San Jose Dick McMorran. An interesting man

Boy you are sure recreating many years gone by for me.

Dick

Weren't you ever a kid in Detroit?:)

I guess my pics won't work today.


Gordie.jpg

Olympia.jpg
 
Boy you are sure recreating many years gone by for me...No, I do not remember the cue maker (Len Roval) you mentioned, but I may well have known him then..60 yrs. can dull a lot of brain cells! :)....Thanks so much for taking the time to post all those pics..

I moved my young family from Colo. to San Jose in 1955..We first lived in Cupertino, obviously long before it became known as 'Silicon Valley'..Almost every one of those pics trips a trigger!..I have been sharing them with my four 'kids' (who are all around 60 now ;))...Thanks again Dave!

Dick

SJD, nice to hear you enjoyed the pictures.

Spent 10 years of my early life living in Cupertino. Graduated from Cupertino HS (less than a mile from the Stevens Creek California Billiards). Fun times!
 
Dick, if I might switch gears for a moment, I'd like to hear a little about your relationship with Freddy Bentivegna.
When I was hanging around Onepocket.org, a few years back, I remember you and Freddy would ofttimes have some very exciting, if not heated, exchanges. Can you elaborate on how you felt about that relationship, and perhaps some of the things that made it all so entertaining? :smile:

TS..Fred and I always endured a pretty basic personality clash!..At the outset, we were not bitter enemies, even though one particular nosy a**hole on the forum, tried to push us in that direction!..Fred always respected me as a player, and most of our early exchanges were humorous, and quite harmless!

I used to tease Fred mercilessly, about his famous 'Beat List' and his constant bragging!..I honestly thought he was just kidding about the BL, but he was dead serious!..Truth be known, I probably pushed it a little too far..He and his main cohort (you know who it was) began a full scale vendetta against me, full of lies and innuendos, which, of course I took offense at..Then things became pretty much untenable!

Due to Fred's long standing relationship with Booth, I was the odd man out!..I said some things I probably shouldn't have, which led to my getting banned!..I do miss Fred, and had I known he would be gone so suddenly, I'm sure I would have taken a different approach! ..Obviously, its too late now! :frown:
 
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Weren't you ever a kid in Detroit?:)

Gordie.jpg

Nice picture of our hero, Gordie Howe!..I was mostly only a kid in Detroit, when my mom would ship me off to grandma, for summer vacation!..I never really cared at all for the place! (or any other big eastern city) :sorry:

Why don't you tell us about the Ramona or Riviera theater where a cute girl named Susie (I think) took something from you in the balcony that you can only lose once?

RBL
 
TS..Fred and I always endured a pretty basic personality clash!..At the outset, we were not bitter enemies, even though one particular nosy a**hole on the forum, tried to push us in that direction!..Fred always respected me as a player, and most of our early exchanges were humorous, and quite harmless!

I used to tease Fred mercilessly, about his famous 'Beat List' and his constant bragging!..I honestly thought he was just kidding about the BL, but he was dead serious!..Truth be known, I probably pushed it a little too far..He and his main cohort (you know who it was) began a full scale vendetta against me, full of lies and innuendos, which, of course I took offense at..Then things became pretty much untenable!

Due to Fred's long standing relationship with Booth, I was the odd man out!..I said some things I probably shouldn't have, which led to my getting banned!..I do miss Fred, and had I known he would be gone so suddenly, I'm sure I would have taken a different approach! ..Obviously, its too late now! :frown:

Thanks, Dick.
I had deleted my original question because some guy had PM'd me and asked if I was "opening a can of worms," as he put it, by asking about the two of you. I should have realized that a reply from you would be gracious, and forthright, and that any sore spots that remained, had undoubtedly healed.
I miss the old days, and the old pool rooms. I glad you're still around to share the stories. This bunch we've got coming through now hasn't a clue as to what has gone before. It's all selfies and Facebook.
Thanks, again. :)
 
Why don't you tell us about the Ramona or Riviera theater where a cute girl named Susie (I think) took something from you in the balcony that you can only lose once?

