Randy Brown / Clearwater florida

[Michael Andros]

Would be interested to hear any Randy Brown stories anyone might have. I ran around with him for a year or so in the mid 70s. Phenomenal player. Wade Crane told me decades later Randy made him more money than any player he ever traveled with. I'm sure not too many people remember him but those who do probably have a story or two. He passed away a few years ago. But man, what a player. Like a machine.

Here's one:

In Fall of 76, we were in Tallahassee. Carella was living there at the time and Howard Barrett matched Randy up with him. Randy was getting the 7. They played for 2 days and broke even. Randy could've been giving Carella the 7. Neither one of them ever missed a ball for 2 days.

Another:

In the late 90's or early 00's, Benny Conway ( Sr ) stopped in Family Billiards in Clearwater. Hell of a player. Someone called Randy and he came down. He hadn't played in months. He was teaching tennis. He takes a house cue off the wall and while drinking 22 Heinekens, proceeded to ROB Conway at one hole. Just an amazing player.

Any other stories welcomed.

 

[JumpinJoe]

I lived 2 blocks from Family Billiards for a long long time, played a ton there.
I would say they played in the mid 90s, not in the early 2000's...
I heard Ray Martin tell some stories of him at one time.
Hes on here, maybe he will drop in. I think his name is GhostBall (if not mistaken)

 

[Michael Andros]

Would be interested to hear any Randy Brown stories anyone might have. I ran around with him for a year or so in the mid 70s. Phenomenal player. Wade Crane told me decades later Randy made him more money than any player he ever traveled with. I'm sure not too many people remember him but those who do probably have a story or two. He passed away a few years ago. But man, what a player. Like a machine.

Here's one:

In Fall of 76, we were in Tallahassee. Carella was living there at the time and Howard Barrett matched Randy up with him. Randy was getting the 7. They played for 2 days and broke even. Randy could've been giving Carella the 7. Neither one of them ever missed a ball for 2 days.

Another:

In the late 90's or early 00's, Benny Conway ( Sr ) stopped in Family Billiards in Clearwater. Hell of a player. Someone called Randy and he came down. He hadn't played in months. He was teaching tennis. He takes a house cue off the wall and while drinking 22 Heinekens, proceeded to ROB Conway at one hole. Just an amazing player.

Any other stories welcomed.

Somebody, somewhere out there, MUST have a Randy Brown story. He was too great a player for too long for no one to remember.

Here's a short one.

Randy was a little guy, maybe 5' 6" or so, maybe shorter, wiry but not skinny. But he had a heart the size of a Grizzly bear.

He was playing snooker one day ( late 70s or so ), betting somewhere @ 20 a game. One regular was sweating the game and was giving Randy a good-natured hard time. This guy was a landscaper, and huge, bench pressed @ 300. He was in all the time but really didn't know or understand pool that well, especially from a good player's perspective. After putting up with the constant chatter for a good while, Randy finally said to him, "If I lose this game, you and me are going around." Sure enough, Randy loses the game, and, without a word, takes his glasses off and proceeds to cold-cock the guy. Considering Randy was outweighed by @ 150 lbs of solid muscle, the punch had no effect at all. But it did get the guy's attention. So he stands up, grabs Randy and fairly gently lays him on the floor and sits on him, saying "Settle down, Randy... I don't want to hurt you." After a few minutes he let Randy up and that was basically it. Randy told me outside a little while later he was going to cold-cock the guy when he walked out the door to leave, only this time with his cue. Never happened but just illuminates the kind of person Randy was. No task was too big for him, period. He couldn't have cared less HOW big or mean or whatever someone was... if he was motivated to do something, wise or not, he just went ahead and did it.

 

[donny mills]

I was there at family when he played conway. Last time I saw randy brown was at a weekly tournament at strokers in palm harbor back in 2006ish.

 

[Michael Andros]

I was there at family when he played conway. Last time I saw randy brown was at a weekly tournament at strokers in palm harbor back in 2006ish.

Yo, Donny... you recall when that was, beating Conway? I'm thinking late 90s.

