Dry.

I run out ( closed bridge, now ).

He pays, racks, curses, face red.

I break. Run out.

He pays, racks, curses more loudly.

I break. Run out.

He pays, racks, cursing directly at me, now. Bouncer, watching the game, tells him to watch his mouth. Dancers ooh and ahh, crowd titters, some laughing.

I break. Run out. And the NANOSECOND before the 8 ball rolls into the corner pocket, he takes that Tillis cue and slams it on the edge of the table, into the metal trim that runs around the edges of Valley tables, as hard as he can. Cue snaps in half. I'm trying REALLY hard not to laugh. Dancers oohing and ahhing to beat the band now. Some in crowd laughing loudly. Then he hits the edge of the table again, cue breaks again. Then he slams it once more. 3 *HUGE* dents in the edge of the table. All this has taken maybe 5 or 6 seconds. Bouncer is screaming at him, "Hey man, WTF!!!???" I'm watching, still not laughing but wanting to reallllyyyyy bad.

All the sudden, out of nowhere, and it all unfolded *really* fast like a cartoon, this GIGANTIC, full-sleeve-tattooed arm appears. I mean it was HUGE, like Pop-eye's forearm. And the hand grabs the kid by the hair on the back of his head, picks him, literally, up off the floor, carries him 10 feet or so to the back door and throws him out. It was the club owner. Looked like an ex ( or, hell, maybe *present-tense* ) biker in his 50s or so. Long sliver hair, white goatee and stache, and COVERED in tattoos.

Needless to say, it was entertaining. But it came with a price, albeit a fairly cheap one... we got stiffed the last game. But all in all? Worth every dime.
 
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TX Poolnut

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Teammate on a BCA league got mad and turned around and punched a corkboard with a bunch of thumb tacks in it. Several tack holes in his bloodied knuckles and he was banned from the room.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was playing the owner of a Gulf Port pool hall in his brother's bar in Biloxi back in 1973 and he got so mad he broke every house cue in the bar.

We were both playing with house cues and after he lost a lot of money he broke the one he was playing with and grabbed another one. After he broke about 5 or 6 more, we were down to sharing the one bar cue. He then missed a ball and broke it, too.

Then he went to the bar next door and borrowed one of their cues and we shared it until he broke it after missing a 9-ball. I used what was left of the butt and 3/4 of the shaft to shoot the 9-ball in. That is when the fight started. I've written about it several times on here, if you care to search.
 

Danimal

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I posted the following story in another thread:


A couple of years ago, a local "angry" gambler in NYC was playing one of his rival opponents, whom he played on a routine basis. Angry gambler was always trying to give his opponent a spot, even though they were close in speed.

After one night of continued losses, Angry gambler couldn't take it anymore and smashed his brand new Steve Klein on the rail of the table, splinters flying everywhere. As the entire room paused in astonishment, he calmly walked over to his case, took out his break cue, and demolished it on the rail in the same fashion.

Finally, he walked back over to his pool case with the same calm pace. Angry took out his jump cue, held it high over his head over the rail, and paused - after a change of heart, he lowered the jump cue, unscathed. He slowly walked over to the garbage pail, and lovingly placed it inside along with his case before sauntering out the door.


Angry quit pool for over a year and just started coming around again. He plays a few tournaments and he is gambling again - his new cues should beware.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
I don't know if I should even post this, as it isn't pool related, but it did happen outside the poolhall and it was really bizarre. Two people had crashed and one of them (who caused the mishap) was getting more and more agitated. He is in the other guys face and the other guy is backing up towards his car. The other guy tries to get into the car and I was approaching them to break it up, but the agressor yanks the door open and then bites down on the corner of the door! There was no doubt he did it on purpose.There was a snapping/crunching sound as he broke a tooth and a loud yelp. The agressor then sped of, leaving me and the other guy completely confused.
 
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