The first time I met CJ Wiley..funny story

[CJ Wiley]

My friend had even told me how he would be dressed and that he would be wearing boots

I would like to read it but it is just to hard to read an almost 500 word single spaces paragraph.

This story sure brings back memories. "The phone call" was always a bad sign, my only fear was being "knocked," and not be able to gamble in a town.

This was the "wild west days," and there were pool "gunslingers" traveling the roads, pool room to bar looking for action. For a true Road Player it was a great time, however, going to gamble with a player John Brumback's caliber was not something many ordinary Road Men wanted to do......did I say "ordinary?"

John, everyone knows we are Pro Players, not Pro writers, however, this is constructive criticism and I sent you a PM to give some pointers (just a touch)

Here's a pretty good model that makes it easier to read, especially on a cell phone:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think it was mid to late 80's.

I was hanging around All Star Billiards in Lexington,KY. If I was not already there they would call me to come down if a road player came into to town.

Well I was at home one afternoon and got a call ( I should mention that not many if any pool players had cell phones at this time and no internet,lol ) Well the call I got was from a friend in Tenn.

He said to be on the lookout,that there was this kid that was on his way to Lex. and I just wanted to warn you that this kid has beaten everyone in his path coming all the way up the road from way down south.

I said "no shi!" And he said yeah,you better watch out,you can't beat him! I couldn't get my stuff together fast enough and head out to Lex. ( I live about an hour away) Well I get there and start hittin balls on the front 9ft GC where I always played.

My friend had even told me how he would be dressed and that he would be wearing cowboy boots. Sure enough just like clock work in comes this guy with his cue and yep, he's wearing cowboy boots,lol .

So I kinda don't pay much attention to him,and then he comes over and says "hey buddy you want to play some?"

Well about that time I get another call from the pool room phone. I talk for a few minutes then hang up.

The guy is over by the bathroom and I ease over to him so I can catch him off to the side and asked him what his name was and of course he gives some phony name and then I just said "hey buddy I know your name where your from and how you play and all of that".

He wouldn't budge about his real name and I was just messin with him and I said I'll bet 20$ that I know the name on your driver license then he says,yeah I know what the fukin ph call means!! LOL

So I said well I don't think I can beat ya but if you give me the last two in 9ball I'll play ya some,He gets a little cocky then and says rack em up! (he knew by then that he was not going to get any action except from me) So then we start playin and I get him about 10 or 15 games stuck and then his partner talks me into playin even.

I didn't care I just wanted to keep playin and so we started playing even,bad idea on my part. He got even in a few hours and I said I have had enough. In all we had been playing for 15 hours!

That was the toughest action that I have ever had.I beat everybody that came in there except for this guy named CJ Wiley. We've been buds every since. John B.

PS: he was doing something diff to the cball that I had never seen before, that's for sure!!

 

[John Brumback]

Just to defend myself, it is easy to estimate the number of words. I also took into account his postings. He does not start very many threads that will always produce the longest postings. He usually give like one line responses. What I said is not like complaining about spelling or punctuation.

Long endless paragraphs though are a real problem on social media, especially if you are viewing it on your phone. My comment was not meant to be petty or personal. If every posting was like that none of us would be reading vary many postings.

Quote

I think it was mid to late 80's. I was hanging around All Star Billiards in Lexington,KY. If I was not already there they would call me to come down if a road player came into to town. Well I was at home one afternoon and got a call ( I should mention that not many if any pool players had cell phones at this time and no internet,lol )

Well the call I got was from a friend in Tenn. He said to be on the lookout,that there was this kid that was on his way to Lex. and I just wanted to warn you that this kid has beaten everyone in his path coming all the way up the road from way down south. I said no shi! And he said yeah,you better watch out,you can't beat him!

I couldn't get my stuff together fast enough and head out to Lex. ( I live about an hour away) Well I get there and start hittin balls on the front 9ft GC where I always played. My friend had even told me how he would be dressed and that he would be wearing cowboy boots.

