VTEC John
Well-known member
Thanks for reaching out. We're all with you. Respect.
Thank you all
- Thread starter jay helfert
- Start date
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I was just noticing yesterday that the board was short on "Jay" posts. Hang in there, we need you! A youngster to chase and teach pool and life too. You are going to have to make this just a bump in the road. I watched a youtube video a few days ago. It featured you with your original equipment hair!
Take care my friend. Still a lot of life to live.
Hu
Take care my friend. Still a lot of life to live.
Hu
Hi Jay, I’m so glad they figured out the problem with a good doctor before it got worse and they’re treating you for it!
Never put off getting blood work done.
You are loved and thought of
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You have made this a better place
get well soon, jay
Get well soon.
Thoughts and prayers for you Jay! Wish you a speedy recovery!
Keep on fighting Jay. Trump said it after the event in Baylor Pa.
Fight Fight Fight!
Been through four surgeries in the last 16 months. I can feel your need for support cause it ain’t easy sometimes. I hope you know your not alone AZ has lots of us seniors and I truly believe they are all pulling for you and all the other seniors.
It ain’t easy getting old !!!!!
Happy
Fourth !!!!!!
Fight Fight Fight!
Been through four surgeries in the last 16 months. I can feel your need for support cause it ain’t easy sometimes. I hope you know your not alone AZ has lots of us seniors and I truly believe they are all pulling for you and all the other seniors.
It ain’t easy getting old !!!!!
Happy
Fourth !!!!!!
Jay,
if you need me to run the Accu-Stats office for you while you are gone just let me know as I will be glad to help!
And by the way, is your gal doctor hot?
r/DCP
if you need me to run the Accu-Stats office for you while you are gone just let me know as I will be glad to help!
And by the way, is your gal doctor hot?
r/DCP
You've got this Jay.
Hey Jay, Best wishes for your recovery. There’s no doubt in my mind that you will put forth the effort to get there. I’m not far behind you in age and keeping ourselves in good health doesn’t get any easier. Thank God you’re not dealing with a catastrophic illness! I look forward to your posts and seeing you and Lenni again down the road.
Paul Bell
Well-known member
I bought your book today, Pool Wars: On the Road to Hell and Back with the World's Greatest Money Player
Here are the first words of the book:
The modern era of Pool began with the release of the movie The Hustler in 1961. This classic film by Robert Rossen starred Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott and Piper Laurie in the lead roles. It triggered a reaction among young men all across the country, who decided to pick up a cue and emulate Paul Newman's character, "Fast Eddie", and become pool players.
This influx of new players and fresh blood brought life back to a game that had been in the doldrums throughout the 50's. Pool had enjoyed remarkable popularity in the 1920's, with dozens of large palatial poolrooms to be found in cities across America. The Depression closed many of them, with a small resurgence during the Second World War. Following the war years, there was a gradual slide in poolroom business, and tournaments became almost nonexistent.
Then came The Hustler, and new modern rooms began popping up everywhere. This was a Godsend to existing players, whose livelihood depended on finding opponents to gamble with and win money from. The 60's became a time of relative prosperity for them, and new tournaments began to appear affording them another opportunity to make money.
The first of these was the aptly named Hustler's Tournament, put on by the Jansco Brothers in the Southern Illinois hamlet of Johnston City. What began as an exclusively One Pocket event in 1961 quickly evolved into an All Around tournament in 1962 featuring One Pocket, 9-Ball and Straight Pool. It lasted three weeks and attracted every self respecting pool player and hustler in the country.
Emerging on a parallel path was a close friend of the Janscos, a man known in pool circles as "New York Fats". He now resided nearby in the even smaller village of Dowell, Illinois. He had met and married a local beauty queen, and they set up a homestead, from which he branched out across the Little Egypt area of Southern Illinois in gambling forays.
THE MINNESOTA FATS SAGA
The Hustler was a great novel written by Walter Tevis in 1959. It told the story of aspiring pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson and his monumental match with "Minnesota Fats". The characters were based on fictitious pool players, created by the fertile imagination of Tevis. He had traveled around Ohio and Kentucky visiting the "action" pool rooms, and getting a taste of the hustler's life style. Then he made up his story.
Not so, said Rudolf Wanderone Jr. from New York City. I am the real Minnesota Fats, and he proudly proclaimed this news at a drive-in movie theater outside Johnston City, Illinois, which was featuring The Hustler. The year was 1961 and the theater was owned by Fat's buddy, George Jansco. Local media types thought this might make an interesting story, so they gave this boastful "fat man" some press. One thing led to another and pretty soon the national media picked up the story. It didn't hurt that the movie was a huge box office success.
