Call the man by his right name, youse guys...
...the word on the road was beware of THE TRUCKDRIVER in Columbus....
Ha Ha, you're right. Kenny "The Trucker" McCoy.
Mystery Indianapolis Player?
- Thread starter ipoppa33
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Ha Ha, you're right. Kenny "The Trucker" McCoy.
My dad had one of those - talk about nostalgia!
Wonder if he was related to Willie McCoy. The country boy out of south Alabama who everyone called "Slim".Ha Ha, you're right. Kenny "The Trucker" McCoy.
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Good eye...that’s indeed one eyed Tony Howard from KY
I struggled over that one. I knew "One Eyed" Tony and he was a really good player. He looks younger there than when I remember him. I think he died at about age 40 or so in a car accident. The best one eyed pool player I'd ever known up to that point. Later on there was Andy Scott, Tom Brown and Niels (?). Tony could really cut those balls thin.
I know there was some other good one eyed players. Who remembers them?
I remember "One Eye Tony from Cocoa Beach", from the early 70s. He was a very good player. I remember him playing Sigel some Nine-Ball in the action room at one of Joe Burn's events in Dayton. If my memory serves me right, I think Mark Griffin posted something about Tony meeting his demise under questionable circumstances in Alaska.
I thought Tony was from Detroit, not Kentucky. I first saw him play up there in the early 60's.
He also played some in the CHI area in the early 60's
He knew who to play and who to avoid, like Johny the Mexican
Always loved Kenny, except when he would make it to the Marysville tournament and I was playing for 3rd behind him and Will
Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio were areas you wanted to steer clear of if you were looking to steal. There were 20 guys you never heard of who played champ speed, and 100 below that who took you to the hill.
I swear he looks familiar to me, one of the local hustlers who used to be all over Ohio and Indiana back in the day. I never knew all their names. There must have been over a hundred shortstop level players running around the Midwest, gambling in bars and poolrooms back in the 60's and 70's. There was action everywhere back then! And a decent player could grind out a living if he was careful.
For all I know I may have played this guy myself. In a ten year period I gambled with hundreds of different guys, rarely ever turning down a game. I've had guys come up to me at tournaments years later and tell me about a game we played. They remembered where and when and how much we played for. Most of the time I didn't remember them or the game. I may have just remembered being in that town and playing a couple of people. I did remember the guys who beat me though!
P.S. I was nothing like Dean who posts on here. He would lay down and make sure he had a good game before showing any speed. He was much smarter than me! I wanted to play every day. And I'd just walk in, go right to the counter and ask if there was anyone who wanted to play. I got games quick that way!
P.P.S. He kind of reminds me of a guy who I used to see in the daily Ring game in Richmond, IN. They played $1 on the five and $2 on the nine. If you made one out of turn, it spotted back up and you kept on shooting. I had a job working nearby in the Leland hotel for a few months on the night shift (11PM to 7AM). I'd get up in the afternoon and go over to the poolroom and eat one of their Sloppy Joe beef sandwiches for lunch (so good!). Then I'd get in the game. I was maybe 21-22 then and had been playing for three or four years. I could play a little, good enough to beat that game for 20 or 30 bucks on most days. That is, until one day when someone stole my cue when I went to the bathroom. There were five or six guys there and no one saw anything! I knew that I was no longer welcome in that game and never went back, except to eat lunch. :wink:
Awesome, I figured someone here would remember him. I contacted the seller and let them know. I really like the pic but not for that $$$$.
Now the question is how strong a player was One Eyed Tony??
https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=303088
This is the thread you are referring to. With all the conjecture as to where is was from he must have been the classic road player. He was from Kentucky or Detroit or Florida and died in Alaska.
Some area people say this pic was not taken in Indianapolis but Dayton, Ohio. Seems strange but they are the same guys who gave me Tony's name. "There was no big table 9 Ball Event in Indianapolis in 77, it was in 78"
Edit Looking at it now-maybe it is a bar table-that bridge hand is easily past the side pocket
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Strong enuff to have a nickname and have his pic taken.