Denver Pool Halls -- '60s and '70s.

[1-pocket-player]

That was Sid Barcelona, who still goes into Paradise Billiards, (now Hanks) I see him once in a while. Paradise Billiards has changed, and a lot of the pool players are heading north to the Colorado Cue Club. Colfax Billiards became the Billiard Institute, and is out of business. The tables at the newest Table Steaks are from Colfax Billiards. I saw Frank Burgess yesterday.

How many of you remember The Sportsman Club? We also used to have AAA Billiards, in Aurora, the Oxford Hotel, Centennial Billiards owned by Pete Casino.

I remember one day in 1969, Rodney and I played partners in the Bluebird, they lets us play and we were only 17. We played dollar and 2-dollar partners 8-ball all day , and we each won $67.00. We used to find little pool halls all over the place in Denver. Downstairs at the Curtis Street Hotel downtown, where the term "Curtis Street Rack" was coined for purposely racking the balls badly, there a pool hall at 6th & Dayton, I can't remember the name, the bowling alley at Merchants Park Shopping Center, The Golden Cue by Roller City at Villa Italia, Englewood Bowl, and I even remember when York Billiards moved into the second floor of the building across the street on Colfax, and York Billiards became a health food store.

Thats a bummer about Paradise. It was my favorite room to go to whenever I was in Denver. I used to play in the Thursday night tournaments they had (Which I understand are now being held at the Colorado Cue Club?). I'm hoping to get over there sometime in the spring...

Thanks,
-Andy

 

[cuesblues]

Hank's Billiards

Thats a bummer about Paradise. It was my favorite room to go to whenever I was in Denver. I used to play in the Thursday night tournaments they had (Which I understand are now being held at the Colorado Cue Club?). I'm hoping to get over there sometime in the spring...

Thanks,
-Andy

Hank's Billiards is owned by Hank Rivera, a really good guy. It's not a bad place, it's just changed. Al least they have good Mexican food now. I bought three really nice Josswest cues from Hank, he had them in his vault at the Splash for several years. We talked for a few months and I finally bought them.

 

[sixpack]

Thanks for posting the memories.

Last time I saw Sid Barcelona he was living here, but that was 6, 7 years ago. Frank Espinoza moved out here too but I don't know if he's still here.

One time Danny Medina was playing 9-ball and Danny is shooting at the 9 in the hill game...and it's not an easy shot...long, very tight cut shot. Fat Marty was sweating the action and sitting on a stool right behind Danny. Right before he pulls the trigger, the stool Fat Marty is sitting on shatters and makes a helluva noise. Danny shot the ball in like nothing happened. I told Danny "you acted like it didn't even happen"...Danny said "What happened?" His concentration was such that he didn't even hear it.

Story told to me by Melody Biggs.

I didn't start playing pool in Denver much until the late 80's and a lot of the people you mention were still around and I heard lots of stories about some of the others that weren't.

Did you know Jim Maes?

~rc

 

[9BallPaul]

Thanks for posting the memories.

Last time I saw Sid Barcelona he was living here, but that was 6, 7 years ago. Frank Espinoza moved out here too but I don't know if he's still here.

One time Danny Medina was playing 9-ball and Danny is shooting at the 9 in the hill game...and it's not an easy shot...long, very tight cut shot. Fat Marty was sweating the action and sitting on a stool right behind Danny. Right before he pulls the trigger, the stool Fat Marty is sitting on shatters and makes a helluva noise. Danny shot the ball in like nothing happened. I told Danny "you acted like it didn't even happen"...Danny said "What happened?" His concentration was such that he didn't even hear it.

Story told to me by Melody Biggs.

I didn't start playing pool in Denver much until the late 80's and a lot of the people you mention were still around and I heard lots of stories about some of the others that weren't.

Did you know Jim Maes?

~rc

Didn't know JM. But thanks for your good description of Marty, Danny, et al. Let's talk.

 

[cuesblues]

Thanks for posting the memories.

