The best ever.... Period

8&snap said:
Bmore, Jason would spend a week sleeping under the table while his dad Bobby would go pimp. You also know who Jason got mixed up with to start that down hill slide (Max & his drugs & vending machine thieves). You talk about Big money but you forgot Timmy Crown & Stewie & of course where you find Timmy C. you find Danny Green. You mention Greenie who had more gamble then brains loosing one pool room pitching quarters and big don in the coroner knowing his job was gone with the first throw. My fav. player was larry newdecker , if he got his mix right he was the winner who ever he played.then there was Jr Harris who was a nut case(told this story before ). he &his girl(cherl) was having dinner at my house & my daughter turned on the Tv to watch the Exorcist & Jr. ran out the back door slamming it & breaking every window in it screaming those demons will get you at the top of his voice(neighbors loved that).I know i know you & probably most of the stories .
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One night a bunch of us were rolling keno on table 5 for $100 a roll and Timmy Crown got on a REAL BAD run and lost everything he had in his hand and pockets. We figured he was done but he took off his baseball cap and had another $10,000 up there just sitting on his head the whole night ! LOL

Larry Newdecker was one hell of a player too; although I didn't meet him till he was past his glory days. I wasnt real close with him but he always had great stories and seemed like a really nice guy. What I remember most about Larry was he used to always pawn the meter out of his cab with me. I honestly did not really understand that because I kept on thinking well how are you gonna be able to repay me if you dont have the one thing that ya need to make the money in the first place???? The very first time he wanted to do that I told him no - for that very reason but someone there vouched for him with me and told me it was cool with nothing to worry about so I did. Larry ALWAYS paid in full, on time EVERY time.

Yeah that Greenie sure was a character and your right, I doubt if anyone had more gamble in them than he did. He LITERALLY lost millions of dollars gambling on anything and everything. He did lose a couple of pool halls that I know of.

I was hanging out with Danny Green about a month or so and we were reminiscing bout all the fun of the good ol days, for instance when he had his escort business and he'd roll up to Jack & Jills in his limo with a bunch of hot chics in the back and we would either just roll around partying or more often than not right in the parking lot outside the pool room. :):):) He really doesn't play that much anymore on any kind of regular basis but he still shoots strong and I wouldn't recommend betting against him thats for sure. He's got a decent job with good pay and great benefits and is focusing on doing the family thing. Any spare time he has he's been devoting to making his cues ( which are really nice in my opinion and if ya can get one you prob should ).

Lets not forget about The Donut Man either! Anyone remember when he got that really nice big motorhome? Not sure why but I still think it was really funny. Don't get me wrong, it seems like a cool idea so why not but just makes me laugh cause he would roll up to J&J's and park it right outside the pool hall taking up like 10 parking spots. When he was done he'd just jump back in it and head back to where he lived ( which was only 20 minutes from J&J's . Gotta love it :)!
 
HA!! yea i know donut man, he played me broke 1 night so i agreed to play him for donuts, end of session he owed me 40 tray's of donuts, i still laugh about it,got about 7 trays & called it even. Mark was a lil strange. I still roll thinking about that motor home with leaking roof parked at Lee's
 
BmoreMoney said:
Any spare time he has he's been devoting to making his cues ( which are really nice in my opinion and if ya can get one you prob should ).

Gotta love it :)!
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He is a very good cue maker who learned from bmore cue makings finest. No one knows a good sword like a samurai. Danny Green is a certified samurai master on the green felt jungle.

Not a lot of this type action around anymore. Maybe better in other parts of the country???

Kd


Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk
 
The Baldwin from old Bill AND BILLIES that I knew and hung out with more then a few times, was not anywhere close to a millionair!

But anyway the man did gamble and got many big games started, Baldwins main man was Little Nicky.

Baldwin and Nicky try so many times to bust Vanover, with Nicky getting the free 7 playing 9 ball, Tom never once lost to Nicky.

