Win yourself one of my great hitting cues

deanoc said:

that my friends on Az have spoken of in a nasty way

Win a free cue by writing an interesting story ,post in here

if it is the best you win a cue

I have 5 of these cues
I like the play very much

Your story will be judged on interesting,if it is about balance point,deflection .Mosconi cup,or high tech dull stuff,pro pool, or any American pro player

you might as well not enter I hate hearing about that stuff

I like an interesting action story

I like to hear about Efren,Eddie Taylor,Billy Stroud,Billy Incardone,Jersey Red,
Boston Shorty or even about you winning some money provided it has warmth,humor etc

I might send a nice kid a free cue if he can tell me about himself and plans for the future,not pool future

Young kids, unless they are Filipinos ,have no future in pool

Have you ever done something interesting?
write it down

You got a kid you would like to see have a decent playing cue tell it

Click to expand...

There are two young brothers in Texas who would disagree with you regarding no future in pool. They keep winning at Junior Nationals every year and beat some of the best this state has to offer. They may even hustle you based purely on their size and and you thinking someone this young can't be that good. Then they pull out a wad of cash and add your money to their bankrolls.

Here’s a story related to me that I retold once earlier this year....

A local shortstop tells me of when UJ Puckett came to Lansing. He pulls up in a car with a fishing boat connected to the back.

He hit some balls around not making too many. Then he got in some cheap action and would barely win, missing a lot of two way shots so his opponent had a lot of turns at the table even though they lost. And of course he was jawing in his big and boisterous way that kept his opponent and everyone around entertained by his antics.

He announced he had to leave and would be back later. He sauntered up to pay table time. As he pulled money out of his pocket, he accidentally spilled his bankroll on the counter with a flourish. Piles and wads of hundreds. Oops! He makes a scene of raking it into a pile, stacking and pocketing it. Then pays and leaves.

Afterwards he comes back with every Tom, Dick and Harry looking to see the easy pickings that came to town. He then starts rolling through everyone one at a time. He would win some money, scan the room, find the biggest guys in the room and buy their table a round of drinks. He’d win some more and buy another round for another side of the bar. How about you send around to them over there too. He’s guaranteeing he will be able to walk out of the place.

By the end people are playing him just for the right to be in the spotlight. They don’t mind losing because he is just regaling them with stories and jokes. They’re paying to be entertained.

He busts the town and hops back in his car and tows the fishing boat out of Dodge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Well, I play my best with a cue that I've had for about 35 years.... so, although
I have a few 'spares', and don't mind playing off the wall...and even like my one
piece Dufferin, for playing at home almost as much as any other.... here's a short
one.

I started playing partners on a 5 x 10 snooker table while in college, in the afternoon
(that was a big mistake!! :wink with a bunch of sales men, food brokers, and a fleet
truck salesman, a few semi hustler types(not while I was in the game), Harold Worst's
sparring partner George Ellis, and sometimes Harold's son. We played for quarters most of the time, and it was the most fun I've had playing this game outside of a few
handful of times. I learned a lot, worked hard on my stroke.... those pockets aren't that easy... and thought I was getting pretty good (for a relative newbie).

I started going to the pool hall from there (the snooker games were at a bowling alley, with a room in the back with 7 g.c.s and the 5 x 10). I found some new friends at the hall, and one of them had a really sharp cue that I like a lot. I didn't gamble much, and only for small stakes. One day my friend said he was selling that cue, and
asked if I wanted to try it.... I did! While getting ready to shoot some with it, I happened to get in a game...getting my first spot ever.. the 8 ball, from a regular player there.... well long story short, I won enough to pay for almost half the cost of the cue, bought it that day... and have loved it ever since.... had it rewrapped and finished with a couple of new shafts a while back by B.S. for far more than the original cost of the cue....and that was well worth it as well. Probably the most enjoyment from any one 'thing' that I've had in my life!! I love my JW!

td

grindz said:

Well, I play my best with a cue that I've had for about 35 years.... so, although
I have a few 'spares', and don't mind playing off the wall...and even like my one
piece Dufferin, for playing at home almost as much as any other.... here's a short
one.

