RIP Chet Itow...former owner of CA Billiards in Mountain View,CA

ABall

ABall

Right behind you...
Silver Member
I found out yesterday that Chet Itow who owned California Billiards in Mountain View, California has passed away on Sunday. For anyone who knew him, you know he was always a class act. His pool room was always know for having some of the best equipment in CA...maybe some of the best in the country, and a lot of great players have passed through played in that room.

I always loved his respect for the game and the players.

RIP Chet Itow.


-Alex
 
Wow! I am saddened to hear this. I met him once and he seemed like friendly guy who enjoyed the game and its players. He couldn't have been that old. I am surprised.
 
ABall said:
I found out yesterday that Chet Itow who owned California Billiards in Mountain View, California has passed away on Sunday. For anyone who knew him, you know he was always a class act. His pool room was always know for having some of the best equipment in CA...maybe some of the best in the country, and a lot of great players have passed through played in that room.

I always loved his respect for the game and the players.

RIP Chet Itow.


-Alex
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RIP Chet Itow.I once played a one pocket tournament in his room.The room is well kept,tables were in perfect condition.Rest rooms were very clean.has lot of parking space.It was in good location.He did a fantastic job in making his room one of the best in the country.:sorry:
 
I remember playing Chet at California Billiards when I was an undergrad at Berkeley. Chet played really well as I recall. We played 9ball back then but I distinctly remember thinking that if we had played one pocket he would have really heisted me. His pool room was the nuts too. Up until that time, I had never seen a pool room that big.
 
ABall said:
I found out yesterday that Chet Itow who owned California Billiards in Mountain View, California has passed away on Sunday. For anyone who knew him, you know he was always a class act. His pool room was always know for having some of the best equipment in CA...maybe some of the best in the country, and a lot of great players have passed through played in that room.Alex
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Alex,

I believe "class act" is an understatement! Both he and his legacy pool room were amongst the best. The game of pool needs more guys like him. Very sad.

Lyn
 
RIP Chet... I've played at California Billiards quite a few times... really one of the best pool rooms in the area. He ran a class joint.
 
I had been to the room under his ownership and played Chet before. He seemed like a nice man. My condolences to his friends and family.
 
RIP Chet, You will be missed.


Chet Itow and Chuck Markulis made Northern California the Pool scene it was for so many years.

Chuck with his One Pocket and 9 Ball Yearly Jamborees and Chet with his twice annual Reno Warm-up events.

Two class acts that will be missed, but not forgotten.
 
Chet, RIP

This is sad news.

Back in 2001, I moved from San Francisco to San Jose and was looking for a new local pool hall.

I missed the kind of places I could choose from in SF like Hollywood Billiards (a hustlers' and sharks' paradise with a great bar and open 24 hours); Chalkers (one of the first "upscale" rooms).

Somehow, I found California Billiard Club in Mt. View not far from San Jose. When I started playing there, Chet showed me around and noted the different size pockets in the 3 playing areas.

Chet was a class act and will be missed.
 
I'm shocked. I saw Chet fairly regularly at California Billiards. He was a class act to be around and to play with. If you didn't know him, you missed out.

-Keith
 
Rest In Peace my friend!

As a fellow room owner I had known Chet for many years and his players and mine from Santa Cruz had many a competition in action and tournaments. We all miss those days.
I hope the new owners of California Billiard Club put a plaque on table #6 in memory of him. As the tourament director most of the time he always played on that table. lol.
Dick Cady, Fast Eddy's Billiards, Captiola, Ca.
 
Pretty shocking news. Chet was not that old and appeared to be in good health. As others have said, he was a CLASS act from the word go. One of the really good guys on the West Coast pool scene. Always ready to help out with a new pool promotion or special event. The monthly money added events at California Billiards were looked forward to by all the Northern California players. Chet staked his share of players at the major West Coast tournaments and pumped up the action wherever he went. He was also a great guy to hang around with and he knew his pool from A to Z. I'll miss his smiling face and warm camaraderie. :(
 
Can't claim to have the pleasure of really knowing him, but I did have the opportunity of meeting him a few months back when I was up there. Struck me as a very nice man and I've heard nothing but good things about him. The California Billiard Club speaks for itself, it is one of the truly great rooms. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
 
Chet

Wow.. this is very sad news. Chet and his wife have always been very cordial and nice to me over the years. Very classy guy and always greeted everyone with a smile. So sorry to hear this. My sympathy goes out to his family... he will be greatly missed.
 
Very sad year

A lot of people seem to be leaving this world, and I can't say any were as good or as nice as Chet was. It's my understanding that he had been sick for a long while, but every time I saw him, he was in good spirits. Even when he was the sickest I had seen him some years back, he was still fighting it to play a pool match. He made himself always available, and I am glad to have known him.
 
He always had a nice smile and a helpfulness to his style, it's been about 30yrs since we used to cross paths, but a kind man, anyone have a pic of him? The best to his family and friends at this time.
Long Beach Bill
 
Very sad!

The first time I met Chet was at Jointed Cue. He was there to support Terry Stonier and his reunion tournament, he was such a great man. He will be missed by many!
 
Definitely sad news. I know he sold that room not too long ago. It's a shame guys like Chet and Chuck never got to enjoy years of relaxing retirement. He had one of the nicest rooms I've ever played in. It seems we keep losing the good guys in pool and they don't seem to be getting replaced either.
I heard quite a few guys had runs ins with Chet when he had that room, but the guy was always really nice to me. I think he was just protecting his business, and I think he was sometimes misunderstood about that.
 
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