Question about Chicago, Illinois

ribdoner

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Silver Member
I believe they have seven 5 x 10 three cushion tables all heated. Chicago has quite a history of cue makers as well. Joe Gold, (Cognescenti Cues), Joel Hercek ( Hercek Cues ), John Davis rip made blanks forever. Tim Prince (Prince Cues) is another cue maker there.. Lets definitely not forget John Wright of Palatine. He may have been the catalyst for making collecting cues popular starting his cue selling business back in the 70's I believe.. Chicago and the suburbs have been very instrumental in pool for many many years...Atlas billiard supplies is there the list and history are quite amazing really. I am sure I have left lots out so my apologies to those and their input.. I should have mentioned these folks as well. George Fels and Freddy Bentivegna and before I forget, Brad Simpson who authored and worked to bring us all three editions of The Blue Book of Pool Cues! All three authors that made quite an impact on the pool scene in their time, RIP to both gentlemen! Yes, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs was and still is a great place for pool..

Great summary of CHI peeps who have/will leave their footprint on pool!

What i find curious is that a metroplex like CHI hasn't produced championship level players on the international or national scene.

i know ARTIE was a monster 1P player on his 5 X 10 table in Bensingers but don't know how he fared elsewhere.

Johny the Mexican was a force at 9B ( I saw him play on a bar table) and his rep was well deserved, however, i don't recall him doing much against top shelf competition.
 
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1 Pocket Ghost

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Chris's is an iconic old school poolroom - it is my home room, and has been for 48 yrs. now ⏳🧙‍♂️ .....that said, some corrections are in order...

Chris's Billiard's still has 41 tables, 10 of which are Diamond barbox's.

Six of the 9ft. tables are Diamond's, the rest are gold crowns.

There are 5 billiard/3cushion tables.

As for snooker tables, there are 2, not 1, and they are 12 footers, not 10 footers.

I'm including some photos of Chris's...showing a little of Chris's three large rooms, and including pics of a very cute 3cushion player :), a 10 yr. old 'houseman' o_O, and two pretty decent players lagging for the break who I believe you'll all recognize ;).

- Ghost

P.S. Anybody who happens to come to Chicago, and likes to play One Pocket, pm me and we can have a game 👍
 

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magnetardo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I believe they have seven 5 x 10 three cushion tables all heated. Chicago has quite a history of cue makers as well. Joe Gold, (Cognescenti Cues), Joel Hercek ( Hercek Cues ), John Davis rip made blanks forever. Tim Prince (Prince Cues) is another cue maker there.. Lets definitely not forget John Wright of Palatine. He may have been the catalyst for making collecting cues popular starting his cue selling business back in the 70's I believe.. Chicago and the suburbs have been very instrumental in pool for many many years...Atlas billiard supplies is there the list and history are quite amazing really. I am sure I have left lots out so my apologies to those and their input.. I should have mentioned these folks as well. George Fels and Freddy Bentivegna and before I forget, Brad Simpson who authored and worked to bring us all three editions of The Blue Book of Pool Cues! All three authors that made quite an impact on the pool scene in their time, RIP to both gentlemen! Yes, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs was and still is a great place for pool..
Ed Young, Bobby Hunter, Omega/DPK, Craig Petersen, Joel Hercek, Blackheart, Esoteric, lots of little unknown guys as well.
 

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
shout to the chi..love to hear about the history and culture there
I've got fam in the surrounding area, so been out there a few times
last trip I hit chris's, hope to get back there and soak it up more
funny thing, I found this cue here in seattle of all places
it appears to have belonged to harry c. moir, who owned the morrison hotel
that hotel was billed as the tallest hotel in the world back in the 20s+
I don't know much about harry, nor the billiards history at the morrison
I did find this blurb:
"Jake Schaefer Jr., cushion carom billiards, runs 39 balls vs. Willie Hoppe at the Morrison Hotel, Chicago, IL, on April 24, 1933."

while I'm here, can anyone tell me what kind of cue this is, and how old it might be?
 

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SBC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The real reason. Pool is dead. I mean, pool died in Chicago a long time ago. A city this size should have dozens and dozens of pool rooms in the Chicago metro area. There is around 6M folks in the area.

I sponsored a few pro Exhibitions in Chicago 8-9 years ago. I talked to the promoter, Mark Cantrell, who was gonna be in Peoria to come to Chicago with Buddy Hall and Nick Varner. He first said no because they don't sell well in Chicago, thus not worth their time, costs (hotel, food, gas) to drive another 2 hours to Chicago from Peoria, IL. Imagine that? They didn't want to drive from some small town in IL to one of the largest cities in the country because there was no money in it for them?

