I would love to hear some "Old School" stories about Louie Roberts! He had an incredible stroke. Who all did he run with on the road?
St. Louie Louie
- Thread starter Fast Davie NC
- Start date
Fast Davie NC said:
I am originally from St.Louis, I spent some time around Louie in the Mid-1970's. He certainly had a great stroke, and he was funny as hell to be around. I joined the US Army in the late 1970's and left St. Louis for good. I heard about Louis Death, and to me any way it was quite a loss to Billiards.
Contact Rick Howard the Maker of Mace Cues, I talked with him awhile back and he told me he had spent time on the Road with Louie.
Have a great night!!
Thanks So Much! he was a great player! I still try to copy his stroke!
Fast Davie NC said:
That may be hard to do, because I use to watch him and say what the #uck, but he he would make some of the most amazing shots. Never blinked and eye just kept on shooting like it was nothing at all.
One of his favorite shots was to freeze the Cue Ball on the center Diamond on the foot of the table and the object ball on the center diamond of the Head of the table. Louie would give anyone 5 to 1 odds that he would cut the ball in either corner pocket, with 5 attempts. Mostly he would make the shot with in 1 - 2 attempts, and I never say him make it in more than 3 attempts.
Now when people would no longer bet him on that shot, he changed it a little. Louie would place the Cue Ball on the same spot, but on top of the rail, and shoot it from there. Louie achieved the same results as above, and he told me that he preferred shooting it from on top the rail. Louie said that from on top of the rail it was easier to achieve the necessary spin to pocket the ball, in fact it appeared that he massed the ball more from the top of the rail.
Have a good night!!!!
I am glad that you feel like me and appreciate Louie! Thanks so much for your response! I saw Sigel play Louie gambling when I was young and Sigel could not beat him! It was almost like Sigel could not beat Earl "Back In the Day" Earl was unstoppable like Louie. Amazing times in the life of Pool...I am getting old!
Fast Davie NC said:
...I am getting old![/QUOTE]
I call it getting young, ever notice how we all try to grow up so fast when we are young. But, then once we realize our error, we do everything we can to reverse the process. Have you ever walked into an old folks home? They appear at first quite, and most are lonely, but when you spend enough time with our old you find out that most at least mentally have reverted back to their youth.
I enjoyed our posts it brought back some good memories, and it made me feel young again, and that is priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a wonderful night!!!!!!
Here's 1
Dayton Ohio tourney I think. A friend of mine was friends with Louis. He's in his Hotel room sleeping, and gets this loud banging on his door about 4 in the morning. He's supposed to play Louis at 9am, and they're both sitting on $200 in the tourney.
Well, it was Louis at the door and he starts asking my friend for $200. Says he already left word at the poolroom, that he could pick up the money from the tourney director. He's fed up with pool and needs money to get home and see his Mom. Tells my friend he's gonna tell his Mom goodbye and blow his brains out. {I know it's a sick story, after what happened, sorry}
My friend loans him the money, figures it's just a story, but he's really leaving town, so it moves him out 1 more step in the tourney. 2 minutes before match time, my friend shows up at the room, figuring he's gettin a bye. There's Louis hitting balls and in dead stroke. My friend is so mad he can't see straight til half way thru the match. Meanwhile Louis is smiling and gigglin and proceeds to beat my friend and secure a few more $$$$ in prize money. Not sure if he ever got the $200 back.
Fast Davie NC said:
Dayton Ohio tourney I think. A friend of mine was friends with Louis. He's in his Hotel room sleeping, and gets this loud banging on his door about 4 in the morning. He's supposed to play Louis at 9am, and they're both sitting on $200 in the tourney.
