Pools golden years

CJ Wiley said:
Craig Stevens was something else, and so was "Fat Randy" from Tulsa. ;) Oklahoma drew some of the greatest players, like Matlock, Omaha John, St. Louie Louie, Larry Hubert, Billy Johnson (Wade Crane), Weldon Rogers and of course Buddy Hall was around the area as well. I'm glad I got to be around that crowd, it was certainly great seasoning. That world has disappeared, I'm wondering what the "New Age of Pool" will be? hmmm......
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CJ, I saw Fat Randy at the Jamaica Joe's tournament in OKC last December. I would not have known him till he came up to me. He is in bad health and could hardly breath. As for Craig Stevens he was the most pure shot maker I've ever seen. Watched him play many times at Time Square in Dallas. He had no quit in him at all as long as he had a dollar in his pocket.

Those were the days! Dollar for dollar I think there was more gamble then than now.
 
Things you don't see anymore.
Back in the '60's when I was 14-15 years old we would play variations of several rotation games-1&5-Chicago -pea pool and would throw things like Mum pool into the game-if you spoke you had to pay everyone or if you let the butt of the cue touch the floor you paid everyone.Or both at the same time.
We would each take a ball and place it on the spot and then spin the cue ball 3 rails and the first one to make it taking shot after shot got paid,so you learned to spin soft and nudge or work the ball to the pocket.Learned rails-spin and speed all at the same time.
We set up a lot of crazy shots and the first person to make the shot got paid. Sometimes there would be 6 or 7 guys doing this. It was all just fun for quarters but what we did not know was that we were learning different skills.
First one to make a spot shot with out the cue ball hitting a rail got paid.
Putting the cue ball on a piece of chalk that was on the short rail and first one to make a spot shot got paid.
Highest amount of wing shots got paid.(I think I had a high run of 18 or so-long time ago - memory is a little dim)And of course ring 9 ball games. We also played a lot of 6 ball .
And on and on. Don't see that anymore.
 
Yes, it's a completely different scenario now

Papa Red said:
CJ, I saw Fat Randy at the Jamaica Joe's tournament in OKC last December. I would not have known him till he came up to me. He is in bad health and could hardly breath. As for Craig Stevens he was the most pure shot maker I've ever seen. Watched him play many times at Time Square in Dallas. He had no quit in him at all as long as he had a dollar in his pocket.

Those were the days! Dollar for dollar I think there was more gamble then than now.
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Yes, it's a completely different scenario now. I've been to most all of the little towns in several states and played hundreds, maybe even thousands of matches on the road during the early to late 80's. Most small towns had their own champion, and they did play pretty well, however....... :)
 
CJ Wiley said:
Yes, it's a completely different scenario now. I've been to most all of the little towns in several states and played hundreds, maybe even thousands of matches on the road during the early to late 80's. Most small towns had their own champion, and they did play pretty well, however....... :)
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Did you ever make it to the Ballroom in Toms River NJ during the 80's?
 
measureman said:
Things you don't see anymore.
Back in the '60's when I was 14-15 years old we would play variations of several rotation games-1&5-Chicago -pea pool and would throw things like Mum pool into the game-if you spoke you had to pay everyone or if you let the butt of the cue touch the floor you paid everyone.Or both at the same time.
We would each take a ball and place it on the spot and then spin the cue ball 3 rails and the first one to make it taking shot after shot got paid,so you learned to spin soft and nudge or work the ball to the pocket.Learned rails-spin and speed all at the same time.
We set up a lot of crazy shots and the first person to make the shot got paid. Sometimes there would be 6 or 7 guys doing this. It was all just fun for quarters but what we did not know was that we were learning different skills.
First one to make a spot shot with out the cue ball hitting a rail got paid.
Putting the cue ball on a piece of chalk that was on the short rail and first one to make a spot shot got paid.
Highest amount of wing shots got paid.(I think I had a high run of 18 or so-long time ago - memory is a little dim)And of course ring 9 ball games. We also played a lot of 6 ball .
And on and on. Don't see that anymore.
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We were doing that same stuff in Ohio back then. Pool really has a universal language all its own. We would each shoot five spot shots and whoever made the most won. It took four out of five or better to get the money! We would put the object ball in the center of the table and put the cue ball in the jaws of the corner pocket. First one to make that shot won. I saw the best players shoot that shot with a slight variation, you had to make the ball and draw the cue ball back into the same corner pocket! Try that sometime. I watched Marvin do it three in a row to beat Ed Kelly who had made it twice also!
 
Ya born in 1964 here in il. We had many pool halls in all the small towns. Always remember pea pool and cowboy being played as well as snooker!
 