Last time I saw Sid Barcelona he was living here, but that was 6, 7 years ago. Frank Espinoza moved out here too but I don't know if he's still here.

One time Danny Medina was playing 9-ball and Danny is shooting at the 9 in the hill game...and it's not an easy shot...long, very tight cut shot. Fat Marty was sweating the action and sitting on a stool right behind Danny. Right before he pulls the trigger, the stool Fat Marty is sitting on shatters and makes a helluva noise. Danny shot the ball in like nothing happened. I told Danny "you acted like it didn't even happen"...Danny said "What happened?" His concentration was such that he didn't even hear it.

Story told to me by Melody Biggs.

I didn't start playing pool in Denver much until the late 80's and a lot of the people you mention were still around and I heard lots of stories about some of the others that weren't.

Did you know Jim Maes?

~rc

I think I know who he is. I love Melody Biggs. She is working at Table Stakes west, since she had a falling out with Terry at Paradise, before it changed to Hank's. I watched Bob Keller beat Danny Medina in a 10-ball tournament at Table Stakes South during my inhouse league last week. He still plays pretty good. I have a DVD of Danny breaking & running 9-nine ball racks against Billy Incardona. That video is really something to see. They were not easy runs, tough cuts, banks, combination kick banks into combinations, really amazing

 

[ironman]

Glad you brought up Civic Center Billiards, 'cause that one should have been on my list.

Centered at Colfax and Broadway, this pool hall couldn't have been better located. Drug stores, magazine stands, coffee shops, you name it. And right there was Civic Center Billards. Not to turn this thread about me, but one late night in 1970 I was asleep just inside the door, AWOL from the army at the time, and in walks my dad. The FBI had been after my arse. Things got better after that and now I'm doing fine.

Best memory of that room was playing an old guy we called "The Old Man." He separated me from some cash many times while I was scuffling on the street, and it irritated me hugely. One day my friend Tom Staab went in and robbed him.

Civic

Wow,Tom Staub!!! Perhaps one of the nicest human Beings ever.

 

[ironman]

Sid was at DCC this year. I think he spends a lot of time around Seattle too. He used to play quite a bit with Harry Platis.
I played in the big tourney at Colfax Billiards in 1985 I think. Sigel won it after losing to a local guy in the first round. He won like eleven matches in a row. There was a helluva snowstorm and we couldn't drive. I stayed at Tim Thompson's apartment. He was one of the regulars at Family Fun Center. He told me many stories about old man Andy Hudson, who hung there.

I remember beating Frank Burgess in the tourney (he owned the place didn't he?) and losing to Danny Medina.

That was one heck of a Tournament. The blizzard hit in early December and the warmest it got all month was like -8 degrees.

There were like 131 players and this was the 2nd week of December.

YOu are right Jay, Frank did own the place at the time and Leon Ledford wasthere working for him.

Sigel won it it beating Jr Brown of Wichita Ks in the finals.

This was my first big table tournament and ended 5-6th and felt like I had won the US Open. This is also where I met Jay for the 1st time. I think you were writing for the Billiard News at the time.

I also beat Gary Pinkowski at the tounament out of like $1200 and hethrew an absolut fit when Surfer Rod told him I had started with only like $160 to my name. He gotso mad that he got leg cramps and couldn't walk outof that back room for like 2 hours. It was hilarious.

 

[ironman]

That was Sid Barcelona, who still goes into Paradise Billiards, (now Hanks) I see him once in a while. Paradise Billiards has changed, and a lot of the pool players are heading north to the Colorado Cue Club. Colfax Billiards became the Billiard Institute, and is out of business. The tables at the newest Table Steaks are from Colfax Billiards. I saw Frank Burgess yesterday.

How many of you remember The Sportsman Club? We also used to have AAA Billiards, in Aurora, the Oxford Hotel, Centennial Billiards owned by Pete Casino.

