I saw it, but yet i still don't believe it!

Cannonball55 said:
The good, the bad & the ugly ...

The miraculous, the spectacular, the awe inspiring ....

The incredible, the remarkable, the exhilirating ....

What am i talking about? well all of us know that I am talking about our own sanctuary of bliss, better known as the pool room ... That's right, if we all gave it a little thought we'd realize that we've all witnessed some CNN news worthy $hit at one time or another in the pool hall .... Sure we all love the game but you gotta admit, it's that "I saw it, but yet i still don't believe it" experiences that has had us hooked for 20, 30, 40, years

This thread is sort of a homage to the pool room ( if you will ) because there is no where on earth that you can go and see things like this:

1. Rounder walks in and tells everyone in the joint that he can sling a single playing card, suspended in the air, from one end of the room to the other hitting the back wall ........ And does it! busting everyone!

2. 25 guys standing/sitting around ( sweating ) for 3 hours eagerly listening to endless woofing from two potential combatants, even when it's obvious that they just "can't get the game right" half of them will prod and ask the person(s) closest to the action why, the other half will not say a word, just order another diet coke and call their buddy on the phone and say something like "yeah, cliff and james are here man, and they've been barking at each other for three hours, it seems like James wants 9-7 but cliff wants to play even, oh well i've been up here all day so i guess i'll just stay up here and see if they wind up doing anything"... I don't care what anyone says, the pool world has the best sweaters and railbirds .....

3. Watch a guy attempt to ingest a gallon of milk in 30 seconds ( or less ) without barfing for a c-note ....

4. A one armed guy offer everyone in the place except for the local shortstop the 8 ball on a bar box! And get there

5. Multi-tasking : grown men acting like children argueing over which pill was drawn by whom, at the same time motioning for a bid on a horse to buy in the tournament's calcutta, all the while betting the over on the USC game, the under on the Texas game, side betting on the 1P action on table 9, going in halves with your buddy because you think he's stealing playing some coconut even 8ball ....

6. I mentioned remarkable above, I saw Jack Hynes break and run 10 straight racks of 9 ball on some rather tough equipment . Cue ball flying way up in the air after every kaboom break and landing damn near in same exact spot rack after rack ( in the center of the table ) it is to this date the most exciting display of 9ball I have ever seen!

These are just a few things that we as pool players are priviledged to be a part of because they are unique to us ....... and only us!
Click to expand...

Great job CB55. You have captured the escence of a poolroom. You only left out one thing, Titanic Thompson no longer with us ! R.I.P.

Dick
 
Last edited:
Try standing flatfooted and jump up onto the pool table. Now try it on one leg :smile:. I've seen it done, for the cash naturally. And have you ever seen anyone jump over a pool table lengthwise? I have.

There was a guy in Ohio many years ago who would get under the table (big 8') and using his legs would lift the entire table off the floor. And Charlie the Ape used to pick up one end of a bar table using only one hand, and lift it chin high.

Here's a good one for you. If you ever see Ernesto cover a table, ask him to show you how he lifts one end while kneeling down, with his legs under the apron. He can level the table this way with his son's help adjusting the elevated legs.

And by now, everyone knows about Danny D. throwing the 110 yard field goal with a golf ball. I lost money on that one.
 
jay helfert said:
Try standing flatfooted and jump up onto the pool table. Now try it on one leg :smile:. I've seen it done, for the cash naturally. And have you ever seen anyone jump over a pool table lengthwise? I have.

There was a guy in Ohio many years ago who would get under the table (big 8') and using his legs would lift the entire table off the floor. And Charlie the Ape used to pick up one end of a bar table using only one hand, and lift it chin high.

Here's a good one for you. If you ever see Ernesto cover a table, ask him to show you how he lifts one end while kneeling down, with his legs under the apron. He can level the table this way with his son's help adjusting the elevated legs.

And by now, everyone knows about Danny D. throwing the 110 yard field goal with a golf ball. I lost money on that one.
Click to expand...

I once had my concession stand sub sandwich paid for by Jay Helfert, true story!
 
I know a guy that will bet you he can draw the cue ball back farther with it in his mouth than you can with your cue....
I heard of a guy who could call heads or tails EVERYTIME! I swear there had to be another 1 or 2 guys helping him out...
 
