Leon Yonders

SpiderWebComm

SpiderWebComm

HelpImBeingOppressed
Silver Member
I just got off a 2 hour phone call with Hal and I must say it was the most entertaining 2 hours of my life as far as pool stories go. He covered a bunch of new Ralph Greenleaf stories with me that were really entertaining (apparently he had this gaff where he could roll 3-balls around the table at a firm speed and they'd all stop on a rail). Anyone else ever hear of this? Hal swears up and down that he did it and to this day he has no idea how the hell he did it.

Anyways, to the title of this thread. He spent the better part of 45 mins or so talking about this guy named Leon Yonders. I might have this wrong, but I believe this guy played out of a pool hall called Cochrans (I'm guessing this was in San Franciso, although I might be wrong). The stories Hal told about this guy were nothing short of epic.

According to Hal, this guy had one sucken/closed eye that was completely blind and the other eye "pointed the wrong way;" yet, he didn't know how to miss. Whether it was running TONS of balls behind his back or just not missing for hours - Hal said he was a champion.

It was fun to get Hal to think back and recall some of these stories. He asked if I would make a post on here to see if there were any AZB people who might have a story to share about Leon.

I asked Hal if Leon could beat Ralph Greenleaf (just instigating) and Hal said neither really knew how to miss so who knows.

Funny last comment.... I asked Hal if Ralph ever spoke about Mosconi while they were on the road since Willie was probably his arch 14.1 rival. Hal cackled for a few minutes and took a breath and replied, "Yeah, I asked him what he thought of Willie and Ralph burped up some whiskey and followed it up with - 'That guy's a pile of shit.' "

What I wouldn't give to go back in a time machine and sit in the back seat of their car as they traveled around. I think I would have been able to instigate him JUST enough to get the action started.

Anyways, let me know if there are any Leon stories-- the guy sounded like a beast. Thanks Hal for these amazing stories-- I'll never forget them.
 
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Just did a search for Leon and found a Bob Jewett post that said there was a claim that Leon ran 180 balls behind his back.

SIGGGGGH

Just when I think I'm getting better, I become more educated at how bad I really am. :(
 
I've never heard of Yonders before. But thanks for the stuff about Greenleaf, I never tire of hearing about Greenleaf, even small bits of info. There really should be a movie made about him or even a good documentary.
 
Dave,
On page 138 of "How to Win at Pocket Billiards" by Edward D. Knuchell that was published in 1970, there's a nice photo of Leon that proclaimed him as "cueing behind the back champion." He DID run that 180 behind the back, including the breaks!

Can you share any Greenleaf stories with us. Like Bobby said, i never grow tired on any info on Sir Ralph!
 
I've heard so many Ralph stories from Hal, they all blend together.

Ralph was, according to Hal, constantly high or drunk. He was one of those guys who was the best in the world, KNEW it, and then shat on everyone else because of it.

Hal just told me today he had to drag Ralph out of a pool hall one time because Ralph was shit-faced....walked over to two guys sitting at a table after playing pool for a few hours...stuck his head between theirs and said, "You guys play like sheeeeit." Apparently, the tone Ralph used was pretty insidious so Hal literally pulled him straight back out of the door and begged the guys to leave him alone.

I love hearing from Hal how not everyone recognized Greenleaf since he looked nearly homeless in his latter years (but the hair was always vaselined-back no matter how rough he looked). They would drive from state to state and Ralph would inevitably get drunk and stumble around a table saying how the whole world plays like crap and all he wants is a game. Guys would beat each other up and force each other to the ground in order to get to "the bum" first. Hal would give Ralph a stack of cash to bet and then wait to see if anyone would play.

From what I understand, Ralph couldn't hustle at all. The success of the stop depended if anyone wanted to play "the bum" at all. If someone bit, they probably figured out after the first rack they were up-shits-creek-without-their-knot. Even if Ralph drank shot after shot of hard alcohol and could hardly put a sentence together, he just wouldn't miss. Sooner or later someone would tell the sucker he was playing Ralph Greenleaf and they would accept the bad fortune without confrontation.

I recall a funny story when Hal said he was always worried about Ralph wandering off to find something to smoke - whether it was weed or opium. It was possible that he would wander off and then Hal wouldn't find him and not see him again for a few months. They stopped in this town where someone wanted to play Ralph (i.e. the "drunk bum") later that night so they had to come back in a few hours. Hal paid someone (a police officer, if I recall) to stand guard and watch Ralph while Hal ran out to do a few errands. That way, there'd be a game later on for sure. Otherwise, ya never knew if he would wander off and not come back.

Ralph was playing this guy that said, "How in the hell can this guy play so well with his head sideways and his ear pinned to his shoulder!?!?" Ralph said, "They go in the hole, don't they?" Hal seemed to laugh at that one.

From the sounds of it, Hal was as much of a "handler" as he was a road partner. Ralph was THAT tough to be around and keep safe.
 
I'm from Baltimore,MD I thought Leon was The Mask Marvel and I thought he ran over 300 balls backhand and it may be in Ripleys Believe Or Not They said he was not a money player but put on a great show I never saw him play.
 
You guys pretty well covered it. Leon Yonders was the greatest "behind the back" player who ever lived. I used to hear about him when I was a kid. I don't think he played in tourneys or for much money either. I doubt he could play any better the conventional way, probably not even as good. He was just a "one trick pony" freak.

Greenleaf was well documented as a drunken bum for most of his life. He would hide a bottle in the bathroom and sneak in during a match to get a drink. Only guy like that I ever knew was Louie Roberts, who was also a total alcoholic without remorse. Greenleaf won tournaments while drunk, or hung over every day. Freddie Whalen used to tell stories about him. Like everyone else he said Greenleaf was the greatest player he ever saw. And Fred was like the fifteen time California (and West Coast) champion.

