Cesar Morales and Efren Bata Reyes.

Good read!

That was a good read. I spent lots of time in Pinoy Land during Viet Nam and I liked the people.

I also believe the Pinoy people like to gamble and are good at it, much better then a half intoxicated American servicemen. As an American servicemen I have loyalty to other American servicemen and I know no one held a gun to their head and forced them to gamble with Efren.

Like many, I view Efren as probably the greatest pool player ever and a quiet and humble man. But, a big part of me does not like "pool hustlers" and I think the "pool hustler" like some of the more popular pool movies have done damage to the already poor image most of the world has of pool and the types of crowd it attracts.

So why we can glorify and hold these hustlers in awe, we should also be honest about what they are really doing and how they have hurt pool to line their own pockets. Hustling is different then some one showing up and saying, "here I am, come and get it" and playing there best game and winning.

I respect the game of pool and like watching good players who are true sportsmen.

Do I like Efren, heck ya and I hope he enjoys a well earned retirement! Do I view him as a pool hustler, I doubt he has been for a long time, he is to well known and to smart for that.

Do I like pool hustlers, heck no and I hope they go broke. My 2 cents guys.
 
Nice

It is nice knowing all that background on a player ( Efren ) that I have watched in awe since the late 90's. Thank You very much !
 
AnitoKid,

Are you in Angeles? If so, do you know a Filipino guy named "Joel" (not sure of the spelling and I don't know his last name. He used to work at the Clark AB Airmen's Club in the pool room when I was there in 1979-82. He worked as a ball racker and drink runner. He used to tell me about some pool hall downtown that he would frequent and I think he was maybe a friend of Efren.

I gambled playing pool several days a week in the club on base and the bars in Angeles and I never ran into Efren or his gang during the time I was there. I played most everyone who was gambling in the places I was in and none of them ever took my money...Americans or Filipinos.

During the time I was there, there was lots of money to be made. I won more money playing pool than I did working.

At the time, Joel was about 30 years old and had a wife and a couple of kids. He would be in his late 60s around now. He looked like maybe he had Chinese ancestry, but he was Filipino and he was slim and about 5'3". He shot pool pretty good and he used to try to get me to go to Manila with him, but I wasn't too keen on the idea of going to Manila with a lot of money and being an American and alone. I wasn't worried about Joel doing anything, but who knows who or what you may run into in Manila in the pool halls. The Philippines, and especially Angeles City, was kind of like the "Wild Wild West" back when I was there.

I've always wondered what happened to him after I left and then later when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and they closed the base where he was working.

If you know him, ask him if he remembers Jim who used to play in the club where he worked way back then. There was a CMSgt Herbie Pennington back then who played pretty good pool and Joel knew him, too. Herbie liked to gamble and played well, but I always got his money.

Aloha and thanks for posting all the stories.

P.S. And another reason I'll always remember Joel was because he loved my Richard Black cue. One day when I finished gambling playing 9-ball, he grabbed it up off the table and raked a ball with the tip to get it back to the rack end and he broke my ivory ferrule. I had to use my spare shaft until I moved to Japan, where I met Richard Helmstetter at his factory in Iruma and he replaced my ferrule. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have never met Richard.
 
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Efren is the greatest overall player I’ve seen. His conduct around the game has been totally upstanding as far as what I’ve witnessed. I recently remarked to Jay Helfert that I saw Efren before the Reds tournament in 1985 in Orange County. A group of us including Keith were at Bob’s Billiards in Anaheim when we got a call that there was an action game at Orange County Sports Arena a few miles away. Ronnie Allen was the house man there at that time. Several of us went over there to see Little Sergio playing what appeared to be a Mexican dude one handed 9-ball. After sweating a few games I got bored and left. I learned later it was Efren. Efren was in too deep in that game and did not win I heard (Little Sergio was renowned one handed). Jay told me that at that time Keith gave Efren the 8 at that time and won, thinking Efren was a just another Mexican player. After the Reds tournament it was, of course, a different story.
 
alstl said:
My wife's Father was from Pampanga. Like many Filipinos of his age his family and life was completely wiped out by the Japanese during WWII and he never really recovered. Prior to the war he had a business. After the war he was a squatter with nothing surviving from day to day. My wife's Mother told me stories I won't repeat here.

My wife and I support her family as much as we can and most of them I've never met. We recently got one of her nephews and his wife out of a sweat shot by buying them a sewing machine so they could work out of their house. Filipinos are hard working people and I'm not surprised they are so dominant at pool.

Efren most likely is fluent in at least 3 languages, Kapampangan, Tagalog and English.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for helping them.


We make a living by what we get. We make a life with what we give. ️

AnitoKid
 
Ak Guy said:
That was a good read. I spent lots of time in Pinoy Land during Viet Nam and I liked the people.

I also believe the Pinoy people like to gamble and are good at it, much better then a half intoxicated American servicemen. As an American servicemen I have loyalty to other American servicemen and I know no one held a gun to their head and forced them to gamble with Efren.

