Boston Shorty

mosconiac said:
Sixpack...did he look like this? I don't think you have to ask which one is shorty.

IngieShortyNorm.jpg

Yes, he looked like the short guy there. The guy in the photo here looks like him. I did a google image search and there's another photo of him shooting that really reminded me of the guy.

As for fat, this guy had a paunch, but was not obese by any means...of course I was 22 or so at the time, so a lot of people looked fat to me that now are quite skinny in comparison :D

Thanks for posting the pic!

Cheers,
RC
 
improved perception

sixpack said:
As for fat, this guy had a paunch, but was not obese by any means...of course I was 22 or so at the time, so a lot of people looked fat to me that now are quite skinny in comparison :D

Cheers,
RC


It is amazing how our perception of fat and old changes as we age. I'm at a svelte 230 pounds and on the wrong side of the half century mark and I'm not fat or old. I remember when thirty was danged near dead though!

Hu
 
mosconiac said:
Sixpack...did he look like this? I don't think you have to ask which one is shorty.

IngieShortyNorm.jpg
Photo courtesy OnePocket.org :)

That's Norm Webber on the far right
Bob Ingersol on the far left
& I believe Herb Lehmann (sp?)
 
I played a lot at the Sliver Cue in Woburn,Ma in the 80's .... I was practicing straight pool one afternoon where Shorty came in .. I asked if he wanted to play some straight pool ? he said he'd play to 75 but was waiting for someone... he broke... I played what I thought was a good safe ... he looked to the rack called his shot and 75 balls later I had lost ! I could not beleive it he did not even warm up just screwed his stick together and ran 75 and out... I forget the player he was waiting to play but I do remember when they did play... they played 9 ball and Shorty won every set ! Shorty played all games at the top and did it for a long time !
 
Shorty and Miz

One of the stories that Steve Mizerak told when Shorty was inducted to the HOF was of a time when Miz was young and cocky and had become so well known in his home area that he had to travel to get a good money game.

Miz flew into Boston and got into a cab with his bag and cue case. He asked the driver if there was anyone in town who might like to play a little pool for money. Miz knew cab drivers were often clued into the action around town and figured it was worth an ask.

The driver turned around in his seat and said: "I'll play ya some, mister." And he drove them straight to a pool hall bear the airport. Miz leaves his bag in the truink of the cab and they go inside to play. To make a long (and obvious) sotry short, the cab driver was Shorty and in about nine hours all of the cash Miz had brought to town had been transferred to Shorty's pocket. Shorty had to forgive the cab fare, buy Miz a parting dinner, and take him back to the airport for the broken flight home.

Another tidbit: Shorty often put into the negotiations of his gambling games that the had to be allowed to climb up on the table to shoot. I have heard it said he would not play anyone at any of the Jansco's tournaments (in the back room) who would insist that the one foot on the floor rule remain in effect. He told Bill Staton: "That rule's for giants, not us real people."

I only knew Shorty in his later years, but if you ever get around someone who was familiar with him in his prime, offer to buy them a meal if they will tell you some Shorty stories. Everyone who ever knew him has a story or three to tell, and all of them I've heard include a good laugh.

Y'know, I very much miss the old guys like Beany and Miz and Shorty and many of the old-style road guys with their alligator shoes. But in twenty years we will be here in the forums sharing tales about the good old days when the game had folks like Strickland, Sigel, Reyes, Hall, and the ilk.

And the young drop now coming up has a lot of potential for creating memories. I know a dozen good stories about Tony Watson that will have to wait many years for the telling. ANd he has lots of company in the 'colorful character' category.

We may often decry the state of pool, that it cannot gain its footing as a mainstream sport, but it is this fact and the sometimes desparate situations that it creates that make for the settings that create the stories.

Y'know, I don't drink much, and I hate the noise of bars. But having a beer in the hotel bar before turning in has led to encounters wih relaxed Nick Varners, Jay Helferts, Bill Statons, Buddy Halls and many others and has given me memories that I would not trade for anything.

So, next time you're in Derby City or Vegas, turn into the bar on your way out of the tournament room.

Jerry
 
Shorty as a deaf mute

I had the good fortune to spend time with Shorty when he lived in Chicago and hung at Bensingers for about a year. I think it was the late 70s or early 80s. The best Shorty story is the one Brooklyn Pancho told about when Shorty was sent in to Allingers in Philly to trap Harry Pietros. The hustlers had already sent in a legion of players to beat Harry and he had become very paranoid. While Harry didnt know what Shorty looked like, they knew if he opened his mouth with that thick Boston accent, Harry would figure out who it was. So they came up with plan of passing Shorty off as a deaf mute. Shortys guys had to keep running into the bathroom because they couldnt keep from laughing. It went off perfectly until Harry pushed out on a shot and absentmindedly asked Shorty if he wanted to take the shot or leave it to him. Shorty, not thinking either said, "Naw, you go ahead and shoot it." Upoar ensued immediately thereafter cause Harry was a mobbed up guy, but that's another story.

the Beard
Incidentally, check out the game we are playing on Onepocket.org. Guys are trying to name 10 guys that I never gambled with. It aint easy.
 
Two quick three-cushion anecdotes.

From the mid-70s to the early 90s the National 3C Tournament was held at California Billiards in San Jose nearly every year. Shorty played in several of these.

