One of the top players in Augusta had the misfortune of gambling with Barefoot. He lost over 20K. I remember folks talking about Barefoot for years after that.
Names from the past
- Thread starter jay helfert
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One of the top players in Augusta had the misfortune of gambling with Barefoot. He lost over 20K. I remember folks talking about Barefoot for years after that.
I was thinking about some of the players I knew many years ago who have slipped into oblivion. Just wondering if anyone out there remembers any of these guys.
Arizona Sean (deceased) - He was a slender handsome young man out of Arizona who became best friends with Don Johnson and worked on Miami Vice as a writer. He was good enough to win a qualifier to play in Fred Whalen's Los Angeles World Championship in 1972. Sean also was a stunt double for Warren Beatty on Shampoo and Kaliediscope. He was a fascinating guy who I last saw at the tourney we held at the Biltmore Hotel in 1987.
Harold Johnson - The all time biggest crybaby I ever saw in pool. And he played pretty good too. He would carry on like his life was coming to an end if he missed a ball or two. He was from Illinois I believe.
Billy Ray Suden - A degenerate hustler who played pretty good back in the 70's. He came into my poolroom in 1973 and we played a Race to Eleven for $200. I was down 9-2 and came back to win. He flipped out and broke his cue. I heard he was still playing back East. Originally from Rhode Island I believe.
Jimmy Harris - From Florida, a damn good little player who had this shit eating grin plastered on his face all day long. Maybe it was the weed. I snuck Jimmy Reid in on him and after that he left California, returning to Florida.
Junior Harris - I called him the June Bug. He traveled the country playing pool for years. Played a pretty good speed too. Last I heard he turned to preaching.
Bill Mielke - A damn good shortstop out of Wisconsin. I saw him grind down a lot of good players, he had no quit in him. His drinking may have gotten the best of him.
Crazy Bruce - From New Jersey by way of Miami. He was certifiable, one screw loose at all times. Played good Eight Ball but was always his own worst enemy. Heard he made it big in real estate. Could barely read or write!
"Johnny Dollar" Overton - From Ohio and Indiana. He was the first real pool hustler I ever saw in action. He snuck around Dayton beating up on light weights like me. Heard his grandson is John Overton, the pro golfer.
Paul Baker - From Iowa, another triple sneaky and smart hustler who played good golf and pool. His hustle was to go in the pool room and tell everyone he was a golf hustler. And also go to the golf course and tell them he was a pool hustler. Worked for him!
Little Frankie - From New York. He was playing for serious money when he was only 13. A predecessor to Keith, an East Coast version. The cockiest little kid you ever saw. He cussed like a man and he was just a little boy. He could play too!
Augie Donatelli - He came out to California with Freddy and was the better player of the two back then (except for Banks). It took a strong player to beat Augie.
Buddy Dennis - One smooth operator. He was so low key you wouldn't even notice him in the poolroom. That is until he beat the best player in the house out of all his money. :smile:
"Three Fingered" Ronnie Sypher - Out of Baltimore, he was a strong money player and a pretty fun guy to hang around with. I wonder what happened to him.
Steve Carter (deceased?) - A fairly good player that was another head case. I took him around a little out here and he never could do much. Last I heard he put on a tournament and disappeared with the money. This was over 20 years ago.
Where's Toby anyway? I really liked that little guy. He had more heart per square inch than any living human! And Roger Griffis is another very good player that fell off the map. He beat Efren to win the Hollywood Billiards tourney in 1990.
A more famous player that I really liked was Marvin (Henderson). We spent a lot of time together in the 60's just hanging out and getting high. I loved hanging with Marvin, we always had a good time. I miss that ole son-of-a-gun! And what a player he was, simply the best around wherever he went. Although when Richie came up so fast out here Marvin took a pass on him. He was no dummy.
I can probably come up with a lot more, but these are just a few I was wondering about.
Hello Jay,
Another great thread by non other than Mr. Jay. Thanks for sharing.
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
Hi Jay,
I started playing pool at the old Hollywood Billiards about 2 years before the earthquake destroyed it. What ever happened to some of those regulars like
Nelson, Danna, Chico, Shorty, Drummer, etc??? Man, I miss that place! What a hang.
Hey JAY,dont forget about (CIGAR)TOM VANOVER BEST PLAYER TO EVER COME OUT OF MARYLAND(won 9 straight maryland all arounds in the 70s through 80s)and played any pool playing that came threw baltimore at that time,including playing strickland even 9ball for 15 hrs to a draw at 50 a game back in the low 80s!
