Article from News of Delaware County dated August 2, 2006
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Billiard Club Bounces Back
By Nick PiPitone August 2, 2006
Owner didn't have deep pockets when Hurricane Floyd dropped by; next came friends and bank shots (loans).
Bob Maidhof's southern twang softens and his sentences break as he recalls the day he lost his life's work.
The Florida-raised professional pool player and Drexeline Billiards Club owner can remember the exact date and time when a 10-year-old business was washed away to nothing.
"September 16, 1999, 2 p.m. It was a Thursday afternoon and [Hurricane] Floyd hit us here," Maidhof remembers. "I was taking it kind of lightly until we had about four feet of water in the place. By that point, almost everything was destroyed."
Maidhof, unaware that the Billiards Club in Drexel Hill was in a flood plain with the Darby Creek running directly behind it, did not carry flood insurance. Open for business, Maidhof and his regular afternoon customers watched a flow of water seep through the front and back doors until it reached knee-high.
After a couple hours of continuous flooding, the police came and told Maidhof to vacate the club to avoid being electrocuted. By then, it was too late to salvage any of the pool tables or memorabilia he had collected over his 10 years at Drexeline.
"Everything went," he says. "It was just a bad scene, man. Really bad."
But what happened after the damage to Maidhof's club is what he sees as most important. Financially bankrupt and no compensation on the way, Maihof discovered he was not alone. Fifteen 15 to 20 regular customers came in to help Maidhof and his wife of 21 years, Susan, clean up.
"That is why, Maidhof says, "I didn't really know the true meaning of charity until a disaster had hit me."
After a grueling three years of reconstruction, numerous bank loans and a quickly-developing debt, Maidhof and Susan were able to reopen the club. Emotionally, he says, it took him nearly a year and a half to shake off the shock of losing his business.
Still, with the club up and running and his finances finally starting to stabilize, he says they are "about 10 years behind schedule."
Raised in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Maidhof moved to Delaware County in the mid-1980s after meeting his wife Susan, an Overbrook-native, down south. With aspirations to open his own club, the professional pool player and commercial fisherman saw pool drying up in Florida and decided to move with Susan back to her hometown.
The couple opened the club in 1989 and have become a pillar of the community. Now, after overcoming their own challenge, Maidhof and his wife have been quick to help others in need.
In October of 2003, a regular at the club, Buck Jones, and his family were left homeless after their Upper Darby house burnt down during an insurance lapse. Maidhof put together an emergency fundraiser at the club and raised nearly $1,200 for Jones, his wife, and four children.
"When the fire happened, I was really just a regular customer," Jones says. "The benefit helped me a lot. Words can't really describe how much it helped. I don't think I would ever be able to pay him back."
Jones admits that he and his family are still struggling, moving from rental to rental, but Maidhof's benevolence helped them greatly.
The club's house professional and private instructor, Anthony Gaudioso, says he has not seen one pool hall do a tenth of what Maidhof does charity-wise. Gaudioso has been playing pool for over 50 years and claims to have seen "only one nicer pool hall in his lifetime.
"Bob does the best job I've ever seen," says Gaudioso, who retired three years ago. "The club is very family-oriented and kept together. He has customers from all walks of life come in."
The top professional equipment and the cordial atmosphere has attracted even the likes of the late Hall of Famer Jimmy Caras, a five-time World Champion and close friend of Maidhof's who passed away in December of 2002.
Recently, Cory Deuel, another Drexeline regular, has had much success on the pro circuit. Deuel, after frequenting the club since he was 12 years old, went pro at 19. He earned $87,482 in 2005 and finished in the top 10 in 13 of 20 tournaments.
Still, with all the club's accomplishments and memories, Maidhof comes back to charity. "The value of that catastrophe and understanding what it's all about and knowing what people are going through opened my eyes," he says. "I walk through life now a little more conscientious and understanding."
Maidhof hopes to organize a benefit tournament to donate funds to families who have lost loved ones in Iraq later this month. The tentative dates for the 64-player tournament are either Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., Aug. 26 at 5:30 p.m. or Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
The entry fee for tournament play is $30. All proceeds will be directed to scholarship funds for the children from these families. Maidhof hopes to raise "around $3,500" and make the tournament an annual event.
"I hope that people read this article and it opens their eyes to some respect," he says. "If they feel as though they can donate a little time to help somebody, hopefully it'll make a difference."
