Harold Worst cue ?

8

8up

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In a box of old cues I found an old cue with his signature engraved in to it. I have found very limited info on it but I believe it was a cue produced with the engraving not his actual cue. Can anyone point me to info on the cues produced like this?
 
iirc WORST played with a LAUBE. No idea if that was his "longterm" cue or if he was test-driving.
 
I don't know much about these cues other then they come up from time to time on ebay. I know that there is a member on here who has a few of them, maybe he will chime in.
 
8up said:
In a box of old cues I found an old cue with his signature engraved in to it. I have found very limited info on it but I believe it was a cue produced with the engraving not his actual cue. Can anyone point me to info on the cues produced like this?
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well i can't point you to anything about them but i can tell you something about them.
Harold started a chain of pool rooms in the early 60s and hired a local furniture manufacturer to make house cues for him with the concept that any stick in the house could be bought at a resonable price.
they were made to be cheap so more people could afford them. the color of the handle denotes what weight (light medium or heavy).
the idea being the more people that owned sticks the more people would play.

M.C.
 
Thank you for your help. This one is in rough condition but the signature can still be made out.
 
curlyscues said:
well i can't point you to anything about them but i can tell you something about them.
Harold started a chain of pool rooms in the early 60s and hired a local furniture manufacturer to make house cues for him with the concept that any stick in the house could be bought at a resonable price.
they were made to be cheap so more people could afford them. the color of the handle denotes what weight (light medium or heavy).
the idea being the more people that owned sticks the more people would play.

M.C.
Click to expand...



In addition to this Brunswick also made a line of cues with his name on them, I have only seen one with the original decal intact, these cues also had his name engraved / stamped in the cues forearm. They used the standard Brunswick Brass piloted joint on these cues with their shaft insert and pilot. The design is the exact same design as the what used on the two piece Titlist cues.
 
manwon said:
In addition to this Brunswick also made a line of cues with his name on them, I have only seen one with the original decal intact, these cues also had his name engraved / stamped in the cues forearm. They used the standard Brunswick Brass piloted joint on these cues with their shaft insert and pilot. The design is the exact same design as the what used on the two piece Titlist cues.
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Yep the Harold Worst line of cues was a relatively cheap production cue. I think Harold had some input into how it was made though, because they all hit good. They looked nothing like a Hoppe cue. I can see them now in my mind, nothing like any other Brunswick made cue. In fact, I'm not sure if the Brunswick name or label was on them. I think not. We always called them Harold Worst cues, and there were a lot of them around in the 60's. Kind of thin butts with an orange-ish wrap. And with his name distinctly etched in the butt.
 
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8up said:
In a box of old cues I found an old cue with his signature engraved in to it. I have found very limited info on it but I believe it was a cue produced with the engraving not his actual cue. Can anyone point me to info on the cues produced like this?
Click to expand...

I would be interested in a picture of the cue if you get a chance to post it.

Thanks
 
manwon said:
In addition to this Brunswick also made a line of cues with his name on them, I have only seen one with the original decal intact, these cues also had his name engraved / stamped in the cues forearm. They used the standard Brunswick Brass piloted joint on these cues with their shaft insert and pilot. The design is the exact same design as the what used on the two piece Titlist cues.
Click to expand...

This is a brunswick I believe and the decal is 98% gone. The wrap area is plastic of some sort with grooves that run parallel to the cue. I suspect the wrap went over this plastic.

I will try to get a pic on here.
 
Harold Worst cues...

...as Jay says, were around in the mid-'60s. There was a poolroom here called the Golden 8-Ball which opened with those cues as house cues and was equipped with 4' x 8' Harold Worst tables too; I thought the tables were especially aptly named. The cues retailed for less than $30 and were wrapped in something that looked like garden hose. But at the time, they weren't too bad as production cues went; there weren't all that many of them then. The room's entire inventory of Worst cues on the wall took a hike within the room's first two weeks. GF
 
George Fels said:
...as Jay says, were around in the mid-'60s. There was a poolroom here called the Golden 8-Ball which opened with those cues as house cues and was equipped with 4' x 8' Harold Worst tables too; I thought the tables were especially aptly named. The cues retailed for less than $30 and were wrapped in something that looked like garden hose. But at the time, they weren't too bad as production cues went; there weren't all that many of them then. The room's entire inventory of Worst cues on the wall took a hike within the room's first two weeks. GF
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Wasn't that close to a dyno pizza joint and the playboy club?
 
The Playboy building...

...was exactly one block east of the Golden 8-Ball. I'm semi-embarrassed to tell you that I've forgotten where the Playboy Club was (although it was probably close) and I frankly don't remember Dyno Pizza at all. GF
 
Gino's pizza

George Fels said:
...was exactly one block east of the Golden 8-Ball. I'm semi-embarrassed to tell you that I've forgotten where the Playboy Club was (although it was probably close) and I frankly don't remember Dyno Pizza at all. GF
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I think he is referring to Gino's (famous) pizza which was around the corner on Rush St. The Playboy Club was about a mile and a half away on Astor street. (The ritziest street in Chicago) That place I know because my first wife worked there as a Playboy Bunny.

Beard
 
Here is an update to this thread, I was mistaken these cues were not made by Brunswick, they were actually made by A.E. Schmidt. I was reviewing my catalog's today and I found them listed in a 1963 A.E. Schmidt Catalog, along with a photo of Harold in one of there ad's advertising these cues.

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Mystery Solved!!:)
 
Engraved Cue

My Mentor was Leo Sheppard, who was Harold Worst's long time road partner. Both Harold and Leo often played with Herman Rambo cues. Without the benefit of seeing a picture of the cue in question, or the engraving, there's a possibility you are the owner of a Rambo. These cues are incredibly well balanced and communicate cue ball contact impact better than any cue I've ever played with. Hope this is helpful. -jnv
 
I wish I would have known about these Harold Worst cues. I would have bought one. This is the first I have ever heard of them. Thanks much for the information.
 
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