That sounds like him. I could tell numerous stories about him. he was a likeable guy though. I pulled him away from a poker game once where the guy across from him laid straight razor on the table.
he did play nice 1 pocket and most games at least pretty well.
He once even pulled his car into my garage looking for bugging devices.
He even tried to call President Carter,,,collect?!
however, I never booked a loser with the guy.
One final bit, he climed his mother had fed him things to stunt his growth.
he should come to San Antonio, he would be a nice fit in this town. LOL
Artie Clemons, aka Mountain Man, aka the critter, is in St Louis still weird as hell. He's originally from Varner's hometown of Owensboro, KY.
I beat him in a beer box tourney while visiting the area last year.
I beat him in a beer box tourney while visiting the area last year.
All the Names
Surely one of the things that makes pool great. I remember Tony Ellin-broke like a tank and looked like John Belushi-and I miss him a lot. He was the guy that you could point to and say. " His form ain't that great, he doesn't really look like an athlete, I don't think he practices that much, and still, here he is in the finals." When he hit a rack, it was like a window shade coming loose. His shirt would come untucked, his shoes would be off the ground, and there would be 4 or 5 balls left to run out and move on to the next rack. I beat Jr Harris in a tournament at the old 'Great American Billiards' -later 'Hardtimes'- in the mid 80's in Sacramento and I'm pretty sure I would have taken a cue butt up to the side of my head had it not been for Gene Stary stepping in between us. I always appreciated that:smile: A preacher, huh? Go figure.
Surely one of the things that makes pool great. I remember Tony Ellin-broke like a tank and looked like John Belushi-and I miss him a lot. He was the guy that you could point to and say. " His form ain't that great, he doesn't really look like an athlete, I don't think he practices that much, and still, here he is in the finals." When he hit a rack, it was like a window shade coming loose. His shirt would come untucked, his shoes would be off the ground, and there would be 4 or 5 balls left to run out and move on to the next rack. I beat Jr Harris in a tournament at the old 'Great American Billiards' -later 'Hardtimes'- in the mid 80's in Sacramento and I'm pretty sure I would have taken a cue butt up to the side of my head had it not been for Gene Stary stepping in between us. I always appreciated that:smile: A preacher, huh? Go figure.
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a Great Thread for readers, lurkers and any other pool lover...
thanks to Jay and All, and i hope there are more stories to come
what a great tribute to pool and the players, railbirds and backers
the history, wins and losses
the good and not so good, of known and not so known participants - all
we should keep their stories alive imho - here
this is our story...
and for all of us it is - a Great Game!
with stories to tell...
all the best,
smokey
thanks to Jay and All, and i hope there are more stories to come
what a great tribute to pool and the players, railbirds and backers
the history, wins and losses
the good and not so good, of known and not so known participants - all
we should keep their stories alive imho - here
this is our story...
and for all of us it is - a Great Game!
with stories to tell...
all the best,
smokey
Would that have been, One Eyed Tony Howard from Corbin, Kentucky? Knew a man who used to stake him and Clyde Childress, he had some great storys about the two. Tony is also mentioned in Buddy Hall's book.
Nah he is still playing near daily at Palm Beach Billiards-does the art too. Unless things have changed in the last 5 weeks.
Jay -Billy Ray was a helluva player in the early 90's- He came into my home room and beat our best player on his home table which was tricky. He lost the first set badly and midway through the second set he ran out a rack and said something like "ah now i get this table" and he drilled our guy 3 sets from there.
Our guy drilled Waterdog aka Buffalo Bill just a month before.
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That's him. And you are right, he was from Corbin, not Miami. The guy who used to stake those guys wouldnt happen to be Josh Crabtree would it?
I had an interesting experience with him when I played Clyde in Lexington.
Beard
I played Tony in Oklahoma City just a few weeks before he got killed. Tremendous player.
John...That was fairly recent, within the last 3-4 years. Sactown Tom was the TD when that happened.
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
There were several guys known as "Mountain Man". The one I knew, who played amazingly well, was from North Carolina.
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
I saw Cigar Tom play Sigel at Gentlemen's Cue back in the day. Sigel beat him though. Years later I saw Cigar Tom play Mark Ford a big match at Kelly's too. He was a champ.
Hey Met,that match with Sigel u are talking about was a maryland state all around championship match,it was TOM and Sigel in the finals,Sigel won the 9ball,Tom won the 14.1,then they had to play a race to 3 in 1pocket,it was 2-2 Sigel brooke and ran 8 in out to win the tournament,that was the best match i ever seen in person!Sigel was allowed to play in the tournament because he said he was a maryland resident living in towson at the time,Sigel was 1 of a few top players in the world at that time!