Then when MR. BOBBY LEGG came to town, Baldwin thought they finally had the man to beat Tom Vanover playing even 9 ball, Tom and Bobby played so many sets of even 9 ball over the time that Bobby spent here in Baltimore, I would bet there wasn't 2 sets one way or the other after all those times them two played each other, they were very much equal to one and other in pool!

BOBBY LEGG was a wonderful guy as so was Tom Vanover, 2 of the greatest pool players to ever play the game in Baltimore BARNONE!
 
richiebalto said:
OH btw, Great thread Roger!
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Thanks Richie! I've been waiting on ya to chime in! But no, I wasn't talking bout Baldy ( Geese's backer ) . I was talking about Greenberg ( Greenie ) - he had Greenies up on Reisterstown Rd. And by exact definition he may have been a " millionaire " as in having millions in the bank all at one time but it is a well known fact the that he for sure lost million over course of time though. Don't forget he had that family money behind him too. Jack & Jills ( you and I Rich understand what is meant when ya say Bill & Billie's but alot of people reading this on here won't and I dont want to confuse them thanks ). Now J & J's was pretty much always packed and plenty of action but the most packed I ever saw the place was when Tom played Andam that first time. I mean it was crazy! Hundreds of people packed the place with standing room only - boy I was glad I had my normal chair right up front against the wall in front of table 5! Don't get mad Richie! Lol You know I love Tom and how much respect I have for him but this is a great story worth being told. In fact Rich can you go ahead and tell the story for us. You prob would do it more justice than I could thanks. Hey BTW Richie I think I recall reading ya said you started working at a bar? Is it over in DD? We can get together there one night and throw some back, first round's on me. We can knock a few around too if they have a table in there as well.
 
BmoreMoney said:
Thanks Richie! I've been waiting on ya to chime in! But no, I wasn't talking bout Baldy ( Geese's backer ) . I was talking about Greenberg ( Greenie ) - he had Greenies up on Reisterstown Rd. And by exact definition he may have been a " millionaire " as in having millions in the bank all at one time but it is a well known fact the that he for sure lost million over course of time though. Don't forget he had that family money behind him too. Jack & Jills ( you and I Rich understand what is meant when ya say Bill & Billie's but alot of people reading this on here won't and I dont want to confuse them thanks ). Now J & J's was pretty much always packed and plenty of action but the most packed I ever saw the place was when Tom played Andam that first time. I mean it was crazy! Hundreds of people packed the place with standing room only - boy I was glad I had my normal chair right up front against the wall in front of table 5! Don't get mad Richie! Lol You know I love Tom and how much respect I have for him but this is a great story worth being told. In fact Rich can you go ahead and tell the story for us. You prob would do it more justice than I could thanks. Hey BTW Richie I think I recall reading ya said you started working at a bar? Is it over in DD? We can get together there one night and throw some back, first round's on me. We can knock a few around too if they have a table in there as well.
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Tom was working at dundalks pool room one day and the phone rang, well it was a guy speaking about if Vanover was willing to play Amdam any 9 ball and Tom said sure I will play your man but I will need the 7 ball and the backer asked Andam if it was ok for him to spot Tom the 7 playing 9 ball and Andam said yes he has the 7 ball.

This mans name is Bayamaka or something of the sort , the man posts here from time to time, I hope he hears this , Bayaka is a very nice man.

So they start playing races to 13 for 2 thou, Tom is drilling Andam 9-2, Andam asks Tom if he was willing to double the bet, now Tom only needs 4 more games to Andam 11 to win the set, so of course Tom does double the bet ( after all Tom Vamover done play all the best players in the USA and beat most of them even) so what happens next was the most inhumane thing I ever seen done on the pool table before, Andam hits Tom with all his mite and just runs Tom over, Tom didn't win another game that set, Andam won 13-9!

Andam won the next set easy , Vanover was never the same player after that!

Andam is the best 9 ball pool player that ever walked or will walk!
 