Sure enough just like clock work in comes this guy with his cue and yep, he's wearing cowboy boots,lol . So I kinda don't pay much attention to him,and then he comes over and says hey buddy you want to play some? Well about that time I get another call from the pool room phone. I talk for a few minutes then hang up.

The guy is over by the bathroom and I ease over to him so I can catch him off to the side and asked him what his name was and of course he gives some phoney name and then I just said hey buddy I know your name where your from and how you play and all of that.

He wouldn't budge about his real name and I was just messin with him and I said I'll bet 20$ that I know the name on your driver license then he says,yeah I know what the fukin ph call means!! LOL So I said well I don't think I can beat ya but if you give me the last two in 9ball I'll play ya some,

He gets a little cocky then and says rack em up! (he knew by then that he was not going to get any action except from me) So then we start playin and I get him about 10 or 15 games stuck and then his partner talks me into playin even. I didn't care I just wanted to keep playin and so we started playing even,bad idea on my part.

He got even in a few hours and I said I have had enough. In all we had been playing for 15 hours! That was the toughest action that I have ever had.I beat everybody that came in there except for this guy named CJ Wiley. We've been buds every since. John B.

PS: he was doing something diff to the cball that I had never seen before, that's for sure!!

Thank you !!! Are you going to be around much? JK yeah i'm sorry about that.

I really didn't expect it to come out that bad. Just more words than I'm used to. You

wouldn't believe how long it took me to type it. I thought about using some spacing
But I'm just not very good yet.

I'll try to do better in the future

thanks for letting me know and fixing it too !! :smile: John B.

 

[pt109]

Thank you !!! Are you going to be around much? JK yeah i'm sorry about that.

I really didn't expect it to come out that bad. Just more words than I'm used to. You

wouldn't believe how long it took me to type it. I thought about using some spacing
But I'm just not very good yet.

I'll try to do better in the future

thanks for letting me know and fixing it too !! :smile: John B.

Just keep posting, John....it's like playing pool, you get better.
....loved the story

 

[John Brumback]

This story sure brings back memories. "The phone call" was always a bad sign, my only fear was being "knocked," and not be able to gamble in a town.

This was the "wild west days," and there were pool "gunslingers" traveling the roads, pool room to bar looking for action. For a true Road Player it was a great time, however, going to gamble with a player John Brumback's caliber was not something many ordinary Road Men wanted to do......did I say "ordinary?"

John, everyone knows we are Pro Players, not Pro writers, however, this is constructive criticism and I sent you a PM to give some pointers (just a touch)

Here's a pretty good model that makes it easier to read, especially on a cell phone:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think it was mid to late 80's.

I was hanging around All Star Billiards in Lexington,KY. If I was not already there they would call me to come down if a road player came into to town.

Well I was at home one afternoon and got a call ( I should mention that not many if any pool players had cell phones at this time and no internet,lol ) Well the call I got was from a friend in Tenn.

He said to be on the lookout,that there was this kid that was on his way to Lex. and I just wanted to warn you that this kid has beaten everyone in his path coming all the way up the road from way down south.

I said "no shi!" And he said yeah,you better watch out,you can't beat him! I couldn't get my stuff together fast enough and head out to Lex. ( I live about an hour away) Well I get there and start hittin balls on the front 9ft GC where I always played.

My friend had even told me how he would be dressed and that he would be wearing cowboy boots. Sure enough just like clock work in comes this guy with his cue and yep, he's wearing cowboy boots,lol .

So I kinda don't pay much attention to him,and then he comes over and says "hey buddy you want to play some?"

Well about that time I get another call from the pool room phone. I talk for a few minutes then hang up.

The guy is over by the bathroom and I ease over to him so I can catch him off to the side and asked him what his name was and of course he gives some phony name and then I just said "hey buddy I know your name where your from and how you play and all of that".

