Best Player that Quit Early on

fathomblue

Rusty Shackleford
Silver Member
Holy cow, David! That's the Tito I played. I never thought I'd see a pic of him.

Does anyone know the true story of his apparent early demise? I had always assumed that he hustled the wrong guy. Maybe so. Maybe not.

Is he wearing a green kilt in that pic or what?

What speed would you say he was, David? Any comparisons? Was the Sigel bit true?

Something else that I just remembered about Tito......

After we played the set, I asked him if he could give me some lessons. He looked me straight in the eye and said, "I can teach you one thing that will turn your game way up....." (or something to that effect).

I said, "What is it?"

Tito reply was, "That'll cost you 50 bucks. But, I can tell you it has something to do with your back hand."

Fifty bucks was a fortune for a young guy like me in college. I declined to pay and I've always regretted it. I saw him around a bit after that and then he disappeared. I stopped going to Ron's Recreation, and within 2 more years or so, I pretty much dropped the game. Until last year. And in this past year (after a 15 year layoff), I've figured out that I was gripping the cue with my back hand way too high up on the wrap. It had gotten so bad that I couldn't even draw a ball anymore. I've since corrected it, but I've always wondered what Tito would or could have taught me.

I honestly wish I had spent more time talking to the guy.
 

Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
Tito reply was, "That'll cost you 50 bucks. But, I can tell you it has something to do with your back hand."

And in this past year (after a 15 year layoff), I've figured out that I was gripping the cue with my back hand way too high up on the wrap. It had gotten so bad that I couldn't even draw a ball anymore.

I've since corrected it, but I've always wondered what Tito would or could have taught me.

.
I know this will sound silly, but if he watching your game and said that he could tell you one thing that'll up your game and it has to do with your back hand...


Freddie <~~~ could guess it would be backhand english
 

RossThompsonJr

"Squirrel Jr"
In 1970 at Johnston City, your daddy and I played One Pocket almost every day -- I had no chance with him playing 9 Ball. He won the All - Around against Ronnie and Wimpy playing with my Joss cue.

Beard

Hey i know who your are!!!! your one of my favorite players!!! My dad told me all about you. He said you were a Monster at One pocket and that you've beaten alot of great players! Even my dad and i wanna say you beat him while in Johnson City just before the tournament. Ya my dad told me about you backing him and using your cue. I heard you have a book out and a movie script?
 

RossThompsonJr

"Squirrel Jr"
I tell ya a story about your dad and those hippies from Carbondale Univ. that showed up to cheer him on. Fats was of course in the mix DUH ;) and a bunch of hippie chicks were surrounding him and talking, one of the gals asked for his autograph, and I'll never forget, ''Fatty Became Speechless''....Fats whipped out his signature stamp....and ink pad, the gal said, "if I wanted a signature like that I would of gone to a bank". Fats needed some weight he was in a tough spot now :).

Haha...you have to tell me more about that cause my dad has never mentioned anything to me about that and thats the kind of stuff i like to hear about! I guess he must be embarassed about his hippie days! thanks for sharing that with me! i must hear more!
 

freddy the beard

Freddy Bentivegna
Silver Member
Hey i know who your are!!!! your one of my favorite players!!! My dad told me all about you. He said you were a Monster at One pocket and that you've beaten alot of great players! Even my dad and i wanna say you beat him while in Johnson City just before the tournament. Ya my dad told me about you backing him and using your cue. I heard you have a book out and a movie script?

Tell Keith the old Beard says hello. We had fun playing each other.

Beard

Got a couple books out. Banking With the Beard, and The GosPool of bank pool. Movie script: Roxanne's Game, a fictional account of Jack and Barbara Cooney on the road. You can see the whole script on my website at this link, http://bankingwiththebeard.com/?p=547
 
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Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
Haha...you have to tell me more about that cause my dad has never mentioned anything to me about that and thats the kind of stuff i like to hear about! I guess he must be embarassed about his hippie days! thanks for sharing that with me! i must hear more!

Not much else, tho he seemed very quiet/reserved, I watched em play lights out in the front pit 9 footer. I also kinda remember him wearing a leather type jacket that hung long and may of had leather tassles. Wide World of Sports probably has footage of his match, somewhere as they came and shot the final matches. He kinda reminded me of a calm Cole Dixon. Your dad and I are the almost the same age and it was a special time during those Vietnam yrs and the cultural change and seeing your day playing all the old timers in their suit and sport coats and he just the opposite and time were a changing.
 

Jdale

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Here's a name from the past. Dalton was a terrific Asian player living in L.A. Just under Brian's speed. He became a successful actor and was killed in a robbery in New York in the late 70's. Does anyone else remember Dalton, a handsome kid.

Bob Dalton used to come in The Blue Carpet, Alameda, Ca, back in the early 70's. I think he was living in SF at that time, great player and a really nice guy.
JDale
 

Jdale

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yes thats him. I backed him for a while in the mid-seventies. We both had long hair in those days.

I knew Biily when he hung around the Blue Carpet in Alameda in the early 70's before he when on the road. Strong player and a great guy.
JDale
 

Hungarian

C'mon, man!
Silver Member
Does anyone know this guy?

I saw him play in the early 1990's.

Fearless one pocket hustler from Houston.
 

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Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Bob Dalton used to come in The Blue Carpet, Alameda, Ca, back in the early 70's. I think he was living in SF at that time, great player and a really nice guy.
JDale

I think Jay was referring to Dalton Leong.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think Jay was referring to Dalton Leong.


Dalton came through town, traveling with Hawaiian Brian, and played at Town & Country Billiards in Daly City one night while I was still in my formative years as a pool player. When the pool room finally closed up at some crazy hour, Dalton, Brian, Rico, myself and a couple of other stalwarts went up the street to a tiny diner for breakfast and I listened in as the sun came up to their road stories. I remember Dalton wore a piece of imperial jade set into gold ring. It was quite beautiful and I asked him what something like that went for and he demurred saying that if he told me I might be incentivized to cut his finger off. Years later, when I heard of his death during a robbery, I always wondered if that ring played a role.

Lou Figueroa
 

Hungarian

C'mon, man!
Silver Member
Haha...you have to tell me more about that cause my dad has never mentioned anything to me about that and thats the kind of stuff i like to hear about! I guess he must be embarassed about his hippie days! thanks for sharing that with me! i must hear more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GH-Y3681SI

Yo Ross,

Check out this interview by Big Nasty with Buddy Hall.
Buddy mentions your Daddy at around 17:00 minutes in.

Cheers,
Hung
 
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