R.I.P. George Fels
- Thread starter stevekur1
- Start date
We've lost a lot of people in our small circle of friends this year - however, this one has really knocked the wind out of me. George was one of the most supportive and encouraging people I have ever met. We had a lot in common. We both loved pool. We both enjoyed writing about it. We both had an offbeat appreciation for the seemingly complex art of simplicity. I will miss our communications - e-mail and phone calls - many of our conversations weren't even about pool. It was sort of a game to avoid the topic of pool - our own private game - the loser was always the guy that brought it up first. George was great person to talk to and I will miss him a lot. Rest in peace, George.
This is terrible news!
We lost so many in pool this year it's gotten to the point that when I see a thread title with the only a player's name in it I have a bit of hesitation before opening it. Now, on the last day of a truly horrid year for pool in America, we lose one more great one.
RIP, George, and condolences to his close friends and family. Hope 2014 brings happier times to the rest of us.
We lost so many in pool this year it's gotten to the point that when I see a thread title with the only a player's name in it I have a bit of hesitation before opening it. Now, on the last day of a truly horrid year for pool in America, we lose one more great one.
RIP, George, and condolences to his close friends and family. Hope 2014 brings happier times to the rest of us.
George Fels
George Fels came to our booth at the SBE in the early 90's and examined our case with great scrutiny. This went on for about 20 minutes and after finally deciding on a dark brown case with minimal tooling, he said "I'll take this one". As he reached inside his coat pocket to retrieve his check book, he looked at me with a puzzled look and said, "I must have left my check book at home. Would you hold this case for me and I will mail you a check". At this point, having no clue who this fellow was, I said sure just write your name and address for me. After seeing the name George Fels, I said your the writer for Billiards Digest and your column is the first one I read every month. He smiled and said yes that would be me and I am glad you enjoy my column. Needless to say, he left our booth with his case and his check was there waiting for us upon our return home. Just about every year thereafter when we would meet George always thanked me for trusting him to take the case without paying for it first. We will miss him a lot. Our sincerest condolences to his family.
George Fels came to our booth at the SBE in the early 90's and examined our case with great scrutiny. This went on for about 20 minutes and after finally deciding on a dark brown case with minimal tooling, he said "I'll take this one". As he reached inside his coat pocket to retrieve his check book, he looked at me with a puzzled look and said, "I must have left my check book at home. Would you hold this case for me and I will mail you a check". At this point, having no clue who this fellow was, I said sure just write your name and address for me. After seeing the name George Fels, I said your the writer for Billiards Digest and your column is the first one I read every month. He smiled and said yes that would be me and I am glad you enjoy my column. Needless to say, he left our booth with his case and his check was there waiting for us upon our return home. Just about every year thereafter when we would meet George always thanked me for trusting him to take the case without paying for it first. We will miss him a lot. Our sincerest condolences to his family.
I am going to dig out the column he did on his and my friend, Jack Gunne, who passed at an early age. It brings tears to my eyes every time I read it, and in my mind was the greatest piece of sports writing ever. it is even more apropos now with George's passing.
Beard
This is an excerpt from George's column, "The Gunner." a eulogy to our friend Jack Gunne, a certified pool bug who died prematurely at age 46.
.....And that's how I found myself in Jack's wife's quiet little Indiana hometown, across the desk from the cemetery's Public Relations Director - surely a title fit to take its place alongside Jumbo Shrimp and Military Intelligence..... I filled the time another way, and returned to Jack's open casket in the chapel. I slipped in what I had the family's permission to: two cubes of chalk, so new they were still shiny on the surface, the jaunty red wrapper of National Tournament Chalk a stark contrast to my gray friend in his beige suit. And, since my life turned out to be based on words, I included a note.
"So long, buddy.
Thanks for the game.
Tale care of these two cubes.
I'll come around when it's my shot,
And we can play forever.
G."
My message to you too, George.