He wouldn't budge about his real name and I was just messin with him and I said I'll bet 20$ that I know the name on your driver license then he says,yeah I know what the fukin ph call means!! LOL

So I said well I don't think I can beat ya but if you give me the last two in 9ball I'll play ya some,He gets a little cocky then and says rack em up! (he knew by then that he was not going to get any action except from me) So then we start playin and I get him about 10 or 15 games stuck and then his partner talks me into playin even.

I didn't care I just wanted to keep playin and so we started playing even,bad idea on my part. He got even in a few hours and I said I have had enough. In all we had been playing for 15 hours!

That was the toughest action that I have ever had.I beat everybody that came in there except for this guy named CJ Wiley. We've been buds every since. John B.

PS: he was doing something diff to the cball that I had never seen before, that's for sure!!

Thanks bub!! Hey CJ, something I have been wanting to ask you for a long time and just never did.

When you were on the way to Lex,ky...were you coming after me or just whoever you could find? ( you may not remember it's been so long ago). Thanks again,JB

 

[stevelomako]

I really didn't expect it to come out that bad. Just more words than I'm used to. You

wouldn't believe how long it took me to type it. I thought about using some spacing
John B.

Atleastyouputspacesbetweenthewordscanyouimaginesomeonenotdoingthatandtryingtoreadtheirgiberish.

Nice little story even though it sounds like you both had one foot out the door, hahahaha.

 

[CJ Wiley]

You were in my "spot book" in the section marked "Dangerous"

Thanks bub!! Hey CJ, something I have been wanting to ask you for a long time and just never did.

When you were on the way to Lex,ky...were you coming after me or just whoever you could find? ( you may not remember it's been so long ago). Thanks again,JB

I knew we would play, although I was probably hoping to catch a few other players first. We had the line on you, (from Corbin Ky) in the section of my "spot book" marked "Dangerous".

I liked playing the "unbeatable" players in their home pool rooms. Kentucky was full of players at the time, so if we lost it was easy to get "pumped back up" in Ky and Tenn.

You know how it was, we made money playing weaker players, but we "young guns" wanted to test our abilities.......and tangle with the gunfighters. You were known to be extremely {if not impossible} to beat on your home court. I took this as a challenge, although who ever told me I could spot you was not a very good "steer man".

Gary Spaeth was another serous gunfighter in your area. I played him and could tell he was never going to make a mistake in his pool room in Cincinnati. The only strategy I used was to try to wear his arm out.......and after 8 hours I finally did. His stroke used much more "arm" than mine, so I knew over time it would wear out and start "miss firing".

John, have you played Gary or his father, Joey much over the years? I know that would have been a tough bank game for even you in Cincinnati. He would have no chance to beat you at home, and I'd be surprised if he even tried......at least more than once.

 

[John Brumback]

I knew we would play, although I was probably hoping to catch a few other players first. We had the line on you, (from Corbin Ky) in the section of my "spot book" marked "Dangerous".

I liked playing the "unbeatable" players in their home pool rooms. Kentucky was full of players at the time, so if we lost it was easy to get "pumped back up" in Ky and Tenn.

You know how it was, we made money playing weaker players, but we "young guns" wanted to test our abilities.......and tangle with the gunfighters. You were known to be extremely {if not impossible} to beat on your home court. I took this as a challenge, although who ever told me I could spot you was not a very good "steer man".

Gary Spaeth was another serous gunfighter in your area. I played him and could tell he was never going to make a mistake in his pool room in Cincinnati. The only strategy I used was to try to wear his arm out.......and after 8 hours I finally did. His stroke used much more "arm" than mine, so I knew over time it would wear out and start "miss firing".

John, have you played Gary or his father, Joey much over the years? I know that would have been a tough bank game for even you in Cincinnati. He would have no chance to beat you at home, and I'd be surprised if he even tried......at least more than once.

Just as I figured......

