Cochrans in San Franciso, some of their Best Players!

[Ron Cook]

Grady
05-13-2006, 03:23 PM

This looks like a post by Grady in 2006 from the One Pocket Forum .... Link below!

Cochran's was anything and everything, simply the greatest pool room ever. 1028 Market St. was the actual address. I worked there in 1963. I got paid two dollars an hour and often I'd pay someone five bucks an hour to work for me so I could be in action. Public transportation was $.15. I didn?t own a car and neither did my friends.
Ronnie Allen won the One Pocket tournament there in 1962. When it was over nobody hustled him to play for money. Ronnie gave Earl Whitehead 8 to 5 and the break and won easily. Denny Searcy played "Cliff Thorburn" to a virtual draw on the 6 X 12 snooker table. That was a 40 hour match.
Here is an incomplete list of the regulars, as I remember them, with some assorted shorts:
"Trees," worked for the post office for a while but liked pool and the race track too much to continue. A warm, honest human being who played decent Banks.
"Legs," Gerald was his name, a good hustler and better than average shortstop.
"Ears," smart and clever, a real good game maker.
"100 Ball Blackie," still played a nice game in his dotage. We used to kid him and call him 10 Ball Blackie but he used to run 100's on the 5 X 10.
"Kansas City Whitey", a real rascal, his parents sent him $2,000 a month to stay away from home.
"Jesse, The Go Away Kid", a flashy young black player with much gamble.
"King of the open table," so called because on the ?open Table? ( a 6 X 12 snooker table) anyone could play for the time. The King would go months without losing a single game but wouldn't play for money.

"One Eyed Hank," a brilliant but troubled player, spent half of every year at sea, killed himself with an overdose of LSD, or so it was said. I loved Hank and I still miss him.
"Mexican Phil," A really good One Pocket player, moved like a ghost, was a terrific gambler, but couldn't leave the bottle alone.
"Okie Sam" Very good all round player and scuffler. He came from the Eddie Taylor school of pool. He died of cancer, broke and lonely.
"Ronnie Allen" displayed his power One Pocket game to everybody. He was aggressive and fearless and really unbeatable.
"Frank Bananas Rodriguez" One of the sharpest gamblers I ever knew. He was a perfect gentleman and a very fine One Pocket player.
"Canadian Dick" The resident philosopher. On the 6x12 table by the counter, there was a daily out hole only game. To give you an idea how good Dick played, one day in that game, 11 times in a row, he one railed his ball into the out hole. He moved to Burlingame and managed a pet store until he passed away.
"San Jose Dick" He liked action so much that he would sometimes rent two tables next to each other and play two opponents at once. For awhile, Dick played about as good a One Pocket as anybody in the world.
"Jack Perkins" A flashy young and sharp gambler who played One Pocket about a ball under Ronnie.
"Harry the Russian" Used to hang around with "Bananas." Harry was a good game maker and took care of himself.
"Hawaiian Paul" Worked at the Palace down the street. Paul played as good a Nine Ball as anybody in the world but only against weak players and for small money. ($3 to $10 a game) Paul also played very good golf.
"Rusty Jones," a high roller and one of the classiest gamblers I ever knew.
"Denny Searcy," the best stroke of any player ever. It's too bad scientists didn?t examine it when he was maybe the best player in the world.
Philipino Gene, a good card player and hustler.
"Oakland Blackie", Bucktooth's uncle and a top shortstop, and let's not forget the "Tooth" himself!
"Earl Phillips," a venerable older player who never said a word but was tough to beat for the dough.
"Sleepy Bob," a very fine player.
"Johnny Vivas," played everything good, too bad he was a heroin addict.
"Tugboat Whaley," grand old-timer who was one of the few willing to share knowledge.
While I was there, notable visitors included: Clem, Boston Shorty, Artie from Chicago,
"Jack Stamper," Eddie Taylor, Richie Florence, Weldon Rogers, Jack Coony, Al the Plumber,
"Portland Don," Cole Dickson, and Joe Salazar (Tracy Joe then.).
Quite a crew, wouldn't you say?