I remember one day in 1969, Rodney and I played partners in the Bluebird, they lets us play and we were only 17. We played dollar and 2-dollar partners 8-ball all day , and we each won $67.00. We used to find little pool halls all over the place in Denver. Downstairs at the Curtis Street Hotel downtown, where the term "Curtis Street Rack" was coined for purposely racking the balls badly, there a pool hall at 6th & Dayton, I can't remember the name, the bowling alley at Merchants Park Shopping Center, The Golden Cue by Roller City at Villa Italia, Englewood Bowl, and I even remember when York Billiards moved into the second floor of the building across the street on Colfax, and York Billiards became a health food store.

I live just two blcks from AAA in Aurora and used to go in there daily. Years later, I worked For Pete at Centennial Billiards out there on South Santa Fe.
That iswhere I staked Craig Stevens against Dick Henry. Dick went busted and then went totally NUTS> He smashed his cue andthen stripped down naked and stood rightin the middle of Santa Fe at 8:00 AM until the police came and took him away. He supposedly staye in the State Hospital for like 2 years after that episode.

 

[cuesblues]

Surfer Rod

That was one heck of a Tournament. The blizzard hit in early December and the warmest it got all month was like -8 degrees.

There were like 131 players and this was the 2nd week of December.

YOu are right Jay, Frank did own the place at the time and Leon Ledford wasthere working for him.

Sigel won it it beating Jr Brown of Wichita Ks in the finals.

This was my first big table tournament and ended 5-6th and felt like I had won the US Open. This is also where I met Jay for the 1st time. I think you were writing for the Billiard News at the time.

I also beat Gary Pinkowski at the tounament out of like $1200 and hethrew an absolut fit when Surfer Rod told him I had started with only like $160 to my name. He gotso mad that he got leg cramps and couldn't walk outof that back room for like 2 hours. It was hilarious.

That's a great story, $160.00, that's not so bad, at least you didn't fire an air-barrel at him. Sid Barcelona has told me several stories about gambling with Surfer Rod. I think Sid won some Tad cues from Rod, that I would like to buy.

 

[ironman]

That's a great story, $160.00, that's not so bad, at least you didn't fire an air-barrel at him. Sid Barcelona has told me several stories about gambling with Surfer Rod. I think Sid won some Tad cues from Rod, that I would like to buy.

Surfer Rod was some character in thosedays. He played pretty good on a bar table, but was mostly a "Go off artist". He was entertaining though.

 

[ironman]

Didn't know JM. But thanks for your good description of Marty, Danny, et al. Let's talk.

Melody Biggs. I thought she was a Goddess in those days. She was fun to be around.

 

[ironman]

Andy Hudson

I hesitate to post this because I don't want anyoneto get the wrongi dea about my old friend and make no mistake, I loved Andy dearly.
Itwas back in the 80's andAndy was still playing pretty well despite being in his 60's.
We were at Colfax Billiards and Andy had beatensome guy pretty handily or of a few bucks and the guy really took the heat over it. Andy was in no danger as there were many of us around, "watching his back".
The guy called Andy many things and finallyout came the N word and we knew something was about to happen andI was about to .
pop the guy myself.
Andy was as nice a guy who lived, and never started trouble with anyone, butcould hold hisown in verbal altercations. When the guy refused topay and then used the N word, Andy clamly laid his cueon the table and turned and walked over to the wall and grabbed a house cue andslowly walkedover to the guy who had his back to . He held the cue with both hands by the shaft and raised it slowly and KONK! Andy popped him right ontop of the head. Idon't ever in life remember laughing as hard as Idid that very minute.
The guy got off the floor and saws everal of us standing very close and calmly reached in his pocket and paid Andy. Andy thanked him and then went and paid the time. He then came over and handed me like a $10 Jelly roll, winked at me and said Thanks. I was still out of control laughing.
The nextday Isaw Andy and wentover a shook hishandand brought up the incident from the night before, still laughing. Andy looked atme very soberly and said, That's a bad word. Ilooked at his eyes and saw his pain. We never talked about . it again. That day, I dropped the N word from my vocabulary
andstillfeel a bit ashamed of my behavior.