Oh yeah, I played Joey and Gary many many times. I was only like 17 or 18 when I
first started going up there.

Joey would spot me the break playin 9ball and I would normally win. But then Gary would spot me the 8 ball and I would just give it back the same night,lol

Those pool rooms in Cincy had a bunch of top pool players hangin around all the time.

A few years later Gary tried to spot me 8 to 7 full rack banks at Beachmont Billiards and I won every game.After that I was on my way to playing real good bank pool.

We never did get to play anymore after that. I miss those good ol days and Gary and Joey. John B.

 

[MOJOE]

Now these are the threads I love to read. All players from my area that I've watched for many years. Unfortunately, many are no longer with us.

See you at the DCC JB!

 

[PoolBum]

I think it was mid to late 80's. I was hanging around All Star Billiards in Lexington,KY. If I was not already there they would call me to come down if a road player came into to town. Well I was at home one afternoon and got a call ( I should mention that not many if any pool players had cell phones at this time and no internet,lol ) Well the call I got was from a friend in Tenn. He said to be on the lookout,that there was this kid that was on his way to Lex. and I just wanted to warn you that this kid has beaten everyone in his path coming all the way up the road from way down south. I said no shi! And he said yeah,you better watch out,you can't beat him! I couldn't get my stuff together fast enough and head out to Lex.:grin: ( I live about an hour away) Well I get there and start hittin balls on the front 9ft GC where I always played. My friend had even told me how he would be dressed and that he would be wearing cowboy boots. Sure enough just like clock work in comes this guy with his cue and yep, he's wearing cowboy boots,lol . So I kinda don't pay much attention to him,and then he comes over and says hey buddy you want to play some? Well about that time I get another call from the pool room phone. I talk for a few minutes then hang up. The guy is over by the bathroom and I ease over to him so I can catch him off to the side and asked him what his name was and of course he gives some phoney name and then I just said hey buddy I know your name where your from and how you play and all of that.He wouldn't budge about his real name and I was just messin with him and I said I'll bet 20$ that I know the name on your driver license then he says,yeah I know what the fukin ph call means!! LOL So I said well I don't think I can beat ya but if you give me the last two in 9ball I'll play ya some,He gets a little cocky then and says rack em up! (he knew by then that he was not going to get any action except from me) So then we start playin and I get him about 10 or 15 games stuck and then his partner talks me into playin even. I didn't care I just wanted to keep playin and so we started playing even,bad idea on my part. He got even in a few hours and I said I have had enough. In all we had been playing for 15 hours! That was the toughest action that I have ever had.I beat everybody that came in there except for this guy named CJ Wiley. We've been buds every since. John B.

PS: he was doing something diff to the cball that I had never seen before, that's for sure!!

Great story John. Thanks for sharing.

I remember a tournament in Louisville back in the early 90's at Oliver's Billiards. It was an added tournament and brought out some of the best players from the region, including yourself, George Breedlove, Mark Jarvis, Gary Spaeth, Jack Hines, and Bryan Roberts. Shannon Daulton might have been there too.

Did you ever match up with any of those guys?

 

[John Brumback]

Great story John. Thanks for sharing.

I remember a tournament in Louisville back in the early 90's at Oliver's Billiards. It was an added tournament and brought out some of the best players from the region, including yourself, George Breedlove, Mark Jarvis, Gary Spaeth, Jack Hines, and Bryan Roberts. Shannon Daulton might have been there too.

Did you ever match up with any of those guys?

Played every single one of them several times for cash... and in tourneys.. I won one of those tourneys they had there. I think they only had one or two maybe 3?. They had them tables with the funny cut pockets that would spit a ball out in a heartbeat.Olhousen maybe? John B.

 

[CJ Wiley]

It could have been a comedy show routine at times.

Played every single one of them several times for cash... and in tourneys.. I won one of those tourneys they had there. I think they only had one or two maybe 3?. They had them tables with the funny cut pockets that would spit a ball out in a heartbeat.Olhousen maybe? John B.

