The House That Wimpy Built...

branpureza

branpureza

Ginacue
Silver Member
Colonial Billiards... Elizabeth City, North Carolina

i actually posted a thread like this about a year ago, but they have put in a new gold crown since then and done some painting too, god knows that place needed it... about half of these photos are new, notice the different table up front. i might take some more later this week, go by his grave and maybe the house he grew up in and stuff like that. i started coming to colonial when i was around 11 which was in 89 or maybe 90, wimpy died in 88 so i never had the pleasure of meeting him, but between all the stories and memorabilia that float around that place i kinda feel like i knew the guy anyway. they say his ghost is still in that old poolroom... sometimes when i miss an easy shot i glance up at his picture feeling a little embarrassed haha.

colonial1.jpg


Wimpy used to sit on the nearest corner of the bench to the right

colonial3.jpg


colonial2.jpg


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duilcineapic.jpg


az3.jpg

"billiard congress of america 1970 us open 2nd place"

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mepoolbwsmaller.jpg



this was taken at the senior center about a mile up the road from the pool room... v
az1.jpg
 
If that place was around in 1958-1959 and think it was...Wimpy beat me for my bank-roll of $1360 there. I didn't have a clue who he was...and no one offered to tell me either. I washed dishes for gas money to get back to NY in the next town. Oh the painful memories. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
If that place was around in 1958-1959 and think it was...Wimpy beat me for my bank-roll of $1360 there. I didn't have a clue who he was...and no one offered to tell me either. I washed dishes for gas money to get back to NY in the next town. Oh the painful memories. Johnnyt
Click to expand...


bwahaha. oh man, at least you got hustled by the greatest. back then all the money was in norfolk virginia... st elmos and places like that. my friend joe neemy used to run that joint...
 
branpureza said:
bwahaha. oh man, at least you got hustled by the greatest. back then all the money was in norfolk virginia... st elmos and places like that. my friend joe neemy used to run that joint...
Click to expand...

I remember this pool room in Norfolk, I think it was, or it might have been Virginia Beach, but inside, there were what seemed like a hundred pool tables, and the colors were yellow and white. Up by the front counter, there was a large sign that said Luther Lassiter was the House Pro, available for lessons. This must have been back late '70s, early '80s era.

Those pictures are truly priceless. North Carolina always had some great spots for players on the road. There was one in Durham that was named The Sports Room, I think. Inside there were only one or two tables, but in the back room was a snooker table. A lot of folks played snooker back then, but during the day, the old-timers were playing poker on the snooker table.

In Winston-Salem, there was a great pool room with two swinging doors in the front, much like a saloon. They had a house boy who wore an apron and would rack the balls for a quarter. After a player would sink the winning ball, he'd yell out "Rack," and that kid would come up and rack the balls.

Greensboro used to be THE best city in North Carolina for action at Baker's Pool Room, which boasted about having the best hot dogs in the Tarheel State. They were pretty tasty, as I recall.

Pilot Mountain also had a spot, but it was a private club. This was a dry county, but if you knew somebody who got you in the front door, you could bet it as high as you wanted to. The scenery was beautiful at Pilot Mountain, especially in the autumn. I really liked it there.

The best score I ever experienced in North Carolina was atop a mountain in a little town called Boone. Driving up there, I thought the transmission was going to go out in the car, but once you made it to the top, it was quite nice. There seemed to be a lot of action in Boone when I was there.

Let's not forget the Carolinas Open is coming up in October in Goldsboro. That is ALWAYS a great tournament, and part of the allure is the North Carolinian hospitality. It is one event that anyone who is in the vicinity should check out. Great people, good food and cheer, and then there's the action! Nothing finer than a tournament in the Carolinas, I say!

Thanks for sharing those priceless pictures. I really enjoyed seeing them! :)

JAM
 
Great photos!

Brandon,
Awesome pictures!
Could you try to post a shot of what it looks like from outside?

Do you by chance know what Lassiter's all time practice high run is in 14.1? Would anybody in that room know?

Thanks for the great post!
 
sure, i might go by there tonight before the sun goes down and take a couple shots. not much to look at though haha. there's a big sign with his picture on it outside but the rain has messed it up pretty good. i'll post some more photos soon...
 
Great pictures! Is that old Victor table still in the room, or can I have it?

unknownpro
 
Thanks for the amazing pictures Brandon. Old pool rooms like that are few and far between, I look forward too seeing some more pictures!
 
branpureza said:
Colonial Billiards... Elizabeth City, North Carolina

i actually posted a thread like this about a year ago, but they have put in a new gold crown since then and done some painting too, god knows that place needed it... about half of these photos are new, notice the different table up front. i might take some more later this week, go by his grave and maybe the house he grew up in and stuff like that. i started coming to colonial when i was around 11 which was in 89 or maybe 90, wimpy died in 88 so i never had the pleasure of meeting him, but between all the stories and memorabilia that float around that place i kinda feel like i knew the guy anyway. they say his ghost is still in that old poolroom... sometimes when i miss an easy shot i glance up at his picture feeling a little embarrassed haha.

colonial1.jpg


Wimpy used to sit on the nearest corner of the bench to the right

colonial3.jpg


colonial2.jpg


az2.jpg


duilcineapic.jpg


az3.jpg

"billiard congress of america 1970 us open 2nd place"

az4.jpg




mepoolbwsmaller.jpg



this was taken at the senior center about a mile up the road from the pool room... v
az1.jpg
Click to expand...

