military pool players

glen,
I was in the Marines at that time stationed in Naples. You are correct I remember reading that in the stars n stripes...lol
 
I think Ray Schultz from Owensboro spent some time in the Army,and won several branch tournaments,and went on to be a top 16 pro at one time. Tommy D.
 
It was 1968 in Chu Lai South Viet Nam.
I was in the Marine Corps.They put on a straight pool tournament.
The pool tables were terrible to play on due to the high humidity and of course no air conditioning.The pool cues were all crooked and had flat tips. I shaped the tip to somewhat round on the concrete slab of the pool room.
I won the tournament with a high run of 21 and still have the little 8 " trophy they gave me.
 
Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet were both in the German Army and both in special sports units reserved for high level athletes. ASFAIK
 
Rico said:
Clyde Childress was service champ in the army ,used to be a tourn. named for him.In the mid 60,s there was a marine sgt. at oceanside cal called pineapple tony that played swanee and lil dave leblanc . a sailor on the uss providence played all of them caint remember his name.I learned as a 17 yr old anew pool term from those players at 7 seas in san diego. (we didnt know in iowa) DUMP,
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We called him San Diego Dave, and yes he could be a little treacherous.

He dealt cards at Bucktooths room in Manteca a few years back.
 
Pete Lhotka is my favorite military player of all time. He was an officer and is definitely a gentleman. Kevin Pace from AK is also a natural.
 
Was a strong bar players/road player years ago named Ed Giger his nickname was Army. I think he flew helocopters in Vietnam.
 
realkingcobra said:
I was in Germany from 76' to 79' then again from 80' to 83'. In 82 Tim "Perk" Perkins won the all Military Europe 14.1 championship. In 83 they played 8 ball rather than 14.1. I was in the Army during that time...just saying;)

Glen
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I served in the USAF from 86-90 and remember Tim Perkins quite well. I have frequently wondered where he might have ended up and if he's still playing. He is the guy who, after I told him I was from the Tampa area, first told me about cue maker Wayne Gunn. And when Tim left Germany I started selling Gunn sneaky petes over there (got the idea from Tim). For a while there, Tim was an authorized McDermott dealer. He'd show up at the Rec Ctr with a half-dozen cues and cases at a time and would usually sell one or two per visit. Tim would travel from base to base and in Central Germany and knew all the players in the rec centers and NCO clubs that had tables. Him and Tony Softa would get into epic straight pool and 9-ball battles at our rec center and sometimes hit the road together. Those two had a knack for finding action off-base. Them two guys' minds were always working angles to get action started, both on and off the table... I seem to remember that Tim's "nemesis" in the tournaments was Ron Gissel, whom he played several times.

Tim and Tony were both outstanding teachers of the game.

I read in a thread her that there was actually a Stars & Stripes article written about him, complete with a photo of him coming out of a phone booth ala superman-style... LOL! Would love to see that article!
 
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I played Ron Gisel several times. Once was when I played a ring game between him and his friend. I could not beat Ron heads up but that night I busted them both in the ring game.

Chance Chin was another very good military player in Germany that I knew of.
 
Be very careful of any that all of a sudden start betting high and air barreling people saying they are going to pay you later. I've seen this happen in my area. A guy stuck people for several grand total. Turns out he knew he was getting ready to be stationed somewhere else.
 
Eddie Laube was not in the armed forces, but was a volunteer along with many others to help with the clean up after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He lived on the military base. The pool tables were outdoors with a make due wood roof supported by wood posts. The sides were all open. There were about 8 pool tables underneath the canopy. I guess they do not worry about rain in Hawaii! On a nearby building was a large map of the US states all in white. The guys could point to where they lived and have their picture taken. Sandy
 
JB Cases said:
I played Ron Gisel several times. Once was when I played a ring game between him and his friend. I could not beat Ron heads up but that night I busted them both in the ring game.

Chance Chin was another very good military player in Germany that I knew of.
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I couldn't get Ron Gisel to play 9-ball for a dime in 1990 in England when we played in the 14.1 Air Force (USAFE) tournament held at Croughton, UK. He played 14.1 good (had run 100 balls a few times before from what I heard), but he kept asking me for a spot playing 9-ball.
 
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