Fat's One Liners

Island Drive said:
I rememeber Al very well, he won the straight pool division onr year, but definitely was too old to win the all around. He was a great referee ()Cue Ball Kelly was there also helpin' out), as he handled allot of the matches for that three week period.
I also remember watching a 10 ball ring game, it was Mexican Johnnie from Chicago, the Springfield Rifle, Ed Kelly, another player and Boston Shorty, it was in the back room on the very back table, Kelly was complaining when he played 4 or five rail shape on his next ball and was 1/2" off, your usual high end ring game banter, but what was the most funny was here shorty had been sitting waitin his turn and not gettin many shots then finally it looked like he would, after maybe coming to the table three times in 12 games and he was hooked, 'real good' by luck and shorts said, "this is the shits" we all laughed and he uncorked after that game. I think it was $50 a rack. Anyone know about the upstairs card room action in the back room??
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Hey ID, is Mexican Johnny still around or what? He's owed me $24.00 for about 30 years now.
You know, he played pretty good an the bar bax himself, at one time. He, was a die hard Scuffler.
I parked him in that golf game at the Fun Center years ago when he had that fake cast on his arm. Well, Johnny played pretty godd Jacked up and I had told him not to play Al Hogue who happened to play Jacked, just Reaaaal Good.
Well, he got in the game and I think I gave him a 100 to get going. They only played back thenfor 5 and !/2 double, but 6 handed you make a little if you got going. I knew it would be hard because everyone in the game is gonna be firing at the FNG. Old Johnny out ran the nuts though and in a couple of days won about $300 and we split and I let him go at it on his own.
In walks as and he had been barred from the game because he had taken it off so much, The game broke early evening and everyone was popin and trying to match up and Al asked Johnny asked Al to play.
Well Johnny didn't know that Al and I were roommates and split about everything either of us did and Johnny asked if I wanted in and I just said no.
Well, I didn't tell Al about what had happened the past couple of days, so, I'm in with Al.
Not many in the pool room liked Al that much because he was taking em off so bad and because he was a real smart-ass too so Bill Ackerman and Sarge the Cop went in with Johnny.
Al ends up beating him Pretty good and I think we won about $500 or about that. When Johnny saw Al hand me the money, he grabbed his belly and just cracked up laughing. He said, Ain't this a b++++, I make him money for two days working like a mule and he ends up jumping ship and winning my end of it.
I liked Johnny, but I was young and bought all those stories of his about the horses and what a great handicapper he was and it kept busted for a while.
 
He was one of my heroes

ironman said:
Bananas Rodriguez told a few stories he had heard about Cokes. Some were funny and some were not.
When is your bookcoming out?
Also, did you know Bananas or ever play him?
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Bananas was one of my first heroes. He used to spend the winter in Miami at the Congress Bowl. He and I never played. He wouldnt play me banks -- nobody in Florida would -- and I couldnt beat him playing Onepocket at that time. In truth I had no interest in playing him. He played way too hard for me. Every shot he took, he played it as if it was going to be his last on earth. He was a great grind hustler. I watched him beat Bobby Strauss, at the Congress, 58 games of onepocket at $30 a game! They played for 72 hrs. The new book will be previewed in the AZ/Onepocket.org room at Derby City.

the Beard
Merry Xmas and Happy Hanukah.
 
freddy the beard said:
Bananas was one of my first heroes. He used to spend the winter in Miami at the Congress Bowl. He and I never played. He wouldnt play me banks -- nobody in Florida would -- and I couldnt beat him playing Onepocket at that time. In truth I had no interest in playing him. He played way too hard for me. Every shot he took, he played it as if it was going to be his last on earth. He was a great grind hustler. I watched him beat Bobby Strauss, at the Congress, 58 games of onepocket at $30 a game! They played for 72 hrs. The new book will be previewed in the AZ/Onepocket.org room at Derby City.

the Beard
Merry Xmas and Happy Hanukah.
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How in the Hell, does someone go off for 58 games? Well, I guess I know the answer for that.
I got a good one for you about Mr, Rodriguez.
Bill Incordona came to San Antonio and beat a couple of guys and ended uup he is going to play Bananas some banks. A good friend tried to warn Bananas and his reply was, "There ain't a Mexican alive that can beat me playing banks on my own table."
 
ironman said:
Does anyone remember or know what happened to Steve Oaks?
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Ironman,
Steve O. is still alive and well. Still plays very sporty. Can be seen at Airport Billiards in Indy on occasion. I think he has a day job (or just likes to dress up to play pool).
 
Williebetmore said:
Ironman,
Steve O. is still alive and well. Still plays very sporty. Can be seen at Airport Billiards in Indy on occasion. I think he has a day job (or just likes to dress up to play pool).
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Andy Hudson was from Denver also and played real well back years ago. Never played much big action, still played real good banks, one pocket, and 9-ball.
Steve was pretty young and came through town and played Andy and just drilled Andy. I never heard too much about him after that, but at that time, I was a very impressed youngster.
 
I've seen a lot of old threads being bumped recently and thought I'd give this classic thread a bump.
 
The Fat Man Speaks

This is a great post . . . thanks for reviving it . . . One of my favorite lines from Fatty:

"I was hustlin' pool before Moby Dick was a guppy!"
 

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OldHasBeen said:
What got me playing pool was going into a strange poolroom and seeing Fats playing Long Beach $500 One Pocket.

There is a fellow here (Vernon, 72) who was on the road with Fats before the movie. He has 100's of Fats stories AND his original Rambo Cue.

I played Fats $100 9-ball sets in DuQuoin, IL in about 1971. Fats wasn't in his prime at all but a gentleman all the same.

Anyone can say anything, anytime about Fats but I'll tell you all one thing for sure - He could play One Pocket jam up and was one of the best hustlers of his day. And in his prime - he could EAT any 3 good size men under the table.

Walk through Time Square tomorrow and ask 50 people to name a pool player.

TY & GL
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Tom's post brought sadness....I miss them. May he RIP.....
Curly
 
When I was at J.C.,Ill. The Fat Man came in and someone said he had ordered dinner on the way down. Turkey dinner, when they brought it to him he got mad because it wasn't a whole turkey.
 
Boys, the only difference between me and everybody else is that everybody else drives around in a Volkswagen, and Minnesota Fats drives around in a Duesenberg

You judge a king by the size of his wallet and his palace. You can leave the crown in the toilet.

JAM
 
Referring to Puckett's huge feet, "U.J., you could get a job stomping out forest fires!"

Every time he talked about his Duesenberg and how all the other pool players had to put air in their sneakers, I would just crack up. The picture in my head of all these pool players down on the ground putting air in their sneakers was just way too comical.
 
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Hustled

He gave me this card after I played him in an exhibition he did, at a shopping mall in Denver.

His quote to me was:

"you think you can beat me, you'd have a better chance swimming underwater to Baghdad"

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The epitaph on Minnesota Fats' tombstone reads: "Beat everybody living on Earth. Now, St. Peter, rack 'em up."

JAM
 
cmssuits said:
As Fats is in the middle of his exhibition, a spectator says, "Hey Fats, you can't beat Irving Crane!" (local favorite to Rochester)

To which Fats replies, "I'm here, where's he?! He's probably out sellin' cars! I never had to sell cars to make money, all I ever did was shoot pool for my money, and now I got so much of it - Lloyd's of London gets loans from me!"
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I'm sure someone else has reported this, but Fats once said, "Irv Crane would've been the only guy to notice the horse under Lady Godiva."
 
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