Doc Frye and Balabushka connection

PhilosopherKing

PhilosopherKing

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While researching a cue, I came across a curious listing for a Doc Frye cue:

“Vintage 1960’s Doc Frye Cue was purchased used in The Fusco’s pool Room (Philadelphia) early 1980’s ,,, cue is vintage and more then likely being a Doc Frye right from Balabushkas shop if anyone knows Doc Frye history”

Can anyone elaborate on this?

Thanks
 
PhilosopherKing said:
While researching a cue, I came across a curious listing for a Doc Frye cue:

“Vintage 1960’s Doc Frye Cue was purchased used in The Fusco’s pool Room (Philadelphia) early 1980’s ,,, cue is vintage and more then likely being a Doc Frye right from Balabushkas shop if anyone knows Doc Frye history”

Can anyone elaborate on this?

Thanks
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He didn’t work with or buy anything from balabushka. George bought materials, premade custom blanks and converted Brunswick Titlists into cues. He never sold anything but finished cues. He influenced Gus Szamboti and after gus began making blanks Doc bought points from him.

Fryer professional job as a pharmacy doctor/pharmacist was where the Doc came from

Many of frye’s cues had a penny with the date of the year it was made bolted in through the buttcap…majority were bumperless….
 
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Doc Frye Pool Cues

My wife is the granddaughter of Doc Frye, who many of you know made pool cues in the Philadelphia area (Feasterville) in the 60's & 70's. My wife still remembers the smell of the wood shavings she swept from the cellar floor where he made his cues. We are lucky to own one of the cues he made in...
forums.azbilliards.com

Good info and little back history here
 
PhilosopherKing said:
While researching a cue, I came across a curious listing for a Doc Frye cue:

“Vintage 1960’s Doc Frye Cue was purchased used in The Fusco’s pool Room (Philadelphia) early 1980’s ,,, cue is vintage and more then likely being a Doc Frye right from Balabushkas shop if anyone knows Doc Frye history”

Can anyone elaborate on this?

Thanks
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Does not sound right
 
PhilosopherKing said:
What about the wrap and the penny?
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Doc used Pennie’s never heard of George using them….George died in 1975 and his last years of making cues they were his most fancy.

The post is confusing I’d say it’s a Frye and not a balabushka….I’d be skeptical with the cue because the description is wrong regardless of wether doc or George made it.

But I’d say doc and not a bushka just based off the given info if I’m forced into having an educated answer only considering these two makers
 
greyghost said:
Doc used Pennie’s never heard of George using them….George died in 1975 and his last years of making cues they were his most fancy.

The post is confusing I’d say it’s a Frye and not a balabushka….I’d be skeptical with the cue because the description is wrong regardless of wether doc or George made it.

But I’d say doc and not a bushka just based off the given info if I’m forced into having an educated answer only considering these two makers
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Thinking more about this, I imagine that the cue was started by Balabushka and finished by Frye.

The penny date is the year Balabushka passed.

If that’s the case, it would be interesting to know how and why Frye got this cue to finish and if the work was done posthumously.
 
PhilosopherKing said:
Thinking more about this, I imagine that the cue was started by Balabushka and finished by Frye.

The penny date is the year Balabushka passed.

If that’s the case, it would be interesting to know how and why Frye got this cue to finish and if the work was done posthumously.
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Very doubtful being that Pete Tascarella bought his “shop” material and equipment and all not long after George passed from George’s wife. The only thing he didn’t take was some wood, Pete Sr. got all the unfinished blanks and whatnot.

The ring at the A joint is very bushka like fwiw. Would be nice to see dimensions of said cue and a good look at the pin also and an X ray tbh.

Without strict provenance proving it was a unfinished cue from George that Frye completed….I would only value It as a Frey not influenced by the George talk.

A bushkas bumper is also has a lot less pronounced stick out than seen here and they were generally a brownish red rubber not black. A look inside the bumper is a must as well to make any kind of definitive judgement.