Fats was helped by his sheer girth, and the fact that Willie Mosconi got on the band wagon and denied Wanderone's claims. Mosconi said that this fat man was actually New York Fats, not Minnesota Fats. If anything, these denials helped Wanderone establish some credibility as a hustler of some renown. The crafty Fats picked up on this and pressed his claims. He threatened to sue Tevis and 20th Century Fox who released the film. This led to counter claims by Tevis, and abject denials that he had ever met this New York Fats character. All these claims and counter claims were duly covered by the national media.
It finally had to be settled in court. The court battle made front page news across the nation for several weeks in 1962. In the end Tevis' version was concurred with by the court, but like it or not, New York Fats was reborn as Minnesota Fats. Wanderone continued to use that name the rest of his life, and capitalized on his celebrity in every way possible. Tevis went to his death bed claiming there was no such character in real life, but it made little difference to Fats' adoring public
Here are the first words of the book:
Chapter One
IN THE BEGINNINGThe modern era of Pool began with the release of the movie The Hustler in 1961. This classic film by Robert Rossen starred Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott and Piper Laurie in the lead roles. It triggered a reaction among young men all across the country, who decided to pick up a cue and emulate Paul Newman's character, "Fast Eddie", and become pool players.
This influx of new players and fresh blood brought life back to a game that had been in the doldrums throughout the 50's. Pool had enjoyed remarkable popularity in the 1920's, with dozens of large palatial poolrooms to be found in cities across America. The Depression closed many of them, with a small resurgence during the Second World War. Following the war years, there was a gradual slide in poolroom business, and tournaments became almost nonexistent.
Then came The Hustler, and new modern rooms began popping up everywhere. This was a Godsend to existing players, whose livelihood depended on finding opponents to gamble with and win money from. The 60's became a time of relative prosperity for them, and new tournaments began to appear affording them another opportunity to make money.
The first of these was the aptly named Hustler's Tournament, put on by the Jansco Brothers in the Southern Illinois hamlet of Johnston City. What began as an exclusively One Pocket event in 1961 quickly evolved into an All Around tournament in 1962 featuring One Pocket, 9-Ball and Straight Pool. It lasted three weeks and attracted every self respecting pool player and hustler in the country.
Emerging on a parallel path was a close friend of the Janscos, a man known in pool circles as "New York Fats". He now resided nearby in the even smaller village of Dowell, Illinois. He had met and married a local beauty queen, and they set up a homestead, from which he branched out across the Little Egypt area of Southern Illinois in gambling forays.
THE MINNESOTA FATS SAGA
The Hustler was a great novel written by Walter Tevis in 1959. It told the story of aspiring pool hustler Fast Eddie Felson and his monumental match with "Minnesota Fats". The characters were based on fictitious pool players, created by the fertile imagination of Tevis. He had traveled around Ohio and Kentucky visiting the "action" pool rooms, and getting a taste of the hustler's life style. Then he made up his story.
Not so, said Rudolf Wanderone Jr. from New York City. I am the real Minnesota Fats, and he proudly proclaimed this news at a drive-in movie theater outside Johnston City, Illinois, which was featuring The Hustler. The year was 1961 and the theater was owned by Fat's buddy, George Jansco. Local media types thought this might make an interesting story, so they gave this boastful "fat man" some press. One thing led to another and pretty soon the national media picked up the story. It didn't hurt that the movie was a huge box office success.
Fats was helped by his sheer girth, and the fact that Willie Mosconi got on the band wagon and denied Wanderone's claims. Mosconi said that this fat man was actually New York Fats, not Minnesota Fats. If anything, these denials helped Wanderone establish some credibility as a hustler of some renown. The crafty Fats picked up on this and pressed his claims. He threatened to sue Tevis and 20th Century Fox who released the film. This led to counter claims by Tevis, and abject denials that he had ever met this New York Fats character. All these claims and counter claims were duly covered by the national media.
It finally had to be settled in court. The court battle made front page news across the nation for several weeks in 1962. In the end Tevis' version was concurred with by the court, but like it or not, New York Fats was reborn as Minnesota Fats. Wanderone continued to use that name the rest of his life, and capitalized on his celebrity in every way possible. Tevis went to his death bed claiming there was no such character in real life, but it made little difference to Fats' adoring public
If the doctor was an old dude, you’d be healed on day one!