To visit the whole forum & thread click on this link:
http://www.onepocket.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-1086

 

[fan-tum]

Grady
05-13-2006, 03:23 PM

This looks like a post by Grady in 2006 from the One Pocket Forum .... Link below!

Cochran's was anything and everything, simply the greatest pool room ever. 1028 Market St. was the actual address. I worked there in 1963. I got paid two dollars an hour and often I'd pay someone five bucks an hour to work for me so I could be in action. Public transportation was $.15. I didn?t own a car and neither did my friends.
Ronnie Allen won the One Pocket tournament there in 1962. When it was over nobody hustled him to play for money. Ronnie gave Earl Whitehead 8 to 5 and the break and won easily. Denny Searcy played "Cliff Thorburn" to a virtual draw on the 6 X 12 snooker table. That was a 40 hour match.
Here is an incomplete list of the regulars, as I remember them, with some assorted shorts:
"Trees," worked for the post office for a while but liked pool and the race track too much to continue. A warm, honest human being who played decent Banks.
"Legs," Gerald was his name, a good hustler and better than average shortstop.
"Ears," smart and clever, a real good game maker.
"100 Ball Blackie," still played a nice game in his dotage. We used to kid him and call him 10 Ball Blackie but he used to run 100's on the 5 X 10.
"Kansas City Whitey", a real rascal, his parents sent him $2,000 a month to stay away from home.
"Jesse, The Go Away Kid", a flashy young black player with much gamble.
"King of the open table," so called because on the ?open Table? ( a 6 X 12 snooker table) anyone could play for the time. The King would go months without losing a single game but wouldn't play for money.

"One Eyed Hank," a brilliant but troubled player, spent half of every year at sea, killed himself with an overdose of LSD, or so it was said. I loved Hank and I still miss him.
"Mexican Phil," A really good One Pocket player, moved like a ghost, was a terrific gambler, but couldn't leave the bottle alone.
"Okie Sam" Very good all round player and scuffler. He came from the Eddie Taylor school of pool. He died of cancer, broke and lonely.
"Ronnie Allen" displayed his power One Pocket game to everybody. He was aggressive and fearless and really unbeatable.
"Frank Bananas Rodriguez" One of the sharpest gamblers I ever knew. He was a perfect gentleman and a very fine One Pocket player.
"Canadian Dick" The resident philosopher. On the 6x12 table by the counter, there was a daily out hole only game. To give you an idea how good Dick played, one day in that game, 11 times in a row, he one railed his ball into the out hole. He moved to Burlingame and managed a pet store until he passed away.
"San Jose Dick" He liked action so much that he would sometimes rent two tables next to each other and play two opponents at once. For awhile, Dick played about as good a One Pocket as anybody in the world.
"Jack Perkins" A flashy young and sharp gambler who played One Pocket about a ball under Ronnie.
"Harry the Russian" Used to hang around with "Bananas." Harry was a good game maker and took care of himself.
"Hawaiian Paul" Worked at the Palace down the street. Paul played as good a Nine Ball as anybody in the world but only against weak players and for small money. ($3 to $10 a game) Paul also played very good golf.
"Rusty Jones," a high roller and one of the classiest gamblers I ever knew.
"Denny Searcy," the best stroke of any player ever. It's too bad scientists didn?t examine it when he was maybe the best player in the world.
Philipino Gene, a good card player and hustler.
"Oakland Blackie", Bucktooth's uncle and a top shortstop, and let's not forget the "Tooth" himself!
"Earl Phillips," a venerable older player who never said a word but was tough to beat for the dough.
"Sleepy Bob," a very fine player.
"Johnny Vivas," played everything good, too bad he was a heroin addict.
"Tugboat Whaley," grand old-timer who was one of the few willing to share knowledge.
While I was there, notable visitors included: Clem, Boston Shorty, Artie from Chicago,
"Jack Stamper," Eddie Taylor, Richie Florence, Weldon Rogers, Jack Coony, Al the Plumber,
"Portland Don," Cole Dickson, and Joe Salazar (Tracy Joe then.).
Quite a crew, wouldn't you say?

