Death of a southern pool legend paul turner

So sad to find out.

I have fond memories of Paul. He taught me how to play at Riverdale Billiards back in the late 80's and early 90's. I was there every day and he came in almost every other day or so. I spent hours and hours practicing with him. I would pay his "time" on the front table and play 2-3 hours each time. Cost me $6 a session just to play and hear his great stories and learn to play the games of 9-ball and one pocket. He was truly a brilliant player.

I watched him beat some of the greatest players at Tightpockets. His 9-Ball game on the bar box was just unthinkable. He could run racks on a bar box for hours. His 9-ball game on the big table was extremely good also! We would play and he would run rack after rack and i would remind him to miss so i could shoot for a bit. He taught me one pocket but i never seemed to have a shot because he would make 2-3 and lock me up every time.

I once saw Paul break and run 3 racks of 10 ball (normal sized balls) on the snooker table. I thought it was impossible!

RIP Paul Turner
 
JL in ATL said:
I played Paul a few times 7 or so years back in GA. He would give me a HUGE spot in one pocket (and of course still win). In one pocket, he had one of the smoothest strokes that I can remember. He was quite a character to be around.

Any info on what happened to him?

RIP Paul
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A lot of people didn't know how well Paul played one pocket (until they were paying off...lol). He definitely had a smooth stroke and played all games very well, especially the bar box. R.I.P. PT.
 
Agreed. I drove him to a tournament in Kennesaw area one time and he wiped out the entire field in one pocket. Then just after the tournament ended, he ended up offering some guy (can't remember who) the 78 on bar box and destroyed him for hours.
 
xdy77 said:
Since you hung around old Riverdale Billiards, I guess you knew Roy Johnson and Earl Parks....two old crooks like me who played downtown at York's and Big Town in the late 60's.
Are they still living as far as you know?
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I certainly knew Roy, but i can't quite remember Earl, but I know I heard the name allot. I'm not sure if they are still alive because I moved away in 95 and haven't been back to the area since. Another person I played 9-Ball allot with was Don the Plumber.
 
I met Paul at ACUI regionals in that took place in Georgia in the early 90s. After the tournament we hung out til late that night and partied it up. He was a cool dude and a great player.

RIP
 
I will miss him

I just stumbled on this thread. I knew Paul well for a number of years. I use to run the Cedar Room billiards in Riverdale, Ga. The things this man could do on a pool table was simply amazing. On a bar box he was bar none the best I have ever seen. To put his game in perspective, playing on a bar box him and Johnny Archer played even!
We use to go to tournaments all the time. I never played anywhere near his caliber, I basically drove, and sat watching in awe. He taught me how to table juggle (bouncing balls of the rails to give the illusion of juggling). His warm up drills would amaze you. Every day we had a golf game on a 6x12 snooker table. Once when it was real slow Paul and I played a few games. One of the games he ran out from the opening shot! Anyone who has played that game knows, that never happens.

Not only was he an incredible pool player, he was a great friend. If you were his friend there was not anything he would not do for you. Paul had an incredible sense of humor. When you were playing him it was sort of like playing with Minnesota Fats (except Paul played better). You got a stand up comedy show with a pool exhibition.

Once we went to J.O.B's in Chatanooga, I was backing him and we won right around $1,000. We had two rooms at a local hotel, I was in one room with my girlfriend and he was in the other room. I had the money when I went to bed, I woke up and it was gone. Looking back I know my girlfriend stole it. I am feeling like crap and Paul is telling me 'don't worry, it will show up' Next night we win around $1,500. As the three of us are going up to the hotel rooms he says "Hey, you mind if I hold on to my share before you go to bed."

I saw a few other names mentioned also, Roy Johnson would come into the pool room everyday. He was a local legend, everyone popped to attention when he came in, he was one of the last of his breed. Don the plumber was a regular in the golf game as well as one eyed Ray, Dumas the barber, Dennis the fence man. The list goes on, there was a time when the Atlanta area was the place to be for pool.

I really miss those days....

RIP
 
I met Paul on a few occasions around GA.
I was 1st. introduced to Paul in 2009 by my good friend Tommy (TKFMFLA) Kennedy.
I even asked him to sign my cue.
So he remembered me.

Well one Sat. I too had the absolute pleasure of spending a good bit of the day with Paul during a tournament in Macon, GA.
I was there to sell some cues & play in the 9-ball barbox tournament.
We sat around & talked throughout the day & later I gave him a ride to his hotel.
We wound up playing each other in the tournament & he played so smooth on any & every shot no matter the difficulty.
He was a joy to watch.
Of course he won 7-0

My prayers are with his family & friends.
R.I.P. bro

Thank you for the great memories,
Michael
 
Pool is a small world

Tommy kennedy is the one who was really good at that table juggling thing, he could do 12 balls.

