Los Angeles area players from the past
- Thread starter jay helfert
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That's a funny story. I remember Stanley as well. He was always good action backing somebody. He liked to be in the middle of things. Marvin was normally a good man to bet on. If he had been drinking or not playing (he might go weeks without hitting a ball), he was vulnerable. If he was in stroke then no one had to like him playing him. He and Ed Kelly had the sweetest strokes I've ever seen to this day. And they both could play a little too!
Cole was truly a great player, one of the all time great money players. He was from Northern California, the Bay area.
Dave (like Frank) remains a decent player to this day, very tough on a bar table for sure. He won the BCA Seniors title about ten years ago and that's a tough one to win.
True gentlemen as well.
Was Chico Williams black with straight hair who always wore a track suit? He played tournaments at the old Hollywood Billiards and the Athletic Club?
Jay, was California Shorty black with one shorter leg and Jheri Curl hair? He could play.
That's him.
Here's a copy-and-paste of a cute article I posted about some year ago on AzB in another thread:
In doing a little reading, I ran across an interesting article about the Mexican champions. It was written in March 1984 by Bill Pierce. There is a picture of Ernesto Dominguez and "Little Sergio" Varga within the article, who at the time were inseparable. Before the Filipino Invasion, lead by Jose Parica, it was the Mexican champions who were making the news.
Here's a couple of snippets: Some of Mexico's finest pool-playing champions are migrating across the border to Southern California to compete with their American counterparts for the riches that are starting to materialize in pocket billiards.
"Riches"? LOL!
Continuing: In the last couple of years, a few of them have entered tournaments...just to test the waters. Some have had considerable success, such as ERNESTO DOMINGUEZ.
Most of these players are still learning to speak English, but were taught by their countrymen who have been here a few years to beware of getting trapped by some of the trashy, low-life bums...It's a shame that the game of pool has to tolerate these vultures. The professional pool players who come from Mexico are invariably good sports and perfect gentlemen when they arrive and remain to be so, except for a few who unfortunately confirm to the American negative side because they allowed themselves to be influenced by pool hustling vultures.
Some of the great Mexican champions who preceded these late arrivals and were a driving influence to bringing them to America are BIG SERGIO GANDERILLA and other greats such as "NICARAGUA" AL DAVILA and BERNARDO "KING KONG" RAMIREZ.
Among the Mexican Americans, we have "TRACY JOE" SALAZAR, one of the America's best bar table players, "LITTLE AL" ROMERO, a true gentleman and a world-class champion of all pool games, including one-handed and left- or right-handed, DANNY MEDINA, a world-class champion who resides in Denver, Colorado, and FRANK "THE BARBER" ALMANZA, an all-around West Coast champion.
But this latest crop from Mexico are the ones who are going to have to be reckoned with in the future tournaments. ERNESTO DOMINGUEZ and "LITTLE SERGIO" VARGA are a couple of the most threatening at the moment. "LITTLE SERGIO" is already beging recognized by some as one of the top five one-handed players in the world.
I would again emphasize that a lot of you American players could take lessons in good sportsmanship and acquire a little class by emulating the champions from below the border.
Interesting article to me as I am acquiring bits of data about the pool culture in America. Some things haven't changed. Keith McCready said before the Filipinos hit the shores of America, it was definitely the Mexican players who were the toughest to beat. Today, there are tough players from around the world who have come to our shores and compete in America. Boy, what a difference 20 years makes!
"Tracy Joe" Salazar told me this story about him and Keith getitng in combat. Here is a reprint of a post I made on AzB. I think it belongs in this thread.
Tracy Joe was quite the player on the bar box.
Here's a cute story about the two of them. A young Keith made an appointment to play the legendary Tracy Joe at a pool room that was off the beaten path.
Keith and a couple of his buddies drove out to the joint at the designated time. When they walked in, there was Tracy Joe waiting for him. The place was packed with curious onlookers wanting to sweat the match. Tracy Joe had his own fan club there in full force, too.
Before the first game, it was agreed that the post monies would be placed on top of the overhead light, a nickel each totalling a thousand bucks. It wasn't 10 crisp C-notes, though. Rather, it was a bunch of tens and twenties. I'm sure both players must have been playing on committee monies.
Tracy Joe and Keith wasted no time and began to battle. It was like one of those neck-and-neck horse races. When one of them got close to the finish line, the other one would catch up. They were tight races. Back and forth they went until the wee hours of the morning, and then Keith caught one of those infamous gears and put it in turbocharge, defeating Tracy Joe several races.
