Ronnie Allen Has Passed
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Interview With Ronnie Allen:
Rack'em up with Ronnie Allen
©2004, OnePocket.org
Ronnie Allen Stories ⇰ A 7-Part Radio Interview
Part 1; Part 1 Continued; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7
"Ronnie Allen" by Jimmy Reid:
http://freepoollessons.com/site/pool-stories/ronnie-allen/
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yup...very sad news indeed.
I took up playing 1 pocket after watching the match with Ronnie and Danny D. at I think the Golden Cue.
After that day I never looked at 1 pocket the same again....The man was a true pioneer in super offense 1 pocket......and one hell of a story teller!
G.
I took up playing 1 pocket after watching the match with Ronnie and Danny D. at I think the Golden Cue.
After that day I never looked at 1 pocket the same again....The man was a true pioneer in super offense 1 pocket......and one hell of a story teller!
G.
The radio interviews I listed in Post 61 can certainly attest to that -- what a loss!
Rest in peace Ronnie Allen. You were one of the best one pocket players to ever live and have forever changed the game which is what we see today, a powerful game of guys running 8 and out. I am saddened I did not get to do that video interview with you and donate a few bucks playing some one hole.
As some of you know I am living in Vegas now and RA was on my short list of guys to video and get some of his stories saved for others to enjoy. I would like to do this with Artie, Ed Kelly, Archie and other guys who are in Vegas if they would be interested. Perhaps some of them do not see the importance of it but future generations of players would certainly enjoy them.
If any of you guys want to put a few dollars together with me I will personally get the money to his family when I go to Vegas in a few days, not sure of their financial situation but I am happy to help. Maybe one of you guys know who to give the money to whether its his children or wife.
If you want to hear lots of stories, here is my Youtube playlist of RA stories, they are interesting to say the least. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL85BC9EE7D8DFDC9A
As some of you know I am living in Vegas now and RA was on my short list of guys to video and get some of his stories saved for others to enjoy. I would like to do this with Artie, Ed Kelly, Archie and other guys who are in Vegas if they would be interested. Perhaps some of them do not see the importance of it but future generations of players would certainly enjoy them.
If any of you guys want to put a few dollars together with me I will personally get the money to his family when I go to Vegas in a few days, not sure of their financial situation but I am happy to help. Maybe one of you guys know who to give the money to whether its his children or wife.
If you want to hear lots of stories, here is my Youtube playlist of RA stories, they are interesting to say the least. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL85BC9EE7D8DFDC9A
Please do that Lenny with those old timers, not to hurt no feelings but these pool players of today cant come close to the ones of yesterday, the older generation would gamble on site, make a game with in 1 hour and bet more back then , it didnt matter to the players back in the day, what qball, what table, the rack, you went to a pool hall and got up and played who ever would play, no spots, hardly no wolfing, i dont care what anybody says things were much better back then, everything! Lenny do what you can with the great players from days gone by, you never no how long we still have them, Boy i loved Ronnie Allen and never even meet the man, Ronnie was my kind of man, tell it like it is and do what you want! That opening line Ronnie would use to start off a story is the best in the history of sports, Well sports fans its Ronnie ALLEN here, then the best pool stories ever! Ronnie you touch alot of people and fans and iam one of them, RIP MR.ALLEN YOU WERE THE BEST !
Ronnie Allen will be missed. He started (or so I'm told) the highly offensive style of One pocket. He played in a lot of the monthly One Pocket events I ran at Hard Times in Sacramento. He always seemed to cash and never stopped talking unless it was to take a drink of beer.
I heard he was 75 years old in the pool hall today when we were talking about him. Someone asked how old is that in Pool Player years? we all had a good laugh at that...
RIP RA
I heard he was 75 years old in the pool hall today when we were talking about him. Someone asked how old is that in Pool Player years? we all had a good laugh at that...
RIP RA
Thats a good one Tom, i would say near 100!
Nice post Lenny. If anyone can get the interviews with Artie, Ed Kelly, Archie, and others -- it's you sir! I think of his radio interviews more like "historical truths with a touch of billiardism" rather then "stories" as referred to by most. Go forth my friend and get the "history" behind these legends of the game! They are needed for the sport and you are just the guy to get them!