Paul was a character like Minnesota fats. He could tell you story after story for hours on end.
 
paul

Sorry to hear the sad news-paul allways seem to be into his game 110% fun to watch play!!! :sorry::sorry::sorry:
 
Always into his game

stick8 said:
Sorry to hear the sad news-paul allways seem to be into his game 110% fun to watch play!!! :sorry::sorry::sorry:
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When he was in the zone, it seemed like he could will the cue ball anywhere he wanted it to go. Incredible stroke. Almost cinematic.
 
Regardless of skill, there are 1000's of players that can tell lies like Fats did...albeit very entertaining lies! LOL :eek::grin:

NOBODY can table juggle like Tommy Kennedy...he's the king!...and to my knowledge, the only. I don't know of any other professional or amateur players who profess publicly, a table juggling skill. TK...you da man! :thumbup:

RIP Mr. Turner...with all due respect for a long time lover of the game. No doubt you have been missed, for the past year, and will be for years to come.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

r97584 said:
Tommy kennedy is the one who was really good at that table juggling thing, he could do 12 balls.

Paul was a character like Minnesota fats. He could tell you story after story for hours on end.
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Story about Paul to share. The scene was at Mr.Cues in Atlanta. This was just months prior to Paul`s passing. He was in the finals of a one pocket tournament and I could tell he was not feeling very well. Several of the rail birds were trying to engage Paul in a conversation but he put them off by saying its playing time now no time to talk. I had a ring side table to watch the action. I had known Paul for many years and we were friends. Paul comes over and props up on my table. I say, Paul can I get you something to drink. He says yeh I`ll take a coffee. I get the coffee and for the rest of the match I watch great one hole strategy and converse with a friend for the final time. I will remember it always.
 
Scott Lee said:
Regardless of skill, there are 1000's of players that can tell lies like Fats did...albeit very entertaining lies! LOL :eek::grin:

NOBODY can table juggle like Tommy Kennedy...he's the king!...and to my knowledge, the only. I don't know of any other professional or amateur players who profess publicly, a table juggling skill. TK...you da man! :thumbup:

RIP Mr. Turner...with all due respect for a long time lover of the game. No doubt you have been missed, for the past year, and will be for years to come.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
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I don't know about juggling but Tommy had no chance playing Paul on a barbox. I also can say the stories I heard were all the truth. I staked him giving Tommy Sanders the 8 at a Jackson,Ms tournament and he robbed Tommy. No one, and I mean no one had to beat Paul on a barbox!
 
A walking stick

I really liked Paul, he was one of my best friends when I lived in Atlanta, it really makes me feel good that everyone is sharing their memories of him. I remember I was staking him and he won a thousand in a race to 11 nine ball, and on a big table.

After he got the thousand,later that night he discreetly slipped the losing player $200 and whispered 'a walking stick'. Later I asked him about it and he said, 'you can't leave a man busted, he needs a walking stick.'
 
backplaying...No disrespect intended. I have no doubt of people's memories of Paul's skills on the table. That said, I have never seen a "pro" player who didn't, on occasion, "stretch the truth" about some aspect their wins (nobody remembers their losses! LOL)...truthfully, there have been some very famous guys telling some real whoppers, over the years. Again, not implying that Paul did this...

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

backplaying said:
I also can say the stories I heard were all the truth. I staked him giving Tommy Sanders the 8 at a Jackson,Ms tournament and he robbed Tommy. No one, and I mean no one had to beat Paul on a barbox!
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Scott Lee said:
backplaying...No disrespect intended. I have no doubt of people's memories of Paul's skills on the table. That said, I have never seen a "pro" player who didn't, on occasion, "stretch the truth" about some aspect their wins (nobody remembers their losses! LOL)...truthfully, there have been some very famous guys telling some real whoppers, over the years. Again, not implying that Paul did this...

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
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That was and is a tasteless post
 
Scott Lee said:
backplaying...No disrespect intended. I have no doubt of people's memories of Paul's skills on the table. That said, I have never seen a "pro" player who didn't, on occasion, "stretch the truth" about some aspect their wins (nobody remembers their losses! LOL)...truthfully, there have been some very famous guys telling some real whoppers, over the years. Again, not implying that Paul did this...

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Well, Paul was a real player, unlike some people who just claim to be. I can tell you he did run as many racks as anyone I had ever seen. I played him many many times. I guarantee the real players can tell you how good he played.
 
Back in the 80's when Buddy was hitting all the big bar table tournaments and winning most of them, there was one guy who got in his way and put him in the second spot more than a few times - PAUL TURNER! I once asked Buddy about this guy who seemed to be the only one who had his number. He looked me dead in the eye, "No one has to beat that guy!"
 
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