I started playing partners on a 5 x 10 snooker table while in college, in the afternoon
(that was a big mistake!! :wink with a bunch of sales men, food brokers, and a fleet
truck salesman, a few semi hustler types(not while I was in the game), Harold Worst's
sparring partner George Ellis, and sometimes Harold's son. We played for quarters most of the time, and it was the most fun I've had playing this game outside of a few
handful of times. I learned a lot, worked hard on my stroke.... those pockets aren't that easy... and thought I was getting pretty good (for a relative newbie).

I started going to the pool hall from there (the snooker games were at a bowling alley, with a room in the back with 7 g.c.s and the 5 x 10). I found some new friends at the hall, and one of them had a really sharp cue that I like a lot. I didn't gamble much, and only for small stakes. One day my friend said he was selling that cue, and
asked if I wanted to try it.... I did! While getting ready to shoot some with it, I happened to get in a game...getting my first spot ever.. the 8 ball, from a regular player there.... well long story short, I won enough to pay for almost half the cost of the cue, bought it that day... and have loved it ever since.... had it rewrapped and finished with a couple of new shafts a while back by B.S. for far more than the original cost of the cue....and that was well worth it as well. Probably the most enjoyment from any one 'thing' that I've had in my life!! I love my JW!

td

Click to expand...

You are like me in a little bit. Our pool hall in Clovis, NM had 5 snooker tables and one lonely pool table in the back. All we played was snooker and a little golf. With 3 or more players, the 6 was wild. Super fun in my high school days in the early 60's. Sometime an Air Force guy would walk in and ask us to play pool. The pockets were huge! Anyway, snooker costs $.25 a rack and the rack boy would come rack them up. We'd drink Dr. Peppers with peanuts poured in the bottle. Cost one dime and one nickel for the peanuts. Next door, there was a Mexican pool hall, we'd go over there sometimes. Same layout, 5 snooker tables and one pool table which no one was ever on. Of course both of those places went away while I was in the Navy from 64-70. But, my love for pool lives on even today.

denwhit said:

You are like me in a little bit. Our pool hall in Clovis, NM had 5 snooker tables and one lonely pool table in the back. All we played was snooker and a little golf. With 3 or more players, the 6 was wild. Super fun in my high school days in the early 60's. Sometime an Air Force guy would walk in and ask us to play pool. The pockets were huge! Anyway, snooker costs $.25 a rack and the rack boy would come rack them up. We'd drink Dr. Peppers with peanuts poured in the bottle. Cost one dime and one nickel for the peanuts. Next door, there was a Mexican pool hall, we'd go over there sometimes. Same layout, 5 snooker tables and one pool table which no one was ever on. Of course both of those places went away while I was in the Navy from 64-70. But, my love for pool lives on even today.

Click to expand...

My first time playing snooker as a child, I was just simply amazed by how big the table was compared to a pool table. Looked like a football field it was so massive.
Heck it still looks big when I am trying to pot a ball

Snooker Theory said:

My first time playing snooker as a child, I was just simply amazed by how big the table was compared to a pool table. Looked like a football field it was so massive.
Heck it still looks big when I am trying to pot a ball

Click to expand...

I guess if it's all you know, it looks right and the pool table looks super small. That is the way it was in those days. But, I took a train trip to see a buddy in upper Minnesota in 1961. Stopped in Minneapolis/ St Paul with a few hours to kill between the train and the bus. I went into a HUGE pool hall, told the guy I wanted snooker. He lead me to the gigantic 6 X12 tables. I told the guy I was looking for snooker but not those. Also, in the Navy in Singapore, the 6 X 12' table is the snooker table we found.

I first met Jersey Red in 1963 at the Cotton Bowling Palace. I was not in his league or even his planet in regards to playing pool but I came from Tarleton State in Stephenville to try to play some cheap 9 ball.

Red was playing U. J. and, over time, had Puckett stuck pretty bad at $25 a game. Puckett finally gave up and Squirrel from Pasadena, a young kid like myself, steps up and he and Red begin to play. Squirrel doesn't last as long as U.J. and, after the match, I go over and introduce myself to Red. He was very friendly, had a million stories, and enjoyed the attention of many guys in the pool room.