To visit the whole forum & thread click on this link:
http://www.onepocket.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-1086

Quite a crew indeed! I was lucky to have watched Searcey play in several different places, although not at Cochran's, and only once at Palace, playing pay ball. Never forget him. I often played in the weekly 9 ball tournies in the south bay, and when Denny wasn't winning, Dal Porto seemed to be.
Remember Dave Bailey? I backed him several times at Cochran's.
That Jesse-he wasn't a short guy with a large head and big smile was he? I'm referring to a friend I met in the Navy(we called him shorty-can't recall the name) who remains one of the best 9 ball players I've personally known. Always wondered what happened to him.

 

[jay helfert]

Grady
05-13-2006, 03:23 PM

This looks like a post by Grady in 2006 from the One Pocket Forum .... Link below!

Cochran's was anything and everything, simply the greatest pool room ever. 1028 Market St. was the actual address. I worked there in 1963. I got paid two dollars an hour and often I'd pay someone five bucks an hour to work for me so I could be in action. Public transportation was $.15. I didn?t own a car and neither did my friends.
Ronnie Allen won the One Pocket tournament there in 1962. When it was over nobody hustled him to play for money. Ronnie gave Earl Whitehead 8 to 5 and the break and won easily. Denny Searcy played "Cliff Thorburn" to a virtual draw on the 6 X 12 snooker table. That was a 40 hour match.
Here is an incomplete list of the regulars, as I remember them, with some assorted shorts:
"Trees," worked for the post office for a while but liked pool and the race track too much to continue. A warm, honest human being who played decent Banks.
"Legs," Gerald was his name, a good hustler and better than average shortstop.
"Ears," smart and clever, a real good game maker.
"100 Ball Blackie," still played a nice game in his dotage. We used to kid him and call him 10 Ball Blackie but he used to run 100's on the 5 X 10.
"Kansas City Whitey", a real rascal, his parents sent him $2,000 a month to stay away from home.
"Jesse, The Go Away Kid", a flashy young black player with much gamble.
"King of the open table," so called because on the ?open Table? ( a 6 X 12 snooker table) anyone could play for the time. The King would go months without losing a single game but wouldn't play for money.

"One Eyed Hank," a brilliant but troubled player, spent half of every year at sea, killed himself with an overdose of LSD, or so it was said. I loved Hank and I still miss him.
"Mexican Phil," A really good One Pocket player, moved like a ghost, was a terrific gambler, but couldn't leave the bottle alone.
"Okie Sam" Very good all round player and scuffler. He came from the Eddie Taylor school of pool. He died of cancer, broke and lonely.
"Ronnie Allen" displayed his power One Pocket game to everybody. He was aggressive and fearless and really unbeatable.
"Frank Bananas Rodriguez" One of the sharpest gamblers I ever knew. He was a perfect gentleman and a very fine One Pocket player.
"Canadian Dick" The resident philosopher. On the 6x12 table by the counter, there was a daily out hole only game. To give you an idea how good Dick played, one day in that game, 11 times in a row, he one railed his ball into the out hole. He moved to Burlingame and managed a pet store until he passed away.
"San Jose Dick" He liked action so much that he would sometimes rent two tables next to each other and play two opponents at once. For awhile, Dick played about as good a One Pocket as anybody in the world.
"Jack Perkins" A flashy young and sharp gambler who played One Pocket about a ball under Ronnie.
"Harry the Russian" Used to hang around with "Bananas." Harry was a good game maker and took care of himself.
"Hawaiian Paul" Worked at the Palace down the street. Paul played as good a Nine Ball as anybody in the world but only against weak players and for small money. ($3 to $10 a game) Paul also played very good golf.
"Rusty Jones," a high roller and one of the classiest gamblers I ever knew.
"Denny Searcy," the best stroke of any player ever. It's too bad scientists didn?t examine it when he was maybe the best player in the world.
Philipino Gene, a good card player and hustler.
"Oakland Blackie", Bucktooth's uncle and a top shortstop, and let's not forget the "Tooth" himself!
"Earl Phillips," a venerable older player who never said a word but was tough to beat for the dough.
"Sleepy Bob," a very fine player.
"Johnny Vivas," played everything good, too bad he was a heroin addict.
"Tugboat Whaley," grand old-timer who was one of the few willing to share knowledge.
While I was there, notable visitors included: Clem, Boston Shorty, Artie from Chicago,
"Jack Stamper," Eddie Taylor, Richie Florence, Weldon Rogers, Jack Coony, Al the Plumber,
"Portland Don," Cole Dickson, and Joe Salazar (Tracy Joe then.).
Quite a crew, wouldn't you say?