Keith and his entourage were the strangers in town and wanted to get out of there as quick as they could with the cheese. So after the last set, they didn't want to hang around and mingle. They immediately exited the premises.
The night sky was pitch black in the parking lot. Keith and his buddies piled in their car to begin their journey back home. Within minutes it seemed, the driver of Keith's car saw headlights behind him, coming towards their car at an extremely fast pace. The driver of Keith's car figured they were going to get robbed and started to step on it, hitting speeds of close to 100 MPH. Keith said he was frightened.
Soon the car behind them made a move on this two-lane highway and pulled up right next to their car on the left. Keith and his buddies looked in horror when they saw this car full of the bar's patrons and wondered how they were going to get out of this trap.
The driver's side window of the other car was rolled down, and there was Tracy Joe. He had a bunch of greenbacks in one hand, pointing at it with his other hand, and screamed, "Keith, you forgot the post monies on the light."
Keith's driver pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Tracy Joe walked up to Keith's car and handed him the cash. Keith's driver was relieved, as were the rest of the occupants. On the way home, they all enjoyed a good chuckle. They were so intent on leaving, thinking they could get robbed, that they forget to grab the post on top of the light, and the would-be robbers turned out to be the good guys, only wanting to do the right thing.
I see Joe from time to time today, and he always reminds me of a few cute stories from when he was hitting 'em. Today, he still hits 'em with a few buddies on the tournament trail. He likes one-pocket. I wouldn't be able to clock his speed, but I kind of think Joe likes it that way!
Tracy Joe was quite the player on the bar box.
Here's a cute story about the two of them. A young Keith made an appointment to play the legendary Tracy Joe at a pool room that was off the beaten path.
Keith and a couple of his buddies drove out to the joint at the designated time. When they walked in, there was Tracy Joe waiting for him. The place was packed with curious onlookers wanting to sweat the match. Tracy Joe had his own fan club there in full force, too.
Before the first game, it was agreed that the post monies would be placed on top of the overhead light, a nickel each totalling a thousand bucks. It wasn't 10 crisp C-notes, though. Rather, it was a bunch of tens and twenties. I'm sure both players must have been playing on committee monies.
Tracy Joe and Keith wasted no time and began to battle. It was like one of those neck-and-neck horse races. When one of them got close to the finish line, the other one would catch up. They were tight races. Back and forth they went until the wee hours of the morning, and then Keith caught one of those infamous gears and put it in turbocharge, defeating Tracy Joe several races.
Keith and his entourage were the strangers in town and wanted to get out of there as quick as they could with the cheese. So after the last set, they didn't want to hang around and mingle. They immediately exited the premises.
The night sky was pitch black in the parking lot. Keith and his buddies piled in their car to begin their journey back home. Within minutes it seemed, the driver of Keith's car saw headlights behind him, coming towards their car at an extremely fast pace. The driver of Keith's car figured they were going to get robbed and started to step on it, hitting speeds of close to 100 MPH. Keith said he was frightened.
Soon the car behind them made a move on this two-lane highway and pulled up right next to their car on the left. Keith and his buddies looked in horror when they saw this car full of the bar's patrons and wondered how they were going to get out of this trap.
The driver's side window of the other car was rolled down, and there was Tracy Joe. He had a bunch of greenbacks in one hand, pointing at it with his other hand, and screamed, "Keith, you forgot the post monies on the light."
Keith's driver pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Tracy Joe walked up to Keith's car and handed him the cash. Keith's driver was relieved, as were the rest of the occupants. On the way home, they all enjoyed a good chuckle. They were so intent on leaving, thinking they could get robbed, that they forget to grab the post on top of the light, and the would-be robbers turned out to be the good guys, only wanting to do the right thing.
I see Joe from time to time today, and he always reminds me of a few cute stories from when he was hitting 'em. Today, he still hits 'em with a few buddies on the tournament trail. He likes one-pocket. I wouldn't be able to clock his speed, but I kind of think Joe likes it that way!
Andy Hughes
Registered
I enjoy visiting with Joe during the tournaments here in Las Vegas when he sets up his booth. He has more cues for sale than I can count. Takes him close to 90 minutes to set up & the same to break down each night. I bought a few of his cues in the last couple of years
Andy - Las Vegas
Andy - Las Vegas
Andy Hughes
Registered
Dave Dattilo who lives here in Las Vegas is now in his 70’s & playing some of his best Pool. He won the Jerry Franklin Memorial Invitational tournament at the Rum Runner last May. Tough round robin tournament playing 9-Ball one day & 8-Ball the next day. Then the winner of each match up to determine the champion.
