Mike "Little Man" Sica has passed

nightmare said:
Mike was one of the first people I met in the late ‘70s when I first ventured out of my home pool room & headed down the Garden State Parkway to Steve Mizerak’s Four Seasons Billiard Lounge in Metuchen, NJ in my search for a five or ten dollar game.


Mary Kenniston
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Hi Mary,

I didn't know you were from the area, back in the day....


Eric
 
nightmare said:
Many people that know Mike from the poker world don't know that he was a pretty formidable pool player in his younger days. In a state where Allen Hopkins, Ray Martin, Jack Colavita, Steve Mizerak & Paul Brienza were the top players of the day, Mike was solidly ensconced in that second tier & more than capable to take one of them out if they gave him any air. Mike was one of the first people I met in the late ‘70s when I first ventured out of my home pool room & headed down the Garden State Parkway to Steve Mizerak’s Four Seasons Billiard Lounge in Metuchen, NJ in my search for a five or ten dollar game.

For those that have never met either of us in person, I am 5’12” & Mike was, well…let’s just say, vertically challenged. The guys in the pool room tagged him with the moniker, “Little Man.". So, I’d walk in the door of Miz’s place…he’d sneak up behind me, wrap his arms around my waist & while howling with laughter, yell, “WHO’S YOUR DADDY?!!!” He wouldn’t let go until I hollered, “LITTLE MAN!!!” By then, the whole pool room would be crying! It got to be that I’d stand just inside the door looking around to see if he was there but I’d never see him until he got me again. A few months later, I snapped to the fact that one of the many pool detectives in the place would claim a $5 bounty to alert him that I had just pulled into the parking lot. He’d lurk in the men’s room waiting to make his move! Geez, I’m laughing as I write this…

Mike spent thirty years in the NJ public school system as a physical education teacher & coach. When I first started playing in the days when females were a rarity in the pool rooms & many players kept the secrets of pool close to the vest, Mike was always willing to teach. Two of the most valuable lessons he taught me was the importance of staying on the “right” side of the ball & explaining the tangent line while showing me how to manipulate it with vertical cueing.

The last time I saw him was in the late '90s. Mike was in Vegas for a poker tournament & he knew that I had a pool room. He decided to pay Cue-Topia a visit. I was leaning over the railing talking to someone, when all of a sudden, I was grabbed from behind & heard, WHO’S YOUR DADDY?!!! GO ON, TELL ‘EM!!! WHO’S YOUR DADDY?!!!”

We hadn’t seen each other since the late ‘70s but I instantly knew who it was!!! I burst out laughing & screamed, “LITTLE MANNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!” & turned around to collect my hug. Wow! I was so happy to see him! He told me he had a dinner comp at the Bellagio so we headed on over to eat. We ended up talking for hours & closed the place down. When I heard in ’04 that Mike had won a bracelet in the World Series of Poker, I was thrilled for him & gave him a silent tap, tap…well done, my friend. He’d come a long way from the Four Seasons & the house games of the ‘70s…

Mike might’ve been small in stature but he was a giant of a man & the epitome of the phrase, “larger than life.” As others have said, he was always smiling, always laughing, always generous. If you Google, “Mike Sica,” many poker sites will come up – filled with stories on his passing & comments from the poker players. They loved him too. I don’t know of a single person who didn’t – that’s one helluva legacy. It’s with both a heavy heart & a smile that I write this…RIP, Little Man, RIP.

Mary Kenniston


This photo was taken by Pete Fleming in the early '70s at the Hi-Cue Billiard Lounge in Elizabeth, NJ.
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Wow -- great pic, Mary. Thanks for a great story - that's the Mike I remember for sure. He really lived a DREAM of a life. Gambled for a living (and did very, very well), played pool whenever, played in any poker tournament he wanted ever, never had to take support calls from angry clients or submit proposals hoping to win a contract--- he lived THE LIFE. His entire life consisted of FUN... and the regular ball-busting and pool hall banter that made everyone laugh.

Must be nice playing pool at that level and winning a WSOP bracelet as well AND having the character to go with both. I'll definitely miss Little Man. There will never be another like him.

Eric -- thanks for your pic as well. I have NO clue where you got that, but it made me smile. Thanks to everyone who posted. They should build a frickin' PYRAMID for this guy as a memorial... that's how BIG he really was.
 
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YW, guys...glad to be able to add something for my old friend...

Yup, they sure were fun days, Jay - miss 'em like hell. Just not the same anymore...I get a little taste at Derby City & the One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner, but that's it...each year, the circle gets smaller. Sad.

Eric, although I grew up on Long Island, while I was away at college, my parents moved to North Jersey to make my Dad's commute shorter - he worked in the city. First started playing pool in Belleville at Guys & Dolls, then mostly played at Pat & Pete Fleming's Backstage Billiards in Passaic. That's where I discovered the action side of pool & the rest is history...:)
 
nightmare said:
YW, guys...glad to be able to add something for my old friend...

Yup, they sure were fun days, Jay - miss 'em like hell. Just not the same anymore...I get a little taste at Derby City & the One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner, but that's it...each year, the circle gets smaller. Sad.

Eric, although I grew up on Long Island, while I was away at college, my parents moved to North Jersey to make my Dad's commute shorter - he worked in the city. First started playing pool in Belleville at Guys & Dolls, then mostly played at Pat & Pete Fleming's Backstage Billiards in Passaic. That's where I discovered the action side of pool & the rest is history...:)
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Great post, Mary. We're like two ships passing in the night. For me, I say good morning to you, and for you, you say good night to me. :D

I appreciate all your contributions to pool. You are truly an asset to this industry. :cool:
 
Sympathy

My sympathies go to all of you who knew " little man " Mike Sica. Reading all the great stories about him written by all of you really makes me wish I could have met him, he must have been a great guy to have so many friends write such great things about him. Thanks to all of you for sharing the stories of Mike with all of us.
 
nightmare said:
Eric, although I grew up on Long Island, while I was away at college, my parents moved to North Jersey to make my Dad's commute shorter - he worked in the city. First started playing pool in Belleville at Guys & Dolls, then mostly played at Pat & Pete Fleming's Backstage Billiards in Passaic. That's where I discovered the action side of pool & the rest is history...:)
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Mary- although, we've never crossed paths, I feel like I should have... I've been to Cuetopia and, I have a friend, that was a poker dealer in Vegas that told me a couple of years ago, that he met a fellow dealer that told him that she used to play "pro Pool". He said her name was "Mary Ken". One and the same?

Spider/Dave- That pic was courtesy of Terry Sica and family.


Eric
 
Thanks, Jen...:)

Eric - Yup, that would be me. I dealt at several places but I last dealt at the Palms...loved it there - best job I ever had.
 
As I am pretty sure Heavan has an awesome pool room , and God looks alot like Willie Mosconi , I can hear him speak now as Mike Sica walks in the Door " get in here you awesomely funny son of a gun " " We have been waiting on you "

Rest in Peace Mike you will be sorely missed
 
nightmare said:
Thanks, Jen...:)

Eric - Yup, that would be me. I dealt at several places but I last dealt at the Palms...loved it there - best job I ever had.
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Joey B is my friend and he dealt at the Palms too. I'm gonna send you a PM, Mary.


Eric
 
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