Steve Carter

daniel

daniel

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Any ol timers out there remember Steve (real name Silas) Carter? Any info on his death? We ran around together & as time goes I lost track of him. I first saw him play 1 eyed Hank on the 5x10 in Cochrans 4 ahead 9 ball for 100 a game in 1966. I beleive Hank dusted him. Steve usually played with a Salem in his mouth & the ash would almost be the entire length of the cigarette & never fall off. This always amazed me. A new technique for holding still on the shot. LOL
 
I knew Steve and he was a pretty good player, better than me. I don't know if it was drugs or booze that was his undoing, but he went off the deep end down in Florida a long time ago. He promoted a tournament and collected all the entry fees and then gave all the money away to homeless people down at the beach. Craziest thing I've ever heard. Shortly after that I heard he was dead. Overdose or something like that. Yep to that cigarette thing. I can remember that too, even remember telling him to flick his ash a couple of times. He would look at me and say yeah and keep right on smoking with the long ash intact. :D
 
I heard thru the grapevine that he got his throat cut in Danville,VA his h ometown. I think Rooster or Bob Ogburn,both from Danville told me.
 
Wasn't the case

Tim there was lots of spec on what happened to our freind Steve--He was robbed by a pos that knew him. Did it in the house his mother left him in Danville. The asshole that did it was killed shortly afterwards when trying to rob again--there was a story going around that he was cut--that wasn't the case --he was buldgeoned to death. I found out about it the next day and called Billy Johnson and Eddie O'Connell and a few others--didn't know how to find you--Thats about it--hope you doing well--I'm still stroking away up here in the Mountains
Chip
 
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I just saw this thread today, but knew him about as well as anyone. Silas taught me how to play pool when I was between the ages of 12 - 15 or so and we were very good friends. He would call me daily to practice. He actually got knocked in the back of the head at his home, money gone. Funny thing is Silas owned a lot of cues worth much more than some cash. I know of and have played with 1 original Balabushka, 2 G Szamboti cues, 1 Richard Black, 1 Tim Scruggs, and if I remember right a Black Boar, and a few others.

Silas was a very knowledgeable player, and I learned a lot from him. And he was a better friend to those who were his friend.
 
jay helfert said:
I knew Steve and he was a pretty good player, better than me. I don't know if it was drugs or booze that was his undoing, but he went off the deep end down in Florida a long time ago. He promoted a tournament and collected all the entry fees and then gave all the money away to homeless people down at the beach. Craziest thing I've ever heard. Shortly after that I heard he was dead. Overdose or something like that. Yep to that cigarette thing. I can remember that too, even remember telling him to flick his ash a couple of times. He would look at me and say yeah and keep right on smoking with the long ash intact. :D
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Sounds like the wrong Steve. This Steve usually went by Silas and he did not OD, except maybe on pool.
 
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flyvirginiaguy said:
I just saw this thread today, but knew him about as well as anyone. Silas taught me how to play pool when I was between the ages of 12 - 15 or so and we were very good friends. He would call me daily to practice. He actually got knocked in the back of the head at his home, money gone. Funny thing is Silas owned a lot of cues worth much more than some cash. I know of and have played with 1 original Balabushka, 2 G Szamboti cues, 1 Richard Black, 1 Tim Scruggs, and if I remember right a Black Boar, and a few others.

Silas was a very knowledgeable player, and I learned a lot from him. And he was a better friend to those who were his friend.
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I used to see him at the Congress Biliards in Miami a lot. It is funny you mention cues. I saw him playing in a tournament in Tampa. He was playing with a Balabushka. He broke a rack and the cue broke completely in half at the top of the wrap. I can see it now as he had half of the cue in his bridge hand and the bottom half pointing at the floor with the wrap spiraling onto the floor. Amazingly, Rocky Tillis was sitting there and took the cue. Two days later he brought the cue back and you could not tell anything had happened to the cue at all. It was perfect.
 
Is this the guy you're talking about? Billy Johnson give me a bunch of photos before he died...this was one of them. It's kind of a weird one - taken in the mid '80s.
 

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jay helfert said:
That's the Steve Carter that I knew also.
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But if you heard he overdosed, that's completely bogus. He was murdered while at home. The times I knew and practiced with Silas, which was about daily,(mid 80 to late 80s), I never knew of him to do drugs, but he did drink, but not to the point of being out there... But at the times you seen him, and knew him, who knows?
 
