Steve "Cookie Monster" Cook

Smorgass Bored said:
I knew Steve about as well as anyone. I've been to his trailer a number of times, when his father and Gene "The Glove" were there. We hung out and drank beer at The Journey's End 100 times.

I used to play poker and Euchre with him. I've squired him around town, staked him, bet on him and gambled against him at the little room on Hillsborough Ave. and Han's on Waters Ave.

Onetime we went to The Green Parrot and I put my coins up and challenged a table. When it was my time to go play, I found a wallet with all the personal I.D. of the owner, but NO money in it. I walked up to the bar and held out the wallet and opened it to show Steve that there was no money in it. Steve looked at the wallet, looked at me, back at the wallet and back at me and with a sad, painful, worried look, said, "Doug, I like you and all, but I can't give you any money to challenge that table. You know how you play." I laughed until my sides hurt and turned the wallet in to the barmaid. At $5 a game, I won about $100 while we were there.
When we got back into the car, I held out all the money and with a sad look on my face, I said, "Steve, I like you AND ALL, but I just can't bring myself to give you any of this money."

Steve mostly liked to talk about movies, particularly, HIS favorite movies. He loved the old time movies, but his favorite 'modern' movie was The Mosquito Coast...... until Rainman came out. Rainman became his alltime favorite movie and he could go on and on and ON about it...

Doug
( I miss Steve Cook and while I'm at it, I miss Gene "The Mighty Glove" Catron too )
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Gene would stop in at Bakers when I was a kid and show us trick shots.
Kreole Freddy Yates has told me many great stories about him.
Freddy finally beat him out of some money at Bill Stigalls old pool room, Family Billiards.

Here he is with that old Army glove performing his Domino shot.
 

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CaptainHook said:
Here is a pic of the Cue that Wayne Gunn made for Steve.
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I think Dick Abbott had Steve's 'Wayne Gunn' cue(s) for sale on his website at one time. I don't know if he sold them or not. Do you ?
Doug
 
Smorgass Bored said:
I knew Steve about as well as anyone. I've been to his trailer a number of times, when his father and Gene "The Glove" were there. We hung out and drank beer at The Journey's End 100 times.

I used to play poker and Euchre with him. I've squired him around town, staked him, bet on him and gambled against him at the little room on Hillsborough Ave. and Han's on Waters Ave.

Onetime we went to The Green Parrot and I put my coins up and challenged a table. When it was my time to go play, I found a wallet with all the personal I.D. of the owner, but NO money in it. I walked up to the bar and held out the wallet and opened it to show Steve that there was no money in it. Steve looked at the wallet, looked at me, back at the wallet and back at me and with a sad, painful, worried look, said, "Doug, I like you and all, but I can't give you any money to challenge that table. You know how you play." I laughed until my sides hurt and turned the wallet in to the barmaid. At $5 a game, I won about $100 while we were there.
When we got back into the car, I held out all the money and with a sad look on my face, I said, "Steve, I like you AND ALL, but I just can't bring myself to give you any of this money."

Steve mostly liked to talk about movies, particularly, HIS favorite movies. He loved the old time movies, but his favorite 'modern' movie was The Mosquito Coast...... until Rainman came out. Rainman became his alltime favorite movie and he could go on and on and ON about it...

Doug
( I miss Steve Cook and while I'm at it, I miss Gene "The Mighty Glove" Catron too )
Click to expand...

Funny you brought that up. One of the last conversations I had with Steve, he asked me if I had seen Rainman. Of course I said, my sister worked at Paramount and was heavily involved in the huge video sales it did long after it left the theaters. Rainman was one of the all time biggest video moneymakers.

Steve was one of the only people who recognized what a fine acting job Tom Cruise did in that movie. Yes, Dustin Hoffman was superb and he won the Oscar for his performance and rightfully so. But that may have been Cruise's best work, among the many fine performances he has delivered. Watch it again if you don't believe me. He's great, just a little over shadowed by Hoffman is all.
 
CaptainHook said:
Gene would stop in at Bakers when I was a kid and show us trick shots.
Kreole Freddy Yates has told me many great stories about him.
Freddy finally beat him out of some money at Bill Stigalls old pool room, Family Billiards.

Here he is with that old Army glove performing his Domino shot.
Click to expand...

Gene is famous for his "domino" shots that have been immortalized on televison shows across the globe. But do not think he was one trick pony. The man could play and was a VERY successful hustler long before he ever knocked down a domino. Just ask Buddy some time about Gene. They were rivals first, then friends and finally road partners.
 
It sold for $7500.

I've always thought that a "champion's" cue would be more valuable and collectible, but I've never really seen anyone (on AZ at least) who focused a collection on buying cues that were used by great players. Perhaps I'm wrong.
 
student4ever said:
If you want another great tape check out his match vs. Allen Hopkins. About mid to early 90's I think. What a great Accustats match of one hole. Anyway as far as stories go all the funny ones I ever heard are about him not getting paid. I mean of you take a good look at him he likes like he was in the Waltons. LOL. It helped him get action but didn't help him get paid. What a great player though...is he still playing alot??
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Steve passed away a couple years ago.
 
BTW - this is a great thread. I'm enjoying the stories.

I'm surprised Steve was a "party guy". From watching him on the video he looked like a Sunday School teacher. :)
 
Matt_24 said:
BTW - this is a great thread. I'm enjoying the stories.

I'm surprised Steve was a "party guy". From watching him on the video he looked like a Sunday School teacher. :)
Click to expand...



Steve hung out at The Journey's End, one of the dirties, dungiest, riff-raff, biker, low life joints that I've ever been to. (I played on their city bar league team and we won the whole shebang). Steve would sit there drinking his beer and 'stuff' went on all around him. he never moved, commented or participated.

The Journey's End was finally seized by the Federal Government and all owners & employees jailed for running drugs out of there. It waseventually torn down down. It was one of the first places that i went to when I moved to Tampa and after I'd beaten the players holding the tables in the cash challenge games, they brought in a 'ringer' from the bar. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him. I asked him his name and he said Steve. I said, "COOK" ? When he said yes, I told him that I'd rather just go drink a few beers back at the bar with him. :)

Doug
( I did play him a set to five of 8 ball at The Porthole onetime (I had a stakehorse) and he beat me 5-0, after I'd control of the $10 challenge tabler for about two hours... I TOLD that stakehorse that I couldn't beat Steve, but the guy was adamant )
 
Matt_24 said:
It sold for $7500.

I've always thought that a "champion's" cue would be more valuable and collectible, but I've never really seen anyone (on AZ at least) who focused a collection on buying cues that were used by great players. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

Man, I wish I had that cue.:)
 
I'm Making Myself THIRSTY (are YOU a turtle ?)

Matt_24 said:
BTW - this is a great thread. I'm enjoying the stories.

I'm surprised Steve was a "party guy". From watching him on the video he looked like a Sunday School teacher. :)
Click to expand...


I wouldn't exactly call him a 'party guy' but, both he and Gene enjoyed their beer. If Steve had an important tournament on Saturday & Sunday, he would stop drinking on Thursday (after his beer) and dry out on Friday.

Apparently, that regimen worked for Steve for a loooooooooong time.
Doug
( we would drink beer all afternoon and then when the bars closed at 3:00 a.m., we would go to The Thirsty Turtle or Night Flight (two after-hour clubs) and drink until 7:00 a.m. and then on to Art's bar or the bar on Kennedy Ave to continue....... ALL the places that we drank had pool tables and action ) :)
 
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