To visit the whole forum & thread click on this link:
http://www.onepocket.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-1086

That's quite a line up there. And they all made the circuit between Cochrans and The Palace down the street. I don't know why, but when I went up there, I just liked The Palace a lot better. It was a big wide open place with lots of room to move around and play undetected, which I liked.

Many of the above named players, branched out from San Francsico, after further developing their talents, and moved all around the country. Most of them (but not all) came down to Los Angeles to work the action rooms in SoCal. Ronnie established his base here, and all the other top guys spent time here as well. Denny and Cliff later teamed up to take off the big Pay Ball game at The Billiard Palace in Bellflower. I remember seeing them drive up and park in front in Denny's new Jag XKE. I didn't know who Cliff was at the time. He was years away from winning his World Snooker title.

They were playing $20 and $40 a ball (double on run outs) in the 60's. In a five handed game, a player could win over a thousand dollars pretty quick. Richie, Ronnie, Cole, Keith, Bob Osborne, Jimmy Reid and Grady were a few of the regulars in that game. They played with the 2,3,4,5,6 & 7 balls on a tight 10' snooker table. You played Rotation, with the 7 ball paying double. Denny was the best I ever saw at that game, and Cliff was second.

Cliff and Denny had to be the two best snooker players in North America at that time. No offense to Snooker Sammy Blumenthal who was also great. I wish there was a film of that match. I can only imagine how great they played. Two young dead eyes going head to head. That's the way it was back then. If you were good, you wanted to play the best player you could find to test yourself. Cliff is now Jimmy Wych's partner in putting on the Canadian Pro Tour.

 

[sixpack]

Quite a crew indeed! I was lucky to have watched Searcey play in several different places, although not at Cochran's, and only once at Palace, playing pay ball. Never forget him. I often played in the weekly 9 ball tournies in the south bay, and when Denny wasn't winning, Dal Porto seemed to be.
Remember Dave Bailey? I backed him several times at Cochran's.
That Jesse-he wasn't a short guy with a large head and big smile was he? I'm referring to a friend I met in the Navy(we called him shorty-can't recall the name) who remains one of the best 9 ball players I've personally known. Always wondered what happened to him.

I don't know if it's the same Jesse or not, but Jesse Jameson, who used to play at Cochran's and the Rathole was still playing into his late 70's and gambling up a storm at the broken rack. He passed away a couple weeks ago after a night of beating everyone in the house and winning several hundred. Just didn't wake up the next day apparently.

~rc

 

[roncook]

"Go Away Kid"

I don't know if it's the same Jesse or not, but Jesse Jameson, who used to play at Cochran's and the Rathole was still playing into his late 70's and gambling up a storm at the broken rack. He passed away a couple weeks ago after a night of beating everyone in the house and winning several hundred. Just didn't wake up the next day apparently.

~rc

Yes it is a sad day, we did loose "Go Away Jesse," "Go Away Kid," Jesse Jameson, he was quite a character, always happy and loved to play pool. He was a very up beat player and over the years he played quite well even the last few years he was still playing well.

The good news is that about 2 months before he died he did get "baptized" and attended church on occasion and he was ready to pass from this world. I appreciate knowing him and he was well respected and liked amoung all the pool players in the San Francisco Bay area, and I am glad to know he was playing pool the night before he would meet his creator, he had a gift and shared it with others.

We appreciate knowing you Jeese and all the times we got to visit with you around a pool table.

God bless your family!

 

[sixpack]

Yes it is a sad day, we did loose "Go Away Jesse," "Go Away Kid," Jesse Jameson, he was quite a character, always happy and loved to play pool. He was a very up beat player and over the years he played quite well even the last few years he was still playing well.

The good news is that about 2 months before he died he did get "baptized" and attended church on occasion and he was ready to pass from this world. I appreciate knowing him and he was well respected and liked amoung all the pool players in the San Francisco Bay area, and I am glad to know he was playing pool the night before he would meet his creator, he had a gift and shared it with others.

