James Walden?

the420trooper said:
I think you're right...apparently you know more about the OK pool scene than I do...:D:embarrassed2:

I've played at Chester's a hundred times, but it has been in the last couple years. You forgot to add the NW or SW, and that confused me...

BTW, the Okies call the place in Midwest city TP's. (Truelove's place?)

Michael
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The Trueloves name used to be just about everywhere in OKC, but gone now.

SW 44th & May -True Love Pool Hall & Dominoes = Still there, now called Lucky's
NW 50th & May - Chester's (Chester Truelove) = Still open, now with new ownership
SW 36th & Western - Truelove's Bar & Grill = now closed
NW 10th & Tulsa - Truelove's Ace Recreation = now closed
Midwest City - Truelove's Place (TP's) = now closed
 
Okay, I have time to write this one now. Early nineties. I am in Greensboro and run into this unknown fella. I didn't like it. Next day, I am in Raleigh. He shows up there and beats everyone. I mean everyone. I leave on Friday for Myrtle Beach with a buddy. We get to the poolroom and play a local good player. My buddy is up about six hundred, when a voice from the back chimes in. There's James...again. He was like a ghost. The whole thing was weird.
 
crawfish said:
Okay, I have time to write this one now. Early nineties. I am in Greensboro and run into this unknown fella. I didn't like it. Next day, I am in Raleigh. He shows up there and beats everyone. I mean everyone. I leave on Friday for Myrtle Beach with a buddy. We get to the poolroom and play a local good player. My buddy is up about six hundred, when a voice from the back chimes in. There's James...again. He was like a ghost. The whole thing was weird.
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So you're saying that Oklahoma produced ONE player that was better than all the studs in NC. Go post that on the thread about which state produces the best players. :wink:
 
jay helfert said:
So you're saying that Oklahoma produced ONE player that was better than all the studs in NC. Go post that on the thread about which state produces the best players. :wink:
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Now Jay, this was in '91. He didn't play Earl. He didn't play Whimpy. Shame on you for using one of my favorite cash players against me.

By the way, not all of the guys are studs. I mean some of us reach that status, but not all. And what does being a stud have to do with pool? Let's stay on topic Jay. :wink:
 
crawfish said:
Now Jay, this was in '91. He didn't play Earl. He didn't play Whimpy. Shame on you for using one of my favorite cash players against me.

By the way, not all of the guys are studs. I mean some of us reach that status, but not all. And what does being a stud have to do with pool? Let's stay on topic Jay. :wink:
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Of course he didn't play Earl. Earl was the best 9ball player in the world at that time, maybe the best that ever lived! James was a steady steady grinder. He wouldn't know what to do when earl put some many 3's and 4's on him. Not many people would....
 
I was in Bogey's in Houston one year, I think around 2000. Anyway there was several sets of road players in town that week..I never seen so much gambling going on in one place in my life, with the exception of a casino..There was a couple of players I have never seen before one being from Belgium and he seemed to be getting the best of everyone..In walked James Walden whom I have never seen before..He matched up immediately with the guy from Belgium and just blistered him for hours..I had no clue who I was watching until after the match and I got to meet James and wow what a great guy...Everywhere I see him now he makes it a point to shake my hand and to sit down to chat....Anyway sorry I am not much of a storyteller...I wish I could write up the entire week experience at Bogeys but I dont have the mad skills of JAM for storytelling...
 
I remember another story about James. Amarillo Slim was thinking about trapping James. Geentel made a remark that his player (James) he would put in the "box" against any black player living. Obviously, they didn't know about Mark Tadd. Slim and my friend were thinking about bringing Mark in to play James on 50th & May. The plan fell short when Slim let it out about Mark and Geentel had eat his words. At that time Mark was eaisly one of the top 5 players in the country or the world at the time.
 
crawfish said:
Now Jay, this was in '91. He didn't play Earl. He didn't play Whimpy. Shame on you for using one of my favorite cash players against me.

