Are there any black pro pool players?

[tom haney]

Used to be a guy traveled all over, they called
one eye or dead eye. dressed like a bum. He
was outstanding.

 

[accdealer]

i think that everyone else has mentioned all of the great black players that i know of.

i'm not racist or anything, and am not trying to stereotype, but i will say that it has been my experience, or that I have observed, that black players in general, championship caliber and shortstops, play games with 15 balls on the table better than say 9-ball. anybody care to agree or disagree?

 

[yobagua]

Howdy,Yobagua,
Tony Chohan is not African American.He is of Indian origin(From India).cheers
Vagabond

Thank You Vagabond for straightening me up. I always wondered about Tony C. Because of his family name. Though he acts very American. He is full of talent and I believe could be a great champion. But he needs to grow up. His past behaviour and antics only get in his way of becoming a professional. I have seen him when he is alone and seems to be a nice guy but when he gets with his "crew" he just acts loutish. He is capable of great things.

I see Billy Palmer because of his parental commitments has turned some kind of corner and is burning up the tournaments in the west coast. More power to this awesome player.

 

[SUPERSTAR]

Used to be a guy traveled all over, they called
one eye or dead eye. dressed like a bum. He
was outstanding.

Could be PATCH. Real name is HENRY. Old guy....always wearing dark sunglasses. Thin... and lanky? Very quiet. Always seems to be watching.

He goes by whatever will get him a game, but recently was going by some muslim name.
Local philly people that grew up with him say that he was a phenomenal player when he had BOTH eyes, before an auto accident. Still managed to play at a very high level afterwards. People say that if he hadn't lost the eye, that he very well could have been one of the best in the country.....easily.

Having watched him for over 10 years....i say he WAS on of the best road guys in his day. Never seen him do anything else....just pool. Guy played great.

If it's the same guy.

SUPERSTAR

 

[vagabond]

Howdy Yobagua

But he needs to grow up. His past behaviour and antics only get in his way of becoming a professional. I have seen him when he is alone and seems to be a nice guy but when he gets with his "crew" he just acts loutish.

Howdy,
I saw him only one time.I was not impressed by his demeanor.
cheers
Vagabond

 

[wayne]

Another great black player

There is a little crippled up guy who suffered from a stroke who I occasionally see in the poolhalls around L.A. JJ Jenkins pointed out to me that it was New York Shorty or better known as "come to the table Shorty". According to JJ he robbed the whole East Coast when he was younger and he did it giving up huge weight. Maybe some old time New Yorkers have seen him in action.

Wayne

 

[tom haney]

Thanks, SS. Sounds like him. He would be old.

Could be PATCH. Real name is HENRY. Old guy....always wearing dark sunglasses. Thin... and lanky? Very quiet. Always seems to be watching.

He goes by whatever will get him a game, but recently was going by some muslim name.
Local philly people that grew up with him say that he was a phenomenal player when he had BOTH eyes, before an auto accident. Still managed to play at a very high level afterwards. People say that if he hadn't lost the eye, that he very well could have been one of the best in the country.....easily.

Having watched him for over 10 years....i say he WAS on of the best road guys in his day. Never seen him do anything else....just pool. Guy played great.

If it's the same guy.

SUPERSTAR

 

[Phylbert57]

Good point, Cynion, I saw Bugs Rucker play in the late 70's and he was just plain incredible. He'd be a logical choice for induction into the new Hall of Fame being proposed by our good buddy Blud.

Also, if players long gone are considered, then James Evans is worthy of mention here. Evans was generally considered a better player than Cisero Murphy by those lucky enough to have seen both.

I also saw Cisero Murphy play - in the old days. He was a very quiet man with an unusual and unique stroke. Very good player.

This should maybe go on the "Quotes" thread:
I met Leonard "Bugs" Rucker at an International One Pocket tournament in 1992 (Strawberry Brooks' tournament - Strawberry is also black BTW).

I hung out with Bugs & Co. off and on over the 3 day tournament. He was telling me stories about Steve Gumphrey whom he admired and was a good friend of.

He was playing Mike Segal who wasn't playing his best and was complaining profusely about it (some folks call it whining). Bugs got tired of listening to it since it was almost constant and just said; "GEEZE MIKE!!!!!! You don't have to bleed all over the floor do ya?!?!?!?!?" Bugs couldn't help the laughter that followed but Mike did seem to calm down a bit.

Nice guy and great pool player.

Phyllis Gumphrey

PS, There are many good black pool players. Some of the ones I met were really not into the pro level thing. Just didn't have enough interest in the travelling and trying to be professional. Would rather stay home and just play.

 

[yobagua]

There is a little crippled up guy who suffered from a stroke who I occasionally see in the poolhalls around L.A. JJ Jenkins pointed out to me that it was New York Shorty or better known as "come to the table Shorty". According to JJ he robbed the whole East Coast when he was younger and he did it giving up huge weight. Maybe some old time New Yorkers have seen him in action.

Wayne

Oh Yes Wayne. I saw Cripple Shorty play in the late 60's in Hollywood, CA. No one wanted a part of him. He would just clump around that table playing some of the greatest one pocket. He was quiet and never above a whisper but his game spoke loudly.

 

[thebigdog]

Id like to mention one guy who basically plays out on the west coast. He is a many time Pechauer and Hardtimes Jamboree tournament winner. You can see him on the 2004 one pocket Derby tapes and is the only man to beat the great Efren Reyes at the Derby in one hole. (this tape is a must for one hole lovers). That man is Billy Palmer.

Also must mention Tony Chohan. Another quality cueman on the west coast circuit.

It seems like this subject comes up every couple of months or so. I believe there are plenty of good black pool players. The thing I have noticed is that the black players seem to gravitate more towards games like one pocket and bank pool. There are very few tournaments on the national level for these games so people don't hear so much about these players.
Another thing Tony Chohan is not black, I believe he is arab, I could be mistaken though.

 

[sjm]

I also saw Cisero Murphy play - in the old days. He was a very quiet man with an unusual and unique stroke.

The African-American reverend who presided at Cisero's funeral in Brooklyn, named Clarence Keaton, is still doing business on the losers side at the US Open.

 

[PQQLk9]

Well, for one thing, I think it is no rumor that African-Americans have denser bones - thus they do not make good swimmers at all.

I think billiards is just like golf. At one time, golf was a rich man's sport and the blacks could not afford to play. But all of that might change over the coming years due to the oncoming of Tiger Woods and hopefully due the the fact that black's seem to be sharing more of the US income. It is only my guess here, but pool can also be an expensive game, and at this point in time I don't believe that blacks are putting in the time for whatever reason (possibly money?). But that will also change in time. Regards, WW

It's also rumored that we have "big Johnsons" also...

 

[piglit]

The African-American reverend who presided at Cisero's funeral in Brooklyn, named Clarence Keaton, is still doing business on the losers side at the US Open.

Very cool trivia! Thanks for sharing!!

-pigu

 

[Renegade]

Wow, I didn't realize there were so many good black players in pool. Yeah, sjm, I noticed their absence in hockey also, as well as pick-up stix Thanks, drivemaker.

I guess the money's in basketball, football, tennis and golf.