When I was a young man in Fairmont, WV it cost me $100.00 to watch a little old guy pick up and hold all 15 balls with the same hand. He picked up each ball one at a time and manipulated them so that all 15 were held at in the same hand. BTW he has very small hands. There were no tricks - he pushed all 15 balls against the rail to hold them steady and went to work.

He told me that he made a living during the Great Depression doing this trick that is not a trick.

I am not able to do it using the other hand to stack the balls in the opposite hand. If I remember 7 was the most I could ever get.

Good Cuemaking,
 
Arnot (or "aren't"? :wink: ):

Gosh, for the life of me, I can't think of the name of the book, but in my childhood, I'd had a book about pool/billiards, and it mentioned the amazing Harvey Hendrickson -- probably the person you're referring to with this amazing ability. It even had a black and white picture of him doing this, and I tell you, his hand looked like a huge clump of grapes on a vine; you almost couldn't see any of his fingers. I remember the sheer amazement when I looked at that picture, saying to myself, "how in the h*ll is he doing that?"

Did a quick search, and only came up with this brief reference:

http://home.bca-pool.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=41
(See eighth bullet up from the bottom.)

But it was great to see this amazing feat mentioned here! Sort of nostalgic for me, for it brought back fond memories of that long-lost book...

-Sean

Arnot Wadsworth said:
When I was a young man in Fairmont, WV it cost me $100.00 to watch a little old guy pick up and hold all 15 balls with the same hand. He picked up each ball one at a time and manipulated them so that all 15 were held at in the same hand. BTW he has very small hands. There were no tricks - he pushed all 15 balls against the rail to hold them steady and went to work.

He told me that he made a living during the Great Depression doing this trick that is not a trick.

I am not able to do it using the other hand to stack the balls in the opposite hand. If I remember 7 was the most I could ever get.

Good Cuemaking,
Click to expand...
 
Arnot...You and I have the same website guy. He just sent me the pics of the new cue you're making for him. What a beautiful cue!:D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Arnot Wadsworth said:
When I was a young man in Fairmont, WV it cost me $100.00 to watch a little old guy pick up and hold all 15 balls with the same hand. He picked up each ball one at a time and manipulated them so that all 15 were held at in the same hand. BTW he has very small hands. There were no tricks - he pushed all 15 balls against the rail to hold them steady and went to work.

He told me that he made a living during the Great Depression doing this trick that is not a trick.

I am not able to do it using the other hand to stack the balls in the opposite hand. If I remember 7 was the most I could ever get.

Good Cuemaking,
Click to expand...
 
The_Hill...That's a very old proposition bet, and an easy one to beat...if you know the trick.:grin:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

The_Hill said:
How about the nail standing on its head on the headspot with 3 balls racked around it? Very difficult to knock it over with the cue ball from behind the head spot.
Click to expand...
 
Scott Lee said:
Arnot...You and I have the same website guy. He just sent me the pics of the new cue you're making for him. What a beautiful cue!:D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words. My webmaster is very talented and I appreciate his work.

Your website is very informative - good luck

Arnot
 
Scott Lee said:
The_Hill...That's a very old proposition bet, and an easy one to beat...if you know the trick.:grin:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Oh I know the trick, its lined mine, and my friends pockets many many times. But like I said, the real trick its getting out of the parking lot with the cash and your face intact LOL.

I have to see this guy throw a dime in the coin slot of a pay phone. The return slot or the slot you put the money in?
 
Lifting the tables....

This is funny, there is a guy in San Antonio who installs tables; when he levels them he just gets this short-stocky guy to lay on the ground an bench the table (with slate already installed) mid-air while he shims...I was impessed.
 
Texas Prez said:
Lifting the tables....

This is funny, there is a guy in San Antonio who installs tables; when he levels them he just gets this short-stocky guy to lay on the ground an bench the table (with slate already installed) mid-air while he shims...I was impessed.
Click to expand...

With my Olhausan I can put my knee under the arch of the box on the short rails and use my calf muscle to lift it a few inches while I slide cards under the legs. Kind of like standing on your toes. Some tables are much to heavy to do that though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top