Where are you playing these days, Stroker's? I never see you at Family anymore. But then, I'm only in there a few times a week now and mostly in the daytime.

 

[Michael Andros]

This isn't really an "earth-shatteringly" interesting Randy story, but it does have bit of an amusing ending. Back in the 70s, Baker's Billiards in Tampa had a big Tournament every winter, the Citrus Open. Due to the northern weather, many of the northeastern stars would show up every year: Sigel, Hopkins, Hubbard, etc... Those players ( and just the tournament itself ) brought in lots of other great players ( Steve Cook, Mike Carella, Buddy Hall, George Brunt, Louie Roberts, Barry Cazort, Handsome Danny Jones, Miami Shorty, Terry Bell, et. al. ), stakers, shortstops, hangers-on and fans galore.

Randy showed up at many, spending a lot of time in action. One young player from the Florida panhandle area was a kid named Rusty Brandmeyer. Rusty played phenomenal banks, especially for his age, which was very early 20s in the few years he made an appearance. But make no mistake, he played hellacious 9ball as well. He and Randy made a game and played all day and night ( playing even ), eventually breaking even. Randy figured to win so he was pretty, well... unhappy, shall we say, when it was all said and done. Randy was up at one point a sizeable amount but over the course of the next 6 or 7 hours, Rusty managed to get back to even. One of the ways he was able to do that was by slow-playing, which he had not started out doing. Randy had a fairly well-earned reputation for having a rather short fuse, so it didn't take too terribly long for Rusty's slow-play to have Randy in a lather of sorts. And he just got more and more angry as Rusty got closer and closer to getting even. When Rusty finally did, Randy quit and as he was putting his cue away, he said something to Rusty about being "a slow-playing mother-f***er" or something to that effect. Rusty didn't miss a beat, looked at Randy and said, "Gimme the 8 and you'll see me run around this table like a track star!" Randy just looked at Rusty like he wanted to backhand him. I'll never forget that. Great comeback.

 

[donny mills]

I believe it was the mid 90s. 95-97 era. I don’t recognize your name. Do you have a picture? I normally practice at crooked cue or CMs place. Those are the only places with diamond tables. All big tournaments are on diamonds so I only practice on them.

 

[Michael Andros]

I believe it was the mid 90s. 95-97 era. I don’t recognize your name. Do you have a picture? I normally practice at crooked cue or CMs place. Those are the only places with diamond tables. All big tournaments are on diamonds so I only practice on them.

You've seen me a thousand times, Donny. There a pic of me as my avatar here.

Ahhh... Diamonds. Makes sense, then. Eric's not a fan of them as you know so there won't be any at Family any time soon.

Yeah, I was pretty sure it was somewhere between 95 to 98 or so. Jack still talks about how many Heinekens Randy drank.

 

[donny mills]

You've seen me a thousand times, Donny. There a pic of me as my avatar here.

Ahhh... Diamonds. Makes sense, then. Eric's not a fan of them as you know so there won't be any at Family any time soon.

Yeah, I was pretty sure it was somewhere between 95 to 98 or so. Jack still talks about how many Heinekens Randy drank.

Your pic isn’t clear enough to see who you are. Any other pics?

 

[Michael Andros]

Your pic isn’t clear enough to see who you are. Any other pics?

Sure... shoot me your email addy in a private mssg and I'll send you one.


But, you've mentioned a few times to me in Family "You've been coming in here for 45 years, now... ", etc. The last time was when I bought a cheap cue from Corey for someone I worked with and Jack gave me the cash on my Master Card. Ring a bell?

 

[jay helfert]

Randy and John Ditoro came out to Lake Tahoe in 1982 to play in the Caesar's Tahoe Billiard Classic. I christened them the "Miami Vice" boys after the successful TV show of the same name about two undercover cops from Florida. They were two good looking guys who could really play pool and weren't afraid to bet it up either. I liked them both immediately!

