Greats and near greats from Kentucky

JBKY said:

Hey,Ever here of a guy named Marlboro from Irvine,KY.man could that guy play some bankpool! Champion speed player that never ever left his little town.Wonder what ever happened to him.Nice guy to play with also.The locals would sure bet on him too.Your right,just about every small town had a champ or two In them.John B.

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Marlboro passed awhile back.Had meet him a few times Real nice.I remember his rosey red cheeks and being a jovial fellow. Rumor was the table he played on had a groove wore in the concrete floor from playing banks day in day out not many went to Irvine and got the cash trying him at bumps .

Also a few more from Irvine Eric Durbin born in Ohio but grew up in Irvine with his dad Tony .At times had champion speed or higher .
Also Mike Chaney not so much champion speed but every champion across the country came to Irvine to play him .He would bet the cash .had been doing this sense the 60s or better .He had a stroke and doesnt play much any more.

Yes, I remember Pig, I lived in Dawson Springs, and use to go to Hoptown and play some pee pool with him, also a guy named Cooley who was from Madisonville, I would play him now and then. Johnny Edwards from Bowling Green was a great money player, on a 4x8 at 9 ball he was tought to beat. I went to Johnson City with Johnny in 65-66, that was the year Harold Worst won the money. Tom

Got one!!!

I think he was from kentucky, and dont know if I am spelling his last name right. Rodney Keown I remember him from the early 90's and havent seen or heard of him for a long time. Also I know he doesnt live there anymore super nice guy Danny Hill.

this thread jogged my memory of a story i heard in the mid 80s. some of the details ate a lil sketchy but heres what i remember .

i met a woman in fla around 86 or 87 who i hooked up with for a lil while. one day she got to telling me about her brother. they were from around mt. sterling, west liberty iirc. she said he was a darn good player and traveled around some playing.

she didnt go into detail but he was spending time in the dayton ohio area hustling and met an untimely death. like i said she didnt go into detail but she lead me to believe it was over a game.

she said they buried his balabushka with him. at the time i didnt know what a balabushka was so she told me.i was a pretty decent bar banger i thought because i usually won more than i lost but she could kick my ass on the table.

i dont remember his name because i just let the story slide thinking she was blowing smoke one night when we were drinking. this supposedly happened in the early 80s. she said he was a lil older than her which would have put him in his late 20s or early 30s.

anybody here know if it is true ?

Bob Callahan said:

I know everybody from the West Liberty area who played pool, and many from Mt. Sterling+. The story doesn't ring any bells, but it might have been Ralph Kelly.

I'll check around.

Sadly, this thread has made me remember a whole lot of players who've died young, or under mysterious circumstances, or done a whole lot of time.

The murders of Toby Kavanaugh (Lexington) and Monroe Brock (Richmond) are still unsolved.

On a lighter note: Pool is a painful game.

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i have got to tell you a couple srories about me and that girl.

one night we went to a bar and they had 2 tables in the back so i went back there to play and she was hanging out up front socializing and dancing. on one table they were playing for fun and the other was playing for just a beer. i put my money on the beer table. when it was my turn i won and kept winning. an hour later 2 guys camein saying they were brothers and started playing against me . after beating each one several times one quit and the other kept playing me. after i won a few more the non player started running his mouth about his brother should up the ante saying you know you dont play good unless you playing for money. i declined saying a beer was high enough for me so we kept playing for that. my girl had been watching for a lil bit and heard tthe conversation but didnt say anything. she went back up front for a lil while . we continue shooting and i still hadnt lost . later she came back while loudmouth had started up again about playing for money, i had been ignoring him . my girl asks how much ? he says 20.00 a game. she says hell that aint money and pulls out 500.00 and slaps it on the table and says play for this. loudmouth says we aint playing for that ! she says , you been running your mouth for the last hour about your brother plays better when he plays for money, i got 500.00 that says you ate full of shit. he says i was thinking about 50.00 at the most. she goes, like i said you been running your mouth about how good he is , put up or shut up. they left the bar. i told her not to do that to me ever again they might have been hustlin me. she said i know a playew when i see one and those 2 cant touch you.

a few weeks later we went to another bar and we was doing basicaly the same thing cept we were playing 5.00 a game. after about 3 hours and i just about run every body offwinning about 9 out of 10 games an old man gets up and starts racking. my girl come up and says dont play him for money. i say why not im in stroke tonight. she says hes a roadplayer and will kick your ass. i say whats a roadplayerand she explains. i say how do you know, have you seen him before ? she says no bit she can spot one. she said he has been sitting at a table by the wall for 2 hours not doing anything but watching the play on the 2 tables. she said he knows you are the best in here tonight and took in most ost of the money and hes looking to take it from you. i said ok i will try him a fer cheap games. i go back up after he gets a stick off the wall and he says how about 20..0 a game. i said nope but i will play 5 or 6 games at 5.00 a game cuz i was getting tired and had quite a few to drink. he says ok. i break making 1 and get to my last ball before missing. he runs out. he makes the 8 on break next game. i rack and he makes the 8 on break again. i rack again while thinking aint nobody that lucky. he makes the 8 on 3 more breaksbefore i say that my 6 games i said i would play. i pay him and buy him a beer. we sit and talk for a lil bit. he told me i had a good eye for the game and that if i learned english i would be damn good. he said thats why he kept making the 8 , he wasnt giving me a chance to take his money. i told him thats what my girltells me. he said for a young girl shes smart about pool. later i racked again and he showed me how he makes the 8 on break. we split a lil while later , heard she went back to ky. for being in her early 20s she sure knew a lot about pool. wish i had listened to her more but my male ego couldnt stand a girl,especialy younger than me teaching me anything lol.