Many of the players liked Ralph because he would hang out in the rooms with the hustlers and gamblers. He was one of the boys, a poolroom bum who became world champion. Ralph was also a very handsome man (like Louie) and married a beautiful entertainer named Princess Nai Tai. They performed together on stages all over the country, making big money in the 20's. She lived a long life, only dying about ten years ago.

Greenleaf died in 1950 at the age of 50. He lived ten years longer than Louie who met a bullet head long in 1990 at age 40. Interesting I never noticed Louie was born the year Greenleaf died. Proof of reincarnation I guess.
 
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jay helfert said:
Greenleaf died in 1950 at the age of 50. He lived ten years longer than Louie who met a bullet head long in 1990 at age 40. Interesting I never noticed Louie was born the year Greenleaf died. Proof of reincarnation I guess.
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........ or proof of the "once in a lifetime do you get to see someone play like this". :groucho:
 
Damn, I need to call Hal again, just can't seem to get around to it. As Jay said, Fred Whalen has some stories about Greenleaf, one of which is documented in "Billliards: Hustlers and Heroes, Legends and Lies, and the Search for Higher Truth on the Green Felt" by John Grissim.
I seem to remember hearing of Leon Yonders before, but I can't remember where or when.
Wife got me up at 6 am to go to a tag sale, just got back::boring2:
 
Leon definitely gambled. Hal told me Leon kept standing beside him while he was hitting balls in Cochrans. Finally, Hal got the shits of it and told Leon to scram and to let him practice. It took a while before Leon built up the courage to ask Hal to play.

Hal said, "Sure. I'll play. What do you wanna play?"

Leon responded by saying, "I play every game there is - whatever you like to play - that's what I like to play."

Hal goes, "What... you wanna do something?"

Leon says, "I want to play for 34 cents - that's what I have on me."

Now granted, I don't know what year it was - I'm sure this was WAY long ago so 34 cents was probably more like $3 - so it wasn't was bad as how it reads LMFAO... but the guy DID gamble somewhat.

The story ends with Leon politely asking Hal if he wanted to shoot first. Hal, being a gentleman, insisted that Leon shot first. Leon never missed and ran out the game. They played another few times and Hal always forced Leon to take the first shot and Leon did--- and ran out the set/game each and every time.

Hal said he never made it to the table even 1 time between all the sessions with Leon. I think he said that's the only time in his entire life he's ever seen anything like that. I'm not sure what game they played in those years - probably 14.1. That's very impressive.

I forgot to ask Hal if he had to get a corporation together to cover the 34 cent games. Hal speaks of Leon in a very, very, very respectful way. Many on here know that Hal doesn't pump up too many players. He speaks of Leon in the same tone of respect as Greenleaf. He literally says the guy never missed - not as a "figure of speech"---- but in a literal sense.
 
jay helfert said:
You guys pretty well covered it. Leon Yonders was the greatest "behind the back" player who ever lived. I used to hear about him when I was a kid. I don't think he played in tourneys or for much money either. I doubt he could play any better the conventional way, probably not even as good. He was just a "one trick pony" freak.

Greenleaf was well documented as a drunken bum for most of his life. He would hide a bottle in the bathroom and sneak in during a match to get a drink. Only guy like that I ever knew was Louie Roberts, who was also a total alcoholic without remorse. Greenleaf won tournaments while drunk, or hung over every day. Freddie Whalen used to tell stories about him. Like everyone else he said Greenleaf was the greatest player he ever saw. And Fred was like the fifteen time California (and West Coast) champion.

Many of the players liked Ralph because he would hang out in the rooms with the hustlers and gamblers. He was one of the boys, a poolroom bum who became world champion. Ralph was also a very handsome man (like Louie) and married a beautiful entertainer named Princess Nai Tai. They performed together on stages all over the country, making big money in the 20's. She lived a long life, only dying about ten years ago.

Greenleaf died in 1950 at the age of 50. He lived ten years longer than Louie who met a bullet head long in 1990 at age 40. Interesting I never noticed Louie was born the year Greenleaf died. Proof of reincarnation I guess.
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Jay, I could be wrong but I thought Louie was born in 1954. Wasn't he 25 when he won the 1979 U.S. Open?


You want to talk about reincarnation, I've always thought Earl Strickland was Ty Cobb in a former life. Both Southeners, both best at what they did, both with an intense desire to win. Cobb died in July of 1961, Earl was born in June of 1961...maybe it took a month for the spirirt to take hold : )
 
> The Greenleaf story that I thought was kinda funny was when he got arrested. He was drunker than a bicycle,and got locked up,the whole time telling the cop "hey I'm Ralph Greenleaf,you can't do this to me,blah blah blah". The cop finally relented,took Ralph across the street to a table,and Ralph,piss drunk,ran 134 in his first inning. Tommy D.
 
I heard a story, that the first time Willie Mosconi ever beat Ralph Greenleaf , someone said ,yeah but he was drunk ! To which Mosconi replied , he was drunk every time he beat me too.
 
book collector said:
I heard a story, that the first time Willie Mosconi ever beat Ralph Greenleaf , someone said ,yeah but he was drunk ! To which Mosconi replied , he was drunk every time he beat me too.
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Ralph and Willie's forced Brunswick road trips would have been quite interesting. Ralph and Willie did a tour in 1935 and again in 1946. In the first tour, Ralph won most of their exhibition matches and in the second tour they played fairly even. Ralph narrowly lost the 1945 world championship to Willie while both were in break from war factory work in Detroit.
 
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