Over 80
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Don "Preacher" Feeney was 90 in August
George Rood was one of my best ever friends ,even though I never met him until he was in his 80s.
I got really sick a few years before he died , so regrettably, I couldn't be there much for him, at the end.
Todd Recher from Airway Billiards was wonderful to him, for many of the last years of his life.
Making sure he had a way to get to the poolroom and home, food to take home with him, and always sending people over to help him out at his expense, there's a special seat at the table, for Todd.
I'm pretty sure someone told me George ran 90 balls on his 90th birthday, wish I could have watched him.
He told me Jimmy Moore was one of the few guys he could never beat.
That was one of the biggest differences between George and every other great pool player I ever met , he remembered the guys who beat him.
Not that hard though , since it was only a handful.
I saw George play quite a bit when he was still a great player. This was in the 1960's and George was probably in his late 40's or early 50's then. If a road man came through that no one else could beat they called George. I never saw him lose to anyone, including great young players like Ed Kelly, Joey Spaeth, Richie from the Bronx and New York Blackie. Johnny Ervolino was smart enough to leave him alone. Lassister and Willis used to come through Dayton just to visit George. They had all been road partners at one time or another. When Fats came to town he treated George with a great deal of respect, bragging about him at his exhibitions. George would just sit there and smile while fats was bragging about beating everyone. He knew better, but he didn't try to spoil Fat's show. Eddie Taylor came to town for an exhibition and played George and beat him a Race to Eleven 9-Ball, but it was just an exhibition and I could see that George wasn't trying too hard to win. George was a money player, first and foremost. He never cared about playing in tournaments. He knew it was bad for action to be well known. There was a 14 time state champion from Cleveland named Buddy Wallace who claimed to be the best in the state. George told him to come up with $5,000 and he would play him. He never got a response!
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Jay - How much stock do you, as an Ohioan, put in what Garten Bierbower had to say, generally? I'm fairly intuitive and from what I've seen of him, I tend to think he was pretty much up front. But he said in a video that, though he didn't see it, he was told, and believed, Don Willis broke and ran 45 racks of 9 ball. I find that hard to swallow, for myriad reasons. Was he pretty much on the square as far as you know? I'd be much interested to hear your take on it.
Jay - I'm not sure how Ray's hitting them these days ( I suspect, pretty sporty ), but I know when he was in our room a whole heck of a lot for 4 or 5 years or so @ 5 years ago, he was playing lights out for someone in their mid to late 70s. Just rarely ever missed a ball, rarely ever out of line. What's not to like? :grin:
I didn't know the man. I did know Don Willis and as great a player as he was I find the story about 45 racks a little hard to believe. First of all, Don never wanted to show his true speed unless absolutely necessary. Secondly, I never knew him to be a practice player either. He only came to the table to get the money! He didn't even warm up before playing somebody. Just grabbed a cue and started playing. He played as good (or better) with a house cue as any so-called champion using a custom cue.
Ok, thanks Jay. Just wanted your take on it. I hadn't seen that video in a while so I went back and looked at it again after reading your response here and, supposedly, it *was* for the cheese. Willis, according to Mr. Beirbower ( as he had heard the tale ) Willis was giving 10 to 1 on a thousand a game, taking just the break ( which didn't matter after the first game as long as he was stringing racks ). He says Willis ran 45 racks for 45,000. I just can't go for that. The odds on anyone breaking 45 consecutive racks and never scratching, never getting hooked on the first ball, always having a makeable shot on the first ball? Well... nah. I just ain't goin' fer it. **Great** story. But how anyone could tell it to a good, experienced player with a straight face? Hard to fathom.
All that said, the video is very interesting. Garten Bierbower was someone I would have enjoyed spending an afternoon or evening with. For anyone interested, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zFax7pwcw8
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Is Don Willis still alive now? If so, where does he live? Thanks
1909 to 1984
george rood was mentioned in this thread
here is an interview by onepocket.org with him
there are a few pics of him shooting in his older years which show him fairly up right
on the cue stick
he was elected to the onepocket.org hall of fame for lifetime in action award in 2007
he died in 2010
www.onepocket.org/rackem-up-with-george-the-trapper-rood/
here is an interview by onepocket.org with him
there are a few pics of him shooting in his older years which show him fairly up right
on the cue stick
he was elected to the onepocket.org hall of fame for lifetime in action award in 2007
he died in 2010
www.onepocket.org/rackem-up-with-george-the-trapper-rood/
Kathy Keegan
Registered
Buddy has to be getting close. He was still up in Ky last I heard. He has to be 75+.
born 5/29/45, says Wiki
It is possible that Don "won" 45 games in a row, especially if he had a pigeon he could give 10-1 odds too. But 45 racks run, no way!
There was pretty strong oral history that Lassiter once ran 19 racks playing for money. That may have been true because several older players attested to it as the highest run they knew of.
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I might be the only one on the forum who can see a Ghost
Thanks for chiming in Ray, sounds like you are still "The Man".
Yeah, I don't come close to believing it either, Jay. But Mr. Bierbower sure seemed to have. But... different stokes, different folks. Not sure if you took a peek at the vid, but according to him, Willis did it on a straight up "I'll take the break and give you 10 to 1 on a thousand I run out." and proceeded to run 45 racks. Nuh uh. Nope. No way, Jose. Not in *this* universe, anyway. At least, it's the MOST classic case ever, for me, of, if I see it, I'll believe it.
Thanks Ray! ( I said @ a foot above your cue, so I was close and I hit the 83 on the nose. But, I cheated, Steve Price told me your age @ a month ago ). Happy birthday in advance!
That's an even money bet for very good players (without BIH after the break). NOT 10-1 for anyone!
Amen on that. Classic case of outrunning the nuts, there, sure as shootin'.
Executive Billiards....Indianapolis..70s
Louis Roberts got the manager to play $100 nine ball....Louis got the break and BIH...
...if the manager drove any ball to a rail, he won...
...Louis won ten in a row and the guy quit.
Willis might have been in similar action...and then the story got distorted.
I tricked a man outta $2,000 at the Rack once...the whole room had a good laugh...
...a few years later, that $2,000 had become $20,000...
In the gambling world, a good story can always be made better....