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richiebalto said:
Tom was working at dundalks pool room one day and the phone rang, well it was a guy speaking about if Vanover was willing to play Amdam any 9 ball and Tom said sure I will play your man but I will need the 7 ball and the backer asked Andam if it was ok for him to spot Tom the 7 playing 9 ball and Andam said yes he has the 7 ball.

This mans name is Bayamaka or something of the sort , the man posts here from time to time, I hope he hears this , Bayaka is a very nice man.

So they start playing races to 13 for 2 thou, Tom is drilling Andam 9-2, Andam asks Tom if he was willing to double the bet, now Tom only needs 4 more games to Andam 11 to win the set, so of course Tom does double the bet ( after all Tom Vamover done play all the best players in the USA and beat most of them even) so what happens next was the most inhumane thing I ever seen done on the pool table before, Andam hits Tom with all his mite and just runs Tom over, Tom didn't win another game that set, Andam won 13-9!

Andam won the next set easy , Vanover was never the same player after that!

Andam is the best 9 ball pool player that ever walked or will walk!
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Bayawak...and yes, a fine dude.
 
Where you at Roger, from over the bridge?

I never seen or heard of Ginky playing at old Bill n Billies or Jack n Jills , the same place.

But I did hear about Bartram showing up there for about a weeks time, Bart got the money too!

There was a time in the early 90s that a crew from philly would come down every weekend, boy they were armed with some great players, Big Joe Vessie, Rabbit, Fuscos, Calhound and others.

I seen all of these guys win and lose, but two of them, Patch eye and Big Joe Vessie never came close to losing.

Patch n Joe were as sharp as a player could be, they knew what they were doing at all times (who to play and who not to play) .

They would not fool with Vanover, even know Tom could not beat either one of them playing 1 pocket, they knew if they did play Tom the whole pool room would of watch very closely of what was going on, and smartly so those 2 guys didn't want that exposer .
 
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Come on Bartram, tell us your story about gambling in Baltimore at Jack n Jills or Bill n Billies back in the 90s.

I know you remember that pool room that was way in the back of an industrial park, where the action didn't really start until the bars closed.

The doors never closed at this pool room, not even Christmas !
 
8&snap said:
Hey Richie, hows the world treating you & the family, still pumping that iron?
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Hi Rick, family and I are fine.

The weights are getting tougher to fool with, but I will go on (2 torn muscles in my shoulder n a disk n my neck)

You know whats funny Rick, if I don't workout my pain is much worst then compared to when I do work out.

I miss our pool hall and all the creeps that went with it Rick, lol!
 
Great thread, a classic on AZB. I was in Jack n' Jill's in the 70's when Beenie and Charley Devailleau owned it. Beenie bet high with everyone he matched up with. He played strong One Pocket, a ball under the top guys. He liked to play Gin too and he beat me out of a few dollars at that game. At the Bend tournament in 1976, Beenie took me in as his partner in a Blackjack game. We were dealing the game (me) and he was taking all bets up to 500 a hand. We won over 12K that night, six each. He was my buddy for life after that! :)

Jr. Harris stayed with me in Venice in the 80's for about one month. He was driving an old Volvo, his car of choice. He got short at the end (kept getting busted by Bill Mielke) and left his car with me (in pawn) for a couple months while he got pumped up. He flew back from Colorado to pick it up and told me he had found religion and was giving up pool. But later I heard he was back in Baltimore gambling. Wonder how he is doing now.

Patcheye has been around FOREVER! I saw him play in the 60's in Dayton against Pete Glenn. He's in his 80's now and still playing. He played Harry Platis 200 a game at DCC just a couple of years back. I knew Philly Joe Veasey from his days as part of Popcorn's crew in L.A. He went on to be a pit boss in Atlantic City in the 90's, probably still there now. Calhoun is another old school hustler, not sure if he is still alive. He managed to stay undercover for decades, pumping out score after score.

