Al George is a steerman -- a local who guides road players to where there is "action" but only minimal danger. If need be, a steerman can provide the muscle to pull a player out of trouble.
Al has all the requirements. He's 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 5 feet, 8 inches across the shoulders. His biceps and a basketball are about the same size.
Al, 36, has pool and gambling stories that would fill an encyclopedia. "In the late '60s, the regular run for a player was the Isis on Troost, the Armour Inn and, finally , the all-night restaurant, the El Rancho," he says. "But there was still trouble at times. KC had a bad reputation for road players ten -- it was the card and dice hustlers hurting pool."
There's not much need for a steerman these days but, nevertheless, when Al heard Joe was in town, he offered his services.
Al showed Joe around, mostly to certain East Side and Northland bars that held the most promise. There isn't any pool circuit in town anymore. And Al laments the lack of big-money action. "Guys nowadays have no heart [courage]," he says. "They won't give a good gamble, and too many want to play on their home court. All longs for the days of the big poolroom. "On a bar table, it might take three or four hours to bust a "workin' melon' (someone with a 9-5 job); on a big table it only takes an hour."
Despite the dubious intent of Joe G. and the fearsome hobby of Al George, pool people basically are good people. Most poolroom owners are family men, businessmen and pool players, usually in that order. (Though at times players have been known to offer the blanket excuse, "But it's pool, hon," after an all-night session.)
Players who dump, cheat or use muscle are avoided and disliked by most pool fanciers. A certain rough code of ethics governs a decent poolroom. One doesn't quit while he's winning or fail to give a loser a chance to win back his money. The player who shows respect and plays the game right is the one most admired.
It's still a far cry from 1927, when the Kansas City business directory listed 77 billiard parlors and there was a poolroom every two or three blocks along 12th Street between Washington and the Paseo. But pool is growing in Kansas City. Rumors are afloat that the city is being considered for a national tournament.