What a great thread that brought back some memories.
I watched JR match up with Benny "The Goose" Conway at Raytown Recreation. It had to be 25 years ago and being a young player I was mesmerized by watching these road players do battle.
It was a race 9 for 100 jellybeans. The score was tied up at 8 with Benny shooting an 8 ball into the corner pocket. It was a thin cut and the cue ball came straight back and stopped dead after hitting Benny's tip on his follow through. Benny calmly shot the 9 ball in like nothing ever happened then flipped the coin. Of course, JR was throwing a fit that Benny fouled. Benny walked over and said something to JR and the play ended.
Fast forward to 15 years later, I had the chance to play JR in the 9 ball at the DCC. I had to ask him if he remembered the match up and what Benny told him. He definitely remembered, and Benny calmly told him that he was packing :shocked:
Paul used to come down and play in a monthly tournament at Raytown Rec. This was right before the Color of Money put pool on the map again. Don Brink would hold a race to 5 9 ball tournament and players would come from 3 to 4 hours away to play. There just wasn't much going on. "Highway" Paul would come down and snap the tournament off every once and while. He had a very methodical game and always went pretty high in the calcutta.
I had the chance to beat Paul in a bar table tournament years later. It went hill - hill and the winner made to Sunday and the money. It was a good feeling beating a player the caliber as Paul. He still can play a very good level.
Buddy also made an appearance at one of the Rec's tournaments. I was watching him play with a pea green Mali but he couldn't hid his stroke. He cashed in the tournament and gambled for the next week. I later found out it was Baltimore Buddy.
I watched JR match up with Benny "The Goose" Conway at Raytown Recreation. It had to be 25 years ago and being a young player I was mesmerized by watching these road players do battle.
It was a race 9 for 100 jellybeans. The score was tied up at 8 with Benny shooting an 8 ball into the corner pocket. It was a thin cut and the cue ball came straight back and stopped dead after hitting Benny's tip on his follow through. Benny calmly shot the 9 ball in like nothing ever happened then flipped the coin. Of course, JR was throwing a fit that Benny fouled. Benny walked over and said something to JR and the play ended.
Fast forward to 15 years later, I had the chance to play JR in the 9 ball at the DCC. I had to ask him if he remembered the match up and what Benny told him. He definitely remembered, and Benny calmly told him that he was packing :shocked:
Paul used to come down and play in a monthly tournament at Raytown Rec. This was right before the Color of Money put pool on the map again. Don Brink would hold a race to 5 9 ball tournament and players would come from 3 to 4 hours away to play. There just wasn't much going on. "Highway" Paul would come down and snap the tournament off every once and while. He had a very methodical game and always went pretty high in the calcutta.
I had the chance to beat Paul in a bar table tournament years later. It went hill - hill and the winner made to Sunday and the money. It was a good feeling beating a player the caliber as Paul. He still can play a very good level.
Buddy also made an appearance at one of the Rec's tournaments. I was watching him play with a pea green Mali but he couldn't hid his stroke. He cashed in the tournament and gambled for the next week. I later found out it was Baltimore Buddy.
Yes JG, I think you're right! Tony Howard was his name. I was also thinking of Tommy Brown (also had one eye I think) of Florida who was also at Forest Park Billiards back in '74. I recall Tommy playing Hickerson from Indianapolis there. What a fantastic tournament there! That was the first time I saw Srickland and he was gambling all night with Jimmy Mataya 9-ball and I think Earl won like $3800 and shot like God! Cole Dickson was also there as was so many others, too many to name!
Curly
And his brother Bob in Texas was the better player of the two! Tom's a little younger, probably in his late 60's now.
Great description of Tony! No one ever gave him a second thought until he showed up in the Finals. He won the Sands tourney one year with a strong field. Jr. got his liver shot out by Bill Mielke and kept coming back for more. He couldn't believe this unimpressive player was beating him. I told him to pull up but he didn't quit for four days when he was finally broke.
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Hey Curly I knew Tom Brown real well, don't think Tom played in Dayton at that tournament in 74. He would have only been about 12, but who knows. He was a great player though. Thanks for sharing the stories and keep them coming!:thumbup:
Hey Curly I knew Tom Brown real well, don't think Tom played in Dayton at that tournament in 74. He would have only been about 12, but who knows. He was a great player though. Thanks for sharing the stories and keep them coming!:thumbup: