I bought this cue from Thomas Wayne in 1992

tikkler

tikkler

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was living in Houston in 1992. I heard about a cue show and figured I would go and take a peek, not knowing what I was getting into...LOL. I walked in and looked at a few booths with cues, I can't remember who they were. Then I came upon Thomas Wayne........
I loved his cues and we started talking about one in particular, well that conversation went on for about 45 minutes. Well in the end, I walked away with a great cue.

After leaving Thomas I was walking past an empty table with a guy standing behind it, I had to stop and ask!!!! Well he introduced himself as Bill Schick, and he told me the story about how he had a bunch of cues ready for the show when a couple of guys walked into his shop with CASH, and here he is with an empty table.

So here I am walking away down the aisle and some guy is yelling hey "Big guy" come over here for a sec. I walked over and there was Burton Spain putting one of his cues between two cinder blocks on the floor. He says stand up on here, by that time there were a few people watching, and I was trying to get out of it.......Well up I went...LOL It was the coolest thing.

I wish I had spent more time talking to every cuemaker there...but oh well

Here is the Thomas Wayne I bought, and still have and always will

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I think that was the first ACA show wasn't it.

It was in the Holiday in just off I-45 at the Edgebrook exit if I recall.

I was living in Dallas at the time, but me and a friend of mine went down just for that show. I remember talking to Thomas' wife I think, and I also spoke with Burton Spain as well.

That show really got me interested in cues.
 
Cue is nice but I LOVE the Burton Spain story. Sounds like a man I would have gotten along with very well.

Steve, you have been in this cue game a lot longer than most think you sly guy........
 
I knew Burton well and loved him like a brother. An older, always up for a debate and always "right" brother...

In 1995 my wife gave her permission for me to spend a couple of weeks in Chicago with him, during his last Christmas on this earth. Stories from that trip alone would fill a small book. That's when I met Joel Hercek - he had bought all of Burton's equipment and had been trained by him. Burton wanted to prove some now-forgotten point to me so we went to Joel's shop because he needed his old equipment to do so.

Burton had what amounted to an "invitation only" funeral. Bill Schick and I were both asked to speak, and we cried together - both then and later. After he was laid in his personally chosen final resting place - under the boughs of a huge tree overlooking a mirror pond of still water - Yvette, Bill and I visited his grave. We took a few pictures, and noticed he had directed a very unusual treatment of his headstone. But that was to be expected; very little that Burton ever did in life could be categorized as "usual".

Rarely does a week go by I don't think about him. He'd have had a hell of time with all the things we've done since then, and he would have no doubt been at the front of the pack.

TW
 
Thomas Wayne said:
I knew Burton well and loved him like a brother. An older, always up for a debate and always "right" brother...

In 1995 my wife gave her permission for me to spend a couple of weeks in Chicago with him, during his last Christmas on this earth. Stories from that trip alone would fill a small book. That's when I met Joel Hercek - he had bought all of Burton's equipment and had been trained by him. Burton wanted to prove some now-forgotten point to me so we went to Joel's shop because he needed his old equipment to do so.

Burton had what amounted to an "invitation only" funeral. Bill Schick and I were both asked to speak, and we cried together - both then and later. After he was laid in his personally chosen final resting place - under the boughs of a huge tree overlooking a mirror pond of still water - Yvette, Bill and I visited his grave. We took a few pictures, and noticed he had directed a very unusual treatment of his headstone. But that was to be expected; very little that Burton ever did in life could be categorized as "usual".

Rarely does a week go by I don't think about him. He'd have had a hell of time with all the things we've done since then, and he would have no doubt been at the front of the pack.

TW
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I know this thread was supposed to be about the TW cue, but I miss Burton also. I have three of Burton's cues and I have one of Thomas' cues from the same era I would guess. Burton is already in the Hall of Fames and I am sure Thomas is heading there too before long. That TW is a nice example of his less fancy work.
 
Nice cue and story

I can see where Judd got his inspiration perhaps?

also I think you folks need to put together some chapters and memoirs before they are all lost...curious very much what burton showed you on the equipment...History!
 
My friend and I used to hang out and shoot in a place in Chicago called the Corner Pocket. The owner talked us into buying our first cues (1980). I bought a McD C-3 and my friend bought a used Burton Spain cue from Burton himself out of his basement. The Corner Pocket owner knew him. Today, we both still have our cues. Guess who made the better choice? Nice TW cue, by the way.
 
Hey

pigsRflying said:
My friend and I used to hang out and shoot in a place in Chicago called the Corner Pocket. The owner talked us into buying our first cues (1980). I bought a McD C-3 and my friend bought a used Burton Spain cue from Burton himself out of his basement. The Corner Pocket owner knew him. Today, we both still have our cues. Guess who made the better choice? Nice TW cue, by the way.
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We need more of these stories....thanks
 
paulybatz said:
And a pic of you friend's Burton Spain!
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I'll try to get him to come over and take some actual pics. It is a plain birdseye with whit/green cortland wrap, like the one shown here, except the wrap. Still straight as an arrow and still plays nice.
 

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