So, I told them I would pay their "appearance fee" myself and then I would sell the tickets to recoup my money. If I don't recoup, that's on me. Plus, I put all three up at my house so there would be no hotel expense and the wife cooked dinner on the BBQ for them;)

I broke even on the venture, but it was tough selling the few remaining tickets to get to the break even point. I mean, there were folks shooting pool during the exhibition and they had no interest to stop by... tickets were $20 for a few hours of entertainment, ask questions, get autographs, and play some games with Buddy and Nick. A bargain if you ask me.

Heck, I lived there and I couldn't believe they would not come to Chicago but Mark was right, it was a tough sell, but I marketed the heck out of it, called everyone I knew in pool, league operators, players, friends, family, etc. and to just to break even. Which was fine by me, heck, I was willing to lose a few hundo on the deal just to get it done, but jeez, with those two names attached it should have been a "no brainer".
There's huge BCA events and SBE every year and 7 foot players could care less about watching the pros on big tables. You are correct...this game is going the way of the dinosaur.
 

SBC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
shout to the chi..love to hear about the history and culture there
I've got fam in the surrounding area, so been out there a few times
last trip I hit chris's, hope to get back there and soak it up more
funny thing, I found this cue here in seattle of all places
it appears to have belonged to harry c. moir, who owned the morrison hotel
that hotel was billed as the tallest hotel in the world back in the 20s+
I don't know much about harry, nor the billiards history at the morrison
I did find this blurb:
"Jake Schaefer Jr., cushion carom billiards, runs 39 balls vs. Willie Hoppe at the Morrison Hotel, Chicago, IL, on April 24, 1933."

while I'm here, can anyone tell me what kind of cue this is, and how old it might be?
That cue is around 1930. Pins were in the shaft on pool cues until mid 1930s.

Likely a Brunswick cue. Could have been made by Herman Rambow. Though no real way to be sure.

Post it in cue forum...you should get more responses.
 

KRJ

Support UKRAINE
Silver Member
There's huge BCA events and SBE every year and 7 foot players could care less about watching the pros on big tables. You are correct...this game is going the way of the dinosaur.
Huge BCA events? Where. The only one I know of is the Trade Show, and that's not really aimed at local players, and I don't know anyone that goes to it other than the manufacturers and buyers, etc. Maybe someone else goes, idk.
 

DynoDan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I’m surprised no one mentioned ‘Red Shoes’. Used to play 14.1 there a lot, years ago (I think they occasionally still have tournaments). While the owner DOES keep the jukebox volume low, I haven’t visited often since they replaced their older GCs (no score wheels now) and switched to blue 860HR (like playing on a rug when it’s humid).
 

Joe_Jaguar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I’m surprised no one mentioned ‘Red Shoes’. Used to play 14.1 there a lot, years ago (I think they occasionally still have tournaments). While the owner DOES keep the jukebox volume low, I haven’t visited often since they replaced their older GCs (no score wheels now) and switched to blue 860HR (like playing on a rug when it’s humid).
Not really much about Red Shoes to mention applicable to the thread
 

Red Shoes

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Well.....I'll mention Red Shoes Billiards (LOL)......We have at least one $500 added Tournament ($50 entry fee) a month.....November's was Bank Pool.....December 11th, 2021 is ONE POCKET.....There are 2 Straight Pool Leagues.....Monday (handicapped)...Wednesday (heads-up).....In addition to the 9 foot Gold Crowns and Diamonds (4-1/4" pockets)....I have four Diamond 7 footers which has ALL the local Bar Leagues (APA-ACS-BCA etc..etc..). FULL BAR & Legal SLOT MACHINES).....and "YES" the juke box is kept LOW... (unless I really like the song). We stay OPEN LATE.
 

KRJ

Support UKRAINE
Silver Member
Great summary of CHI peeps who have/will leave their footprint on pool!

What i find curious is that a metroplex like CHI hasn't produced championship level players on the international or national scene.

i know ARTIE was a monster 1P player on his 5 X 10 table in Bensingers but don't know how he fared elsewhere.