With Much Respect For What You Do In So Many Ways,
Bob
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I never formally met Ronnie but I've seen him play for countless hours. He was quite the character, as many have already mentioned. This was well received by pool fans because they always enjoy seeing some personality, along with great shooting ability. All too often, top level pool matchups can be stale and, at times, hard to watch. BUT NOT WHEN RONNIE WAS PLAYING!!! He was a one man traveling show!
The first time I saw Ronnie play was at the first big Richie Florence event at the old Caesars Tahoe (~1981). All the great players were there. After four days of play and against all odds, Ronnie ends up in the finals against Mike Sigel. Mike got the win but Ronnie settled for a nice $17,000 payday(IIRC). Someone later told me he gambled most of it away that weekend on the craps table - a true gambler!
The last time I saw him, he was checking out the Swanee tournament a few years ago. A matchup between Ernesto Dominguez and Mike Dechaine had just started and Ronnie was there to capture some of the attention, and he did, as soon as everyone realized who he was.
Ronnie, I envision you up there trying to make a game with St Peter right now.
The first time I saw Ronnie play was at the first big Richie Florence event at the old Caesars Tahoe (~1981). All the great players were there. After four days of play and against all odds, Ronnie ends up in the finals against Mike Sigel. Mike got the win but Ronnie settled for a nice $17,000 payday(IIRC). Someone later told me he gambled most of it away that weekend on the craps table - a true gambler!
The last time I saw him, he was checking out the Swanee tournament a few years ago. A matchup between Ernesto Dominguez and Mike Dechaine had just started and Ronnie was there to capture some of the attention, and he did, as soon as everyone realized who he was.
Ronnie, I envision you up there trying to make a game with St Peter right now.
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Very sad indeed, bug loss to the pool community. RIP - a true legend.
Another legend gone. Ronnie and I were close friends for many years, even spending time together with our young families. Then we had a falling out (over money of course) and didn't speak for years. I'm glad that in the last few years we were able to reconcile and be on good terms.
Ronnie had a huge influence on my life! He was the greatest One Pocket player I ever saw, playing a different game than anyone then or after. Like Billy Stroud said in his post, Ronnie knew how to move multiple balls toward his hole. No one before or since could do this like Ronnie. He had other shooting skills as well, but his best weapon was his gift of gab. People either loved him or hated him, but they couldn't take their eyes off of him. He attracted the biggest crowds wherever he played and served as a mentor to first Richie and then Keith.
I will have more to say about the amazing and unique Mr. Allen in my new book, so I will save some for later. Along with Fats, Keith and Louie, Ronnie was one of the most colorful people to ever hold a cue. He was also triple smart as Billy Cardon alluded to. You had to get up awful early to have a chance with Ronnie. He could go into a place where no one ever bet a quarter and have them betting with both hands before the night was over. He would clean out the joint and have them begging him to come back for more. You figure that one out, I never could. :wink:
Thanks Ronnie for all the memories, both good and bad. And my condolences to his three kids, Ronnie Jr. Reyna and Renee. They all turned out great and are a testament to their father's love for them. He was a devoted family man through everything, raising his family in Burbank with his lovely wife Faye.
Ronnie was a man of many contradictions and that made him uniquely Ronnie Allen!
Ronnie had a huge influence on my life! He was the greatest One Pocket player I ever saw, playing a different game than anyone then or after. Like Billy Stroud said in his post, Ronnie knew how to move multiple balls toward his hole. No one before or since could do this like Ronnie. He had other shooting skills as well, but his best weapon was his gift of gab. People either loved him or hated him, but they couldn't take their eyes off of him. He attracted the biggest crowds wherever he played and served as a mentor to first Richie and then Keith.
I will have more to say about the amazing and unique Mr. Allen in my new book, so I will save some for later. Along with Fats, Keith and Louie, Ronnie was one of the most colorful people to ever hold a cue. He was also triple smart as Billy Cardon alluded to. You had to get up awful early to have a chance with Ronnie. He could go into a place where no one ever bet a quarter and have them betting with both hands before the night was over. He would clean out the joint and have them begging him to come back for more. You figure that one out, I never could. :wink:
Thanks Ronnie for all the memories, both good and bad. And my condolences to his three kids, Ronnie Jr. Reyna and Renee. They all turned out great and are a testament to their father's love for them. He was a devoted family man through everything, raising his family in Burbank with his lovely wife Faye.
Ronnie was a man of many contradictions and that made him uniquely Ronnie Allen!