Also I’d think it would be a little odd of the biggest maker passing and basically local contemporary of his immediately finishing one of his last works, not notating it or marking it as having some kind of importance when completing the build….unless it was just well oversized early process parts and blank out George’s shop, if it was basically how George would have gotten the blank to complete then sure there may not have been much thought given to that….

The whole thing stinks from lack of info and doesn’t jive with what is known about the two makers cues.

The post is from 2016 there’s no other talk of it anywhere on the web…if it had any weight to the rumor it would have become a big deal over the past 6-7 years…..

Finding a 1975 penny and Drilling a hole in it to plop on there to tempt one to believe it’s from George’s shop is too easy of a task anyways…that penny proves nothing more than it’s probably a Frye of its even there imop.


All of this is just opinion of course on my part. 🤷‍♂️
 
Well, I don’t know who’s cue that was in the pictures, but based on that line-up, they definitely know a lot more about cues than me, and, if they said it’s a Balabushka/Frye, I’m not going to question it.
 
PhilosopherKing said:
I just spoke to the owner of the cue, who provided the cue’s full history, and it’s exactly what it’s supposed to be: A Bushka/Frye that’s build was coordinated by a mutual friend.
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The post you originally quoted which was extremely vague, leads you to contact the owner….he gives you the full history

And you come back here with their buddy had it built.

Would you mind ummmm what’s it called….

Elaborating on this full history

I’m not a unbeliever but man I need more than a crumb good sir! Feed us the info we are starving 😂.

Comon maingh! Lol
 
greyghost said:
The post you originally quoted which was extremely vague, leads you to contact the owner….he gives you the full history

And you come back here with their buddy had it built.

Would you mind ummmm what’s it called….

Elaborating on this full history

I’m not a unbeliever but man I need more than a crumb good sir! Feed us the info we are starving 😂.

Comon maingh! Lol
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I am the owner of the Bushka/ Frye cue and I reached out to Steve to clarify the misinformation in this thread.
I am the second owner of this cue and will write up all the facts when I have a minute.
Thank you
Paul
 
The cue I own was commissioned by Fred Backlond who was a close friend of Lamar “Doc” Frye.

Fred wrote a monthly article for The National Billiard News titled "Running English" from 1988 to 1991 under the pseudonym Fred Beard, not to be confused with Freddie “The Beard” Bentivegna. Fred was an accomplished photographer as well as a writer and is the photographer of the photo posted by “Silverminer”, an AZ member who is part of the Frye Family, that shows Doc Frye with an array of his cues before him on a table.

Fred spoke with George Balabushka on numerous occasions and always wanted a cue from him. Since George and Doc Frye already knew each other, George agreed to send an assembled forearm/handle to Doc Frye to be finished for Fred. X-rays confirm that the forearm and handle match Balabushka’s assembly. The cue also has a penny dated 1975. The forearm used is a Szamboti forearm.
 
thepavlos said:
The cue I own was commissioned by Fred Backlond who was a close friend of Lamar “Doc” Frye.

Fred wrote a monthly article for The National Billiard News titled "Running English" from 1988 to 1991 under the pseudonym Fred Beard, not to be confused with Freddie “The Beard” Bentivegna. Fred was an accomplished photographer as well as a writer and is the photographer of the photo posted by “Silverminer”, an AZ member who is part of the Frye Family, that shows Doc Frye with an array of his cues before him on a table.

Fred spoke with George Balabushka on numerous occasions and always wanted a cue from him. Since George and Doc Frye already knew each other, George agreed to send an assembled forearm/handle to Doc Frye to be finished for Fred. X-rays confirm that the forearm and handle match Balabushka’s assembly. The cue also has a penny dated 1975. The forearm used is a Szamboti forearm.
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So it's a Fryeszambuska.
Say that 3 times fast.
Interesting history.
I'll offer $110.
 
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