Excerpt from the book and one part of the Hubert Cokes profile.
Hubert Daddy Warbucks Cokes
Evansville, IN
He stood six foot three, long and lean. He may have been the toughest son-of-a-***** alive for the first 50 years of the twentieth century. Minnesota Fats claimed Hubert "*****-slapped" Baby-Face Nelson. I knew Hubert well, and I certainly wouldn't bet against Fatty’s claim. It was rumored that Hubert's hustling crew, which included "Titanic" Thompson, were the guys that had whacked New York mobster, Arnold Rothstein (the man who fixed the 1919 World Series), when he refused to pay his poker debt to them. Keep in mind that "Lucky" Luciano, Vito Genovese, and Meyer Lansky, among others, were working for Rothstein at the time. That knowledge intimidated those country boys not a bit. I guess they figured that the most dangerous guys in New York were they themselves. Hubert had supposedly, already had a gun battle with the sheriff of Hot Springs, AR over a woman. Allegedly, they both drew their weapons, Hubert shot and killed the sheriff, and had to flee the state. He did marry the girl and conceived a son, Ellis Cokes who still lives in Hot Springs.
When the IRS raided the Johnston City All-Around Tournament in the early 70s, the agents frisked Hubert and were awestruck to discover he had three pistols on his person: one in an ankle holster, one in his back pocket, and one spring-action derringer strapped to his wrist. His explanation to the federal boys was that he carried a lot of cash and had a few enemies. He was in his seventies at the time!
Once, while playing in Bensingers Billiard Academy in downtown Chicago, a sweator stuck his nose in Hubert's game and gave a decision that Hubert didn’t like. Cokes hung the sweator by his overcoat collar on the wall coat hanger, and left him there for the remainder of the session. He instructed the rest of the room that if anyone took the guy down, they would take his place.
Tough as he was, he had a soft spot for pool players. He was an easy bite, and put plenty of pool players in action by staking them to play.
He played pretty good, too. I watched him in Johnston City play weak players 8 or-no-count* One-pocket.
Beard
Hubert Daddy Warbucks Cokes
Evansville, IN
He stood six foot three, long and lean. He may have been the toughest son-of-a-***** alive for the first 50 years of the twentieth century. Minnesota Fats claimed Hubert "*****-slapped" Baby-Face Nelson. I knew Hubert well, and I certainly wouldn't bet against Fatty’s claim. It was rumored that Hubert's hustling crew, which included "Titanic" Thompson, were the guys that had whacked New York mobster, Arnold Rothstein (the man who fixed the 1919 World Series), when he refused to pay his poker debt to them. Keep in mind that "Lucky" Luciano, Vito Genovese, and Meyer Lansky, among others, were working for Rothstein at the time. That knowledge intimidated those country boys not a bit. I guess they figured that the most dangerous guys in New York were they themselves. Hubert had supposedly, already had a gun battle with the sheriff of Hot Springs, AR over a woman. Allegedly, they both drew their weapons, Hubert shot and killed the sheriff, and had to flee the state. He did marry the girl and conceived a son, Ellis Cokes who still lives in Hot Springs.
When the IRS raided the Johnston City All-Around Tournament in the early 70s, the agents frisked Hubert and were awestruck to discover he had three pistols on his person: one in an ankle holster, one in his back pocket, and one spring-action derringer strapped to his wrist. His explanation to the federal boys was that he carried a lot of cash and had a few enemies. He was in his seventies at the time!
Once, while playing in Bensingers Billiard Academy in downtown Chicago, a sweator stuck his nose in Hubert's game and gave a decision that Hubert didn’t like. Cokes hung the sweator by his overcoat collar on the wall coat hanger, and left him there for the remainder of the session. He instructed the rest of the room that if anyone took the guy down, they would take his place.
Tough as he was, he had a soft spot for pool players. He was an easy bite, and put plenty of pool players in action by staking them to play.
He played pretty good, too. I watched him in Johnston City play weak players 8 or-no-count* One-pocket.
Beard