A number of years and marriages go by and in '88 or '89(faded memory of the elderly), I had gone to Houston to play a cheap 9 ball tournament at Slick Willie's on Monroe. Red was there and after the tournament got started, Red had a number youngsters around him and he starts telling about how he came to Texas in '63 and had played Puckett at the CBP and "barbecued" him(one of Red's favorite expressions).

I was sitting on a barstool near the crowd and i said "Nov., '63, Cotton Bowling Palace?" Yeah, yeah, that's right". Well, I said, as I recall,he took you to the cleaners!

Red lit up like a Christmas tree asking who the hell I was and why was I questioning his version of the match? All those kids were looking at me like I was from Mars. I started laughing and then told those kids that I had seen the match and Red had "barbecued" Puckett. I then related how the Red they saw play now was a shadow of the guy who came to Texas in the '60's. I said he was one of the top 5 players in the world then, at least in my opinion. Red relaxed, got a big smile on his face, walked over and said "Do I know you/" I replied, no, not really. I was a young kid who introduced himself to you that night in '63 and I have not seen you but one other time at a big tournament.

We visited for a while and I got to hear a lot of road stories.

In late 1990, my brother-in-law and I opened "Big Daddy's" in Alvin, Texas. Red dropped in quite often, showed the young players some shots and visited with me like I had known him all his life.

Another time, I might relate a few more late in his career Red stories in the Houston area.

About 1986 I was a 16 year old kid. Dumb enough to think I knew most everything, and I already liked to gamble. We would bet on things like video games, putt putt, racing go carts, who could out run a dog on a bike, and of course pool. I was never any good at pool in my teens, but somehow we always found a way to bet. My buddy Mike I would play some on a beat up bar table, making some sort of stupid bet. He was probably the reason I started playing pool truth be told.

Mike was in a car crash one day with some other friends of mine. They had been drinking, and wrecked. Everyone walked away but Mike, he ended up in a coma for about a month. When he got out of the hospital, of course we took him to a party because were were stupid kids. He wasn't really the same, but he was still a crazy ****er we all loved.

In 1988 I went off to college, where I found the joy of games like 9 ball, 3 ball, cherry picker, and a bunch of other games. We would play 3 ball for hours, 10 or so at a time, for .50 cents a turn. Amazing how big those pots would get at such a low wager.

One day, while were playing, I get a phone call on the hall phone. Was my mom, calling to tell me that Mike had been in another car accident. He didn't make it this time. And whenever someone asks how I got into playing pool I think about him, about playing in the old recreation place on that beat old bar table.

Know its not the story you were looking for Dean, but thanks for the memories anyway.

Last year I signed up for a cheap little 9 balll tournament here in North Texas. Ten dollars mind you, big money for a big day.

Anyway, I step up to the table and greet my first opponent. Haven't shot seriously in 17 years or so, so I tell him, "take it easy on me I'm new at this." I break and run the first rack. I break and run the second rack...nine ball break...match #1 over.

So my next match I play a guy that everyone is scared of, being as you are in Dallas Deanoc, I am guessing you would know who this person is if I stated their name...not a Pro, but he doesn't lose much. Now, I had never seen this person, didn't know who he was and frankly could have cared less, just the next guy in line in the tournament.

He won the toss so I racked, he broke, ran three balls, missed and I thought to myself "I just won". I finished out the rack, Broke and combo'd a 2/9. Lost the next game (broke dry and he ran out) then as luck would have it, he broke, scratched and left a 1/9 combo in the side. The cue ball was pretty close to the 1 ball, but not where I felt I would have a single problem making it. I line up...he is watching the whole time...he waits for my backstroke and then jumps in front of me and claims (in the loudest voice he can muster) "I need someone to watch this hit". I wait for the Tournament director to come over to watch the hit...meanwhile me and the guy are standing there, waiting, I whisper (...sharking ass mofo) just loud enough so he can hear it...now I am pissed, I am going to make the shot and this match will be over and I won't have to deal with this guy much longer. TD shows up at the table...I get down, determined as all get out...wind up, deliver the shot and boom, bad hit, SHANKED it so bad my kids would be embarrassed that I was their father if they had seen it. My heart sunken I go sit down and watch him shoot...1 down, 2/3/4...five in the side setting up perfectly for the six. He gets a little bad on the seven, so he plays safe. I make the seven and then leave the worst 8 ball shot ever. I play a great safety on the 8 ball...once he misses its duck, duck, goose for the win.