(Here is the link to the entire column, http://www.billiardsdigest.com/showblogentry.php?id=17 You can also view "The Best of George Fels" on that page and get a look at his greatest columns: )
Beard
This is an excerpt from George's column, "The Gunner." a eulogy to our friend Jack Gunne, a certified pool bug who died prematurely at age 46.
.....And that's how I found myself in Jack's wife's quiet little Indiana hometown, across the desk from the cemetery's Public Relations Director - surely a title fit to take its place alongside Jumbo Shrimp and Military Intelligence..... I filled the time another way, and returned to Jack's open casket in the chapel. I slipped in what I had the family's permission to: two cubes of chalk, so new they were still shiny on the surface, the jaunty red wrapper of National Tournament Chalk a stark contrast to my gray friend in his beige suit. And, since my life turned out to be based on words, I included a note.
"So long, buddy.
Thanks for the game.
Tale care of these two cubes.
I'll come around when it's my shot,
And we can play forever.
G."
My message to you too, George.
(Here is the link to the entire column, http://www.billiardsdigest.com/showblogentry.php?id=17 You can also view "The Best of George Fels" on that page and get a look at his greatest columns: )
Great Story Jack,,,,,Alan.
So sorry to read this news. I have only met George a few times at various pool happenings, but I got to know him on this forum through his contributions to various threads and colloquy with me.
I remember one time, I replied to him and called him "Baby Cakes." He said nobody has called him "Baby Cakes" in a long time, and he was absolutely thrilled.
George Fels is a rock in the pool world that will never be washed away. His legacy will live forever through his words of wisdom he shared for many years. RIP to George Fels. May he rest in peace always. My deepest sympathies go out to his friends, loved ones, and family.
THe year 2013 claimed many and I do not remember shedding so may tears in one year. So many in one year that influenced so many.
Losses can be so hard as life without some just does not seem the same.
RIP!!
Its really hard, to give a shit about something as trivial as a discussion forum, or being pc in public, while dealing with the loss of someone who meant so much to so many people, myself included. Its difficult to even respond at all. What do you say when your heart has a hole in it?
George wrote about billiards longer than anyone in history, and he did it better than anyone in history. This fact alone represents a dedication to pool and billiards that puts George in a class by himself. A class that we may never be lucky enough to ever witness again. This is truly a loss of epic proportion and I wish so much that we had taken more time to talk about his career.
With George died a vast library of knowledge and experience that we can never get back. With George died another little piece of this great game that has already lost too many, and it will unfortunately be a long long time before we see another member of the billiard world with so much to offer as George had.
But what really tears me up is the simple fact that he and I had an appointment to chat this week about the future of pool, with his commentary to be featured on our radio show. We were supposed to be discussing things, right now, today. So I can't get it out of my head, what George might have said. What pearls of knowledge would he have shared today? I guess we'll never get to find out. At least not until we join him in the great pool hall in the sky.
I'm ...just at a loss here. I feel like there is something I should do but there is nothing I can do.
George, we're going to miss you so much its not even funny.
If you hear me talking to you when nobody is around, don't be surprised, its just my way of letting you know that you are one of my personal heroes and I'll never forget you as long as I live.
George wrote about billiards longer than anyone in history, and he did it better than anyone in history. This fact alone represents a dedication to pool and billiards that puts George in a class by himself. A class that we may never be lucky enough to ever witness again. This is truly a loss of epic proportion and I wish so much that we had taken more time to talk about his career.
With George died a vast library of knowledge and experience that we can never get back. With George died another little piece of this great game that has already lost too many, and it will unfortunately be a long long time before we see another member of the billiard world with so much to offer as George had.
But what really tears me up is the simple fact that he and I had an appointment to chat this week about the future of pool, with his commentary to be featured on our radio show. We were supposed to be discussing things, right now, today. So I can't get it out of my head, what George might have said. What pearls of knowledge would he have shared today? I guess we'll never get to find out. At least not until we join him in the great pool hall in the sky.
I'm ...just at a loss here. I feel like there is something I should do but there is nothing I can do.
George, we're going to miss you so much its not even funny.
If you hear me talking to you when nobody is around, don't be surprised, its just my way of letting you know that you are one of my personal heroes and I'll never forget you as long as I live.