RBL

Why don't you mind your own business?..I was only 15 yrs. old, she was 22, and she took advantage of me! ;)..You are just jealous because you still have your virginity! :o
 
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God bless our friend, Cole Dixon

Funny story about the Colster and me. When he first came to Houston (70s I guess) he shot the lights out playing nine-ball but his one pocket skills left a little to be desired. He only had five hundred dollars, which he put up to play me five games ahead one-pocket. It was like stealing. I locked him up in the stack until he was going out of his mind. I was four games ahead and had him five or six balls to none. I froze him up in the stack on his side of the table and had a couple of balls by my pocket. Cole asked me if I would take four fifty and quit. I wasn't a very considerate person at that time (Just plain rude, to be exact) and I think I said something to the effect of, "Shoot punk." His retort came in the form of, "Then, stick it in your ass." and without even touching the table, took is cue in both hands and shoved it through the stack, As he started to turn away he saw two balls bank into his pocket. I didn't think to call foul before he shot and ran out. Immediately my Adam's apple turned into an Adam's grapefruit and I tried to turn the game into a shooting match with him...ERROR.
Cole quit with a cool thousand in his pocket.
I miss the guy. Keep it fun. Alfie
 
Funny story about the Colster and me. When he first came to Houston (70s I guess) he shot the lights out playing nine-ball but his one pocket skills left a little to be desired. He only had five hundred dollars, which he put up to play me five games ahead one-pocket. It was like stealing. I locked him up in the stack until he was going out of his mind. I was four games ahead and had him five or six balls to none. I froze him up in the stack on his side of the table and had a couple of balls by my pocket. Cole asked me if I would take four fifty and quit. I wasn't a very considerate person at that time (Just plain rude, to be exact) and I think I said something to the effect of, "Shoot punk." His retort came in the form of, "Then, stick it in your ass." and without even touching the table, took is cue in both hands and shoved it through the stack, As he started to turn away he saw two balls bank into his pocket. I didn't think to call foul before he shot and ran out. Immediately my Adam's apple turned into an Adam's grapefruit and I tried to turn the game into a shooting match with him...ERROR.
Cole quit with a cool thousand in his pocket.
I miss the guy. Keep it fun. Alfie

Really cute story Alf.

Nice pic of you with your hand on Beenie's daughter's thigh. I'll bet she really liked that.

Did you also send her a pic of yourself with a noose around your neck???

RBL


Alf.jpg
 
Funny story about the Colster and me. When he first came to Houston (70s I guess) he shot the lights out playing nine-ball but his one pocket skills left a little to be desired. He only had five hundred dollars, which he put up to play me five games ahead one-pocket. It was like stealing. I locked him up in the stack until he was going out of his mind. I was four games ahead and had him five or six balls to none. I froze him up in the stack on his side of the table and had a couple of balls by my pocket. Cole asked me if I would take four fifty and quit. I wasn't a very considerate person at that time (Just plain rude, to be exact) and I think I said something to the effect of, "Shoot punk." His retort came in the form of, "Then, stick it in your ass." and without even touching the table, took is cue in both hands and shoved it through the stack, As he started to turn away he saw two balls bank into his pocket. I didn't think to call foul before he shot and ran out. Immediately my Adam's apple turned into an Adam's grapefruit and I tried to turn the game into a shooting match with him...ERROR.
Cole quit with a cool thousand in his pocket.
I miss the guy. Keep it fun. Alfie

Alfie, I played Cole a few times at my pool hall in Bakersfield in the 70's. He gave me the seven playing 9-Ball and dusted me. The first time we played One Pocket he tried to give me 9-6 and I sent him packing. A couple of years later he came back and gave me 9-7 and try as I might I couldn't beat him.

I wonder how I ducked you all those years (or maybe we did play and I forgot). I played everyone who came thru Ye Billiard Den in Hollywood in the late 60's. I know you were around, coz I heard your name. But just don't remember crossing paths with you. In the 70's I played just about every hustler who cruised the West Coast. I was in all their black books (Lisciotti told me that). I ran about 50-50 back then so I held my own pretty good. Not every road man played like Lisciotti and Jimmy Marino (I was 0-2 against them).

Guys like Diliberto and NY Blackie hung around my room for weeks at a time. They would wait for the hustlers who came in looking for me. The only guy who ever beat me at Banks was Billy Johnson. Of course I only played maybe half a dozen Bank Pool games. It was all 9-Ball and One Pocket back then.
 
Hey Jay

I did, indeed, play a lot in Ye Billiard Den but don't remember running into you. Just my good luck, I suppose. Much rather to have met you as a fellow writer and member of the over the hill gang.
Hope to run into you again, somewhere.
Keep if fun and keep writing. Alfie
 
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