Now, the match was fun for me, I won 3-1. First and only time I have ever played this guy. But the funny part of the story is what happened after. I went to shake his hand...he wasn't having it. "how are you gonna call me a shark just because I had someone watch a shot?" me:"called you a shark because of the WAY, you decided to implement that strategy" HIM "I am way better than you, you should never beat me in a million years" me: "just did, see you if I make it to the loser's bracket where the "Better" players are"...at this point the talking is done...seems I won that little spar session. The guy literally makes a huge spectacle (mind you I didn't put him out of the tournament, just on the B side). So he takes out his wallet, removes all of the cash from it and starts waving it around like he is looking for strippers. "I'll play you for all this RIGHT NOW!"...seriously had to be 1800 dollars there. I walked up to him and said, "I already beat you, you'll get another turn if you make it to the end of your bracket."

So, he proceeds to beat the rest of his opponents. I beat the rest of mine and we meet in the final match. It is going on 1:00 AM at this point, and I have to work at 6 AM. We meet at the final table, coin flip...I win the break. I look at him. I walk over to him and quietly say..."you still mad bro?"

Anyway...that was one fun night. I beat a lot of players I probably shouldn't have, and have never matched up with the guy again, but I know for sure he will not take me lightly the next time it does happen. I actually ended up offering to cut the pot right after I asked him if he was still mad...with an angry red face and pissy attitude he agreed to do so, we shook hands and headed our separate ways.

108 dollars each. Nothing to write home about, but I now have a fun story about what a great sport one of the "most feared" players in the area is.

Anyway, I love this game. I can tell that you do as well as a lot of others on this site and I am glad you are giving stuff away...maybe one day I will be in a position to be able to do the same.

A background like many others. In high school in the 60's and managed the town pool hall through high school. Played pool,ring games, and snooker in every small Midwestern town miles around. As an adult moved a few times and in the mid 80's came to settle in a town of 800 people about 15 miles of where I played years before.

I knew a few people from my earlier years and it wasn't too long I became friends with many locals at the one tavern in town. It had a bar box and the boys would play partner 8 ball for beers. All friends of mine but I rarely played. ( I just like the bigger tables )

On a cold, snowy January Saturday night, we're drinking, the boys are playing, and it's getting late and one more song and we are out of here. I got in the game and we held the table. As often happens, there is an after hours party,this time at the owners house and everyone is invited. He also owns a pool table so the game continues. My partner and I hold the table, music is playing, and the drinks get stronger. It's pushing 3 in the morning when one of the guys calls me out. "I have heard about you, but I got $10 here that says I can beat you heads up."

There's just a few hard-ballers left, so we play our game and I win. As you can guess, he wants double-or-nothing. So we play, now he owes me 20. He says "Again', now he owes me 40. "Again'... it keeps going and now he's up to $320. By this time the only people left are the owner, my wife and I, and this 'friend'. He says "Again" and my wife tells me to lose, but I told her it wasn't about the money but the principle of the thing. Owner says "Last game, this is it." So we play.

To play a child is one thing, or playing an old timer who uses the cue as a cane to get around the table or shoot through bifocals is another. I couldn't do it. I couldn't lay down, so I beat him again. Now he owes me $640 and reality is sinking in. It's gotten quiet now. We are putting on our coats and he on one side of the table and me on the other. He's looking down, talking to himself, and comes around to face me. I know he's not well off, and I can see he is troubled. I ask him "How much money do you have?" He opens his wallet and pulls out $20. Another moment of silence, then I tell him, "I didn't come here to hustle anybody or take your money. You wanted to play, so I played. I will take your 20, and we will call it even. OK? ".... "Ok Thanks"

As we start for the door, he stops for a second and says" I want to ask you something." I stop and turn as he asks "Do you have any money I can borrow, I'm broke." Now what am I supposed to do. I gave him back his 20. That's been 30+ years ago, and I have never seen the first penny of that money. We are still friends and live in the same town. A lot has changed since then, but we never played pool again

No big time players involved. We all have memories of games come and gone, this one still makes me smile.