We appreciate knowing you Jeese and all the times we got to visit with you around a pool table.

God bless your family!

Yeah. He not only was playing, but according to folks who were there, he was playing great. He beat everybody in there that night.

As a pool player I think that's how you'd want to go out.

~rc

 

[Kdraper]

Some friends an I took a road trip to Frisco from Sacramento in the very
early 60's. Mostly to check out the Palace. While there we heard about Cochrans
so we went over an up. I can still remember two players on the 6x12. They
They were playing 6 ball with the small pool balls for $100 a game. An incredible
amount of money for me at the time. They went back and forth for a little bit
and then one of them just quit missing. Period. It got boring kinda I was young
and stupid and didn't know what I was looking at. I'm impressed now. Wish I knew who
they were.

 

[pt109]

I'm surprised Brian Hashimoto wasn't mentioned, I guess it's time sensitive.
Hawaiian Brian was the king the last few years Cochran's was open.

...then the area got tougher, some road players got robbed, and someone died in a fight.
That finished off a grand old room where every table was a collector's item.

I liked it better than the Palace.

 

[SpiderWeb]

I remember the old man with big ears that palyed only one pocket. A black man in a army uniform that played every day, and 6-ball on the snooker table for $2.00 a ball and 5 on the last ball. A 9-ball game every nite for 20 between a man with blond hiar and levis and a whit T-shirt, and I think the other player as Mario but I dont know. Cochrans was the best ever.

 

[Tahoedirt]

Grady
05-13-2006, 03:23 PM

This looks like a post by Grady in 2006 from the One Pocket Forum .... Link below!

Cochran's was anything and everything, simply the greatest pool room ever. 1028 Market St. was the actual address. I worked there in 1963. I got paid two dollars an hour and often I'd pay someone five bucks an hour to work for me so I could be in action. Public transportation was $.15. I didn?t own a car and neither did my friends.
Ronnie Allen won the One Pocket tournament there in 1962. When it was over nobody hustled him to play for money. Ronnie gave Earl Whitehead 8 to 5 and the break and won easily. Denny Searcy played "Cliff Thorburn" to a virtual draw on the 6 X 12 snooker table. That was a 40 hour match.
Here is an incomplete list of the regulars, as I remember them, with some assorted shorts:
"Trees," worked for the post office for a while but liked pool and the race track too much to continue. A warm, honest human being who played decent Banks.
"Legs," Gerald was his name, a good hustler and better than average shortstop.
"Ears," smart and clever, a real good game maker.
"100 Ball Blackie," still played a nice game in his dotage. We used to kid him and call him 10 Ball Blackie but he used to run 100's on the 5 X 10.
"Kansas City Whitey", a real rascal, his parents sent him $2,000 a month to stay away from home.
"Jesse, The Go Away Kid", a flashy young black player with much gamble.
"King of the open table," so called because on the ?open Table? ( a 6 X 12 snooker table) anyone could play for the time. The King would go months without losing a single game but wouldn't play for money.

"One Eyed Hank," a brilliant but troubled player, spent half of every year at sea, killed himself with an overdose of LSD, or so it was said. I loved Hank and I still miss him.
"Mexican Phil," A really good One Pocket player, moved like a ghost, was a terrific gambler, but couldn't leave the bottle alone.
"Okie Sam" Very good all round player and scuffler. He came from the Eddie Taylor school of pool. He died of cancer, broke and lonely.
"Ronnie Allen" displayed his power One Pocket game to everybody. He was aggressive and fearless and really unbeatable.
"Frank Bananas Rodriguez" One of the sharpest gamblers I ever knew. He was a perfect gentleman and a very fine One Pocket player.
"Canadian Dick" The resident philosopher. On the 6x12 table by the counter, there was a daily out hole only game. To give you an idea how good Dick played, one day in that game, 11 times in a row, he one railed his ball into the out hole. He moved to Burlingame and managed a pet store until he passed away.
"San Jose Dick" He liked action so much that he would sometimes rent two tables next to each other and play two opponents at once. For awhile, Dick played about as good a One Pocket as anybody in the world.
"Jack Perkins" A flashy young and sharp gambler who played One Pocket about a ball under Ronnie.
"Harry the Russian" Used to hang around with "Bananas." Harry was a good game maker and took care of himself.
"Hawaiian Paul" Worked at the Palace down the street. Paul played as good a Nine Ball as anybody in the world but only against weak players and for small money. ($3 to $10 a game) Paul also played very good golf.
"Rusty Jones," a high roller and one of the classiest gamblers I ever knew.
"Denny Searcy," the best stroke of any player ever. It's too bad scientists didn?t examine it when he was maybe the best player in the world.
Philipino Gene, a good card player and hustler.
"Oakland Blackie", Bucktooth's uncle and a top shortstop, and let's not forget the "Tooth" himself!
"Earl Phillips," a venerable older player who never said a word but was tough to beat for the dough.
"Sleepy Bob," a very fine player.
"Johnny Vivas," played everything good, too bad he was a heroin addict.
"Tugboat Whaley," grand old-timer who was one of the few willing to share knowledge.
While I was there, notable visitors included: Clem, Boston Shorty, Artie from Chicago,
"Jack Stamper," Eddie Taylor, Richie Florence, Weldon Rogers, Jack Coony, Al the Plumber,
"Portland Don," Cole Dickson, and Joe Salazar (Tracy Joe then.).
Quite a crew, wouldn't you say?

To visit the whole forum & thread click on this link:
http://www.onepocket.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-1086

I understand this is old post and I’m an old guy. I loved Cochrane’s and the Palace also. This is where I started about 65-66. Cole Dickson wasn’t old enough to drive and he often rode over with me. Great memories.

 

[bbb]

thats nice to know you mention it now when you joined in 2009
maybe share some memories since you resurrected this thread

 

[L.S. Dennis]

I too remember Cochrans and Palace, I was fairly young at the time and I’m surprised they even let me in. I remember San Jose Dick playing Blackie one Sunday afternoon in some marathon session.

Never forget walking up those stairs (the Market St side) the first time going to Cochrans must have been around 61‘ or 62’ if my memory serves me correctly.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

Something that started in 2008 is sort of funny. Please someone,or some people inject life back into AZB FORUM.


Needs CPR. JMHO

 

[R2PQZ]

I understand this is old post and I’m an old guy. I loved Cochrane’s and the Palace also. This is where I started about 65-66. Cole Dickson wasn’t old enough to drive and he often rode over with me. Great memories.

I too am getting old and really enjoyed reading this old post. I believe Cochrans tables ended up in the Billiard Palace in Anchorage.

 

[poolandpokerman]

I too remember going to Cochran's if it was the pool hall on the second floor downtown San Francisco. I was stationed in Hunters Point Naval station in 1972 before going to Viet Nam, I went there a few times, lots of action, some of the players wore these little aprons to keep their chalk in.

 

[ShootingArts]

It was in my nonplaying years I made a couple trips to the left coast, never to stay long. Great to read the stories.

Somehow today's AZB can't seem to come up to the level of a decade or two ago. Sometimes I think I am getting old fogies disease and it ain't really true. Then I start reading old threads written by and about people long gone. Naah, somehow the forum was on a different level. The forum is still here though so there is still hope!

Hu

 

[pt109]

It was in my nonplaying years I made a couple trips to the left coast, never to stay long. Great to read the stories.

Somehow today's AZB can't seem to come up to the level of a decade or two ago. Sometimes I think I am getting old fogies disease and it ain't really true. Then I start reading old threads written by and about people long gone. Naah, somehow the forum was on a different level. The forum is still here though so there is still hope!

Hu

The old threads can be revived…Justin Collette of TAR said AZ is billiard’s wilipedia….hopefully, more are revived.
…….the new generation can see how it was.

