There is a very nice gentleman that now plays One Pocket at Champions in Frederick Maryland. His name is Paul "Buck" Buckland. The nicest guy you would ever want to meet. I understand he was quite the gambler years back! Any stories?
Thanks
Wedge
You got quite a lot of great replies on this thread. Sure, I remember Buck. Everybody wanted to get down with Buck, because he had gamble, and if you won, you would make a nice score. He wasn't a pushover, though. The man could play. If memory serves me right, I think he used to work in the cement industry. He was a very quiet man and let his stick do the talking for him.
One year, Geese and I went to a pool tournament in Baltimore. It was right down the street from Scruggs' cue shop. You had to walk up the stairs to the pool room. It was on the second floor. Turtle was there and a guy named Rooster. I remember one of the competitors looking at the pool chart on the wall and said, 'What the hell! We got Geese, Turtle, and Rooster. Is this Old McDonald's Farm?" :grin-square:
I hope I see John Henry one time before I die. I loved that man. I worked graveyard shift sometimes in the pool room, and John Henry would be hanging out, looking for a good game. He knew how to do the pea under the pill game real good, but he could also match up and played pool with the best of them. I never worried about my safety when John Henry in the house working graveyard shift, and I'll just leave it at that.
Freddy and Scotty Boggs both live in Vegas now. Scotty recently moved there and lives right across the street from Freddy, which is kind of cool. I always liked Freddy. Whatever he was betting on, I usually bet on him. He was the master in matching up.
The best shot I've ever seen in my life was from Freddy Boggs. If anybody ever sees him, ask him about this shot. I know he's never forgot it, because I haven't either. During a 9-ball tournament at USA Billiards in Laurel one year, a friend of mine had to play Freddy. It came to the double hill. My friend was shooting and left the 8-ball right in the jaws of the corner pocket, and the cue ball almost scratched in the opposite corner pocket on the same side of the table right behind the 9-ball. Freddy was totally snookered. Now, Freddy was a one-hole player normally, but he could play all games. He analyzed the table a long while and then executed this five-rail shot with the cueball, knocking the 8-ball in. The cueball went five rails. I guess it was a do-or-die shot, but to even attempt it in a tournament setting, it was absolutely unbelievable! The entire pool room erupted in loud cheers and a round of applause, to include his opponent. It was really beautiful. :grin-square:
Between working at the pool room and going on the road with Geese, I've got quite a few pool tales. How I met Geese was through Tom-Tom, but that's a story for another time. Randolph Hills Billiards in Rockville, MD is where everybody hung out back in my neck of the woods. We'd travel to Bill and Billie's in Baltimore to get action after midnight, hoping to catch Fat Wayne, Piano Man, Bus Driver Ronnie, Sterling, Nate and Jake, Reggie, Bo Newport, Punky from Hagerstown, Little Gary from Waldorf, Boggs Brothers, Seattle Sam, Buck, Tom-Tom, Fat Mike, Elevator Larry, Left-Handed Ronnie, Little Stuey, Timmy Crown, and the Baltimore pool crew. And then there was Route 1 in Laurel, MD for the bar action. From Riverdale all the way up through Laurel, there were about four or five bars with several bar tables where one could usually find themselves a ring game going on.
Yep, these were pool's golden years in the '80s. With the advent of the Internet, you won't find this kind of pool action anymore. People now make an appointment if they get in action, and the negotiations beforehand are extensive about handicaps, rules, and equipment. Pool's unsung heroes in D.C. area, like Geese, Buck, Korean Lee, Bus Driver, Strawberry, Quick Vic, Bobby Hawk, Cigar Tom are celebrated in the memories of those who were there to see these players shine. It was the best years for pool as far as I'm concerned, and I'm so glad I got to experience it.