 

[cuesblues]

Pete

I live just two blcks from AAA in Aurora and used to go in there daily. Years later, I worked For Pete at Centennial Billiards out there on South Santa Fe.
That iswhere I staked Craig Stevens against Dick Henry. Dick went busted and then went totally NUTS> He smashed his cue andthen stripped down naked and stood rightin the middle of Santa Fe at 8:00 AM until the police came and took him away. He supposedly staye in the State Hospital for like 2 years after that episode.

I remember something about that on Santa Fe, I guess Dick didn't like to lose. I see Pete Casino 3 or 4 times a week. He is 84 and all of the girls just love him. He keeps my girlfriend company when I'm playing, which is great so I don't have to play her all the time, and can actually practice

 

[ironman]

I remember something about that on Santa Fe, I guess Dick didn't like to lose. I see Pete Casino 3 or 4 times a week. He is 84 and all of the girls just love him. He keeps my girlfriend company when I'm playing, which is great so I don't have to play her all the time, and can actually practice

Pete isa great guy and as harmless as anyone who lives. Please tell him Butch says hello.

 

[cuesblues]

Pete

Pete isa great guy and as harmless as anyone who lives. Please tell him Butch says hello.

I definitely will, he loves that kind of stuff. There is an engineer at Porter Hospital I deal with that just told me the same thing. In the 70's he used to go to Pete's Pizza Heaven everyday. That pizza was the best

 

[Island Drive]

Denver Open 1982/83

I remember a couple things & one in particular (see end of thread), this happened during play & this EARL action was a corner stone of what a player could NOT do during play, anywhere in the US from now on, Scott Smith I'm pretty sure was the TD at the time.
Deep into the Tournament Chewy Rivera played probably his best match of his life, and those that know him highly respect his saftey play and ALSO his ability to get OUT of safties. He had just beat Sigel, basically manhandled him with (I'm guessing) a score of 11- 7, he then proceeded to NOT show up (he's on the winner side still LATE in the event) for his next match, boing!!!!!!!!!!!! eventually had to play Sigel again and got drummed.
HERE'S THE CORNERSTONE:
Earl Strickland vs Chewy, I'll never forget this match, it was close, Chewy was DOWN on his shot, length of table but his line of sight faces Earl as he sits in his chair against the wall (west side) at the original Colfax. Chewy is lining up his shot, and those that know him know he can put a Henry Granis lenghty stall up and down fiddle etc. move on the shot before pulling the trigger. Once Earl KNEW he was gonna shoot HE UNCORKED just as Chewy pulled the trigger, Chewy missed, Earl won the match and this is where it happened and this was when the rule came into effect...when a player is shooting, U uncork U loose.

 

[cuesblues]

Chuey

I remember a couple things & one in particular (see end of thread), this happened during play & this EARL action was a corner stone of what a player could NOT do during play, anywhere in the US from now on, Scott Smith I'm pretty sure was the TD at the time.
Deep into the Tournament Chewy Rivera played probably his best match of his life, and those that know him highly respect his saftey play and ALSO his ability to get OUT of safties. He had just beat Sigel, basically manhandled him with (I'm guessing) a score of 11- 7, he then proceeded to NOT show up (he's on the winner side still LATE in the event) for his next match, boing!!!!!!!!!!!! eventually had to play Sigel again and got drummed.
HERE'S THE CORNERSTONE:
Earl Strickland vs Chewy, I'll never forget this match, it was close, Chewy was DOWN on his shot, length of table but his line of sight faces Earl as he sits in his chair against the wall (west side) at the original Colfax. Chewy is lining up his shot, and those that know him know he can put a Henry Granis lenghty stall up and down fiddle etc. move on the shot before pulling the trigger. Once Earl KNEW he was gonna shoot HE UNCORKED just as Chewy pulled the trigger, Chewy missed, Earl won the match and this is where it happened and this was when the rule came into effect...when a player is shooting, U uncork U loose.

