A Couple More OK stories

G

Grady

Pro Player
One night while out at a local bar, looking for a little action, Herman the German, Johnny Johnson, and I noticed this vociferous guy playing on the bar table. One thing leads to another and this guy challenges Herman to play for $500. As it happened, that’s about how much the three of us had on us. Now Herman was a pretty good player and we had watched his perspective opponent play a game or two and it was obvious that the guy had no chance playing Herman 8 Ball.
“Make him play a set, Herman” I cautioned, just to make sure the guy couldn’t get lucky. They put up the stakes on top of the light. Herman broke the balls and his opponent ran all of his balls except the 8 ball, which he hung up in a pocket. The 8 ball blocked four of Herman’s balls and it didn’t look like it was remotely possible for him to run out. But, he did run out, an almost impossible out and reached on top of the light and grabbed the money.
“I thought you were going to play a set”, said Johnny.
“I did” responded Herman and winking at us “a one ahead”.

I already mentioned how cheap Chester Truelove was. In Oklahoma back then this surprising social more was in existence: It was honorable to have a little Indian blood in you but full blooded Indians were often discriminated against. One of Chester’s best customers was a nice gentleman named Lloyd who happened to have about ¼ Indian blood. Lloyd got a check from the government every month, which Chester was immensely jealous of. So, upon a fine day, Chester tells Lloyd as he’s serving him a beer, “I wish I had a little of that Indian blood in me”. To which Lloyd rejoined “Well, bend over the counter and we’ll see if we can’t fix that”.

That’s all I’ve got for today.
 
Grady said:
One night while out at a local bar, looking for a little action, Herman the German, Johnny Johnson, and I noticed this vociferous guy playing on the bar table. One thing leads to another and this guy challenges Herman to play for $500. As it happened, that’s about how much the three of us had on us. Now Herman was a pretty good player and we had watched his perspective opponent play a game or two and it was obvious that the guy had no chance playing Herman 8 Ball.
“Make him play a set, Herman” I cautioned, just to make sure the guy couldn’t get lucky. They put up the stakes on top of the light. Herman broke the balls and his opponent ran all of his balls except the 8 ball, which he hung up in a pocket. The 8 ball blocked four of Herman’s balls and it didn’t look like it was remotely possible for him to run out. But, he did run out, an almost impossible out and reached on top of the light and grabbed the money.
“I thought you were going to play a set”, said Johnny.
“I did” responded Herman and winking at us “a one ahead”.

I already mentioned how cheap Chester Truelove was. In Oklahoma back then this surprising social more was in existence: It was honorable to have a little Indian blood in you but full blooded Indians were often discriminated against. One of Chester’s best customers was a nice gentleman named Lloyd who happened to have about ¼ Indian blood. Lloyd got a check from the government every month, which Chester was immensely jealous of. So, upon a fine day, Chester tells Lloyd as he’s serving him a beer, “I wish I had a little of that Indian blood in me”. To which Lloyd rejoined “Well, bend over the counter and we’ll see if we can’t fix that”.

That’s all I’ve got for today.
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Now there's a visual I could have done without!
 
Action Billiards in Aurora Colo

Grady, whatever happened to Geraldine who worked for you in Aurora Co?
I liked her a lot and she played pretty darn well.
 
Geraldine

She didn't work for me. She and her husband Frank were partners with me in a place in Denver that didn't make it. Her name was Geraldine Titcomb and at the time except for Jean Balukus she played about as well as any of the other women.
The whole family is dead now, even the son Chip who commited suicide. Tragic.
 
Your stories are factual and very enjoyable I think their the thing which I enjoy the most about this site.I know tonight will be spent going back from the start and catching up onthe rest it should be better than any bookor tv Thank you very much! sincerely leil gay
 
Grady said:
She didn't work for me. She and her husband Frank were partners with me in a place in Denver that didn't make it. Her name was Geraldine Titcomb and at the time except for Jean Balukus she played about as well as any of the other women.
The whole family is dead now, even the son Chip who commited suicide. Tragic.
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She was a riot Geraldine was, if my memory serves me she lived in Tampa for a lil while....she played tough for sure.
 
Tampa was way later, after Colorado and also after Cincy, where she and Frank owned a very successful room. A man got shot in their parking lot and the place got shut down.
I remember the joint well because I played Gary Spaeth some even bank pool there. we broke even.
 
Grady said:
Tampa was way later, after Colorado and also after Cincy, where she and Frank owned a very successful room. A man got shot in their parking lot and the place got shut down.
I remember the joint well because I played Gary Spaeth some even bank pool there. we broke even.
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By chance was the place in Cincy called "Jerry's Palace" ? I heard alot about that place when I first became interested in pool.
 
Hey grady, great stories. Do you have any more denny searcy or jack cooney stories in your memory bank?
 
Grady said:
She didn't work for me. She and her husband Frank were partners with me in a place in Denver that didn't make it. Her name was Geraldine Titcomb and at the time except for Jean Balukus she played about as well as any of the other women.
The whole family is dead now, even the son Chip who commited suicide. Tragic.
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Wow, I am sorry to hear that. I liked them and had a lot of fun with them.
I stand corrected, but, didn't know or remember that they were partners.
I went in with her when she gave Pic the 8 at the old Fun Center in Denver. Seems like we won a little, but nothing to write home about. She did play very well.
Tragic, sorry to hear about them.
 
It wasn't Jerry's Palace but I don't remember what it was.Sure, one of these times I'll do some more stories about Denny and Jack.
 
Leil gay said:
Your stories are factual and very enjoyable I think their the thing which I enjoy the most about this site.I know tonight will be spent going back from the start and catching up onthe rest it should be better than any bookor tv Thank you very much! sincerely leil gay
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Leil, how about you telling us about the match that you had with Scott Frost in Baton Rouge at the same time as Grady's Legends of One Pocket Tournament (the second one in Baton Rouge).

Paul Laplace and I happened upon the pool hall where the two of you were playing some one hole for mucho dinero. Paul and I came in just before dark that evening and sat on bar stools watching the two of you go at it. Game after game we watched and it seemed as if the game was evenly matched. I don't know if any weight was given and don't even know the outcome but it was a hell of a long match. Paul and I were sweating the match so hard, watching you and Scott wondering which of you was going to fall asleep in their chair and never get up. We even had a friendly bet. You were smoking at the time and while Frost was running balls you sat in your chair with eyes narrowed tightly together, your cigarette ashes would grow so long I thought you had put a toothpick inside of the cigarette to hold the ashes together for a trick or something. Scott would keep you in the chair for long periods of time as you would do him all that night. Paul and I sat there all night watching the two of you play and when the sun rose the next day, we were astonished that it was the next day already and I commented to Paul that we could finally consider ourselves brothers in the fraternity of pool degenerates. How did it end and what were you playing for as we couldn't stay and had to go to work? I think it was in the hundreds but as you know its been a while back, maybe 12 years now.
JoeyA
 
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