Well, it was Louis at the door and he starts asking my friend for $200. Says he already left word at the poolroom, that he could pick up the money from the tourney director. He's fed up with pool and needs money to get home and see his Mom. Tells my friend he's gonna tell his Mom goodbye and blow his brains out. {I know it's a sick story, after what happened, sorry}
My friend loans him the money, figures it's just a story, but he's really leaving town, so it moves him out 1 more step in the tourney. 2 minutes before match time, my friend shows up at the room, figuring he's gettin a bye. There's Louis hitting balls and in dead stroke. My friend is so mad he can't see straight til half way thru the match. Meanwhile Louis is smiling and gigglin and proceeds to beat my friend and secure a few more $$$$ in prize money. Not sure if he ever got the $200 back.
Louis
When I first started playing pool in the 80's I was at Airway billiards in Dayton Ohio and Louis was there,he was friends with Joe Brown and stopped in frequently,after watching my feeble attemps to draw a ball Louis came over and started giving me lessons.Blew my mind,I'd had seen him on TV and knew of his reputation and now he's teaching me pool.Awsome!
When I first started playing pool in the 80's I was at Airway billiards in Dayton Ohio and Louis was there,he was friends with Joe Brown and stopped in frequently,after watching my feeble attemps to draw a ball Louis came over and started giving me lessons.Blew my mind,I'd had seen him on TV and knew of his reputation and now he's teaching me pool.Awsome!
I have a home made video of Louie gambling with a road player at Cue and Cushion in St Louis in 1987. I can't get my computer to copy it but it is worth having if you want to see Louie.
From the black pool halls in North St Louis to pool halls in smaller towns in the St Louis area, the old timers all say the same thing. Louie was the best shotmaker they ever saw.
From the black pool halls in North St Louis to pool halls in smaller towns in the St Louis area, the old timers all say the same thing. Louie was the best shotmaker they ever saw.
A snip from John Grissim's book, Billiards -
Roberts, whose dream is to be the world's best 9-ball player, has the talent to match. During one high-stakes match which is still much discussed, he offered his opponent the ultimate handicap: agreeing to count a game as lost if he (Roberts) failed to run out anytime he got on the table. At the end of the session he reportedly walked off with all the money on the premises, an expensive digital watch, two post-dated checks and somebody's girlfriend.
- End snip.
A good source of information on Louie would be Angel Paglia. Her and her father were good friends with Roberts. I don't think either of them post on here but maybe one of the Phoenix guys (Fast Lenny or JimmyM) can talk Angel or her dad to share some stories. I always wanted to know if Louie ever played Cole Dickson.
Roberts, whose dream is to be the world's best 9-ball player, has the talent to match. During one high-stakes match which is still much discussed, he offered his opponent the ultimate handicap: agreeing to count a game as lost if he (Roberts) failed to run out anytime he got on the table. At the end of the session he reportedly walked off with all the money on the premises, an expensive digital watch, two post-dated checks and somebody's girlfriend.
- End snip.
A good source of information on Louie would be Angel Paglia. Her and her father were good friends with Roberts. I don't think either of them post on here but maybe one of the Phoenix guys (Fast Lenny or JimmyM) can talk Angel or her dad to share some stories. I always wanted to know if Louie ever played Cole Dickson.
Winter of 70-71 just left Burlington IA tourney, where Courtney/Coffee stiffed the prize fund. Went to Beanie and DeValle's place, down stairs, furry fiberglass floor tile, pure E. Coast. Lots happened but Carella and Louie went at it, their own dough, betting in the low thousands till Carella had Louie Busted/down to his gold jewelry. Louie went all in with the jewelry, Carella agreed & posted $800 to match giving Loiue one final shot to get his dough back, Louie busted Mike.
Louie Roberts
I watched Louie play Luther Lassiter in 2 exhibition matches in a pool room above a bowling alley. Luther looked like he was over the hill belching, twisting his head and pushing his fist into his stomach before almost every shot the first match. Louie had convinced several of us that no way this old man could touch him so with this inside info some of us bet on Louie. Luther did not miss a shot the entire first match beating Louie like a drum. Louie said, "You know you never missed a shot." Luther answered, "I didn't try to miss any." Louie tried to stir up some backing on the second match to no avail and Luther missed only 2-3 shots the second match and crushed Louie again. I spent the next 3 months trying to summon up a belch before every shot........