I found out from John that Randy only had one good eye and that amazed me as I had seen him play run out 9-Ball in his early matches. I thought they were both classy guys and didn't cause problems of any kind. In fact they were both an asset to the tournament, two of the tourney's most popular players. I remember telling Randy and John about "One Eyed Tony" Howard from Detroit, one of the best players and gamblers in the Midwest. The lack of two eyes didn't seem to bother him at all. He shot straighter than just about anyone who had two good eyes.

Randy never complained or made any excuses for his handicap and was considered the man to beat in Florida after Mike Carella passed away. David Howard was probably the only guy who played him even until Buddy and Steve Cook moved down there.

I didn't see much of Randy after that, since he was running his own poolroom most of the time. He would occasionally show up for a tournament I was working and we would have a chance to chat. I thought he was a great guy!

 

[Michael Andros]

Randy and John Ditoro came out to Lake Tahoe in 1982 to play in the Caesar's Tahoe Billiard Classic. I christened them the "Miami Vice" boys after the successful TV show of the same name about two undercover cops from Florida. They were two good looking guys who could really play pool and weren't afraid to bet it up either. I liked them both immediately!

I found out from John that Randy only had one good eye and that amazed me as I had seen him play run out 9-Ball in his early matches. I thought they were both classy guys and didn't cause problems of any kind. In fact they were both an asset to the tournament, two of the tourney's most popular players. I remember telling Randy and John about "One Eyed Tony" Howard from Detroit, one of the best players and gamblers in the Midwest. The lack of two eyes didn't seem to bother him at all. He shot straighter than just about anyone who had two good eyes.

Randy never complained or made any excuses for his handicap and was considered the man to beat in Florida after Mike Carella passed away. David Howard was probably the only guy who played him even until Buddy and Steve Cook moved down there.

I didn't see much of Randy after that, since he was running his own poolroom most of the time. He would occasionally show up for a tournament I was working and we would have a chance to chat. I thought he was a great guy!

Hey Jay, thanks for the add. Somewhere, though, there is a bit of confusion. I think John must've been pulling your leg for whatever reason about him being one-eyed, because although Randy was terribly near-sighted ( when he was a kid, he wore SUPER thick lenses in his glasses which made his eyes seem 3 times bigger than normal ), he had the same vision in both eyes right up 'til he passed away @ 5 years ago. Also, he never ran a pool room. The last 15 years or so he was teaching tennis pretty much full time. He was a PHENOMENAL player, though. He played just like a machine. Literally. I grew up watching him and when he was in dead punch, he was the best player I ever saw.

One-eyed Tony used to come down to Florida from time to time. Super star gambler and player. He was something else.

Thanks again for the post!

 

[jay helfert]

Hey Jay, thanks for the add. Somewhere, though, there is a bit of confusion. I think John must've been pulling your leg for whatever reason about him being one-eyed, because although Randy was terribly near-sighted ( when he was a kid, he wore SUPER thick lenses in his glasses which made his eyes seem 3 times bigger than normal ), he had the same vision in both eyes right up 'til he passed away @ 5 years ago. Also, he never ran a pool room. The last 15 years or so he was teaching tennis pretty much full time. He was a PHENOMENAL player, though. He played just like a machine. Literally. I grew up watching him and when he was in dead punch, he was the best player I ever saw.

One-eyed Tony used to come down to Florida from time to time. Super star gambler and player. He was something else.

Thanks again for the post!

Maybe I got hustled!
I always thought Randy only had one good eye and one glass eye.
I always loved (and envied) his big pompadour hairstyle!

 

[Michael Andros]

Maybe I got hustled!
I always thought Randy only had one good eye and one glass eye.

Nahhhh... BUT, he drank enough Heinekens in his life to have two **pickled** eyes!!! The night he busted Goose ( Benny Conway ), he drank 22 of 'em. Playing with a house cue. And Randy didn't even *play* one hole. Mind boggling.

 

[Cornerman]

I believe it was the mid 90s. 95-97 era. I don’t recognize your name. Do you have a picture? I normally practice at crooked cue or CMs place. Those are the only places with diamond tables. All big tournaments are on diamonds so I only practice on them.

How often do you go into CM’s? I’ve been in town last two weeks, but only went to Corner Pocket once. Pretty standard for me when I’m in town to only go to a pool hall once, just to sniff the smoke wafting from the cloth.