Dean,

Here's a story for you and you may even know the guy.

I met an amazing road player back around 1970 when I was about 16 yeas old and was working in a pool hall.

I was working in a place called the Sportsman's Club in the bootheel of Missouri and this unknown guy shows up one day. He had dark hair and he was wearing one of those short-brimmed kind of fishing hats, a white t-shirt, double-knit golf-looking pants, and slip-on canvas deck shoes.

The reason I remember what he was wearing so well was because he looked so out-of-place and he stood out immediately. Most of the pool hall regulars wore jeans, work clothes, or something not so "preppy" looking. He was also driving a car that stood out...a black Eldorado Cadillac of the most recent model.

I don't remember really what storyline he used for being in town, but he sat up at the bar, drinking a beer, and watched people play 9-ball ring games for a day or so before he ever made a move.

After a couple days, he somehow managed to get into the games and he made a ball or two every once in a while, but he held the stick clumsily and always looked to be lucky. While in these games, he managed to always lose and I would imagine he lost several hundred dollars over the next few days.

After a couple days, the better players, who also had day jobs, would rush in after work just hoping this guy was there because he seemed such an easy mark and he always lost.

Around a week had passed and he would still be playing them, but at the end he would ask the winner (usually the better player) if he could have a chance to get his money back. They couldn't wait to jump his ass one-on-one because they were just sure they would get all his money and be driving his Cadillac if they were lucky.

As the stakes increased, he steadily got better and his cuemanship wasn't quite so clumsy.

To make a long story short...he went from being easy money to SUPERMAN in a week. He killed everybody in the area and wound up giving everybody who would bet a dime the 7, 8, 9 and the break.

Over the course of time that he was in town, I got to talk to him quite a bit and he confided a few things to me that I had already observed, but maybe he thought I didn't know. When he got a bit 'better", day by day, playing solo games, he had slipped his own one-piece cue in the back door and stashed it in the rack on the wall.

It was a standard one-piece cue that he had sanded down to his preferred taper, and he had a Le Pro tip on it, which made it stand out a bit from the sticks we had with Elk Master tips. I fixed the cues for the house and that was something that I noticed. It was 21 oz and had a 14mm tip.

When things were slow in the day, with no players around, he would show me shots and teach me things on how to improve my game. I asked him about his cue and he said he liked a heavy weight because lots of places had little or no A/C and the humidity caused the tables to be slower and he didn't want to have to smack the balls around. He also said he liked the 14mm tip because it gave him greater control and he liked it on the bar tables with the bigger cue ball. Like I said, I fixed the sticks and we never had Le Pros, so I never had tried one. He gave me a couple and we picked a 21 oz, 14mm ebony house cue out of our stock of sticks and I fixed me one up just like his. I have used his specs, with very little changes, over the last 50 years. I still have cues like that. The changes in playing conditions, over the years, don't make them the best for today, but they served me for many years, especially playing in the bars.

I asked him how come he used such a plain house cue once everyone now knew that he could kick some serious ass. He took me out to his Cadillac and opened the trunk and showed me his "top-of-the-line" Palmer. He said, "you don't think I could have snuck that one into the racks, do you?" His Palmer was built to the same specs as his "house cue".

It was the model in this photo at the bottom of this story.

The owner of the pool hall took him around the various pool halls and bars within a hundred mile radius over the next week or so and I went with them on a few occasions. This guy destroyed everybody he played.

One day, like the Lone Ranger, it was time for him to ride off into the sunset. He left and I never saw or heard a word about him again. I didn't know his name at the time, but the name he used was something like J. D. Tyler or Taylor. Whether that was his real name or not, I do not know. I later heard through the owner of the pool hall that this guy was from TX and he used to go on the road with a player called "Big Foot" who played even better than he did. I never saw Big Foot, so I can't attest to that. Supposedly, Big Foot would back J. D. and when the losers complained that they couldn't win playing him that Big Foot (who supposedly was just a backer, not a player) would say "pump it up and play me then". Then he would proceed to take the rest of their money.

There probably were, then and now, many players who could have given this guy a game or beaten him, but I have yet to see anybody go from chump to champion as smoothly as he did. It was strictly a scene from a movie with an Oscar-winning actor and I still wonder just how good this guy could have played if he really had somebody who played as well he did as an opponent.

