Last month at Hard Times in Bellflower John "Achie" Archibald went 6 and out on in a Golf game on "Big (6x12) Bertha. First time ever! For those of you who are familiar with HT you know what an achievement that is. He 3 railed the 5 hole and got perfect shape on the 6 hole.
Big Bertha @ Hard Times
- Thread starter Gerald
- Start date
That's ridiculous. Those pockets are so small it's almost comical. I wish I could have seen it.
i have played on that table many times, and asked if anyone ever went 6 and out, Kim Davenport laughed when I asked him, he has ran 4 on it a couple times. He has ran 6 and out on a tough 10' box in Modesto many years ago.
Someday(I hope in a very long time) but someday when they decide to sell that box or close(I hope that never happens) I will own that box-its history is amazing and It will be mine, I have to own that box.
Someday(I hope in a very long time) but someday when they decide to sell that box or close(I hope that never happens) I will own that box-its history is amazing and It will be mine, I have to own that box.
Gerald said:
I guess Archie can still play a little. :smile:
How he did that, I have no idea. That table is the biggest gaff I've ever seen. It has made some good players moan in agony.
jay helfert said:
Save it Jay!!! I watched your perfect 147 break on there playing 15 red's snooker when you were warming up to beat Efren and Steve Davis back in 87. Stop playing it small man, your a published author(well almost) :grin: , but I still love you.
Somewhere I heard Chicago Bugs got on that table and started banking balls like crazy. Onlookers were in shock. Anyone else hear this story?
I miss that room.
I used to play at Hardtimes one or twice a week back in 88-92 when I lived in Riverside California. Man I miss that place and wish we had an equivalent near me here in PA.
I would think that after 20-25 years from me not having been at Hard Times I would think that there must be some changing of the guard so to speak on the Big Bertha table. Who still plays it and who are some of the younger generation moving up on that table?
Any chance anyone has any pictures of Hard Times both outside and inside that could post to bring back some memories and also to see how much it may have changed since I was last there.
Thanks
Kevin
I used to play at Hardtimes one or twice a week back in 88-92 when I lived in Riverside California. Man I miss that place and wish we had an equivalent near me here in PA.
I would think that after 20-25 years from me not having been at Hard Times I would think that there must be some changing of the guard so to speak on the Big Bertha table. Who still plays it and who are some of the younger generation moving up on that table?
Any chance anyone has any pictures of Hard Times both outside and inside that could post to bring back some memories and also to see how much it may have changed since I was last there.
Thanks
Kevin
I still am not convinced one can run a rack of 9b on a snooker table.
Gerald said:
Verne Peterson (Who owned the Billiard Palace in Bellflower) rebuilt that table to play golf on in the 60's. At one time you could lay a ball on top of the rails in the corner pockets and you would have to push to get them down to the slate. I played on that table for years and the local players had a tremendous advantage because every pocket had its own "personality" and had to be played differently. I actually quit a job in San Diego to move back up near Hard Times to play on the table. We were playing $50/$100 a game heads up golf, $30/$50 ring game golf and up to $50 a point liability snooker on a regular basis.
I played in two ring golf games in July for $20/2 and got stuck double both times.
I am coming down for a week over Christmas and I WILL be Hard Times and on Bertha (unless some one pocket sucker gets me first). John Henderson
Hard Times
Unfortunately, I have never been to Hard Times in Bellflower, California.
That place must have a lot of history for action. Haven't many of the Filipino greats played there? People like Efren, Jose, and Santos? I wonder how many American pros have played there. I know the So.California greats have played there....(Ernesto, Morro, and maybe Rafael)....What a great name for a pool hall........The action stories there might well fill a book......
Unfortunately, I have never been to Hard Times in Bellflower, California.
That place must have a lot of history for action. Haven't many of the Filipino greats played there? People like Efren, Jose, and Santos? I wonder how many American pros have played there. I know the So.California greats have played there....(Ernesto, Morro, and maybe Rafael)....What a great name for a pool hall........The action stories there might well fill a book......
I remember playing that table one time during the late 70's. I hit a ball into, I think it was the lower left hand corner, it went in, but what I noitced was the other players reaction which was unusual, I closely checked the pocket and realized the ball would hang up in the jaws if hit too slow, the pocket was actually a skosh smaller than the ball and the cushion nose had to be compressed to accept the ball. I quit once I realized what I'd got myself into. I heard Bernardo tho played pretty good on that table some years later.
That is just insane...
Thats a monstrous achievement. Did he have to bank in any other holes?
I got to play on that table last year and found that most of the players(myself included) were not a favorite to make the ball when it was near the pocket let alone half the table or more away.
One of the railbirds there had mentioned that King Kong had run out before(i probably misheard due to my intense concentration with not selling out). I wish that I was better with names though, cause I can't remember who it was that said it.
Gerald said:
Thats a monstrous achievement. Did he have to bank in any other holes?
I got to play on that table last year and found that most of the players(myself included) were not a favorite to make the ball when it was near the pocket let alone half the table or more away.
One of the railbirds there had mentioned that King Kong had run out before(i probably misheard due to my intense concentration with not selling out). I wish that I was better with names though, cause I can't remember who it was that said it.
The ball he is talking about is a regular pool ball. They play golf on that table with pool balls. Snooker/Liability is played with snooker balls. The pockets are a tad bigger than snooker balls.wahcheck said:
Another Big Bertha story I heard was when some of the regular players used to offer some of the good "B" players, cueball-in-hand, object ball on the 7 spot and bet they couldn't make it in one of the lower corner pockets at $10 a stroke. Looking at those pockets, I'd say it was probably a good bet.
