Dubuque, IA.
Bob Byrne's Personal 9' Table
- Thread starter 12squared
- Start date
Dubuque, IA.
This would be awesome to own
I like it too, and I am honored that you guys have thought of me like this. When I first heard about Bob Byrne wanting to sell his table, I actually thought I should get it. It would be an honor to do my next project on the table on which my billiards-instruction hero had in his home.
Per 12squared's advice, I just called Bob Byrne and offered to pay him full price ($1500) for his table, and he agreed to hold it for me until I can arrange to have it moved. This is where I am hoping you guys can help. It would be great if you guys can convince RKG or some other table mechanic/installer/mover to transport the table and take away my current 8' Connelley table, on which all of my previous YouTube and DVD projects have been filmed. Whoever is willing to do the transport and installation can have any money you guys have offered here, and can also sell my current table and keep the money. I can also throw in additional money if necessary to cover expenses and profit.
I will send a PM to RKC, but if anybody has his contact info or can suggest somebody else who might be willing to help out, please PM me. Bob and I are willing to wait until RKC or somebody else has plans to be in Iowa and/or Colorado to limit how far they need to travel.
Thanks again,
Dave
This awesome, my good Doctor. I will mark my post in the for sale section SOLD! It's only fitting that you or Bob Jewett would get this table from the master.
I hope someone can help you w/the transport.
Dave
Rob M lives in the Quad Cities....pretty sure he does stuff like this...if not, he knows who.
Rob posts on AZ as 'dontlitethat'
....lives not much more than an hour away.
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In the late '70's or early '80's, Bob Byrne called me and asked me if he could stay at my house for two nights. I had written him a fan letter about his book. He was stuck between an exhibition at Illinois University and one in Chicago. I was at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. I said of course and wound up having him at my home for three nights. George Santayana, the philosopher, once said, "We do not remember days. We remember moments." Santayana, who was usually right, this time was wrong. Sometimes whole three-day periods are what we remember, if Bob Byrne is in the mix!
Bob said that he would sing for his supper and play a three-cushion exhibition and would also give a lecture on how to get a book published. Bob charmed everyone. He played about an 0.5 average on an old, unheated billiard table that was covered with the old-time pool cloth. Try that sometime! That would easily be 1.0 on a modern table with heating and Simonis,
I gave a reception for thirty or forty people, and people still ask me what ever happened to the pool player they met at my house. During the two days between his exhibition and his lecture Bob hung out at the university pool room and helped the young people with their diamond system. His lecture on getting a book into print was beautifully given, eye-opening and entertaining. He gave away the very best stuff for free.
But the highlight of the three days was when Bob and I were at a restaurant and ran into a friend of mine who was an Episcopal priest. The priest suggested to me that we come over to his house for a drink when we were finished with dinner. Bob and I accepted, and found my friend with two or three people having a drink in front of a fireplace. Within no time, Bob was everybody's friend. Our host had both a piano and an organ in his living room. Bob said something about being able to play the piano, and the priest insisted that Bob have a go at it. Bob got up and went to the piano bench and announced that he was going to pay "The Minute Waltz." He positioned himself over the keyboard carefully and then turned to the audience and said, "Oh, I can only play it backwards." With that, he turned on the bench so that his back was to the keys, twisted his arms into position and carefully got his fingers onto the right keys, and then played the first five or six bars of a rudimentary but nonetheless very recognizable "Minute Waltz."
Everyone agreed that we should all have another drink on that one!
Bob said that he would sing for his supper and play a three-cushion exhibition and would also give a lecture on how to get a book published. Bob charmed everyone. He played about an 0.5 average on an old, unheated billiard table that was covered with the old-time pool cloth. Try that sometime! That would easily be 1.0 on a modern table with heating and Simonis,
I gave a reception for thirty or forty people, and people still ask me what ever happened to the pool player they met at my house. During the two days between his exhibition and his lecture Bob hung out at the university pool room and helped the young people with their diamond system. His lecture on getting a book into print was beautifully given, eye-opening and entertaining. He gave away the very best stuff for free.
But the highlight of the three days was when Bob and I were at a restaurant and ran into a friend of mine who was an Episcopal priest. The priest suggested to me that we come over to his house for a drink when we were finished with dinner. Bob and I accepted, and found my friend with two or three people having a drink in front of a fireplace. Within no time, Bob was everybody's friend. Our host had both a piano and an organ in his living room. Bob said something about being able to play the piano, and the priest insisted that Bob have a go at it. Bob got up and went to the piano bench and announced that he was going to pay "The Minute Waltz." He positioned himself over the keyboard carefully and then turned to the audience and said, "Oh, I can only play it backwards." With that, he turned on the bench so that his back was to the keys, twisted his arms into position and carefully got his fingers onto the right keys, and then played the first five or six bars of a rudimentary but nonetheless very recognizable "Minute Waltz."
Everyone agreed that we should all have another drink on that one!
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Luckily, Bob and his wife are in no big rush. If you or others have any ideas concerning transport please let me know. I PM'd RealKingCobra, and he might be able to help later in the year.
Thanks,
Dave
I am happy to announce that Robert Byrne's 9' Olhausen table got delivered and installed at my house yesterday with brand new, really tight, Simonis 860HR Tournament Blue cloth. Draw shots are now totally effortless. I can't wait to try out the Corey Deuel draw shot. I also really look forward to seeing how high I can score on the BU Playing Ability Exams. Now that I have a 9' table, I can graduate to the Doctorate version of Exam II. I also look forward to getting a 10 on the Exam I draw drill every time now. It was extremely tough to max out the draw score on my previous table, with its slow and sticky cloth (even with well-polished balls).
Here are some before and after photos:
Dr. Dave's previous 8' Connolly pool table:
Robert Byrne with his 9' Olhausen table in Iowa before the move:
Dr. Dave with the table in Colorado after the move, with Simonis 860HR:
Dr. Dave's new 9' Olhausen pool table:
Thanks again to JC and pt109 for donating some funds to help with the table purchase and move. I really appreciated this, and it made my decision to purchase and pay for the long move much easier.
I hope to post some videos soon using the new table.
Catch you later,
Dave
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What a great read.
Bob is a giant among is, and imo, the best voice for billiards. So calm and pleasant.
Bob is a giant among is, and imo, the best voice for billiards. So calm and pleasant.
excellente! love it
i know this may be a long shot of a question, but what did he do with the billiard table he had,
he showed a few examples of shots on it,in his home
at the beggining of his best of 3 cushion video tape
he showed a few examples of shots on it,in his home
at the beggining of his best of 3 cushion video tape
So far as I know, Bob has never had a carom table in his home in Dubuque. He didn't have one in California, either, at the time of the break cue speed experiment.