Now that we are at the end of the story, I think you may know this guy.

Over the years, I have learned some more information and he turned out to be Jack Taylor, from Texas, Alfie Taylor's brother. Prior to coming to AZB, I had never heard of Alfie, nor his book.

If you knew Jack and have any stories about him, I'd appreciate hearing them. Seeing him robbing all those guys, and making it look so easy, will always be a fond memory.

In edit: I found a thread on here posted by Alfie. It was about Jack's passing. I'll quote the post here.

My friend, road partner and brother is gone

To all of my friends, whether we've met or not, who wrote such comforting, heartfelt words regarding my brother, Jack's passing. It not only was soothing to me, they will be read at Jack's service by his children. Many of you didn't know Jack and some even didn't know about him. For those of you who have not read about him in my book, please send me your address via alft@alftaylor.com and I'll see what I can do about that.

Nobody ever rose up from their deathbed and said "I should have made more money." More likely, " I should have been better to my fellow man."

Alfie "Bicycle Willie" Taylor

https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?390094&p=5079539#post5079539

I've never read Alfie's book, but I'm sure it has some good stories. I'll have to see if I can get a copy of it. Alfie, if you are out there somewhere, let me know if you have any more signed copies.

https://www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Road-Alf-Taylor/dp/1450781462

And another link about Jack:

https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=389639&highlight=jack+taylor

The tears are still in my eyes as I tell many of Jacks and my friends that he passed away last night in Galveston Texas. His wife, Cozy was at his side. A lot of stories abound in the pool world about Jack. In a world where slipping around was necessary, Jack could slip with the best of them. He was a real good pool player, a competent golfer and no stranger to cards. But, that was the Jack you all knew. At home or with his kids and grand kids he was loved with an intensity. I'm so happy that less than a month ago I got to spend a few days with him where he took me into his game room and ran out on me for hours.

To get the real picture of what kind of man Jack was you would have had to talk to Eddie Taylor or Minnesota Fats. Both were great friends and hustling partners with him. If you get a chance to talk to Buddy Hall, I'm sure he feels the same.

Jack taught me the game and tricks of the road when I was a kid. If you've read my book, you'll see how he also punched me out of some pretty tight spots. He wasn't like anyone else.

Oh Lord! How much I miss him already. Please, God. Bless and keep him.

Alf

Edit again: I originally told this story on here in 2011, before I was sure who Jack was.

There were some responses to my thread that helped me in gathering more information and there is a post where somebody said Bigfoot was also called "Tall Jimmy". A couple people added some of their own stories to that thread, as well.

https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=240953&highlight=circa+1970

HawaiianEye said:

Dean,

Here's a story for you and you may even know the guy.

I met an amazing road player back around 1970 when I was about 16 yeas old and was working in a pool hall.

I was working in a place called the Sportsman's Club in the bootheel of Missouri and this guy shows up one day and he looks (to me now, remembering back) sort of like Jamie Farr, the guy playing in the MASH TV show. He had dark hair and he was wearing one of those short-brimmed kind of fishing hats, a white t-shirt, double-knit golf-looking pants, and slip-on canvas deck shoes.

Click to expand...

Great story, H.E.

When I first discovered pool I went to a Viking tour stop at Northfield Billiards in Ohio, a big, smoky place next to a race track, full of characters and action.

Every big name player was in action throughout the weekend, but two unknowns from the Midwest were making a killing even with the tough competition, the Bonnie-and-Clyde duo of a young Larry Nevel and Rachel Abbink. They both possessed monster strokes that elicited plenty of oohs and aahs from the railbirds, and shot fearlessly against all comers.

The great Detroit player Ronnie Wiseman was spending much of the tournament finding whatever side action he could, playing the occasional 9-ball game if he liked it, making happy conversation with the ladies in the room while palming a hefty bankroll. I found myself next to Ronnie watching Rachel Abbink play her tournament match. This particular tournament was sponsored by some off-brand chalk company, and the players were required to use it in the matches. The chalk was no good for Rachel's big stroke, and she must have miscued four or five times.

