Louie Roberts
I saw Louie play many times over the years. I'll recount a couple of those that are crystal clear in my memory. I met Louie for the first time in Indianapolis in 1976 at a tournament. I had been playing for two years at that time and still got extremely nervous when I gambled. I approached Louie between matches and asked how he had delt with that or if he ever did get nervous. He talked with me and suggested that I get hypnotized. My friends all laughed, as did I.
I later looked in the yellow pages and found a "Sports Hypnotherapist" in Tinley Park, IL. His advertisement said he had worked with a few White Sox players. I drove over from Hammond, Indiana and saw the guy three times over two weeks and he recorded the 3rd session on audio tape. The whole deal only cost me $65 bucks. Cheap even back then. I listened to the tape everyday for six months and it definitely helped.
Saw Louie in Alabama by accident in the late seventies or early 1980's. I went there for my grandfather's funeral and saw in the local paper that there was a pro pool tournament in Birmingham, AL that week. A cousin and I went several nights and watched matches and action. Louie went broke and was walking the bleachers asking everyone for a twenty to get up enough for another set. I gave him a twenty and thanked him for his earlier suggestion. This tournament put on by a local funeral director named Gaston.
He split with the money on the last day. Steve Cook had won, don't remember second place, but Billy Weir was trying to sell his third place, as he had gotten wind about the money not being there. It made the nightly news and later some players got a lawyer and got payed.
Never saw Louie again until 1984. I had joined the army and my first duty station was FT Bragg, NC. The bar scene there at that time was great. Can't remember if it was the Strac lounge or the one next to it, but Louie came walking in one Saturday while I was hitting balls on a 4 by eight with a big cue ball. Louie never tried to hustle any one. He asked me if I gambled and I said I sometimes did. He announced that he was Louie Roberts, one of the best pool players in the world. I never told him that I knew him very well, as I was curious about what may happen next. He asked if I was in the service and I told him I was in the army. He told me he had been in the air force. It was a military pay week at the end of the month and we were still going to the gym for pay call getting cash. Salute the Captain and leave with your money.
Louie offered up the 4/5 and the breaks playing 6 ball. I'm sure he expected the table to be like most where it was hard to make a ball on the break. It wasn't the case and I won six in a row for 50 a game. Louie smiled, shook my hand and went out the door. Saw him later in the week at Ricks and he was having a good time.
I was stationed at Yuma Proving Ground when Louie Killed? himself. Don't think anyone has come along with his charisma since.
Sorry for the length, could have went on much longer.