Johny the Mexican was a force at 9B ( I saw him play on a bar table) and his rep was well deserved, however, i don't recall him doing much against top shelf competition.
Artie played like a monster at 9 ball at my fathers pool room too (On 9 foot antique Brunswicks) . He spent most of his time there after Bensingers and before he moved to Vegas for other more profitable ventures.
 

Willowbrook Wolfy

Your wushu is weak!
Gold Member
Well.....I'll mention Red Shoes Billiards (LOL)......We have at least one $500 added Tournament ($50 entry fee) a month.....November's was Bank Pool.....December 11th, 2021 is ONE POCKET.....There are 2 Straight Pool Leagues.....Monday (handicapped)...Wednesday (heads-up).....In addition to the 9 foot Gold Crowns and Diamonds (4-1/4" pockets)....I have four Diamond 7 footers which has ALL the local Bar Leagues (APA-ACS-BCA etc..etc..). FULL BAR & Legal SLOT MACHINES).....and "YES" the juke box is kept LOW... (unless I really like the song). We stay OPEN LATE.
Red Shoes is great. 👍👍👍👍 Nice people and atmosphere. You don’t need to be a world beater to win a few games or a match at their tournaments either. All types of shooters. Tournaments are ran well.
 
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Chicagoplayer

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
does Chris's Billiards still have 41 pool tables? Like their sign says? Are they 9 ft tables? Or what size and what tables do they have?
Chris’s has 7 or 8 carom tables (Gabriel’s & 1 Chevilotte), 1 snooker table (gift from Matchroom in the 1980’s) , 25+ 4.5x9 (GC’s & 2 Diamond’s) & 6 or 7 bar boxes(Diamond).
 
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Chicagoplayer

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
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I'm not from there nor have I ever visited, but from all accounts Chicago has a very good history when it comes to pool. I recently saw a video on the hall that the color of money was shot in and it's one of those old timeless places that seems like it will never go away.

Anyway, my question is, why are there no major pro pool tournaments being held in Chicago? Since I've been on this site I've never seen or heard of anyone doing anything in that city. Is it not possible?
Chicago proper(not suburbs) has several rooms-
lodging & proximity makes it difficult and not cost effective.
Major tournaments are best when there’s a hotel on premises or close by.
Hard to find nowadays.

The IPT Pro/Am were held in neighboring suburban rooms.

Big tournaments held the first part of the 20th century were held in downtown Chicago at the Congress Hotel (and around the downtown area)

Tweeten Fibre, (Maker of Master, Blue Diamond & Triangle Chalk) Simonis/Aramith North America, & Billiard’s Digest are all HQ’d here in Chicago.
 
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1 Pocket Ghost

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Chris's is an iconic old school poolroom - it is my home room, and has been for 48 yrs. now ⏳🧙‍♂️ .....that said, some corrections are called for...

Chris's Billiard's still has 41 tables, 10 of which are Diamond barbox's.

Six of the 9ft. tables are Diamond's, the rest are gold crowns.

There are 5 billiard/3cushion tables.

As for snooker tables, there are 2, not 1, and they are 12 footers, not 10 footers.

I'm including some photos of Chris's...showing a little of Chris's three large rooms, and including pics of a very cute 3cushion player :), an 10 yr. old 'houseman' o_O, and two pretty decent players lagging for the break who I believe you'll all recognize ;).

- Ghost

P.S. Anybody who happens to come to Chicago, and likes to play One Pocket, pm me and we can have a game 👍

Jenny....I know you like photo's, and old school pool, (y) so I figured you'd like my Chris's Billiard's post :)
 

1 Pocket Ghost

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Chris’s has 7 or 8 carom tables (Gabriel’s & 1 Chevilotte), 1 snooker table (gift from Matchroom in the 1980’s) , 25+ 4.5x9 (GC’s & 2 Diamond’s) & 6 or 7 bar boxes(Diamond).

^ Uuh no.....Angel, re. Chris's equipment, I think you should read post #23.
 

Hungarian

C'mon, man!
Silver Member
I know very little about Chicago but I did go to a tournament at Pheasant Run Resort back in the early 1990's while I was working on a big project in Milwaukee. Stayed there over the weekend. That was the first time I ever saw Billy Incardona in person. IIRC Roger Griffis or Reed Peirce won. Reed won the US Open shortly after. Both were exciting guys to watch play. I can't remember perfectly, but I think this was where Johnny and Francisco were gambling where one of them broke and ran 11 then they flipped and the other one ran 11. Might have that all wrong. Can't remember shit anymore. Hell, I might have not even been there. Thanks for reading.
 
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