Like many, I view Efren as probably the greatest pool player ever and a quiet and humble man. But, a big part of me does not like "pool hustlers" and I think the "pool hustler" like some of the more popular pool movies have done damage to the already poor image most of the world has of pool and the types of crowd it attracts.

So why we can glorify and hold these hustlers in awe, we should also be honest about what they are really doing and how they have hurt pool to line their own pockets. Hustling is different then some one showing up and saying, "here I am, come and get it" and playing there best game and winning.

I respect the game of pool and like watching good players who are true sportsmen.

Do I like Efren, heck ya and I hope he enjoys a well earned retirement! Do I view him as a pool hustler, I doubt he has been for a long time, he is to well known and to smart for that.

Do I like pool hustlers, heck no and I hope they go broke. My 2 cents guys.
Click to expand...
Yes, he deserves a great retirement. Btw, I heard on the grapevine that he will be in the US in April. With hope, it pushes through.

AK
 
HawaiianEye said:
AnitoKid,

Are you in Angeles? If so, do you know a Filipino guy named "Joel" (not sure of the spelling and I don't know his last name. He used to work at the Clark AB Airmen's Club in the pool room when I was there in 1979-82. He worked as a ball racker and drink runner. He used to tell me about some pool hall downtown that he would frequent and I think he was maybe a friend of Efren.

I gambled playing pool several days a week in the club on base and the bars in Angeles and I never ran into Efren or his gang during the time I was there. I played most everyone who was gambling in the places I was in and none of them ever took my money...Americans or Filipinos.

During the time I was there, there was lots of money to be made. I won more money playing pool than I did working.

At the time, Joel was about 30 years old and had a wife and a couple of kids. He would be in his late 60s around now. He looked like maybe he had Chinese ancestry, but he was Filipino and he was slim and about 5'3". He shot pool pretty good and he used to try to get me to go to Manila with him, but I wasn't too keen on the idea of going to Manila with a lot of money and being an American and alone. I wasn't worried about Joel doing anything, but who knows who or what you may run into in Manila in the pool halls. The Philippines, and especially Angeles City, was kind of like the "Wild Wild West" back when I was there.

I've always wondered what happened to him after I left and then later when Mt. Pinatubo erupted and they closed the base where he was working.

If you know him, ask him if he remembers Jim who used to play in the club where he worked way back then. There was a CMSgt Herbie Pennington back then who played pretty good pool and Joel knew him, too. Herbie liked to gamble and played well, but I always got his money.

Aloha and thanks for posting all the stories.

P.S. And another reason I'll always remember Joel was because he loved my Richard Black cue. One day when I finished gambling playing 9-ball, he grabbed it up off the table and raked a ball with the tip to get it back to the rack end and he broke my ivory ferrule. I had to use my spare shaft until I moved to Japan, where I met Richard Helmstetter at his factory in Iruma and he replaced my ferrule. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have never met Richard.
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Hello Jim,

I have a couple of friends in Angeles who I can ask. Please send me an email about it at anitokid@gmail.com.

It will be a very long shot, but there's no harm in trying.

AK
 
jazznpool said:
Efren is the greatest overall player I’ve seen. His conduct around the game has been totally upstanding as far as what I’ve witnessed. I recently remarked to Jay Helfert that I saw Efren before the Reds tournament in 1985 in Orange County. A group of us including Keith were at Bob’s Billiards in Anaheim when we got a call that there was an action game at Orange County Sports Arena a few miles away. Ronnie Allen was the house man there at that time. Several of us went over there to see Little Sergio playing what appeared to be a Mexican dude one handed 9-ball. After sweating a few games I got bored and left. I learned later it was Efren. Efren was in too deep in that game and did not win I heard (Little Sergio was renowned one handed). Jay told me that at that time Keith gave Efren the 8 at that time and won, thinking Efren was a just another Mexican player. After the Reds tournament it was, of course, a different story.
Click to expand...
Yes, I remember Cesar telling me that they played at the Orange County Sports Arena after the Red's tour.

I'm preparing the 2nd part of the story.

AK
 
There is picture of a young Efren hanging on the wall at the famous Flamingo Bar in St. Pete FL. Also some kind of medal hanging with it. I'm surprised it's still there and hasn't been stolen...then again Dale would probably shoot somebody if they tried to steal it! LOL

AnitoKid...Great story! I knew some of it, but definitely lots of new info there. Thanks for sharing!

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

AnitoKid said:
I asked Cesar about that. Unfortunately, he forgot the name of Efren's first American manager. He also can't remember the name of the pool hall that their fellow Pinoy put up in the US - where their pics (Efren and Cesar) hang on its walls.

AnitoKid
Click to expand...
 
Scott Lee said:
There is picture of a young Efren hanging on the wall at the famous Flamingo Bar in St. Pete FL. Also some kind of medal hanging with it. I'm surprised it's still there and hasn't been stolen...then again Dale would probably shoot somebody if they tried to steal it! LOL

AnitoKid...Great story! I knew some of it, but definitely lots of new info there. Thanks for sharing!

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...
Hello Scott!
Thank you very much for the info. Will ask Cesar if the name of the place sounds familiar to him. Thank you very much for this.

AnitoKid
 
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