I started up a ring game the other night, 25 cents on the 5 and 50 cents on the 9, old school rules. I havent played that game in 10,15,20 years. Was fun, had a 3-4 handed game going. the guys in it are all league players, they had no idea about it. i showed them how to pay off after every 5 or 9 and we kept the pennys under the rails, i got the $$$ LOL, they loved it and caught on real fast-they know pool, just not about ring games and gambing. I hope i started a trend, we played 4-5 hours.
 
cant edit,

my point was i brought back a game in pool that they didnt know, and it was fun. thats the point for league players is fun. they liked it. they couldnt make a spot shot tho, lol they can BNR a rack or 2 . it just showed me that the 20 year old guys don't know all the aspects of making pool fun, one guy heard of pea pool, i wish i had a bottle-that would have been great.

I'm going to play that game again, not for the $5.25 I won, i was up about $12 but my back got tired the last 30 minutes, $12 is 48 barrels in a 25 cent game. not to bad:wink:

i just wanted to have fun in a game, they were cool and listened to my plan and they saw a pool game new to them that was common 30 years ago.


Perhaps the Golden Era can have a revival period.
 
That's good shooting Fatman ... rack em Sausage...:smile:



Fatboy said:
cant edit,

my point was i brought back a game in pool that they didnt know, and it was fun. thats the point for league players is fun. they liked it. they couldnt make a spot shot tho, lol they can BNR a rack or 2 . it just showed me that the 20 year old guys don't know all the aspects of making pool fun, one guy heard of pea pool, i wish i had a bottle-that would have been great.

I'm going to play that game again, not for the $5.25 I won, i was up about $12 but my back got tired the last 30 minutes, $12 is 48 barrels in a 25 cent game. not to bad:wink:

i just wanted to have fun in a game, they were cool and listened to my plan and they saw a pool game new to them that was common 30 years ago.


Perhaps the Golden Era can have a revival period.
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Fatboy said:
I started up a ring game the other night, 25 cents on the 5 and 50 cents on the 9, old school rules. I havent played that game in 10,15,20 years. Was fun, had a 3-4 handed game going. the guys in it are all league players, they had no idea about it. i showed them how to pay off after every 5 or 9 and we kept the pennys under the rails, i got the $$$ LOL, they loved it and caught on real fast-they know pool, just not about ring games and gambing. I hope i started a trend, we played 4-5 hours.
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There ya go. You taught a bunch of guys a new game and you made it cheap enough that no one would get hurt and everybody had a good time.
The game is not always about the big bets.
It can be about having fun and a good time. Thats what we had back in the day for quarters. Maybe that's how we revive a dying game.
 
measureman said:
There ya go. You taught a bunch of guys a new game and you made it cheap enough that no one would get hurt and everybody had a good time.
The game is not always about the big bets.
It can be about having fun and a good time. Thats what we had back in the day for quarters. Maybe that's how we revive a dying game.
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Thats WORD $ WORD what i told them, you cant get hurt, its cheap pool and fun. and it was. Funny thing is they played good but couldn't make the pay ball(s). It was fun , i really hope i get it started, we used to play that game 1-3 times a week from 85-89. I took a pic of my rail with all the pennys under it and sent it to Mike Mitchell(who i used to play in ring games with back in the 80's) he loved the pic, he said "either you won all the cash or have a serious problem in a one hole game". :thumbup:
 
memories

ahhhhh,.....pennies under the rail.(you did that because there was no wire)

Reminds me of my teen years. Late 70's. I had broken up with a GF (For the 3rdtime) and went for a drive. Wound up "cruising the circuit" in Lansdale, Pa. at about 11pm. Wasn't much going on so I stopped for some take-out beer. This hispanic guy wants me to play him with a housecue, he has his own. Dropped the beer off in the car, got my cue,and played him 8-ball for the next 3 hrs $5 /game. Evertime i'd stare at my pennies, i'd start screwin'-up. I still walked out with $55 he wanted to play again; became a regular stop when things were slow.
(I feel like a nooch talkin $5 games when E-1 here plays for big $$$) :o
 
Trying to "gear up" to play one match and then not playing for months isn't appealing

Fatboy said:
Thats WORD $ WORD what i told them, you cant get hurt, its cheap pool and fun. and it was. Funny thing is they played good but couldn't make the pay ball(s). It was fun , i really hope i get it started, we used to play that game 1-3 times a week from 85-89. I took a pic of my rail with all the pennys under it and sent it to Mike Mitchell(who i used to play in ring games with back in the 80's) he loved the pic, he said "either you won all the cash or have a serious problem in a one hole game". :thumbup:
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I walked into a pool room a couple of days ago and ask a guy playing by himself if he wanted to play some (I had an hour to "kill" waiting on traffic to die down). He said "I can't play you, you're way out of my league!" I really couldn't believe it and ask "you mean you won't play someone better than you, how do you expect to get better?" I had no intention of playing for money and rarely have I ever played in that pool room for money (twice in my life).