P.S. Tom Vanover's brother Bob was a better player, the best in Texas for a long time. He won the BCA Seniors so many times they barred him. Bob ran nine racks and out to win the Texas State Championship one year. Last time I saw Andam here in the PI he was down and out, substance abuse I was told. He was scuffling around in the dingy little poolrooms in Pasay City. Kind of sad for one of the greatest Filipino players. He was ranked number three after Efren and Parica at his peak.
 
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JB Cases said:
When you say Buzzy are you talking about Buzzy Harris? When I was a teenager there was a Buzzy in South Florida that had an ungodly stroke. I used to hang out and watch him do stroke shots and try them for hours afterward. I heard he died though. Is that the same guy?
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I knew Buzz when he was out in L.A., hustling around (circa 1970). I beat him at Bank Pool, after he told me it was his best game. :smile:
He did have a powerful stroke, pretty close to Pancho's speed there. He was a nice looking young man, about six feet tall. He would be over 60 now if he is still with us.
 
Richie - Im prob only about 10 mins from you just across the key.

Jay - Thank you Jay, means alot coming from you. Yeah you could walk in there at anytime and find ANYTHING you were in the mood for that day - any kinda pool, poker, tonk, gin, c-lo, keno board, whatever. By any chance do you remember a guy called Fat Wayne? As far as Jr. Harris, couple years ago someone told me he found religion again and became a pastor and moved to Texas or somewhere thereabouts. Too bad about Andam, cause like Richie said I hadn't seen anything like that night before or since.

Large - guess your right but we're still talking 10+ years ago for the most part which still seems a long time for me lol.
 
Calhoun has passed...IIrc- been a good few years now
jay helfert said:
Great thread, a classic on AZB. I was in Jack n' Jill's in the 70's when Beenie and Charley Devailleau owned it. Beenie bet high with everyone he matched up with. He played strong One Pocket, a ball under the top guys. He liked to play Gin too and he beat me out of a few dollars at that game. At the Bend tournament in 1976, Beenie took me in as his partner in a Blackjack game. We were dealing the game (me) and he was taking all bets up to 500 a hand. We won over 12K that night, six each. He was my buddy for life after that! :)

Jr. Harris stayed with me in Venice in the 80's for about one month. He was driving an old Volvo, his car of choice. He got short at the end (kept getting busted by Bill Mielke) and left his car with me (in pawn) for a couple months while he got pumped up. He flew back from Colorado to pick it up and told me he had found religion and was giving up pool. But later I heard he was back in Baltimore gambling. Wonder how he is doing now.

Patcheye has been around FOREVER! I saw him play in the 60's in Dayton against Pete Glenn. He's in his 80's now and still playing. He played Harry Platis 200 a game at DCC just a couple of years back. I knew Philly Joe Veasey from his days as part of Popcorn's crew in L.A. He went on to be a pit boss in Atlantic City in the 90's, probably still there now. Calhoun is another old school hustler, not sure if he is still alive. He managed to stay undercover for decades, pumping out score after score.

P.S. Tom Vanover's brother Bob was a better player, the best in Texas for a long time. He won the BCA Seniors so many times they barred him. Bob ran nine racks and out to win the Texas State Championship one year. Last time I saw Andam here in the PI he was down and out, substance abuse I was told. He was scuffling around in the dingy little poolrooms in Pasay City. Kind of sad for one of the greatest Filipino players. He was ranked number three after Efren and Parica at his peak.
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Black-Balled said:
Calhoun has passed...IIrc- been a good few years now
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You know we all are getting old fast, when a lot of the great pool players that we either played or heard a lot about in the pool world .

They are leaving us at such a fast pace and all the great pool halls are also dying or closed.

What a shame to hear about ANDAM !

Andam I hope things turn for the best of you, you treated this man with the best pool I ever seen, even know you beat my man, I still enjoyed everything you did that nite, you were the best!
 
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