Landon Shuffet, probably the best junior player in the country is from Kentucky.

Anybody remember Mikey and midgets backer. I forget his name. Big tall guy nice fellow

apa8ballchump said:

I think he was from kentucky, and dont know if I am spelling his last name right. Rodney Keown I remember him from the early 90's and havent seen or heard of him for a long time. Also I know he doesnt live there anymore super nice guy Danny Hill.

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He's from Morgantown Ky. Rumor has it Earl Strickland gave Rodney the 8 and lost. He came to my small town at 16 and ran 8 racks. I heard he has back problems and doesn't play now.

Anyone ever run up on a guy named Mike Patton from Corbin? Near-pro speed,just ask Shannon Daulton. I believe he won a couple of late-90's U.S. Amateur titles. Unbelievable shotmaker,and a Nevel-like break. Tommy D.

Tommy-D said:

Anyone ever run up on a guy named Mike Patton from Corbin? Near-pro speed,just ask Shannon Daulton. I believe he won a couple of late-90's U.S. Amateur titles. Unbelievable shotmaker,and a Nevel-like break. Tommy D.

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I remember Mike Patton. I watched him play at Lexington's Rack Club (RIP Rack Club!) in a tourney about 8 or 9 years ago. He was the man to beat and won the event easily. It was a pleasure watching him play. Never saw him again though...

Byrus said:

He's from Morgantown Ky. Rumor has it Earl Strickland gave Rodney the 8 and lost. He came to my small town at 16 and ran 8 racks. I heard he has back problems and doesn't play now.

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Rodney also had one of those nerve issues that caused him to shake profusely. I used to wonder how he even hit the cueball sometimes but he seldom missed a shot. Always in a sport jacket and looked like an insurance man or salesman of some sort. Nice guy!

I don't know how great he was but there was a guy named Big John that moved to Houston in the late 80's. I'm pretty sure he was from KY. He wore bib overalls and was real country. Big guy and a very nice guy. Very funny. Had a big bushy beard. Played with a Meucci. Played real good nine ball.

Anyone know who I'm talking about?

FYI, Ray Schultz was a hell of a player from Owensboro. And Moonlight BBQ has the best mutton and assorted deserts in KY.

jalapus logan said:

I remember Mike Patton. I watched him play at Lexington's Rack Club (RIP Rack Club!) in a tourney about 8 or 9 years ago. He was the man to beat and won the event easily. It was a pleasure watching him play. Never saw him again though...

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He still plays, good player and can beat anybody in a tournament. He did win a Junior title, can't remember the year though.

jalapus logan said:

I remember Mike Patton. I watched him play at Lexington's Rack Club (RIP Rack Club!) in a tourney about 8 or 9 years ago. He was the man to beat and won the event easily. It was a pleasure watching him play. Never saw him again though...

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Ktown D said:

He still plays, good player and can beat anybody in a tournament. He did win a Junior title, can't remember the year though.

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I believe Mike won the state championship two weeks ago in Campbellsville. I know he played in the finals against Landon and I'm pretty sure he came out on top. Pretty sporty player.

Kentucky Legends

Best all-around: Daulton, Patton and Brumback.
Consistently elite: Mike Blevins.

Many came before us, either quitting or dying; too many to name. Respect.

Pete Glenn,great or near great player?
Not so much,but hustler,winner,#1 in my book

He won more money betting on pool than any player
I ever heard of. I know I made a contribution to him.

Vernon Elliott robbed me once in Dallas at Times square
He had a state sponsored vacation for a while and when he came back through
Dallas,I finally beat him with a large spot

I wouldn't have won ,but we were enforcing the one foot on the floor rule at CJ's

Vernon miscued several times using the "ladies aid",or I would have lost getting
2 Hit and the Pick,my standard game from road agents in those days

Kentucky was bank pool country in my day,probably still is

nice thread

MrCorbin said:

Best all-around: Daulton, Patton and Brumback.
Consistently elite: Mike Blevins.

Many came before us, either quitting or dying; too many to name. Respect.

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I know or have heard of just about every player mentioned in this thread.
Mike Blevins hasn’t played in several years due to a bad back.
I know it’s an old thread but Sky Woodward is from Paducah Ky.
Also Robert Frost is from Ky but currently lives in Ohio
I could name a bunch of players that play at 650 or above fargorate

I know this thread is as old as dirt but does Kevin Nichols still play? Late 80's-early 90's he was a helluva bank pool player from Ken.

Just to clarify here.

Nick Varner is actually NOT from Kentucky. At least not originally. He graduated from Tell City High School in Tell City, Indiana. Which, of course, is on the Ohio River and right across the river is indeed Kentucky.

Now Nick and his family moved to Owensboro back in the day but Nick is originally from Indiana.

r/DCP