By the way, not all of the guys are studs. I mean some of us reach that status, but not all. And what does being a stud have to do with pool? Let's stay on topic Jay. :wink:
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It would have been pretty hard to play Wimpy in 1991, unless you dug him up.;)
 
jay helfert said:
Michael, I wonder if anyone in OKC remembers The Central Club that was downtown. It closed in the late 70's or early 80's. The Central Club was an institution in OKC, having been around over 75 years (maybe over 100). I played in there many times in the early to mid 60's. Yes, I'm that old. :)

All the great players from Oklahoma played in that room; Hitchkock, Eufala, Little Hand, Little Bear, Herman The German (still alive too), and of course Ronnie Allen. Some guy named Hubert used to beat Ronnie (and everyone else) playing Golf on the 6x12 in there. I watched him do it.
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Jay,

Do you remember the Empire room, upstairs, in OKC?

Don
 
the420trooper said:
I think you're right...apparently you know more about the OK pool scene than I do...:D:embarrassed2:

I've played at Chester's a hundred times, but it has been in the last couple years. You forgot to add the NW or SW, and that confused me...

BTW, the Okies call the place in Midwest city TP's. (Truelove's place?)

Michael
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Thanks for reminding me about the TPs. I think the one on Airline was also called TPs because Otis Truelove owned it before selling to a guy that I bought a JW from named Dennis and moved out to the Midwest City location. Between Mike Gill, Chester Truelove and Otis Truelove they owned about every pool room in the city during the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

-don
 
jay helfert said:
Michael, I wonder if anyone in OKC remembers The Central Club that was downtown. It closed in the late 70's or early 80's. The Central Club was an institution in OKC, having been around over 75 years (maybe over 100). I played in there many times in the early to mid 60's. Yes, I'm that old. :)

All the great players from Oklahoma played in that room; Hitchkock, Eufala, Little Hand, Little Bear, Herman The German (still alive too), and of course Ronnie Allen. Some guy named Hubert used to beat Ronnie (and everyone else) playing Golf on the 6x12 in there. I watched him do it.
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That place and another called the Golden Cue closed before I moved to OKC in 1985, alot of people used to talk about those places. I saw Herman "The German" at Jamacia Joe's back whan I was in OKC during the holidays, he still looks great, he beat many 9-ball champions in Snooker:D:D

-don
 
Here is one that I heard about that supposedly happened in Houston. James went to Houston with Scott Frost in the late 90's and some guy lost a bundle to Scott playing one pocket. James was sitting there sweating the game and in on the action with Scott, after the set was done the guy told Scott that if they had any gamble Scott's road partner would play the guy. Obviously the guy did not know James and at the time James was probably a ball or two better than Scott at one pocket and they agree to play and James quickly beat the guy for another big score. That is a classic if it is a true story.

-don
 
Here's another good one: One Friday night at Trueloves Aces on 10th street a road player from the west coast (never got a name) comes in and basically announces that anyone in the place can play 100 a game 9-ball on a Gold Crown. James is quietly hitting balls alone and me and a friend ask him if he will play the guy. Long story short about 30 games later the guy is totally busted and asking me if we will give him a walking stick to get back home. I said no problem, gave him 10% and told him that he probably played the only person in a 100 mile radius that he could not beat that night. Bad timing on his part, the guy actually played quite good.

-don
 
akaTrigger said:
Yeppers, close.

I saw when James beat Flyboy out of $150,000 in Baton Rouge at Lambert's. It was phenomenal! That was sometime in the mid 90s.
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I was around for that too...made some decent $ side betting...was round the same time Brian Groce beat him for another 70 sumthin thousand....ahhhh those were sure sum good times..fly & lambert were giving away money like everyone was on welfare & they was the Social Security office...lol
 
houmatroy said:
I was around for that too...made some decent $ side betting...was round the same time Brian Groce beat him for another 70 sumthin thousand....ahhhh those were sure sum good times..fly & lambert were giving away money like everyone was on welfare & they was the Social Security office...lol
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You were there, too? Cool. It was around 5am when he made the last ball on the last game - there was hardly anyone still in the pool room at that time. Maybe 6 people were in the room when he banked the last ball. Flyboy and James had been playing for a couple of days (I think it was 12 hours on and 12 off)
 
Don Owen said:
Jay,

Do you remember the Empire room, upstairs, in OKC?

Don
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Sure do, the best billiard players at that time hung out in there. I took a New York student from OU, who happened to be a very good Three Cushion player, in there one night to see if we could get any action. We returned to Norman broke! Another learning experience!
 
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