Just a good story i think some of you mite enjoy reading,nobody came to baltimore in the 70s or 80s and beat cigar tom vanover,and many had tried!strickland came to town in the 80s when he was no1 in the world,tom and him battle it out for over 20 hours of 2foul ball in hand 9 ball,to a stand still.rempe came also and tried,after about 15 hours he looks at tom and says i think i can beat you but i am wasting my time,and un screws his stick and quits at even.the fuscos came a few times,either one could beat tom there in dundalk or bill and billies over in glen burnie(1 of the best action spots of all times),don polo came a couple of times,with no luck either.tom vanover was one of the best players of all time on the east coast,and still playing strong at 71years old today,so i hope this lets some people hear this mans name that mite of never heard of him before,tom also won 9 straight maryland all around championships in a row,that will never be beaten,so cheers out to a great player,you deserve it CIGAR TOM VANOVER
Nobody came to baltimore and got the money!
- Thread starter richiebalto
- Start date
never traveled far
haven't heard his name for a while
Cigar Tom
very tough action especially in his poolroom
Cigar Tom, great player from Maryland for sure. I've seen him many times, and he's always carried himself as the ultimate gentleman.
I do wonder the years he won the Maryland State tourneys, though, because I know Sigel won in '86, and before that, Geese won two or three, if my memory is right.
It would be great to find this Maryland record, if one even exists.
Tom used to shoot with a shaft that was the size of a pencil -- no kidding. Like Billy said, he was such an icon in his Dundalk pool room, especially in the '80s, that his fans also shot with cues that had a pencil width. I had never seen anything like it in my life then and since that time, a pencil-width shaft. Tom claims he gets more english on the ball with that size shaft.
Tom also has a brother who plays pretty sporty in Texas, with the same last name: Vanover.
Last time I saw Tom was at the pool room on Pulaski Highway that shut down. I think it was about 2002 or thereabouts. He had an appointment for an action game. Rumor was that Tom would play anybody that came to town, as long as they made an appointment ahead of time. I hadn't seen him in quite sometime, and so I was anxious to see him shoot again. He walked in, just as trim and dapper as ever. The only thing that changed was he had a little gray in his hair. Other than that, he hadn't aged one bit. Instead of one of those luggage-like, 4-and-4 cue cases with his name brandished on it, Tom walked in with his cue in a lightweight velvet wrap. It was beautiful. :grin-square:
He never did talk much and let his stick do all the talking for him. He had a humble, unassuming-type personality. This last time I saw him in 2002, Cigar Tom still moved around the table like a panther, and all the Baltimore "regulars" sitting on the rail bet their money on him.
There's been quite a few roadsters who came to Dundalk to try to take Tom off at his pool room in Dundalk -- "Running Out Billiards," I think it was named -- but it was really hard to beat him in his own room. They usually left town with empty pockets. :embarrassed2:
Like another player I know well, Tom's best game is on the bar box, but make no mistake about it, he can play on any equipment, any game, at any time. That's the way pool used to be *and* when pool shined the brightest. There were no rack mechanics, B players with big egos demanding handicaps to gamble, locksmiths looking to rob somebody, and players who can't run 3 balls in a row being videotaped. People used to enjoy players who could actually play some and demonstrated their skills by putting together packages on a field of green. Imagine that!
Here's a picture of Tom at the 1986 Maryland State Tournament where he was runner-up to Mike Sigel.
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Thank you for the insight to "Cigar Tom".
I agree with your assesment of today's action (?)
JMHO
I agree with your assesment of today's action (?)
JMHO
Yes, Bob Vanover is an older brother to Tom. To say he still plays "sporty" is an understatement. Several time Texas State Champion and going strong.
Bob & Tom come from a pool playing family. I have had the privilege and the honor to be friends with and also compete against the both of them. Great people.
randyg
Bob & Tom come from a pool playing family. I have had the privilege and the honor to be friends with and also compete against the both of them. Great people.
randyg
When a young Johnny Archer was on top he came a hunting Cigar Tom and left with his pockets like rabbits ears!!!! Empty!!!!!!!!
I hate to tell you this but archer was the only one to come and beat tom in dundalk,tom fell in a trap game,instead of trying archer even tom gave him the break and tom got the 7,tom had made a mistake that day matching up like that!i will be honest with you iam not sure if it would of made a difference or not if tom would of just played even,because archer play non miss the whole time,i never seen anybody do the things that archer did that day,you could see he was some thing special!
Thanks
it was a long time ago and I have obviously got the story wrong!!!
Thanks
it was a long time ago and I have obviously got the story wrong!!!
Thanks
Thanks for the story. I love to hear about the days when people went searching people out. I enjoy nothing more than watching two guys battle all night.
Jam empty your pms,that nite you are talking about at hot shots(pulaski highway)tom had played jerry slivka who had just came down from new york to play tom,it didnt last long tom beat him two quick sets of 9ball,tom was over 60years old at that time,well thanks jam for that picture and adding to the story,you are SPECIAL JAM.thank you!
yes me to i love the old gambling days.
You are welcome,i wish tom would of just waited for them to play even,that game was archer idea(SPOT TOM THE 7 BUT ARCHER GETS THE BREAKS) and tom jumped right on it,but if they would of played even atleased we would of seen who the better player was that day,like i said earlier,what i seen archer do i dont know if tom could of won or not even,but we will never know!
Yes chris you would of been perfect for back then no talking just gambling!
Here's a picture from Bill Porter's website of Bob Vanover, Cigar Tom's brother: http://www.billporter.smugmug.com/O...1424490_p4ozv/1/74012104_V5sRc#74012104_V5sRc
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Jerry Slivka? For some reason, I did not remember it being Jerry. I do remember Fat Wayne, Piano Man (Jeff), and me sitting railside sweating the match. :grin-square:
Jerry must have come down from Pittsburgh. I think he was living in Pittsburgh back then. I'd post up a photo of Jerry, which I have many, but I think he's still doing his thing on the road.
Slivka is one of the last of a dying breed of action players. He's not a locksmith. He doesn't have an ego problem. He is well aware of his game and likes to gamble. I miss seeing Jerry Slivka. He's got a ton of heart.
Your pops has some really, really cool pool photos. Has he scanned any of them? They're priceless, all of them, every single one.
I remember him taking you to the juniors tournaments. I seem to recall one in Binghamton, NY when you were a young'n. You always played so strong in these events, making us all proud back home. :smiling-heart:
KD I heard your version, maybe they played more than once.
Back around 92'ish I had a buddy who traveled around up there, and came back RAVING about some guy we'd never heard of called "Cigar Tom".
We all though he was just relating old road legends, but he swore he SAW Tom run over Johnny a session. I don't remember what the race was to, or for how much, but "Nike" swore Tom never missed and only played two safeties in the set, basically perfect pool for as long as my buddy sat and watched.
He also said both safeties were "mortal locks" and that Tom was also pretty handy with the rack. There was something about Archer getting the break for one portion of the festivities, and how he never seemed to make a ball on the break, and how the locals were wanting to side bet that JA couldn't make the 9 touch a rail on the break.
I don't know how much is true, or accurate, but this seemed to be the thread to add it to the mix.
The rack smarts are nothing new, what is 'new' is that the info has now become public.
Great thread, by the way.!