Coolest Hand With A Cue - Jay Helfert Q?
- Thread starter junksecret
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I just thought I'd bump this for those that didn't see this article 1st time around, it's a great read...
Joe
Joe
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jay helfert said:The original "Hippy Jimmy" was Jimmy Reid, although Jimmy Marino and even Jimmy Rempe were called that more than once. So was Jimmy Mataya. They all had long hair back then. The 70's was a good time for pool players named Jimmy, because all these guys played great!
Jimmy Marino never really had a nickname, we just called him Marino. He was a great money player, but smart enough to know early on that playing pool for a living was a tough way to go. So he opened a room and did quite well. Jim Rempe was "The King" and he was one of the top tournament players for many years, always finishing high in all the majors. He could play all games at the highest level.
Jimmy Mataya was another scary money player, who played better the more he bet. Only a Buddy Hall, a Keith, Billy Cardone or Greg Stevens type player would gamble with him. Guys like Jersey Red and Boston Shorty or Cornbread would prefer to make him play longer games like One Hole. Jimmy just had too much firepower at 9-Ball or Ten Ball. He beat many Ten Ball ring games.
Jimmy Reid may have had the highest speed of all these guys playing 9-Ball, if his mixture was right.
P.S. I won that Bank Pool match with Jimmy. And beat Willie Munson next. Then I over slept when I was due to play Larry Lisciotti and raced to the poolroom just in time to avoid a forfeit. I played bad and he beat me.
Jay, not exactly thread related, but it does involve a Jimmy, and I thought you'd be the one to ask....
There's a guy that works for the painting contractor that I do that I've talked to a few times, and have heard from a few others that he is/was a VERY good player. At work he goes by "the Greek". The few times I've spoken with him about pool, he did mention running with quite a few big names (even rooming with Efren for awhile). I'm not exactly sure of his last name, and don't want to butcher it, but I know as alot of Greek names do, that it ends in kis -
Just wondered if you've ever crossed paths with Jimmy "the Greek", and how strong of a player was he. BTW, he's lived off and on in the Peoria area for some time, but I believe he was originally from Joliet or thereabouts.
trustyrusty said:Jay, not exactly thread related, but it does involve a Jimmy, and I thought you'd be the one to ask....
There's a guy that works for the painting contractor that I do that I've talked to a few times, and have heard from a few others that he is/was a VERY good player. At work he goes by "the Greek". The few times I've spoken with him about pool, he did mention running with quite a few big names (even rooming with Efren for awhile). I'm not exactly sure of his last name, and don't want to butcher it, but I know as alot of Greek names do, that it ends in kis -
BTW, he's lived off and on in the Peoria area for some time, but I believe he was originally from Joliet or thereabouts.
mark hamrick moved to my hometown from peoria around 10 years ago, a strong player himself, he talked about a guy named jimmy the greek and that he once saw him run 7 racks @ $100 a game, he mentioned possibly bringing him to evansville to match up with the top players there but don't think anything came of it
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trustyrusty said:Jay, not exactly thread related, but it does involve a Jimmy, and I thought you'd be the one to ask....
There's a guy that works for the painting contractor that I do that I've talked to a few times, and have heard from a few others that he is/was a VERY good player. At work he goes by "the Greek". The few times I've spoken with him about pool, he did mention running with quite a few big names (even rooming with Efren for awhile). I'm not exactly sure of his last name, and don't want to butcher it, but I know as alot of Greek names do, that it ends in kis -
BTW, he's lived off and on in the Peoria area for some time, but I believe he was originally from Joliet or thereabouts.
Maybe this is Jimmy Cassis (?). He would be mid to late 40's now. Haven't heard anything about him in years. Nice looking guy, about 6', who played about a ball (maybe the 7) under the top players. Very strong shortstop speed. I thought he was from Ohio or Indiana, but I'm not sure about that.