Day 1 playing Steve Carter: I was playing Steve at Beanies joint in Arlington. After a few hours he had run out of money. He asked if I would give him $300 for his cue and he would continue to play. I inspected a late model Balabushka (nice cue). I said sure but the cue was going in the trunk of my car and he was going to have to find another cue to play with. He agreed and as I was walking toward the door, the counter man (Tucker) asked me what was going on. I gave him the story and in astonishment he said "That Balabushka is not even his cue! He doesn't even own that cue!" I turned right around and gave the cue back to Steve and told him that I would not give him anything for it. We made arrangements to play the next day.
 
Paul Schofield said:
Day 1 playing Steve Carter: I was playing Steve at Beanies joint in Arlington. After a few hours he had run out of money. He asked if I would give him $300 for his cue and he would continue to play. I inspected a late model Balabushka (nice cue). I said sure but the cue was going in the trunk of my car and he was going to have to find another cue to play with. He agreed and as I was walking toward the door, the counter man (Tucker) asked me what was going on. I gave him the story and in astonishment he said "That Balabushka is not even his cue! He doesn't even own that cue!" I turned right around and gave the cue back to Steve and told him that I would not give him anything for it. We made arrangements to play the next day.
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The Balabushka cue I knew Silas (Steve) owned/had till his death was owned by a man that lived behind the pool room we frequented. Last name Dowdy, who has also since past. However, he was in prison, so Silas had that cue all the time I knew him. It was probably a level 4-5 cue from the BB of Cues. But I am unsure which exact cue you speak of, as he told me he had a few over the years. They were a bit easier to own in that time I am sure. I also seen him with a couple of Gus' cues. The Bushka and all the other cues is now in the hands of a good friend of Steve.
 
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flyvirginiaguy said:
The Balabushka cue I knew Silas (Steve) owned/had till his death was owned by a man that lived behind the pool room we frequented. Last name Dowdy, who has also since past. However, he was in prison, so Silas had that cue all the time I knew him. It was probably a level 4-5 cue from the BB of Cues. But I am unsure which exact cue you speak of, as he told me he had a few over the years. They were a bit easier to own in that time I am sure. I also seen him with a couple of Gus' cues. The Bushka and all the other cues is now in the hands of a good friend of Steve.
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I remember the cue to be very plain with no inlays. It had a Burton Spain forearm. The cue was in good shape. I thought I owned another Balabushka for a minute. I was only 22 at the time. When I get a chance I will write about Day 2 Playing Steve Carter. It was an adventure.
 
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That pic was of Steve Silas (killer) Carter--Billy gave him that monaquer back when they was a chasing all the women--I had seen that pic and think I even have a copy of it around somewhere--and no he didn't OD--it happened just like I posted it before--Hated what happened to that Gent--he helped my game a great deal back when--he beat the thing into me about stringing racks together and not giving an inch while doing it--Billy helped with that also--sometimes I wish pretty much that I hadn't left the road when I did--they both told me with my game ,I would made my mark--but then I wouldn't have a family or the home I have--Miss, Silas Carter and Miss, Billy Johnson.
Pool is a different deal than it was back when--hell ya don't even shoot spot shots in 9 ball anymore--Story Silas told me about St Louie L playing Thorton Mongomery at Jack and Jill's --Beenies place--they were playing one shot foul--race to eleven for a grand and it was the hill game--Louie scratched on the 8--Thorton spotted the ball and then shot a spot shot at it and missed and lost the match-Thorton got confused and had the game won--but shot the spot shot instead of using ball in hand-still remember the stories--Carter and I had our differences--but we both made them right before he left this place--
 
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I don't know about a strong finish there--but to add--he could and did play real strong and new about the game as well as any. He had bad days as well as good ones --just like us all--and all of the top old time players that we ran into during our running around knew him and most stayed away from a game with him--I could beat him--but I had to be on top of my game and moving whitey well and stringing racks--cause he would stringem on you if ya didn't
On the cue that broke--Carter told be that the bolt between the wrap and the Fore arm broke,and turned out to be weak--after that was fixed the cue played even better and was really an easy fix--it just snapped there--think he called it Hydrogen enbrittlement--I remember that cue--he didn't carry it with us on the road--played with a Scruggs and used my Szamboti when called for.
 
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