military pool players

Cannonball55

Cannonball55

This is cool
Silver Member
Hi,

I was just wondering which notable pool players ( past and present ) that was/were enlisted in the armed forces . All i can think of is Jimmy "flyboy" Spears ( airforce is where he recieved the nickname i believe ) and Buddy Hall ( Army ? )

another idea would be which division would have bragging rights for best pool players .

Any soldiers out there ? speak up and feel free to share some stories of combat on the green surface:) :)
 
Louie Roberts was in the Air Force. He was in action every night and even convinced his Commanding Officer that he was good enough to play for a living. He was granted an early discharge.
 
JG-in-KY said:
Louie Roberts was in the Air Force. He was in action every night and even convinced his Commanding Officer that he was good enough to play for a living. He was granted an early discharge.
Click to expand...

St. louie louie was in the air force ? I did'nt know that . Well, I guess that explains why he would often times go off ( like a rocket ):eek:

note : the airforce joke was meant in good humor, no disrespect to the great Louie Roberts
 
Last edited:
Wimpy Lassiter was in the Coast Guard and hated every minute of it.

Also, a great unknown player by the name of Roy Payton used to be enlisted in the Air Force. But now he is out and striking fear into the hearts of champions worldwide. Or something like that.
 
I think AF has the best players. I'm a little partial though :)

Eventually I'll make a name for myself but I'll probably be out of the military by then.
 
Cannonball55 said:
Hi,

I was just wondering which notable pool players ( past and present ) that was/were enlisted in the armed forces . All i can think of is Jimmy "flyboy" Spears ( airforce is where he recieved the nickname i believe ) and Buddy Hall ( Army ? )

another idea would be which division would have bragging rights for best pool players .

Any soldiers out there ? speak up and feel free to share some stories of combat on the green surface:) :)
Click to expand...

Buddy was in the Air Force.

I did 24 1/2 years in the military.....retired Oct '06. My first 4 years were in the Air Force. I did 2 years in Germany and was the Armed Forces European Straight Pool Champion '82 & '83........ran 74 balls in the '82 finals against Rick Tollus. My last 20 years were in the Navy. I lived in the Norfolk, VA area for 12 years and competed in several U.S. Opens.....best finish was 13th in 2001.

DTL
 
Harold Worst was in the Army and served in Korea before becoming the best player ever to live
 
There use to be a guy in Phoenix who I believe was active USAF, Tony C. was what I called him. Because I could not pronounce his name. Think Alexander Bar was his sponsor. He has disappeared, and the story i hear was he was transfered off Luke AFB to some other AFB. Had a AWESOME BREAK, and his Break Cue BOWED like a OLD LONDBOW when he broke.
 
JG-in-KY said:
Louie Roberts was in the Air Force. He was in action every night and even convinced his Commanding Officer that he was good enough to play for a living. He was granted an early discharge.
Click to expand...

Buddy Hall..ARMY
Toby Sweet...USMC

Just a note...JG-n-KY was a USAF base champ several times, though he is very humble and you would never hear it from him.

You just been ratted out :poke:
 
Last edited:
bfdlad said:
Just recently Earl Strickland tried to enlist at Old Navy does that count?
Click to expand...

I heard about that . I also heard that by the time he finished taking off is arm bans, wrist weights and other accessories, the name had changed to Really Old Navy
 
Wasn't Thorsten Hohmann in the German military at the time he won the World 9-ball Championships?
 
I've been around quite a few:

Lee Heuwagen is a "dependent son" of an Air Force retiree. Started playing seriously in...you guessed it, Clark AB, Philippines!

Roger Griffis (AZ) was in the Air Force.

The best military player I've I've ever seen (and one of the nicest guys I've ever met) is Pete Lhotka from AZ. Great straight pool player who once beat Earl 9-0 in a Reno 9-ball event.

Stanley Miller & "Vegas Dave" Hamilton are two legends of the Clark AB/Philippines/Angeles City Pool League scene.

Ric Stoneburner & Dave Nelleson (sp?) were two great AF players in the Phoenix area (late 80's). They brought Dana Hallet on-base to look for action.

Is there an Angel Garcia in the Colorado Springs area? I heard he was in the Army and the players in Panama (the country) still talk about him.

I'll think of a few more later today.

Yukon Ed
 
Steve Lillis, an inimitable character but a great guy was the US Navy champion. He actually played in pro tournaments on orders and in full uniform.
 
Amarillo Slim was payed to play pool exhibitions while in the service, navy I believe. He hustled a lot of money playing cards,pool and fixing the military or navy baseball championship...he had a lot of money and fancied himself a champ but he when he got back to new york fats was waiting for him and took him for some cheese but Slim got back at him when he got a spot playing with a broom instead of a cue...his was in Slims biography which is a good read for all gamblers by the way not just poker players
 
service and players

james christopher was drafted , and put in the navy. after basic was stationed to san diego and put to work in the rec room. always was a lucky guy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top