 

[pt109]

On that 6x12 at Cochran’s, I have an unbeatable record…it can only be tied…..I was there for two weeks in ‘67.
I was playing 9-ball for $20 a game on the 5x10 pool table…beating him to death…it was my best conditions for that game as my best game by far was snooker…on any size.
He kept trying to get me on the snooker table…I refused…finally he quit, down $380….so I said, tell me the rules, I’ll play you one game for everything you got…one red…...he had $370.
They spotted that one red ball froze to the 6-ball at an angle so it could be cut in…but they all played safe on the break.
I cut the red in, got on a D color and ran out….he complained about a nine baller getting lucky who didn’t understand snooker.
I told him to get a backer, but minimum price was a G-note a game…after a week, he couldn’t find a backer…I became a tourist…
….loved the cable car….my partner stayed in action…we did pretty good.
…but I never missed a ball on that football field.

 

[fan-tum]

I understand this is old post and I’m an old guy. I loved Cochrane’s and the Palace also. This is where I started about 65-66. Cole Dickson wasn’t old enough to drive and he often rode over with me. Great memories.

Anybody remember this older guy who played at the palace in the 70's....he was obviously a weigh-lifter, because at the balance point of his cue there was a circular steel weight that must have weighed 3-5 lbs. and twice the diameter of the butt. He seemed to play okay.

 

[jay helfert]

Grady
05-13-2006, 03:23 PM

This looks like a post by Grady in 2006 from the One Pocket Forum .... Link below!

Cochran's was anything and everything, simply the greatest pool room ever. 1028 Market St. was the actual address. I worked there in 1963. I got paid two dollars an hour and often I'd pay someone five bucks an hour to work for me so I could be in action. Public transportation was $.15. I didn?t own a car and neither did my friends.
Ronnie Allen won the One Pocket tournament there in 1962. When it was over nobody hustled him to play for money. Ronnie gave Earl Whitehead 8 to 5 and the break and won easily. Denny Searcy played "Cliff Thorburn" to a virtual draw on the 6 X 12 snooker table. That was a 40 hour match.
Here is an incomplete list of the regulars, as I remember them, with some assorted shorts:
"Trees," worked for the post office for a while but liked pool and the race track too much to continue. A warm, honest human being who played decent Banks.
"Legs," Gerald was his name, a good hustler and better than average shortstop.
"Ears," smart and clever, a real good game maker.
"100 Ball Blackie," still played a nice game in his dotage. We used to kid him and call him 10 Ball Blackie but he used to run 100's on the 5 X 10.
"Kansas City Whitey", a real rascal, his parents sent him $2,000 a month to stay away from home.
"Jesse, The Go Away Kid", a flashy young black player with much gamble.
"King of the open table," so called because on the ?open Table? ( a 6 X 12 snooker table) anyone could play for the time. The King would go months without losing a single game but wouldn't play for money.

"One Eyed Hank," a brilliant but troubled player, spent half of every year at sea, killed himself with an overdose of LSD, or so it was said. I loved Hank and I still miss him.
"Mexican Phil," A really good One Pocket player, moved like a ghost, was a terrific gambler, but couldn't leave the bottle alone.
"Okie Sam" Very good all round player and scuffler. He came from the Eddie Taylor school of pool. He died of cancer, broke and lonely.
"Ronnie Allen" displayed his power One Pocket game to everybody. He was aggressive and fearless and really unbeatable.
"Frank Bananas Rodriguez" One of the sharpest gamblers I ever knew. He was a perfect gentleman and a very fine One Pocket player.
"Canadian Dick" The resident philosopher. On the 6x12 table by the counter, there was a daily out hole only game. To give you an idea how good Dick played, one day in that game, 11 times in a row, he one railed his ball into the out hole. He moved to Burlingame and managed a pet store until he passed away.
"San Jose Dick" He liked action so much that he would sometimes rent two tables next to each other and play two opponents at once. For awhile, Dick played about as good a One Pocket as anybody in the world.
"Jack Perkins" A flashy young and sharp gambler who played One Pocket about a ball under Ronnie.
"Harry the Russian" Used to hang around with "Bananas." Harry was a good game maker and took care of himself.
"Hawaiian Paul" Worked at the Palace down the street. Paul played as good a Nine Ball as anybody in the world but only against weak players and for small money. ($3 to $10 a game) Paul also played very good golf.
"Rusty Jones," a high roller and one of the classiest gamblers I ever knew.
"Denny Searcy," the best stroke of any player ever. It's too bad scientists didn?t examine it when he was maybe the best player in the world.
Philipino Gene, a good card player and hustler.
"Oakland Blackie", Bucktooth's uncle and a top shortstop, and let's not forget the "Tooth" himself!
"Earl Phillips," a venerable older player who never said a word but was tough to beat for the dough.
"Sleepy Bob," a very fine player.
"Johnny Vivas," played everything good, too bad he was a heroin addict.
"Tugboat Whaley," grand old-timer who was one of the few willing to share knowledge.
While I was there, notable visitors included: Clem, Boston Shorty, Artie from Chicago,
"Jack Stamper," Eddie Taylor, Richie Florence, Weldon Rogers, Jack Coony, Al the Plumber,
"Portland Don," Cole Dickson, and Joe Salazar (Tracy Joe then.).
Quite a crew, wouldn't you say?