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Billiard Club Bounces Back
By Nick PiPitone August 2, 2006
Owner didn't have deep pockets when Hurricane Floyd dropped by; next came friends and bank shots (loans).
Bob Maidhof's southern twang softens and his sentences break as he recalls the day he lost his life's work.
The Florida-raised professional pool player and Drexeline Billiards Club owner can remember the exact date and time when a 10-year-old business was washed away to nothing.
"September 16, 1999, 2 p.m. It was a Thursday afternoon and [Hurricane] Floyd hit us here," Maidhof remembers. "I was taking it kind of lightly until we had about four feet of water in the place. By that point, almost everything was destroyed."
Maidhof, unaware that the Billiards Club in Drexel Hill was in a flood plain with the Darby Creek running directly behind it, did not carry flood insurance. Open for business, Maidhof and his regular afternoon customers watched a flow of water seep through the front and back doors until it reached knee-high.
After a couple hours of continuous flooding, the police came and told Maidhof to vacate the club to avoid being electrocuted. By then, it was too late to salvage any of the pool tables or memorabilia he had collected over his 10 years at Drexeline.
"Everything went," he says. "It was just a bad scene, man. Really bad."
But what happened after the damage to Maidhof's club is what he sees as most important. Financially bankrupt and no compensation on the way, Maihof discovered he was not alone. Fifteen 15 to 20 regular customers came in to help Maidhof and his wife of 21 years, Susan, clean up.
"That is why, Maidhof says, "I didn't really know the true meaning of charity until a disaster had hit me."
After a grueling three years of reconstruction, numerous bank loans and a quickly-developing debt, Maidhof and Susan were able to reopen the club. Emotionally, he says, it took him nearly a year and a half to shake off the shock of losing his business.
Still, with the club up and running and his finances finally starting to stabilize, he says they are "about 10 years behind schedule."
Raised in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Maidhof moved to Delaware County in the mid-1980s after meeting his wife Susan, an Overbrook-native, down south. With aspirations to open his own club, the professional pool player and commercial fisherman saw pool drying up in Florida and decided to move with Susan back to her hometown.
The couple opened the club in 1989 and have become a pillar of the community. Now, after overcoming their own challenge, Maidhof and his wife have been quick to help others in need.
In October of 2003, a regular at the club, Buck Jones, and his family were left homeless after their Upper Darby house burnt down during an insurance lapse. Maidhof put together an emergency fundraiser at the club and raised nearly $1,200 for Jones, his wife, and four children.
"When the fire happened, I was really just a regular customer," Jones says. "The benefit helped me a lot. Words can't really describe how much it helped. I don't think I would ever be able to pay him back."
Jones admits that he and his family are still struggling, moving from rental to rental, but Maidhof's benevolence helped them greatly.
The club's house professional and private instructor, Anthony Gaudioso, says he has not seen one pool hall do a tenth of what Maidhof does charity-wise. Gaudioso has been playing pool for over 50 years and claims to have seen "only one nicer pool hall in his lifetime.
"Bob does the best job I've ever seen," says Gaudioso, who retired three years ago. "The club is very family-oriented and kept together. He has customers from all walks of life come in."
The top professional equipment and the cordial atmosphere has attracted even the likes of the late Hall of Famer Jimmy Caras, a five-time World Champion and close friend of Maidhof's who passed away in December of 2002.
Recently, Cory Deuel, another Drexeline regular, has had much success on the pro circuit. Deuel, after frequenting the club since he was 12 years old, went pro at 19. He earned $87,482 in 2005 and finished in the top 10 in 13 of 20 tournaments.
Still, with all the club's accomplishments and memories, Maidhof comes back to charity. "The value of that catastrophe and understanding what it's all about and knowing what people are going through opened my eyes," he says. "I walk through life now a little more conscientious and understanding."
Maidhof hopes to organize a benefit tournament to donate funds to families who have lost loved ones in Iraq later this month. The tentative dates for the 64-player tournament are either Aug. 24 at 7 p.m., Aug. 26 at 5:30 p.m. or Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
The entry fee for tournament play is $30. All proceeds will be directed to scholarship funds for the children from these families. Maidhof hopes to raise "around $3,500" and make the tournament an annual event.
"I hope that people read this article and it opens their eyes to some respect," he says. "If they feel as though they can donate a little time to help somebody, hopefully it'll make a difference."
