Before Valleys and Gold Crowns ….

tim913 said:
What were the common tables you’d see if you walked into a pool hall?
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Mostly older model Brunswick as well as AMF's.
For tables you ran into a lot of Fisher tables and if I remember right I think they were called Irving Kay. Some of those bar tables were pretty bad. Although when I played primarily in bars I didn't really care the worst the table the better particularly if I'm playing a big table player.
 
I only started playing in the early 90's, and it was all GC's then. GC's came out in 1961. Before then, wouldn't it have been the other Brunswick commercial models, and some 10' models as well?

Was there even a "bar table" before Valley? They came out in the 1950's, right?
 
iusedtoberich said:
I only started playing in the early 90's, and it was all GC's then. GC's came out in 1961. Before then, wouldn't it have been the other Brunswick commercial models, and some 10' models as well?

Was there even a "bar table" before Valley? They came out in the 1950's, right?
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About Irving Kaye Co. Inc. - Irving Kaye

Irving Kaye got his start in the coin-op business in the 1940's in New York City. In the 50's Irving Kaye Co. Inc. was established as a premier manufacturer of coin-op pool tables. Irving Kaye Co. Inc. discontinued doing business in 1981. “Build up to quality, not down to price,” are the words...
irvingkaye.com irvingkaye.com
 
iusedtoberich said:
I only started playing in the early 90's, and it was all GC's then. GC's came out in 1961. Before then, wouldn't it have been the other Brunswick commercial models, and some 10' models as well?

Was there even a "bar table" before Valley? They came out in the 1950's, right?
Click to expand...
One of the things I remember most about those are bar tables, they were not custom cue stick friendly. They had big metal corners sharp edges you can really wreck your cue on those tables.
 
A E Schmidt has been around for 170 years.
IMG_1760.jpeg
 
middleofnowhere said:

About Irving Kaye Co. Inc. - Irving Kaye

Irving Kaye got his start in the coin-op business in the 1940's in New York City. In the 50's Irving Kaye Co. Inc. was established as a premier manufacturer of coin-op pool tables. Irving Kaye Co. Inc. discontinued doing business in 1981. “Build up to quality, not down to price,” are the words...
irvingkaye.com irvingkaye.com
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good, solid tables, pockets much tighter than valley's. dynamo, etc
 
ribdoner said:
good, solid tables, pockets much tighter than valley's. dynamo, etc
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By today's standards, they aren't worth much. You can update them, to greatly improve the design. However, they sag in the center, just like Valley/Dynamo/Great American/etc... Not only that, you can't get reasonably priced replacement pocket liners that fit.
 
GCs go all the way back to 1961, so the commercials before then were Brunswick like the Anniversary, Centennial and Sport King. I think most rooms that opened prior to WWII just had common Brunswick T-rail tables. This was rural Kentucky, if you went into the big cities where the money was then you would see the more modern tables like the Anniversaries and Centennials. The rural areas just seemed to keep the same tables they opened with. The first time I ever saw a Centennial was a hall on Colfax Ave. in Denver.
 
When i started (around late '79ish) there were a couple spots in Tulsa that had the old wood B'wicks but i pretty much grew-up on GC's&Valley's. Might see a IK barbox occasion. and a random Gandy 9ft but GC's and V's ruled the roost.
 
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