The thing that I love looking at photos of pool rooms, from both the old days and of rooms, that still have the original tables, especially with Wimpy's Room, simply because just looking at the photos, you can almost feel that real golden age of pool coming back and flowing through your veins.

Thank you for posting such great pics, Brandon, and if you do post up more pics, it would be great to see them also.

Willie
 
I wish I had pictures of my poolroom on Long Island in NY. I lost all mine in a house fire. It had seven 9 footers and one Billiard. The room was shaped like the inside of a boxcar. It even had brass spittoons on the floor by each table when we bought it in 1961.

Was anyone on here ever in it...and do you have any pictures of the inside? It was located on Main St. in East Islip. Thank you. Johnnyt
 
Yes, he was given the nickname when he was alot younger, because of all the hot dogs and orange crushes that he could munch and gargle through :), at that's how I remember it being mentioned on the BCA HoF Description, maybe someone could ellaborate on that either way :)

Willie
 
I thought his nickname came from Wimpy in Popeye comics for eating a lot of hamburgers. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
I thought his nickname came from Wimpy in Popeye comics for eating a lot of hamburgers. Johnnyt
Click to expand...

You are right! :)

Here is a little snippet from Lassiter himself: As a young man, Lassiter showed signs of uncanny hand-eye coordination, both in the areas of pool and baseball. In the sandlot games of his youth he was an ace pitcher, and according to his friends, who affectionately referred to him as "Bud," he was the player everyone wanted on their team. Lassiter's younger brother, Clarence, spoke of his talent as a pitcher: "Coach was always trying to sign him up. You know, Bud could pitch a ball. But by then, pool had caught him and he didn't care about the athletic end of things. The coach pestered him and pestered him and tried to get him to play, because he had a natural talent for baseball. But he didn't use it; he was trapped by pool."

On the subject, Lassiter himself said, "Oh, sure, I played some baseball. In fact, it was at some little old ball game that I once ate twelve hot dogs and drank thirteen Cokes and Orange Crushes, and everybody fell to calling me Wimpy" (after the Popeye character of the same name, who loved to eat hamburgers). So instead of baseball, Lassiter focused on pool, and began developing his game at City Billiards in Elizabeth City. The owner of the room, Speedy Ives, would allow Wimpy to come in the back door and shoot whenever he wanted as long as he would clean the floors and sweep the pool tables.

JAM
 
JAM said:
So instead of baseball, Lassiter focused on pool, and began developing his game at City Billiards in Elizabeth City. The owner of the room, Speedy Ives, would allow Wimpy to come in the back door and shoot whenever he wanted as long as he would clean the floors and sweep the pool tables.[/color]

JAM
Click to expand...

yeah that's the same poolroom... they renamed it colonial billiards when Cotton took over the place around 25 years ago i think...
 
branpureza said:
yeah that's the same poolroom... they renamed it colonial billiards when Cotton took over the place around 25 years ago i think...
Click to expand...
Thanks for putting up those pics, the new and old, really a treat to see.

I went in there once, about 1990, during the day on the way to the beach. Had no idea of the significance of the spot, but could tell it had seen some battles by the ambiance.

How in the world do they make those tables roll right? As I recall, the wood-slat floor was far from even and seemed to be far too flimsy to hold a table, much less 8, being on the 2nd floor and all...

Again, great photos and insight into a piece of pool history.
 
I thought he got his nickname because he always claimed to have something wrong with him. example-I got a bad cold today, oh, my arm is killing me, he was always complaining about something bothering him, thus the nickname "Wimpy".
 
JAM said:
I remember this pool room in Norfolk, I think it was, or it might have been Virginia Beach, but inside, there were what seemed like a hundred pool tables, and the colors were yellow and white. Up by the front counter, there was a large sign that said Luther Lassiter was the House Pro, available for lessons. This must have been back late '70s, early '80s era.

Those pictures are truly priceless. North Carolina always had some great spots for players on the road. There was one in Durham that was named The Sports Room, I think. Inside there were only one or two tables, but in the back room was a snooker table. A lot of folks played snooker back then, but during the day, the old-timers were playing poker on the snooker table.

In Winston-Salem, there was a great pool room with two swinging doors in the front, much like a saloon. They had a house boy who wore an apron and would rack the balls for a quarter. After a player would sink the winning ball, he'd yell out "Rack," and that kid would come up and rack the balls.

Greensboro used to be THE best city in North Carolina for action at Baker's Pool Room, which boasted about having the best hot dogs in the Tarheel State. They were pretty tasty, as I recall.

Pilot Mountain also had a spot, but it was a private club. This was a dry county, but if you knew somebody who got you in the front door, you could bet it as high as you wanted to. The scenery was beautiful at Pilot Mountain, especially in the autumn. I really liked it there.

The best score I ever experienced in North Carolina was atop a mountain in a little town called Boone. Driving up there, I thought the transmission was going to go out in the car, but once you made it to the top, it was quite nice. There seemed to be a lot of action in Boone when I was there.

Let's not forget the Carolinas Open is coming up in October in Goldsboro. That is ALWAYS a great tournament, and part of the allure is the North Carolinian hospitality. It is one event that anyone who is in the vicinity should check out. Great people, good food and cheer, and then there's the action! Nothing finer than a tournament in the Carolinas, I say!

Thanks for sharing those priceless pictures. I really enjoyed seeing them! :)

JAM
Click to expand...
Althought not quite as old...don't forget to add Mother's in Charlotte to the list of great action spots in NC that are now gone.;)
 
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