It used to be at least someone would say "I'll play some with you, just not for money," and we would have practiced....now days they just won't play? I would like to gamble more, however, it would have to be where I could play several players and it was guaranteed somehow. Trying to "gear up" to play one match and then not playing for months isn't very appealing. I can't help but think "what's the point?" There has to be some goal or outcome, or getting in "tip, top" {playing} shape doesn't seem appealing.

I've seen many forms of this in the last couple of years since I've been back around pool, boy have times changed. There's no way, in this day I could reach the levels I did when the action was more available and players were mentally tougher. There's just no way to get tough if there's not even "cheap action".

The pool room I grew up in we paid the owner 10 cents if we lost and played mostly rotation and eight ball. "Pea Pool," or "Kelly" was the only thing we really gambled on and that was for "Tickets" that were purchased from the owner and is also what the "old men" in the back of the pool room played Gin Rummy for every day. I think that may have been my first introduction to organized gambling. ;)
 
CJ Wiley said:
I walked into a pool room a couple of days ago and ask a guy playing by himself if he wanted to play some (I had an hour to "kill" waiting on traffic to die down). He said "I can't play you, you're way out of my league!" I really couldn't believe it and ask "you mean you won't play someone better than you, how do you expect to get better?" I had no intention of playing for money and rarely have I ever played in that pool room for money (twice in my life).

It used to be at least someone would say "I'll play some with you, just not for money," and we would have practiced....now days they just won't play? I would like to gamble more, however, it would have to be where I could play several players and it was guaranteed somehow. Trying to "gear up" to play one match and then not playing for months isn't very appealing. I can't help but think "what's the point?" There has to be some goal or outcome, or getting in "tip, top" {playing} shape doesn't seem appealing.

I've seen many forms of this in the last couple of years since I've been back around pool, boy have times changed. There's no way, in this day I could reach the levels I did when the action was more available and players were mentally tougher. There's just no way to get tough if there's not even "cheap action".

The pool room I grew up in we paid the owner 10 cents if we lost and played mostly rotation and eight ball. "Pea Pool," or "Kelly" was the only thing we really gambled on and that was for "Tickets" that were purchased from the owner and is also what the "old men" in the back of the pool room played Gin Rummy for every day. I think that may have been my first introduction to organized gambling. ;)
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you got me, ill play- heads up. only one stipulation, you have to shoot with outside spin only & no BHE allowed.:p:thumbup:
 
Dunnn51 said:
ahhhhh,.....pennies under the rail.(you did that because there was no wire)

Reminds me of my teen years. Late 70's. I had broken up with a GF (For the 3rdtime) and went for a drive. Wound up "cruising the circuit" in Lansdale, Pa. at about 11pm. Wasn't much going on so I stopped for some take-out beer. This hispanic guy wants me to play him with a housecue, he has his own. Dropped the beer off in the car, got my cue,and played him 8-ball for the next 3 hrs $5 /game. Evertime i'd stare at my pennies, i'd start screwin'-up. I still walked out with $55 he wanted to play again; became a regular stop when things were slow.
(I feel like a nooch talkin $5 games when E-1 here plays for big $$$) :o
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I once made a case for Allen Hopkins and he insisted on paying for it. So my price was that he tell me a road story. Well he told me a couple but the one that fits with your story is that he was on the road with a green backer and he got into a game for $5 a game and wound up winning around $5000 from the opponent. Next day Allen and the backer are in a different room and again Allen gets into a $5 game.

The backer asks Allen how come he is playing for $5 when they won $5000 the day before. Allen says, "we haven't made the room rent today".
 
CJ Wiley said:
I walked into a pool room a couple of days ago and ask a guy playing by himself if he wanted to play some (I had an hour to "kill" waiting on traffic to die down). He said "I can't play you, you're way out of my league!" I really couldn't believe it and ask "you mean you won't play someone better than you, how do you expect to get better?" I had no intention of playing for money and rarely have I ever played in that pool room for money (twice in my life).

It used to be at least someone would say "I'll play some with you, just not for money," and we would have practiced....now days they just won't play? I would like to gamble more, however, it would have to be where I could play several players and it was guaranteed somehow. Trying to "gear up" to play one match and then not playing for months isn't very appealing. I can't help but think "what's the point?" There has to be some goal or outcome, or getting in "tip, top" {playing} shape doesn't seem appealing.