She loses the match, leaves the room, and shows up at night looking for a game. Ronnie thinks he has a fish based on what he saw, and offers to give her weight playing $5,000 sets. The bad news for him is now she has functional chalk, and it does not go well for Ronnie. She takes down set after set, even with adjusting the spot, and makes ridiculous stroke shots with no miscues in sight. Ronnie watches calmly with a "sometimes the bear eats you" face, pays up, and goes back to more off-the-table activities for the night.

I have no stories. Don't gamble or know any action players. Is there a losers drawing or can I come up with a Queen for Day story?

A battle with a Champion

Early 60's, I'm like a sophomore in high school, 15yrs old or so.
I'm hanging out at Steves Club in Oak Cliff Tx.We hear that Jimmy
Caras is coming to town to do an exhibition at this pool room across
town. We all head over to sweat it. I'm standing there talking to the
guy that runs the place,and ask who he's playing.He says, how
about you ? Well sure say I. I had been in this pool room before
and had beaten everyone,so this guy thinks I can really play.
We only played 9 ball and 8 ball, never straight pool. Not that it
would have made in difference. The joint is packed, and all my
Oak Cliff buddies are cheering me on. Caras breaks, not safe
he calls the corner ball one rail back in the corner. Me misses and
I run 125 and out. Just kidding I make a few balls and miss and
he runs 40-50 and tries some crazy shot,shooting the break ball
directly into the stack. He did this a few more times just to keep
it going and I get about 30-35 balls. It's over and everyone is
crowded around him asking questions. I pipe up "got any tips
for me", he looks me and says "go practice". Well of all things
I take it easy on him and he says that, he was just lucky we
didn't play 9ball. We found out he was doing another exhibition
that night across town. We hustle over there and it has already
started and he is playing the best player in Dallas and my first
pool Idol Billy Stroud. Man oh man "yeah Jimmy Caras came
to town, put on two exhibitions for thousands of fans, Billy
played one and I played the other, any of you want an autograph."
I win Dean, send my cue, you have the address.
jack

deanoc said:

Hawaiian Eye

Wins a free cue,send me your address

I have been accused of selling these cheap cues to beginners
someone called them junk

Please post pictures of the cue on that thread with tour honest assessment

If Jack liked heavy and carried something when undercover

perhaps this cue will remind you of him

I almost hate to send this cue to you because I am afraid that when

get through laughing and complaining that it feels like a club

what scares me,is that it might play so good you will sell all
of those expensive cues and play with this one

It is "taylor made for you"



I was very new to big time pool hustling when Jack Taylor was at the Cotto Bowling Palace

I made it a point to steer clear of guys who were too smart,they scared me

The top 3 were Jack Taylor,Alfie Taylor, and Billy Stroud

I watched them but was not any where near their league,these guys
were pool players

Now my friend Jack Potter made friends with these guys and probably has some really good stories

I did become friends with Billy Stroud later thanks to pool cues


I bought a new Balabushka and had Billy Stroud make me a solid ebony merry widow with an ivory joint
Billy told me it would not play good but I had an idea it would

It played so good that when Bob Mapes wanted to buy one,i gave him the choice and he took the Joss over the Balabushka

I was left holding the Balabushka, who could have known George would soon die,become a legend and my cue would gain in value


I have been fortunate tohave known some really interesting people in pool



cubswin, I liked your story too,you deserve a prize but i think I sold the other "junk cues"

there are some other good stories on here

This has been a good thread, i hope you guys keep up the stories

I might have another good hitting cheapo cue,but it must be an exceptional story to win my player

Click to expand...

OMG, Dean!

Feels like I won the "LOTTO".

Ain't too many times one wakes up to hear that they've won a cue that is "Taylor-made" for them.

I'll take this cue down to Brian's and make a "potting machine" out of it before Jack Potter gets a chance to play with it and gets it out of "alignment".

I've been looking forward to breaking Mosconi's record of 526 and I think this cue may be just what it takes to put me over the top. I've ran quite a few with my cues, but when this cue adds the other 500 I'll be the talk of Honolulu.

Thanks again for your kindness. I'll be sure to post a "review" and a picture or two.

And for Jackpot: I want to hear some stories about Jack Taylor. Got some?

Aloha