Some Prayers For Pete Margo

Pete Margo:

1971 World Championship Runner-Up (9 Ball)

1971 Maine Open 1st Place. Defeated Larry Liscotti, Jim Rempe, Jack Colovita & Pat Flemming

1972 Stardust Open World Championship 1st Place (14.1). Defeated Joe Balsis in Finals, High Run 101 and Out.

1973 World Series of Pocket Billiards (14.1), 1st Place. Defeated Luther Lassiter and Steve Mizerak twice, high runs of 102 & out, and 121 & out.

1973 Hi-Cue Open (14.1). Defeated Steve Mizerak

1973 Hi-Cue Open (14.1). Defeated Jack Colovita.

1975 National 9-Ball Championship 1st Place. Defeated Luther Lassiter, Steve Mizerak, Jack Colovita, Jim Rempe and Larry Liscotti in Finals.

1975 Gold Crown 9-Ball Championship 1st Place. Defeated Ray Martin, Mike Sigal, Steve Mizerak, Earl Herring.

1975 Hi-Cue Open 1st Place (14.1). Defeated Jack Colovita, Earl Herring, and Mike Eufemia.

1975 U.S. Open Runner-Up (14.1). Defeated Richie Florence, Luther Lassiter, Steve Mizerak. High Runs.

1975 NJ Open 1st Place (14.1). Defeated Tom Jennings, Gene Nagy, Larry Liscotti, Herb Le Hman, Ray Martin, Tom Jennings, Steve Mizerak. High Runs 128-132.

1975 V.I.P. Invitational (14.1) Defeated Luther Lassiter, Cicero Murphy, Steve Mizerak.

1976 World Series of Pool 0-Ball Runner-up.

1977 V.I.P. 9-Ball Championship 1st Place. Defeated Luther Lassiter, Steve Mizerak and Alan Hopkins.

1977 World Series of Pool 1st Place (14.1). Defeated Irving Crane, Mike Carella, Steve Mizerak. High Runs 330-150 & Out, +101.

1978 Battle of Champions 1st Place (14.1). Defeated Tom Jennings, Ray Martin, Jack Colovita. High Runs 132 & 122.

1978 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship Runner-up. Defeated Larry Liscotti, Alan Hopkins & Steve Mizerak.

1978 World Series of Pool 9-Ball 1st Place. Defeated Luther Lassiter, Steve Mizerak and Irving Crane.

1979 Eastern Starts Championship Runner-up (14.1). Defeated Jack Colovita, Tom Jennings, Joe Balsis, Steve Mizerak.

1979 Money Play Shoot-Out 1st Place.
 
I had the pleasure of watching Pete run the most balls I had ever seen up to then. It was in 1981 at Jack & Jill Cue Lounge in Brewster, NY. He was on a run of 198 when a standard side-of-the-rack break shot followed/kissed through a bunch of balls and scratched in the side.

Pete gave an exhibition in a small firehouse in Marin County about the same time. It was arranged by local resident John Grissim, author of "Billiards" (1979) which belongs in every player's library. I got to hold my stick as his opponent.

I think he saw that pro pool was not going to be very rewarding and went into the VHS video rental business at the right time. I think he got out at the right time, too.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I think he saw that pro pool was not going to be very rewarding and went into the VHS video rental business at the right time. I think he got out at the right time, too.
Click to expand...
Yep - Palmer Video in New Jersey, particularly around the Union County area. The namesake is related to Palmer Cues since, if i recall correctly, Pete went into biz with members of the Balner family. I remember going to the Scotch Plains location to rent movies as a kid. I think they cashed out at the right time too.

I believe I ran into the last surviving Palmer Video around 2008 in Plainfield NJ (don't go there). It had nothing to do with Palmer Video anymore and was just an electronics store at that point that kept the name when it took over, apparently. You can see it in this old Google Maps street view. It's hard to make out but the sign says "Palmer Video Electronics."

www.google.com

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
www.google.com www.google.com

Edit: Here's a better, but not perfect, picture of what the Palmer Video signs looked like.

www.yelp.com

Palmer Video & Electronics - Plainfield, NJ

Specialties: Electronics Sales and Service, Cracked Screen Specialists, Water Damage, smartphone repairs, Tablet Repairs Established in 1986. We have been in business since 1986 , Started off as a Video Rental Store, and as the years passed by we added services that our customers needed , Over...
www.yelp.com www.yelp.com
 
Last edited:
Bob Jewett said:
I had the pleasure of watching Pete run the most balls I had ever seen up to then. It was in 1981 at Jack & Jill Cue Lounge in Brewster, NY. He was on a run of 198 when a standard side-of-the-rack break shot followed/kissed through a bunch of balls and scratched in the side.

Pete gave an exhibition in a small firehouse in Marin County about the same time. It was arranged by local resident John Grissim, author of "Billiards" (1979) which belongs in every player's library. I got to hold my stick as his opponent.

I think he saw that pro pool was not going to be very rewarding and went into the VHS video rental business at the right time. I think he got out at the right time, too.
Click to expand...
Great 14.1 player - hope that Petey recovers! Jack and Jill's in Brewster- the place had never changed from the 1960s - perhaps even up to today! I played some pool there around 2009 and it still looked like the 1960s in there with GC1s:):). The original owner- Turk - his original Palmer Model M ( the one with the winding veneers in the forearm, only made by Gene Balner himself)- was hung on the wall in the room, encased in a glass display case.
I used to love to walk into the room just for the nostalgia feel- big high front desk area with the old pool room time clock that stamped your in/out time on a white card - they even still kept a 3 cushion table in there for the old timers.

Get well, Petey!
 
Awful news. I've known Pete for over 40 years and the quality of his play is often overlooked due to his having had a short career. By my assessment, he was BCA Hall of Famer Jim Rempe's equal at straight pool, and we all know what a special player Rempe was.

Wishing him a full recovery.
 
I first saw Pete as a young player around 1964.
He came to a room in Toms River N.J. and matched up with Ernie Lager a good 14.1 player that Pete didn't know he being from north jersey.
After Ernie beat him Pete kept asking "Who are you?
The next time was at Park Billiards in Neptune N.J. where he got beat by fast Eddie Sontag playing 9 ball.
Pretty sure at that point in time he was not the player he turned out to be as Ernie and Eddie were just real good shortstops.
But anyway I wish him the best,always heard good things about him.
 
I first met Peter at Hi Cue in Elizabeth when I was 12-13 years old. My uncle was playing a straight pool tournament there. He was a nice guy then and I remember him, Jack Colavita, Miz and my uncle discussing straight pool.
Here are a few pics...
Peter giving a class at Pool Table Magic and Peter and Mark Kulungian examining the "Last Works" of George Balabushka...

Joe
 

Attachments

  • Resized_IMG_20221018_131527_827.JPEG
    Resized_IMG_20221018_131527_827.JPEG
    32.7 KB · Views: 113
  • Resized_IMG_20221018_131528_067.JPEG
    Resized_IMG_20221018_131528_067.JPEG
    76.8 KB · Views: 147
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top