I've seen many forms of this in the last couple of years since I've been back around pool, boy have times changed. There's no way, in this day I could reach the levels I did when the action was more available and players were mentally tougher. There's just no way to get tough if there's not even "cheap action".

The pool room I grew up in we paid the owner 10 cents if we lost and played mostly rotation and eight ball. "Pea Pool," or "Kelly" was the only thing we really gambled on and that was for "Tickets" that were purchased from the owner and is also what the "old men" in the back of the pool room played Gin Rummy for every day. I think that may have been my first introduction to organized gambling. ;)
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So true. Although I am not a very good player I was brought up that you just played anyone you could and kept going until you beat them or went broke trying. I have played shortstops and pros cheap just to see what I could do and watch what they did. I have also beaten many people that on paper I shouldn't have simply because I didn't think to clock them and find out I wasn't supposed to win before getting in the box.

I do want to say that in SOME places matching up fearlessly is still somewhat alive. But very few and far between. Back in the early 90s I never had a problem finding action without a bunch of BS. I want to say that Jamacia Joe's in Midwest City OK is still a place where anyone can walk in and get a game. That's the place I cut my teeth on for action and it's still as good as ever.
 
Dr. Bill, I totally agree with you. I would take the character era up to about 1992 though. After that the styles all seemed to get similar. I believe everyone had to seriously alter there technique because of all these 4 inch pockets. Lots of robotronic pool players out there now. Boring as hell to watch. Most of the tapes I watch and order are before 1993.
I'm a musician. Swagger and mystic left that industry 30 years ago too!
 
Golden Memories

My grandfather owned a small 4 table poolroom with a lunch counter from 1939 to 1975 when his health failed. I learned to shoot pool there in the late 60's and spent a great deal of time there. Our game was 15 ball rotation, no safeties, no ball in hand, no winner break, scratches shot from behind the headstring, etc. We had a regular 5 handed game for $1 a game(not big gamblers) and there was always someone waiting to get in if a player dropped out. We played pretty good and the competition was pretty level. Trust me, in this game, a break & run was pretty tough.

I quit playing pool in 1982, but started playing again casually in 2010. The games were now 9 ball, 10 ball, one pocket, etc. 15 Ball rotation was not even known by many players. One day while I was just shooting around, I decided to rack the balls and shoot a game of 15 ball(first game in nearly 30 years). Ironically, I broke & ran the rack.

It felt good to bring back the memories of that game, the people involved, and the good times. I can hear my grandfather tell me "Boy, the most important ball on that table is that white one, you gotta know where it is going". Thank you and Good Luck.
 
CJ Wiley said:
I walked into a pool room a couple of days ago and ask a guy playing by himself if he wanted to play some (I had an hour to "kill" waiting on traffic to die down). He said "I can't play you, you're way out of my league!" I really couldn't believe it and ask "you mean you won't play someone better than you, how do you expect to get better?" I had no intention of playing for money and rarely have I ever played in that pool room for money (twice in my life).

It used to be at least someone would say "I'll play some with you, just not for money," and we would have practiced....now days they just won't play? I would like to gamble more, however, it would have to be where I could play several players and it was guaranteed somehow. Trying to "gear up" to play one match and then not playing for months isn't very appealing. I can't help but think "what's the point?" There has to be some goal or outcome, or getting in "tip, top" {playing} shape doesn't seem appealing.

I've seen many forms of this in the last couple of years since I've been back around pool, boy have times changed. There's no way, in this day I could reach the levels I did when the action was more available and players were mentally tougher. There's just no way to get tough if there's not even "cheap action".

The pool room I grew up in we paid the owner 10 cents if we lost and played mostly rotation and eight ball. "Pea Pool," or "Kelly" was the only thing we really gambled on and that was for "Tickets" that were purchased from the owner and is also what the "old men" in the back of the pool room played Gin Rummy for every day. I think that may have been my first introduction to organized gambling. ;)
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Welcome back to the pool room eh? The scenario is similar no matter where ya go. A few yrs back I decided to play again and started working out with a very good player cheap 5 hrs or so once week. It was going good and I was losing not too badly, about 2-3 games down per hour. About the second month of play it was 1-2 games per hour then by the third mth I was winning slightly. Finally started playing better after about three mths and beat this guy out of 26 games in less than four hours and he didn't show up or call or say anything after that, we just never played again, or ever will play again. I've done this three mth scenario about 4 times in the past twelve years with the exact same results. They won't even ask for weight, they just won't play, their ego seems to be in play more than other aspects of play. I know people are more broke nowadays, especially pool players, but the desire to get better thru matching up seems to be gone. The win and bragging about it seems to be more on topic these days.
 
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