Pool waist aprons

Nearly all the pool hall workers in Japan that I have seen wear them. Some of the older guys at Hardtimes in Bellflower also wear them.

I think it must be to keep your pants clean, but I think it looks a little goofy.
 
There was still one local player that used an apron around here, at least I saw him wear it several years ago.

He was a car salesman, so I assume it was to keep the suit pants crisp and clean.

You gotta be wearing dress clothes to pull it off tho, with jeans and tshirt, your orientation might get questioned :grin:
 
Your right!!

Masayoshi said:
Nearly all the pool hall workers in Japan that I have seen wear them. Some of the older guys at Hardtimes in Bellflower also wear them.

I think it must be to keep your pants clean, but I think it looks a little goofy.
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I wore one of those and they felt goofy!! :D They did keep your clothes free from chalk and dirt. :)
 
I live near a navy base and one of the players that use to come into the hall during the day wore one so he kept his uniform clean.
 
There were two guys who wore them at the now closed Glass City Billiards.

Rich wore one to keep his slacks clean.

Steve wore one to keep his wife from knowing he was shooting pool.


Both guys were just avoiding the problems that chalk marks bring.
 
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Masayoshi said:
Nearly all the pool hall workers in Japan that I have seen wear them.
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You stole my thunder! Yea, my guys in Utsunomiya always wear one. For them, I think it is because they brush the tables, clean the balls and wipe down the rails between every customer. Still, their hour rate is competatine with most US pool halls. Cheap for here!
 
3RAILKICK said:
I was just watching a Jimmy Reid instructional 8-ball VHS tape. He was wearing a tie-at-the waist 'apron' (I don't know what else to call it). It looked like it might have a couple of pockets in front.

What's the story on these? Still used? What was/is their function?

I have seen only one guy wearing one at a pool hall-about 15 years ago-He was out of New York complete with a 'wtf are you looking at' attitude.

Were these from times past-where a rackguy might keep his money?

I looks like keeping chalk in the front pockets would be uncomfortable.

What's the deal? An old school memorabilia item?

Just curious.

Thanks
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we used to wear them back in the 80's, on old Gold Crowns the finish can wear off a alumin trim strip that goes around the table and if you play a 4 hour session it would make a black mark on faded jeans and back in the 80's when acid washed jeans were the thing and expensive we wore aprons to keep out pants clean, or when I had white pants on.

There is one gentalman, I dont remember his name he must be in his 80's and plays at Hollywood billiards all the time, he still wears a apron to this day. I think it looks good.

I wear rags for cloths these days so I dont need one, but my tan sweat pants get blue after a session, it dosent stain them so they are ok, I did buy a few nice white shirts that are long and they have a blue tint on them now. One of these days when I start to wear decent cloths i'm going to get a apron again. I never kept chalk, etc in it. It bothered me. But my apron I wore for a few years showed lots of wear on it, I dont know what happened to it.

I hope they come back into fashion again, they look great. IMO
 
I'm short enough that I'd have to wear a full apron to do me any good. Well, I wouldn't have to wear it below my waist.
 
I had my mom make me one a few years back. I had her use velcro instead of tie strings, and make it the size and shape I wanted.

I dressed business casual for work, and the pool hall was on the way home... I was ruining all of my light color pants with the chalk. The apron solved the problem.
 
ElKabong said:
There was still one local player that used an apron around here, at least I saw him wear it several years ago.

He was a car salesman, so I assume it was to keep the suit pants crisp and clean.

You gotta be wearing dress clothes to pull it off tho, with jeans and tshirt, your orientation might get questioned :grin:
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Your orientation may also get questioned if you turned the apron around to cover your backside! :D
 
Just Got One From Jay Helfert

I just purchased a denim pool apron from Jay helfert on the Forum last week and it arrived today. I'm in my 60's and back in Brooklyn where I'm from, sometime the parlors weren't always as clean as you'd prefer. Lots of chlak dust and even powder. If you were going out later that night and were were dress trousers, the apron insured that your clothers stayed clean.

I carry my chalk in a letter pouch I bought from a company in England (Peradon) and it's really well made unlike the junk we get here in the states. I'll still wear the pouch on the waistband of my apron but let me tell you that jy made one hell of an apron. It's meticuously stitched, perfectly shaped, two large pockets in frony for pretty much anything you might want to use them for and it has a sturdy denim strap that has a an adjustable plastic clip attached so you can easily connect and disconnect the belt strap to suit your waist size or comfort.

I'm not telling everyone go buy an apron but if you want to keep your clothes clean, this is the way to go. Older pool players will remember the aprons which were popular in the 60's and 70's and then seem to fade away. I've been searching for one for years, took a chance with jay and am delighted I did. His aprons are A+++++....in case you want to get one. Mine was dark denim, lined pockets and lined interior for the back of the apron.....it cost me $25.00 which included express shipping too...how can you go wrong.....a greta apron for 1/3 price of a single piece of Kamui chalk selling on e0bay for $75.00 (but the shipping is free....DUH?).

Matt
 
Pool Apron

The purpose of the pool apron was to keep the aluminum trim piece (found on the outer edge of Gold Crown table rails) from discoloring your slacks.
 
They are for keeping your slacks clean and free of chalk from the table. A good friend of mine Bob Schlacks had an embroidery business and made them for a while (RIP Bob). He was for sure old school. He actually gave me one and I carry it in my case. It has a pocket on one side, and a small rack of pool balls embroidered on the other side of the apron.
I seldom use it as most of the time I'm in shorts or blue jeans. Bob always dressed real nice and used his all the time to keep his slacks from getting dirty. I miss the guy.....we used to have a lot of fun gambling cheap one pocket. The old guy taught me a lot of moves when I was green as a Granny Smith apple.
 
the chicken said:
The purpose of the pool apron was to keep the aluminum trim piece (found on the outer edge of Gold Crown table rails) from discoloring your slacks.
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I get a dark line on my jeans in the middle of my thighs from the metal band. Chalk won't hurt blue jeans. Aluminum ladders do this, too.

Best,
Mike
 
I remember a carom player in Japan who wore one. He was in his 30's and usually wore slacks and a vest, nice tie, and cuff links. On him, the apron made perfect sense and looked great.
 
Funny timing. I usually play on a Gold Crown with the aluminum trim and always get a dark mark across my pants, usually jeans. My playing partner started using an apron a while back and while I never cared for the way it looked, it worked. A few months ago the room owner, John, gave me my own apron, I hesitated wearing it at first, but now I go home with clean pants. :thumbup:

A little piece of advice: avoid gambling with the old guy wearing an apron, and suspenders. :)

J
 
me i just wipe the chalk off the rails once in a while... no marks... no apron... everybody wins...:thumbup:
 
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