I played Shannon and his dad when he was 13, when's the first time you played Shannon, and what happened?

Shannon's dad (RIP) was really cool, he brought Shannon down here to Dallas to play several times. It was funny to see them interact while they were playing, it could have been a comedy show routine at times.

 

[1on1pooltournys]

I think it was mid to late 80's. I was hanging around All Star Billiards in Lexington,KY. If I was not already there they would call me to come down if a road player came into to town. Well I was at home one afternoon and got a call ( I should mention that not many if any pool players had cell phones at this time and no internet,lol ) Well the call I got was from a friend in Tenn. He said to be on the lookout,that there was this kid that was on his way to Lex. and I just wanted to warn you that this kid has beaten everyone in his path coming all the way up the road from way down south. I said no shi! And he said yeah,you better watch out,you can't beat him! I couldn't get my stuff together fast enough and head out to Lex.:grin: ( I live about an hour away) Well I get there and start hittin balls on the front 9ft GC where I always played. My friend had even told me how he would be dressed and that he would be wearing cowboy boots. Sure enough just like clock work in comes this guy with his cue and yep, he's wearing cowboy boots,lol . So I kinda don't pay much attention to him,and then he comes over and says hey buddy you want to play some? Well about that time I get another call from the pool room phone. I talk for a few minutes then hang up. The guy is over by the bathroom and I ease over to him so I can catch him off to the side and asked him what his name was and of course he gives some phoney name and then I just said hey buddy I know your name where your from and how you play and all of that.He wouldn't budge about his real name and I was just messin with him and I said I'll bet 20$ that I know the name on your driver license then he says,yeah I know what the fukin ph call means!! LOL So I said well I don't think I can beat ya but if you give me the last two in 9ball I'll play ya some,He gets a little cocky then and says rack em up! (he knew by then that he was not going to get any action except from me) So then we start playin and I get him about 10 or 15 games stuck and then his partner talks me into playin even. I didn't care I just wanted to keep playin and so we started playing even,bad idea on my part. He got even in a few hours and I said I have had enough. In all we had been playing for 15 hours! That was the toughest action that I have ever had.I beat everybody that came in there except for this guy named CJ Wiley. We've been buds every since. John B.

PS: he was doing something diff to the cball that I had never seen before, that's for sure!!

Awesome story John, thanks for sharing! I still remember meeting you when I was a young kid and you drove around in that RV and sold cues and cases. I think I bought one of those square cases that everybody had back in the day. Man I wish I would of been a player back in those times, it just seems like a better era.

 

[John Brumback]

Awesome story John, thanks for sharing! I still remember meeting you when I was a young kid and you drove around in that RV and sold cues and cases. I think I bought one of those square cases that everybody had back in the day. Man I wish I would of been a player back in those times, it just seems like a better era.

LOL Bobby that's one of the cases that I had all the players sign!! Heck of a case to have been made in someone's basement. Those were the good old days,bud. John B.

 

[uwate]

Gary Spaeth came to miami in the 80s and played at Bird Bowl for this big tournament. Growing up in miami there was no bank pool and the locals in miami were stunned watching Gary play. He was the only player we had ever seen that would fire a long rail straight back rather than cut the ball in. The first time he did that I couldnt believe it. Then of course he made me a believer lol. Efren was also at this tournament. That was the first time I ever saw anyone (efren of course) three foul someone with the opponent shooting his last shot with ball in hand and no way to get to the ball.

Thank you for sharing this story John, threads like yours is what makes AZ special.

 

[justadub]

Thank you !!! Are you going to be around much? JK yeah i'm sorry about that.

I really didn't expect it to come out that bad. Just more words than I'm used to. You

wouldn't believe how long it took me to type it. I thought about using some spacing
But I'm just not very good yet.

I'll try to do better in the future

thanks for letting me know and fixing it too !! :smile: John B.