Andy - Las Vegas
Andy - Las Vegas
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Andy Hughes
Registered
Are you thinking of Doc White who took you to Watts, Bill? Doc & I ran together for about two years in Los Angeles in the late ‘70’s. He talked me into going to Compton one day for a big 3-Ball game. We end up $2,500 winners, but I never thought we would get out of the place. Somehow we did!
Andy - Las Vegas
Andy - Las Vegas
That's Texas Shorty, another very good player. His real name was Johnny ? (Im forgetting right now but I'll remember). He played a lot of good players in his time, beating many of them. I really liked him, a very nice and respectful man. We always got along great.
California Shorty was a lot more careful about hiding his game. He may have played as good as the Ice Man but I can't be sure. I know the other black champions treated him with respect.
Good post Jay
The names I remember are:
Wayne Norcross
Mark Chernin
Aaron Arogan
Jay Swanson
Jose Parica
Bernardo Chavez
Arturo Rivera
Max Eberle
Ismael Paez
Santos SamBajon
Corey Harper
Frank Almanza
and many more of course!
And yourself Jay... You were pretty good hustler. I have heard all about you! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
The names I remember are:
Wayne Norcross
Mark Chernin
Aaron Arogan
Jay Swanson
Jose Parica
Bernardo Chavez
Arturo Rivera
Max Eberle
Ismael Paez
Santos SamBajon
Corey Harper
Frank Almanza
and many more of course!
And yourself Jay... You were pretty good hustler. I have heard all about you! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
The names I remember are:
Wayne Norcross
Mark Chernin
Aaron Arogan
Jay Swanson
Jose Parica
Bernardo Chavez
Arturo Rivera
Max Eberle
Ismael Paez
Santos SamBajon
Corey Harper
Frank Almanza
and many more of course!
And yourself Jay... You were pretty good hustler. I have heard all about you! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
I don't know about that. I've played matches (money or tournament) against more than half those guys and I'm sure I have a losing record. We had a lot of lesser known players (guys like Johnny Kang, Lori Deleon, Danny Petralba, Neil Fujiwara and others) who also played some good pool, but remained under wraps. Dave Hemmah played on the pro circuit for several years, cashing on a regular basis. In One Pocket we have Tall Phil, Just Plain Wayne and One Pocket Rich who have tangled with the top players for the cheese.
Champion player John Schmidt is from nearby Hesperia and the repeat national "amateur" champion Brian Parks hails from Ridgecrest in SoCal.
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The names I remember are:
Wayne Norcross
Mark Chernin
Aaron Arogan
Jay Swanson
Jose Parica
Bernardo Chavez
Arturo Rivera
Max Eberle
Ismael Paez
Santos SamBajon
Corey Harper
Frank Almanza
and many more of course!
And yourself Jay... You were pretty good hustler. I have heard all about you! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
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Some great memories, here.
Rest In Peace - Passed in December of 2017
John Jacobs - California Shorty, AKA 'Cripple Shorty', 'Shorty', 'Come To The Table'
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If anyone can help... I've been trying to find a photograph of the mural that was painted on the 'Western Ave' side of the original 'Hollywood Billiards'. In the late 70's and early 80's, I would play pool at the Hollywood Boy's Club which was just behind Sunset Blvd and Western Ave. Today I believe it's been replaced by a 'Home Depot'.
I must have only been 11 years old back then, my Mom would drive me from our home in Silverlake to the Hollywood Boy's Club and on the way, we would pass that mural on Western and Hollywood; a painted black and white closeup of a pool player getting down on a shot, I remember asking my Mom if I could play pool there too and she said, "That place is for grown-ups, Daniel. You'll have much more fun at The Boy's Club."
Years later when I was old enough, I finally did graduate to Hollywood Billiards.
Rest In Peace - Passed in December of 2017
John Jacobs - California Shorty, AKA 'Cripple Shorty', 'Shorty', 'Come To The Table'
-----------
If anyone can help... I've been trying to find a photograph of the mural that was painted on the 'Western Ave' side of the original 'Hollywood Billiards'. In the late 70's and early 80's, I would play pool at the Hollywood Boy's Club which was just behind Sunset Blvd and Western Ave. Today I believe it's been replaced by a 'Home Depot'.
I must have only been 11 years old back then, my Mom would drive me from our home in Silverlake to the Hollywood Boy's Club and on the way, we would pass that mural on Western and Hollywood; a painted black and white closeup of a pool player getting down on a shot, I remember asking my Mom if I could play pool there too and she said, "That place is for grown-ups, Daniel. You'll have much more fun at The Boy's Club."
Years later when I was old enough, I finally did graduate to Hollywood Billiards.
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