Leil Gay and Mark Maryo were both very good players. Leil passed away (too young) and I think Mark is still around, just not traveling any more. He used to go to all the tournaments in the Midwest.
cleveland players of the past......
- Thread starter NickCasey
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Hi Jay, Mark recently retired last fall and is now able to play much more. He still plays strong and wins local tournaments. In fact I’ll probably see him tomorrow at a local scotch doubles tournament. It’s a 100. entry with 64 pairs of strong players. I’m assuming he’ll be there.
Herbie Cue played at Northfield lanes for years. He was an excellent player and gambler. Buddy Wallace was in his prime in the 1940’s he played in straight pool tournaments but he wasn’t a gambler. As he aged in the 70’s & 80’s he spent hours daily at Cloverleaf lanes teaching and helping young players. And Morgan is a legend and world beater.
I played at, Danny Vegh's Hippodrome in Cleveland in 1968.
The 3C action was just ok.
The 3C action was just ok.
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I was downtown a couple of years ago and that big bowling alley / pool hall on Euclid and E 4th? was being renovated into something, probably not a pool hall. It had big bowling pins stuck to the outside of the building, if my memory is correct.
I'm curious....What is it now?
AND....And I am curious as to what that place was in its heyday and if it was a good pool hall....Anyone know the history of it?
Thanks,
Jeff Livingston
I'm curious....What is it now?
AND....And I am curious as to what that place was in its heyday and if it was a good pool hall....Anyone know the history of it?
Thanks,
Jeff Livingston
Jeff,
That’s the pool room I played Steve Cook and Raymond in.
Seemed like a great room.
Bill S.
What year was that, Bill?
As I looked at it and learned that Euclid was the richest street in America as far as those who lived on it back when Cleveland was hot, I was imagining what great pool games must have happened there with great players and lots of money when it was really rocking, so to speak.
Thanks for the info.
Jeff Livingston
What
What your referring to is The Corner Alley it is an upscale Bowling Alley featuring 16 lanes high end food, video games and I think a few antique style Pool tables. It is on the corner of E.4th and Euclid. East 4th has all Top notch restaurants up and down both sides of the street. Michael Symon the Iron Chef has a BBQ place there called Maybels.
I lived on Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland (at 131st St) from 1968-70. It was not a rich street when I was there (lol).
I played at Danny Vegh's Hippodome downtown regularly.
As trivia, did you ever notice how a lot of big city pool rooms were located on a lower level or on a second floor?
This is a carryover from the Prohibition days when room owners sought lower rent to stay in business.
By the way, Euclid Ave downtown nowadays is a genuine happenin' place again!
Will Prout
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Yep, that's it. Is it still there?...with pool, that is. It was being re-done when I saw it, but couldn't tell from looking through he windows what they were doing exactly.
We ate at that restaurant. Nice with good food, but pricey. Saw the Indians beat the Yankees in 14 innings.
Jeff Livingston
I may be a bit late here as I see most posts are from 2018. I believe Billy’s last name was actually spelled Stouffer, like the food brand. Back in the early 80s I ran with Billy a bit when the Ford Engine Plant in Brook Park was still humming and they all got paid on Thursday or Friday night. The bars around the Ford Plant on Brook Park Road that had pool tables, mainly Englebrook Inn, Sky Bar, Fox’s Den, Airway Lounge (strip club, my favorite place to play
), and Ambassador Lanes were filled with auto workers with pockets full of cash on Thursday and Friday nights and many liked to gamble. The owner of Englebrook Inn was a retired Ford Plant worker and would cash their pay checks for them so they of course would spend some or a lot of that money in his bar (smart guy). I met Billy at Englebrook Inn one night when he was with Cherio (a local Cleveland gambler/backer and good player in his own right). Billy went by “Lefty” and that’s what all his friends called him so no one would recognize his name and of course he was left-handed. I was about 23 years old at the time (I am 69 now). I played Cherio, often Lefty’s front man, and ran a rack of 8 ball on him, we then started talking and I became friends with Lefty and Cherio. Lefty was probably in his mid to late 50s when I met him, much older than me at the time. He didn’t drive so if there was a game or he just wanted to hit the bars looking for some action someone would have to pick him up at his house. In his prime, if there was someone from out of town looking for a game they would call Billy, pick him up, and he would go play, often for days. He told me he actually played Mizerak once when Steve was in Cleveland, he said he held his own but ultimately ended up losing. There were also several other good pool players that regularly hit those bars on Brook Park Road on Thursday/Friday nights as well, Ritchie D (DeMatteo or DeMario, something like that), Brad, Cigar Jack, and Chevy Frank come to mind. There were also a few Ford workers that would come in after work in their overalls and could give anybody a run for their money on a bar table. Bobby Gallagher and Ralph Parsons are two names that come to mind. JRs reputation was just starting to spread on the West side of Cleveland, everyone referred to him as “JR the Indian Boy” in the West side bars/pool rooms. Never saw him in any of those places though. I don’t know if I ever saw Lefty’s true speed because I only ran bars with him and of course he only played as good as he needed to win. We would tell people I was his nephew and he was my uncle and just hammer them all night long on the table. He had a long, fluid, left-handed stroke and he knew a lot of “trick” shots (i.e., hand is quicker than the eye kind of shots the average mark would never notice or question). He was a good old boy type but he was hard to understand because he had no teeth, or at least he never had them in his mouth whenever I was with him. Nicest guy you would ever want to meet though, very humble. The absolute opposite of some hot shot pool hustler type, more like your grandfather. He would beat people out of their cash and they would feel sorry for him. His son was a very good player as well. I used to play with him at a bar further up Brook Park Road called the Roundhouse where he often hung out. Last I heard anything about Lefty was that he was playing on a team in a pool league, 1983ish maybe, and he was going to Vegas for the Championships with his team. I finished college in 84’ and went my own way, never saw him again.Do you really expect me to read that?I may be a bit late here as I see most posts are from 2018. I believe Billy’s last name was actually spelled Stouffer, like the food brand. Back in the early 80s I ran with Billy a bit when the Ford Engine Plant in Brook Park was still humming and they all got paid on Thursday or Friday night. The bars around the Ford Plant on Brook Park Road that had pool tables, mainly Englebrook Inn, Sky Bar, Fox’s Den, Airway Lounge (strip club, my favorite place to play
You deserveI kind of liked it and I don’t have any connection to Cleveland. As mentioned above tho, a paragraph or two would have been good.
for reading thru it