John, you keep participating here, whatever works for you.

If it needs spacing or something, there's a bunch of us that will gladly help you with that stuff.

In exchange for what you are bringing to the forum, we are WAY ahead on the exchange

Great story. Very cool...

 

[watchez]

The first time I saw John Brumback play was at Chesterfield Billiards in St Louis. He came to town for a bar table tourney. I had heard he was a great banker but didn't know about his rotation game. He beat them all that day - Whitey Walker, Michael Coltraine, Richie Richeson were in the building for sure. Can't remember who else. John was very quiet in winning, that's the best way I could describe it. Just got up and played, no fan fare. No complaining. And obviously he was confident in his banking cause in key situations, to stay in shape he would play shape on a long rail bank to hold the cue ball for position to the next ball.

After the tournament, the St Louis corporation put all of theirs up on Joe Woolford against Richeson (and Coltraine's bankroll) on a bar table. They played for hours, going back and forth with Joe saying he would have quit that day if everyone else wasn't in. Joe finally got the money like he always did.

 

[John Brumback]

The first time I saw John Brumback play was at Chesterfield Billiards in St Louis. He came to town for a bar table tourney. I had heard he was a great banker but didn't know about his rotation game. He beat them all that day - Whitey Walker, Michael Coltraine, Richie Richeson were in the building for sure. Can't remember who else. John was very quiet in winning, that's the best way I could describe it. Just got up and played, no fan fare. No complaining. And obviously he was confident in his banking cause in key situations, to stay in shape he would play shape on a long rail bank to hold the cue ball for position to the next ball.

After the tournament, the St Louis corporation put all of theirs up on Joe Woolford against Richeson (and Coltraine's bankroll) on a bar table. They played for hours, going back and forth with Joe saying he would have quit that day if everyone else wasn't in. Joe finally got the money like he always did.

Good story! haha I played in that city so many times I can't remember the names of the pool rooms but I do remember that being one of the best pool cities in the country!

What I remember the most was how ALL the pool room owners were tight with each other and would not step on each other's toes.And they would support one another! I don't remember that happening in other cities.

Yep,I,left JW alone, John B.

 

[watchez]

Good story! haha I played in that city so many times I can't remember the names of the pool rooms but I do remember that being one of the best pool cities in the country!

What I remember the most was how ALL the pool room owners were tight with each other and would not step on each other's toes.And they would support one another! I don't remember that happening in other cities.

Yep,I,left JW alone, John B.

I only saw JW lose twice -- one of those times to a player that has posted in this thread......and no, it was not CJ.

And back then, when pool was big, the owners in St Louis were just looking for action and entertainment. They knew it would come back around to their place eventually. They knew that making pool an event if not on a nightly basis, at least weekly, kept the interest alive for everyone. They would basically close up their pool room if something good was happening somewhere else. They would take all their regulars with them and see what more they could get going elsewhere.

 

[John Brumback]

Gary Spaeth came to miami in the 80s and played at Bird Bowl for this big tournament. Growing up in miami there was no bank pool and the locals in miami were stunned watching Gary play. He was the only player we had ever seen that would fire a long rail straight back rather than cut the ball in. The first time he did that I couldnt believe it. Then of course he made me a believer lol. Efren was also at this tournament. That was the first time I ever saw anyone (efren of course) three foul someone with the opponent shooting his last shot with ball in hand and no way to get to the ball.

Thank you for sharing this story John, threads like yours is what makes AZ special.

Good story! I like reading this kinda of stuff too!! Thanks . JB

 

[John Brumback]

John, you keep participating here, whatever works for you.

If it needs spacing or something, there's a bunch of us that will gladly help you with that stuff.

In exchange for what you are bringing to the forum, we are WAY ahead on the exchange

Great story. Very cool...

Well then,I'm might just become too lazy for all that ol spacin Thanks alot Dubber. JB