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I knew a lot of these guys and played with some of them when I was up that way in the 60's (went there three times). Played Banks with Trees twice, breaking even the first time and winning a few games the second time. Played $5 9-Ball with Gerard (he told me his name and only later someone called him Legs). Another break even game. Also played the Go Away Kid and he wanted to bet too high, kept asking me to raise the bet every time I won a game, and I pulled up after awhile. Went in a couple times against Okie Sam. He came to my poolroom when Blackie was hanging out there and Blackie gave him the eight and beat him for about 400. Also went in with Gary Pinkowski against Sam and we should have won but Gary dogged it for the cheese. Hung out with Sleepy Bob in L.A. and took him to some spots where he made a few small scores (100-200).

Became very friendly with Jack Perkins (he was triple smart!) and he showed me some tricks to make money, both in pool and poker (he was a top flight poker player and damn good pool player). Not cheating, just what to look for and how to get the best of the game. Jack was the one who showed me that giving up the five and the break in Six Ball was to my advantage. That little trick won me quite a bit of money over the years. Also first met Ronnie in JC and later at the Palace he let me hold the side money for a couple of his games. He was playing San Jose Dick (with small weight) for about 50 a game, but side betting with five or six people at the same time (10-20 a game each). Ronnie gave me 200 to hold to pay off games he lost and collect when he won. Ronnie ended up winning, and the 200 I held was now 400. Ronnie gave me 40 and we were friends ever since then. He trusted me holding his money.

Filipino Gene was the best behind-the-back player I ever saw. NO ONE could beat him playing that way! Portland Don looked like an out of work accountant, but everyone said he was one of the best 9-Ball players in there. I had already seen him in Johnston City so I knew. Denny Searcy was one of the best pool players (top five) I've ever seen play! Absolutely the best Pay Ball player ever on a snooker table, no one (not even Cliff) could match him. He played a beautiful game of pool too, just caressing those balls into the hole. Two other players reminded me of Denny's style, Ed Kelly and Wade Crane. They made pool look like ballet. Marvin Henderson also had a similar flair for making the game look so beautiful when played well. All had gentle, smooth strokes, yet could do anything with the cue ball and it looked so effortless. I guess I left out Efren, who may have been the master of effortless pool. Who's my all time top five players - Harold Worst, Luther Lassiter, Jose Parica, Denny Searcy and Efren. Right behind them are a whole bunch of great players like Marvin, Ed Kelly, Buddy, Keith, Francisco, Dennis O., Sigel, Varner and a few others like Cornbread, Jersey Red, Greg Stevens and even Bernie Schwartz who was not so well known, but at one time was considered the best 9-Ball player in the country. Eddie Taylor and George Rood were two others I was fortunate to know and see play while still in their prime.

I knew some of the other Frisco players, One Eyed Hank, Banana's, Rusty Jones, Hawaiian Paul (I think we played), but don't have any strong recollections of them. Back in those days, you might play someone and never know their name! I never gave my name unless asked first and never asked anyone their name unless they offered it. Asking someone their name was kind of non etiquette in the pool world back then. To me it was a sign of weakness, wanting to know who someone was. My attitude back then was that I played good enough to defend myself and I would find out soon enough how strong my opponent was. I made a lot of games that way and when I first ran into Lisciotti, Marino and Crane (Johnson) I could see I was outclassed early on. It wasn't hard to quit losers!