Here's a recent post I made elsewhere about Weenie Beenie, which includes his devoted partner in life. How fortunate they were to have each other!
In perusing my pool print periodicals, magazines, newspapers, et cetera, from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, I get stuck every now and then when I come across a gem.
In the January 1984 issue of National Tavern News, there's an 8-page article written by Bill Pierce entitled "WEENIE BEENIE: A Classy Pool Player." I created a Wikipedia article about Bill Staton, and so I had to go through this pool print media piece just in case there was some good data to contribute to Wikipedia.
When asked "What was your best game?" Beenie replied,
My best game was one pocket. I learned from a guy named FITZPATRICK. They called him "BUGS," and he was one of the greatest. He died in 1960, but I cut my teeth on guys like Earl Schriver, Rags, Eddie Taylor, and Squirrel. They were my teachers.
Before the oldsters cry foul, the above is a direct quote, meaning I know Fitzpatrick is not "Bugs," but this is what was in the article.
In my area, I grew up seeing the Weenie Beenie hot dog stands. In fact, there's still a few of them around in Northern Virginia, Arlington to be exact. Bill Staton was an all-around gambler, whether it was cards, golf, or pool. He owned the infamous pool room named Jack and Jill's in Arlington, Virginia, which was a road player's stop to get action. Oh, if those walls could talk!
What Weenie Beenie said about Detroit.
I quit playing pool from 1972 to 1976. One day I received a call, and this guy told me they were playing pretty high in Detroit, and I had a chance to make some big money if I would go up there. So I went up there. I played and I won. That was my first time up there.
Later I went back , and I lost everything I had won -- plus considerably more. And this is funny. After I lost all the money I had with me, I called my wife and told her to bring some money up to me. She did, and I lost all of that. Now I had flown up there to begin with, so when I called her next time, I told her to bring more money, but to drive because I needed transportation to get around.
In the meantime, I had borrowed some money, so when she got there, I paid off my debts and then proceeded to lose the rest. I played one game for my car and lost it (about 10 minutes). So Dear Momma brought more money. She did. I bought my car back, but I guess I don't have to tell you that I lost all that money too, plus the car again. So I said, "Good-bye Boys. I can no longer afford you," and I went home.
Read more about the Statons on R.A. Dyer's Untold Stories:
Remembering Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton.
According to the R.A. Dyer, this is a picture of the great Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton and his wife, Norma Jean. Bill passed away passed on Feb. 18, 2006 at Grand Strand Regional Hospital near his home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was 77.
What a love story! I admire this gentleman who sticks by his woman and a woman who sticks by her man through thick and thin. They seemed to have had a very happy life together. The two of them are together again in heaven.
