I Just learned that Johnny B from NY died
- Thread starter stevekur1
- Start date
This happened many years ago. My guess would be that Johnny B died about six or seven years ago. He was a strong "open speed" player whose best game was nine ball.
He ran what may have been the greatest handicap event in the last 20 years in the NYC area at chelsea Billiards in the mid-1990's, which included regulars such as Robles, SanSouci, Frady, Hernandez, Saez, and many other top players. I played in it regularly and it was a great tournament, with winners bagging a couple of thousand every Tuesday night including their calcutta money.
He ran what may have been the greatest handicap event in the last 20 years in the NYC area at chelsea Billiards in the mid-1990's, which included regulars such as Robles, SanSouci, Frady, Hernandez, Saez, and many other top players. I played in it regularly and it was a great tournament, with winners bagging a couple of thousand every Tuesday night including their calcutta money.
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Thanks, man. I still miss that dude and think about him all the time.
He was a real original.
I actually wrote a blog entry about him after he died, and your post made me think about it and re read it.
RIP my friend.
http://blog.joerogan.net/archives/55
He was a real original.
I actually wrote a blog entry about him after he died, and your post made me think about it and re read it.
RIP my friend.
http://blog.joerogan.net/archives/55
Joe Rogan said:
Joe, that was beautiful. You brought a tear to my eye, you MF.
Thanks for sharing that. I last saw Johnny in 1994 at Society Billiards (right around the corner from Chelsea) where we were doing a fundraiser (I was the MC) to "Save The Rainforests". Johnny snuck in and was working a few of the celebs/guests for some friendly $10 and $20 Eight Ball action. They all thought he was one of the invited guests (all wealthy benefactors). A couple of people (Sean Young and her BF) asked me who he was, and I played dumb, natch. He WAS a classic!
I sold my Szamboti cue to one of the rich guys there for 4K, so I made out okay that trip.
jay helfert said:Joe, that was beautiful. You brought a tear to my eye, you MF.
Thanks for sharing that. I last saw Johnny in 1994 at Society Billiards (right around the corner from Chelsea) where we were doing a fundraiser (I was the MC) to "Save The Rainforests". Johnny snuck in and was working a few of the celebs/guests for some friendly $10 and $20 Eight Ball action. They all thought he was one of the invited guests (all wealthy benefactors). A couple of people (Sean Young and her BF) asked me who he was, and I played dumb, natch. He WAS a classic!
I sold my Szamboti cue to one of the rich guys there for 4K, so I made out okay that trip.
Thanks, brother. That sounds like Johnny for sure
That's how we met, I was just starting to play pool, and I was practicing at executive billiards in white plains, NY when Johnny asked to play some cheap sets.
Thanks for all the kind words, guys.
Joe Rogan said:
Me too Joe. I miss him.
Anytime you were with Johnny, you were gonna have a good time. He could keep you entertained no matter what you were doing. A true true one of a kind original that you had to experience to appreciate and also the man who gave me pool name.
Great Blog entry Joe- I hadn't seen it before.
Gravy
I knew Johnny from my days at Chelsea, too. I thought Joe's blog was perfect. At the time, I was just a kid who could barely hold a cue and he was always nice to me. He was always nice to everyone and very funny.
Joe Rogan said:
Joe I am sorry for your loss. I met him when Robb Saez and Mike Rinella came down to Akron around 94? Your blog is a good read. It always seems that the people who leave us with the most vivid memories are an ecclectic and sometimes eccentric group.
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about 10 years ago my friend was playing him some 9ball at the golden cue and johnny shot terrible the first set and lost cause the whole time he is trying to buy the redsox hat i was wearing. the second set i found a game and johnny started playing great.
Around the time that johnny was doing the Chelsea tournament 96?, a new magazine was launched and they did a feature on Johnny with one line being. He had the face of a movie star. This was true but his body didnt quite match his face which they also mentioned. The article contained a bit of BS but still a good read. Does anyone still have a copy or does anyone even remember what magazine it was?
He probably was 50 lbs overwieght but he was still light on his feet. I saw him once goaded into a fight and I never saw anyone his size or any other size jump off a chair and throw a punch so fast. I saw Johnny in 4 or 5 fights. He won them all.
Anyway i kept that magazine for years but ill be damned if i can find it now.
He probably was 50 lbs overwieght but he was still light on his feet. I saw him once goaded into a fight and I never saw anyone his size or any other size jump off a chair and throw a punch so fast. I saw Johnny in 4 or 5 fights. He won them all.
Anyway i kept that magazine for years but ill be damned if i can find it now.