I watched Louie play Luther Lassiter in 2 exhibition matches in a pool room above a bowling alley. Luther looked like he was over the hill belching, twisting his head and pushing his fist into his stomach before almost every shot the first match. Louie had convinced several of us that no way this old man could touch him so with this inside info some of us bet on Louie. Luther did not miss a shot the entire first match beating Louie like a drum. Louie said, "You know you never missed a shot." Luther answered, "I didn't try to miss any." Louie tried to stir up some backing on the second match to no avail and Luther missed only 2-3 shots the second match and crushed Louie again. I spent the next 3 months trying to summon up a belch before every shot........
Scott Lee said:
It was the finals of a tournament and I don't even remember who Louie was playing, Scott but Louie won the break and was down ready to hit the balls, stopped, looked into the camera and said something like, "Mom, don't worry, I will be home soon and I will cut the grass." Cowboy Jimmy Moore was the announcer of the match, which Louie lost.
> There is a story that Grady tells where Louie went up to 8 different guys and borrowed 400,using a customized Meucci as collateral,but stipulating that he had to use the cue in a match. Louie left town with the cue and the borrowed 3200 and went to go play Buddy in Shreveport. We all know how that went. Tommy D.
Our heroes are standup guys regardless if at times some of them lie,cheat and steal.Tommy-D said:
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Excerpt from my book, The GosPool According to the Beard:
ABLE TO CONSUME VAST QUANTITIES OF CHEMICALS AND STILL PLAY GOOD:
#1
"St. Louie Louie" Roberts, St. Louis, MO. While living with a hypochondriac Chicago cue maker, Louie once emptied the cue maker's medicine cabinet. The cue maker routinely had shelves of assorted medicines that could bring you up, take you down or eliminate all pain.
Louie (no pharmacist he), would just take potluck and play Pill‑Russian-Roulette. He'd say, "I'll try two of those white ones with three of those pinkies and seal the deal with one of those red babies. I'll save these brown stripers for later." Louie would chase them all down with a few six-packs of beer, then play for days and never miss a ball.
Thanx to,
the Beard
ABLE TO CONSUME VAST QUANTITIES OF CHEMICALS AND STILL PLAY GOOD:
#1
"St. Louie Louie" Roberts, St. Louis, MO. While living with a hypochondriac Chicago cue maker, Louie once emptied the cue maker's medicine cabinet. The cue maker routinely had shelves of assorted medicines that could bring you up, take you down or eliminate all pain.
Louie (no pharmacist he), would just take potluck and play Pill‑Russian-Roulette. He'd say, "I'll try two of those white ones with three of those pinkies and seal the deal with one of those red babies. I'll save these brown stripers for later." Louie would chase them all down with a few six-packs of beer, then play for days and never miss a ball.
Thanx to,
the Beard
Yes sir
Louis came up to me in Dayton one time looking for a friend of mine who had staked him in a ring game the night before. He says "where's Chuck, I need a little dough, I got my chemicals right and i'm ready to play."
I heard he got put in jail in Dayton once for falling asleep in a doughnut shop. He'd been up gambling for about 3 days, and was sitting there drinking coffee, waiting for someone. Fell asleep and a cop walked in. Thought he was drunk, and busted him for public intox.
freddy the beard said:
Louis came up to me in Dayton one time looking for a friend of mine who had staked him in a ring game the night before. He says "where's Chuck, I need a little dough, I got my chemicals right and i'm ready to play."
I heard he got put in jail in Dayton once for falling asleep in a doughnut shop. He'd been up gambling for about 3 days, and was sitting there drinking coffee, waiting for someone. Fell asleep and a cop walked in. Thought he was drunk, and busted him for public intox.