Freddie <~~~ it’s an old school thing

 

[decent dennis]

This isn't really an "earth-shatteringly" interesting Randy story, but it does have bit of an amusing ending. Back in the 70s, Baker's Billiards in Tampa had a big Tournament every winter, the Citrus Open. Due to the northern weather, many of the northeastern stars would show up every year: Sigel, Hopkins, Hubbard, etc... Those players ( and just the tournament itself ) brought in lots of other great players ( Steve Cook, Mike Carella, Buddy Hall, George Brunt, Louie Roberts, Barry Cazort, Handsome Danny Jones, Miami Shorty, Terry Bell, et. al. ), stakers, shortstops, hangers-on and fans galore.

Randy showed up at many, spending a lot of time in action. One young player from the Florida panhandle area was a kid named Rusty Brandmeyer. Rusty played phenomenal banks, especially for his age, which was very early 20s in the few years he made an appearance. But make no mistake, he played hellacious 9ball as well. He and Randy made a game and played all day and night ( playing even ), eventually breaking even. Randy figured to win so he was pretty, well... unhappy, shall we say, when it was all said and done. Randy was up at one point a sizeable amount but over the course of the next 6 or 7 hours, Rusty managed to get back to even. One of the ways he was able to do that was by slow-playing, which he had not started out doing. Randy had a fairly well-earned reputation for having a rather short fuse, so it didn't take too terribly long for Rusty's slow-play to have Randy in a lather of sorts. And he just got more and more angry as Rusty got closer and closer to getting even. When Rusty finally did, Randy quit and as he was putting his cue away, he said something to Rusty about being "a slow-playing mother-f***er" or something to that effect. Rusty didn't miss a beat, looked at Randy and said, "Gimme the 8 and you'll see me run around this table like a track star!" Randy just looked at Rusty like he wanted to backhand him. I'll never forget that. Great comeback.

Saw Rusty this past wekend at a tournament for a league he owns. He still plays pretty sporty.

 

[rossaroni]

...........

 

[wood600rr]

Maybe I got hustled!
I always thought Randy only had one good eye and one glass eye.
I always loved (and envied) his big pompadour hairstyle!

You're thinking of Tommy Brown, he and Ditoro were close in the late 80's and he had one eye, and also ran a poolroom in Daytona for 20+ years.

He passed several years ago as well, I worked for him in the pool room for many years in the 90's.

 

[Michael Andros]

Saw Rusty this past wekend at a tournament for a league he owns. He still plays pretty sporty.

No kidding? Wow...

He showed me ( at a tournament in Tampa @ 77 or so ) what was, hands down, NO COMPETITION, the *best* bank I've ever seen. Or even imagined. And I remember the shot like it was yesterday, probably because I set it up, exactly as he showed me, at *least* a thousand times over the next few weeks and I never came CLOSE to making it. I've showed it to people over all these years and NO ONE believes me. He froze a ball on the side rail diamond closet to the bottom left corner, set a ball right in the jaws of the bottom right corner, cueball halfway between the side rails a foot or so below the head string, **FIRED** the cueball into the ball frozen on the diamond, cueball stays EXACTLY where the frozen ball was ( except it's @ 1/1000 " off the rail ), spinning a zillion MPH, frozen ball goes 4 rails, comes back, clips the cueball, cueball goes 4 rails and makes the ball hanging in the jaws. And he made it ON THE SECOND TRY. I remember just shaking my head, looking at him, thinking... "You're a mutant."

I'll take your word for how he plays now but man... did he play sporty back THEN.

Thanks for the note.

 

[Michael Andros]

You're thinking of Tommy Brown, he and Ditoro were close in the late 80's and he had one eye, and also ran a poolroom in Daytona for 20+ years.

He passed several years ago as well, I worked for him in the pool room for many years in the 90's.

Yes! *Tommy* Brown! Thanks Wood. Makes perfect sense , now. I was in his room multiple times over the years. I used to spend some time at a room in Melbourne and would go up to Daytona on those trips. I'm from the other side of the state.