Back when I was still a recreational player,I wound up with a big box full of pool mags from the 80's,with most of them being BD. I always read his columns,and unlike most I saved the best for last.
At one point later on,I subscribed for several years. George made reference to a 6 part,year-long article on "dead stroke". I emailed him back when there were just a few regulars on the CCB,we had several conversations about the subject,leading up to him sending me a copy of the full article. I think the copy he sent me was his own copy,not a reprint from the mag. It also had a few pages of his own notes on the subject.
I've hoarded that envelope since. Tommy D.
At one point later on,I subscribed for several years. George made reference to a 6 part,year-long article on "dead stroke". I emailed him back when there were just a few regulars on the CCB,we had several conversations about the subject,leading up to him sending me a copy of the full article. I think the copy he sent me was his own copy,not a reprint from the mag. It also had a few pages of his own notes on the subject.
I've hoarded that envelope since. Tommy D.
George was my friend for the last 45 yrs...I'll share a little story of one of my long-time memories re. George and I...
When I started playing pool seriously, at 18-23 yrs. old, George and I played/hung out at the same pool room (and then at other various poolrooms over the next 40 yrs.). George's favorite game by far, as most people know, was straight pool. I was liking/playing 9 ball and banks back then, and just a little straight pool..and George was of course, always telling me I should play more straight pool....anyways, all of that said...
In the mid-60's, when I was about 18-19, (and George was in his mid-late 20's) I played in my very first tournament of any consequence, and George and I drove there together - it was a, STRAIGHT POOL TOURNAMENT - a midwest qualifier for winning an entry to play in the annual U.S. Open Straight Pool/14.1 Championship...not having played much straight pool, I had 0 chance to do anything in the tournament, but George convinced me to play in it anyway, for the experience...
Anyway, the amusing part of the story that I've often thought of over the years, is that..as we're driving to the tournament, I tell George that I'm nervous about playing - "I'll probably draw Dallas West and lose 125 -0".. ...so George goes into his bag and hands me a little blue pill and says, "take this, it will get rid of your 1st tournament nervousness, and you'll feel cool as a cucumber"............it was a valium...
End of story...I didn't do any good in the tournament, but thanks to Dr. George I wasn't nervous - I was as mellow as a bird on the wing, and I had a great time...:thumbup2:
Rest in Peace George....I'll be seeing you down the road.and when we do, I'll play you some straight pool, but we've gotta play some One Pocket too...
- Ghost
When I started playing pool seriously, at 18-23 yrs. old, George and I played/hung out at the same pool room (and then at other various poolrooms over the next 40 yrs.). George's favorite game by far, as most people know, was straight pool. I was liking/playing 9 ball and banks back then, and just a little straight pool..and George was of course, always telling me I should play more straight pool....anyways, all of that said...
In the mid-60's, when I was about 18-19, (and George was in his mid-late 20's) I played in my very first tournament of any consequence, and George and I drove there together - it was a, STRAIGHT POOL TOURNAMENT - a midwest qualifier for winning an entry to play in the annual U.S. Open Straight Pool/14.1 Championship...not having played much straight pool, I had 0 chance to do anything in the tournament, but George convinced me to play in it anyway, for the experience...
Anyway, the amusing part of the story that I've often thought of over the years, is that..as we're driving to the tournament, I tell George that I'm nervous about playing - "I'll probably draw Dallas West and lose 125 -0"..
...so George goes into his bag and hands me a little blue pill and says, "take this, it will get rid of your 1st tournament nervousness, and you'll feel cool as a cucumber"............it was a valium...End of story...I didn't do any good in the tournament, but thanks to Dr. George I wasn't nervous - I was as mellow as a bird on the wing, and I had a great time...:thumbup2:
Rest in Peace George....I'll be seeing you down the road.and when we do, I'll play you some straight pool, but we've gotta play some One Pocket too...
- Ghost
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with tears streaming down my face, this made me smile.
i'm sorry for your loss.
RIP George!