Luther Lassiter and Dean Chance Book

[Anthony_Beeler]

Purchased a book from Brett Chance signed by Luther Lassiter. Turns out, Brett's father was Cy Young Award Winner Dean Chance who played for several MLB teams. At first, I thought Dean was pro pool player, but after doing my research and finding out who Brett was, the championship Luther was referring to was Dean's AL West Championship with the Minnesota Twins. I think this is a very cool piece considering the signed book was from one superstar to another. Enjoy the photos!





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[kling&allen]

Purchased a book from Brett Chance signed by Luther Lassiter. Turns out, Brett's father was Cy Young Award Winner Dean Chance who played for several MLB teams. At first, I thought Dean was pro pool player, but after doing my research and finding out who Brett was, the championship Luther was referring to was Dean's AL West Championship with the Minnesota Twins. I think this is a very cool piece considering the signed book was from one superstar to another. Enjoy the photos!





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That's a great find!

 

[Pin]

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But why?

 

[Anthony_Beeler]

But why?

Accident. Must have hit the button in my pocket.

 

[RabbiHippie]

Purchased a book from Brett Chance signed by Luther Lassiter. Turns out, Brett's father was Cy Young Award Winner Dean Chance who played for several MLB teams. At first, I thought Dean was pro pool player, but after doing my research and finding out who Brett was, the championship Luther was referring to was Dean's AL West Championship with the Minnesota Twins. I think this is a very cool piece considering the signed book was from one superstar to another. Enjoy the photos!





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What classy gentleman both of them must have been!

I love seeing personalized notes instead of something generic or simply a signature. Lassiter compliments Chance on his achievement, says he'd like to play pool with him again, and says he appreciates Chance's etiquette. It's obvious there was mutual respect between two champions at different sports.

Be sure to keep something that proves you purchased the book from Dean Chance's son. Your signed copy (which I think is priceless) is even more valuable with evidence for its provenance.

Baseball and billiards had a close connection--Johnny Kling was a world champion in both sports and George Jansco the Johnston City promoter played minor league ball when he was young. I'm planning on having a chapter related to baseball in my history of One Pocket book.

 

[bbb]

here is a story told by an old time respected pool player john henderson about dean chance bringing don willis around to hustle some

Romy’s, 4th & Main, Los Angeles

I started going down to the pool rooms in LA as soon as I started driving around 1958. I only played snooker then, and there were plenty of old guys who would bust you a at $2/3 a game. Over the years the neighborhood changed, and by the 70’s, it was pretty much a Mexican pool room with a lot of...

onepocket.org

 

[RabbiHippie]

@Anthony_Beeler, you've really piqued my interest regarding Dean Chance and his connection with pool. Here's a quote from the Wikipedia article about Chance that shows he was a man of many interests that coincided with a lot of Johnston City era hustlers like Lassiter ..

Chance retired to a 300-acre ranch 3 miles (4.8 km) from his boyhood farm. During the 1970s and 1980s Chance acted as a midway barker and operated games of skill at carnivals and fairs and was one of the most successful operators, eventually employing 250 people and running 40 games at the Ohio State Fair alone, on a circuit that includes Columbus, Ohio, Raleigh, North Carolina, Augusta, Georgia, Syracuse, New York, Hollywood, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas before tiring of the constant travels and con men who frequented this business. Chance founded the International Boxing Association during the 1990s, managed many fighters, and was its long-time president.

As part of the Angels' 50th anniversary, Chance threw out the first pitch before the June 4, 2011 game versus the New York Yankees.

Chance had one child, son Brett, who graduated from Ohio State University in 1985 and worked as an executive for the Ohio State Fair, the Ohio Expo Center, and Instagram. In August 2015 Chance was inducted into the Angels Hall of Fame.

Chance died at his home in Wooster on October 11, 2015, at the age of 74.

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[RabbiHippie]

Purchased a book from Brett Chance signed by Luther Lassiter. Turns out, Brett's father was Cy Young Award Winner Dean Chance who played for several MLB teams. At first, I thought Dean was pro pool player, but after doing my research and finding out who Brett was, the championship Luther was referring to was Dean's AL West Championship with the Minnesota Twins. I think this is a very cool piece considering the signed book was from one superstar to another. Enjoy the photos!





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Apparently Dean Chance had quite a bit of hustle in him off the baseball field as well! He and another Major League Baseball player, Bo Belinsky, ran the "two friends and a brother" routine sometimes using top-notch pool players for the ringer--including Don Willis! Willis grew up near Chance in Ohio and was Wimpy's road partner, so there's your Lassiter connection.

Thanks @bbb for sharing that thread on OnePocket.org. Chance's post-baseball career as a "showman" is more than a coincidence ... something I'll have to cover in my book on the history of One Pocket.

 

[Pin]

... something I'll have to cover in my book on the history of One Pocket.

I remember seeing your thread about that. I wasn't sure whether to say anything because I don't know what my situation will be in terms of time, but if you go down the print on demand self-publishing route, I might be able to help with the formatting / preparation of files etc. if you need it, as I've done a few book reproductions and things that way. There are a couple of other guys who have done the same, and I think they both use this (history of) section of AZB sometimes, so a post on here should catch peoples' eyes.

 

[RabbiHippie]

I remember seeing your thread about that. I wasn't sure whether to say anything because I don't know what my situation will be in terms of time, but if you go down the print on demand self-publishing route, I might be able to help with the formatting / preparation of files etc. if you need it, as I've done a few book reproductions and things that way. There are a couple of other guys who have done the same, and I think they both use this (history of) section of AZB sometimes, so a post on here should catch peoples' eyes.

I'll send you a PM to learn more.