One year he was playing Eddie Robin in an early round. There was a scorekeeper but no referee, and the scorekeeper was instructed to let the players referee their own match. These were the days before the yellow cue ball, and it was easy to get the cues balls mixed up. So Shorty and Robin do get the cue balls mixed up, and wind up playing several innings using the wrong cue ball. Shorty is on a run of three or so, plays a three-rail first shot, scores, and there are a bunch of clicks as the balls sort themselves out in the corner. Shorty realizes that he has been shooting with the wrong ball, so he coats Robin, and continues his run with the other ball.

Another year Shorty was playing Harry Sims. I was the referee. The toughest calls for referees happen when the shooter is trying to pick up the third rail right next to the second object ball. These situations only ever occur every dozen games or so -- usually. This game they happened four times. Every time it was Harry who was shooting and he wasn't babying the ball either. The crucial event (rail first or ball first) always occurred in the blick of an eye. Twice I ruled in Harry's favor. After the game Shorty went up to Harry and said, "Da ref gave ya tree points ya shudd'na got, but ya played well enough to win anyway." To me he said, "Give up da game, kid. Ya don't unnerstand it."

Mark
 
mosconiac said:
Sixpack...did he look like this? I don't think you have to ask which one is shorty.

IngieShortyNorm.jpg

The other three guys in the photo are all poolplayers. I wish I could name them. The two on the right are very familiar. I just don't remember their names. Who can help me?
 
jay helfert said:
The other three guys in the photo are all poolplayers. I wish I could name them. The two on the right are very familiar. I just don't remember their names. Who can help me?
IngieShortyNorm.jpg

(L-R) Bob Ingersol, 'Boston Shorty', Herb Lehman and Norm Webber were inducted into the New England Pool and Billiards Hall of Fame in 1994.

Go to http://onepocket.org/NormWebberInterview.htm .
 
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Well ...

Only glimpses of Shorty, Jersey Red, and others at Le Cue downtown Houston in the early 70's. Big dollar 1 pocket games going on, but they limited spectators being close to the table, and I was a newbie in there, so I didn't have any influence working for me.

But, I did watch Marshall 'Squirrel' Carpenter playing on another table for a couple of hours.
 
Here's another snapshot of the American legendary player, Boston Shorty!

JAM
 

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JAM said:
Here's another snapshot of the American legendary player, Boston Shorty!

JAM


I loved the way he cocked his hat to one side. Interesting the things you remember years later.
 
Did Keith and Shorty ever tangle?

JAM said:
Here's another snapshot of the American legendary player, Boston Shorty!

JAM


Keith is probably too young and on the wrong side of the country to have tangled with Shorty, or ?

Thanks,

Ken
 
Dana Bufalo said:
IngieShortyNorm.jpg

(L-R) Bob Ingersol, 'Boston Shorty', Herb Lehman and Norm Webber were inducted into the New England Pool and Billiards Hall of Fame in 1994.

Go to http://onepocket.org/NormWebberInterview.htm .

Than you so much Dana. I knew Herb Lehman, a terrific 14.1 player who coached Tom Cruise prior to shooting the Color Of Money. Norm Webber was another well known player in his day. Bob "The Destroyer" Ingersol may have been the best of the bunch. His exploits are legend also. I wish I had seen him in action, but he didn't do much traveling. They all tower over Shorty, but he was "The Man" in his neck of the woods.
 
jay helfert said:
Than you so much Dana. I knew Herb Lehman, a terrific 14.1 player who coached Tom Cruise prior to shooting the Color Of Money. Norm Webber was another well known player in his day. Bob "The Destroyer" Ingersol may have been the best of the bunch. His exploits are legend also. I wish I had seen him in action, but he didn't do much traveling. They all tower over Shorty, but he was "The Man" in his neck of the woods.

Jay, I only know a small, small fraction of what you know regarding pool, but I do know that Bob Ingersoll was not the same player as Bob "the Destroyer". Bob Ingersoll's nicknames were "soldier" and "Ingie". He was from Boston and he died in 1995 at the age of 79. Bob "the Destroyer's" last name was Myers. He was from Manhattan and played probably about about a ball under Jack Breit when Red still lived in NYC (what I've been told by old-timers in the City). Both Myers and Ingersoll played pro-level one pocket. And from what I've heard, they actually might have played around the same speed. I've heard that Shorty might have been about a ball over Ingersoll as well.
 
Ken_4fun said:
Keith is probably too young and on the wrong side of the country to have tangled with Shorty, or ?

Thanks,

Ken

Keith played Shorty lots of times. He was a "gritty little player" known more for his straight pool, but he could play all games, to include banks, one-pocket, and 9-ball. Keith thinks his best game was one-pocket.

He used to come down to the Elks Club in Los Angeles when Keith was about 15 or 16 years old. Back then, Keith used to watch Shorty hours on end playing straight pool with the likes of Irving Crane, Joe Balsis, Luther Lassiter, Peter Margo, Larry Lisciotti, just to name a few. :eek:

Every time Keith played Shorty, though, they had a good time. They'd cut up as they were hitting the balls in. Every time Shorty made a good shot, Keith would go rub his bald head for good luck. :o

Shorty played better than Keith as a teenager, but when Keith turned 18, he couldn't beat Keith playing 9-ball, but that was the only game Keith excelled at against the American legendary player named Boston Shorty.

JAM
 
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