I will probably see Chuey in an hour at Table Stakes north. He speaks selective English. Last year he got mad at a guy for eating a pretzel while he was shooting, and the guy was a spectator three rows back. Now I know why, we couldn't figure it out at the time

 

[ironman]

I remember a couple things & one in particular (see end of thread), this happened during play & this EARL action was a corner stone of what a player could NOT do during play, anywhere in the US from now on, Scott Smith I'm pretty sure was the TD at the time.
Deep into the Tournament Chewy Rivera played probably his best match of his life, and those that know him highly respect his saftey play and ALSO his ability to get OUT of safties. He had just beat Sigel, basically manhandled him with (I'm guessing) a score of 11- 7, he then proceeded to NOT show up (he's on the winner side still LATE in the event) for his next match, boing!!!!!!!!!!!! eventually had to play Sigel again and got drummed.
HERE'S THE CORNERSTONE:
Earl Strickland vs Chewy, I'll never forget this match, it was close, Chewy was DOWN on his shot, length of table but his line of sight faces Earl as he sits in his chair against the wall (west side) at the original Colfax. Chewy is lining up his shot, and those that know him know he can put a Henry Granis lenghty stall up and down fiddle etc. move on the shot before pulling the trigger. Once Earl KNEW he was gonna shoot HE UNCORKED just as Chewy pulled the trigger, Chewy missed, Earl won the match and this is where it happened and this was when the rule came into effect...when a player is shooting, U uncork U loose.

If I remember correctly ID got 3rd in this event?

 

[12squared]

First, I want to thank 9ballpaul for starting this thread, rep to you.

I moved to Fort Collins, CO a little less than 7 years ago so I missed all of what everyone is talking about Denver of old. Too bad, it really sounds like a great pool environment. I really don't know the majority of names that have been talked about but I know a few. Sid, Frank E. Melody, Chuey - you know, the ones that are still around and have bee for the last 7 years. The only one I know (that I know I know) of the posters is Ted (cuesblues) - Hi Ted! And regas (sixpack) I met in Sacramento, and I've run into Jay a few times - Hi to you, too!

I just wanted to say thanks for my "new" memories.

Dave

 

[ironman]

I remember a couple things & one in particular (see end of thread), this happened during play & this EARL action was a corner stone of what a player could NOT do during play, anywhere in the US from now on, Scott Smith I'm pretty sure was the TD at the time.
Deep into the Tournament Chewy Rivera played probably his best match of his life, and those that know him highly respect his saftey play and ALSO his ability to get OUT of safties. He had just beat Sigel, basically manhandled him with (I'm guessing) a score of 11- 7, he then proceeded to NOT show up (he's on the winner side still LATE in the event) for his next match, boing!!!!!!!!!!!! eventually had to play Sigel again and got drummed.
HERE'S THE CORNERSTONE:
Earl Strickland vs Chewy, I'll never forget this match, it was close, Chewy was DOWN on his shot, length of table but his line of sight faces Earl as he sits in his chair against the wall (west side) at the original Colfax. Chewy is lining up his shot, and those that know him know he can put a Henry Granis lenghty stall up and down fiddle etc. move on the shot before pulling the trigger. Once Earl KNEW he was gonna shoot HE UNCORKED just as Chewy pulled the trigger, Chewy missed, Earl won the match and this is where it happened and this was when the rule came into effect...when a player is shooting, U uncork U loose.

Do you remember a guy there who was pretty good action named Coit Chapman. I haven't heard that name in many years and was just curious.

He had an intrest in a collection of Huebler cues that was stolen andended uup in Denver at that time. Some were pretty nice and they were scattered all over the Denver area.

I had bought one from the Waterdog and right in the middle of my match with Swannee, an FBI agent walked up and took it from me. It was a cheaper one and after they examined it, they gave it back to me. I had no idea they were stolen, but they figured mine was so cheap, they let me keep it.