Good bye Ronnie. I never had the pleasure of seeing you in person but Ronnie Allen stories have inspired my pool playing fantasies for more than 20 years.
Jennie please give my deepest condolences to Keith as I am sure he is torn up by this. And to you as well, I know how much you love pool and the characters that make up the fabric of this game.
last year i watched Ronnie play Harry on the 10' box in Vegas. Head up, Harry covered the rail. Harry runs 8 and out, 4 and death trap safe, 4 & out. Best 16 balls I ever saw Harry hit, ever. I said so too, Harry looked like Scott on steroids those 2 games. Ronnie sat there mumbling, f*ck a pool room, I aint been to a pool room in 8 months, F*uck this etc. I was just watching Ronnie, from 10 to 15 feet away.
Then.....I saw it, he got this look, He looked at Harry with lazer vision the death stare.
He got up and after Harry broke(harry broke on the odds cause he won the toss-3rd rack) Ronnie got out of the break in a couple innings and Harry realized he was done, Harry has massive respect for RA, He was playing him even(line was 8/7) but Harry stepped up and played even. RA put Harry in a coma before he 3 rack was finished. RA wins 4 straight racks.
30 minutes later Harry walked up to RA, and they had a personal conversation-lets just say it was concern over RA's health and Harrys concern. RA was very nice and polite as they go way back, then RA shifts back into RA mode reputes "f*ck a pool room, I aint been to a pool room in 8 months, etc etc etc". And leaves while Harry and I war trying to match yup(we didnt that night.
That was the RA I knew for years, always got the cash. He asked me many times to play, I ALWAYS ducked him, just incase he had a flash back like he did on Harry. I regret now not playing him, I had a feeling last time I saw him that would be the last time. It was about a year ago. Harry was cool to play him like that-taking the worst of it.
Cotton saw all this go down too, sad year Grady, Danny Medina and RA in less than 12 months.
respectfully
Fatboy
Then.....I saw it, he got this look, He looked at Harry with lazer vision the death stare.
He got up and after Harry broke(harry broke on the odds cause he won the toss-3rd rack) Ronnie got out of the break in a couple innings and Harry realized he was done, Harry has massive respect for RA, He was playing him even(line was 8/7) but Harry stepped up and played even. RA put Harry in a coma before he 3 rack was finished. RA wins 4 straight racks.
30 minutes later Harry walked up to RA, and they had a personal conversation-lets just say it was concern over RA's health and Harrys concern. RA was very nice and polite as they go way back, then RA shifts back into RA mode reputes "f*ck a pool room, I aint been to a pool room in 8 months, etc etc etc". And leaves while Harry and I war trying to match yup(we didnt that night.
That was the RA I knew for years, always got the cash. He asked me many times to play, I ALWAYS ducked him, just incase he had a flash back like he did on Harry. I regret now not playing him, I had a feeling last time I saw him that would be the last time. It was about a year ago. Harry was cool to play him like that-taking the worst of it.
Cotton saw all this go down too, sad year Grady, Danny Medina and RA in less than 12 months.
respectfully
Fatboy
Ronnie was a true character and deserving of the many stories told about him.
I'll never forget some words he had for me back in the 1970's. I was young and had backed a player who won money from him. When he saw us chopping it up, he came up to me and said something like "I know you think you're smart for winning that money off me, kid, but if you're smart, you'll use it to buy some books and go to school, so you can make some real money and not end up like me".
One more thing I would bet on. Nobody who ever met him would soon forget him. May Ronnie rest in peace.
I'll never forget some words he had for me back in the 1970's. I was young and had backed a player who won money from him. When he saw us chopping it up, he came up to me and said something like "I know you think you're smart for winning that money off me, kid, but if you're smart, you'll use it to buy some books and go to school, so you can make some real money and not end up like me".
One more thing I would bet on. Nobody who ever met him would soon forget him. May Ronnie rest in peace.
I remember one time Ronnie wasn't doing too good, and looking for some dough. Don't think he was doing so good in the loan department, so he was up for anything. I said come over, and we'll figure out something. He came up to the house, and we played some one pocket, which was more of a donation for him and beer drinking fun time. I had a broken leg at the time, and mentioned a little bar tournament about 20 miles away, and that he'd probably win a couple hundred, and to watch for a poker game after. He hung out and worked that place for a couple weeks, and ended up winning a couple thousand from the owner playing pool, and poker.. ahhh, he was great.