For all the venerable pool historians, I have a report on the legendary Brooklyn Jimmy Cassas, of New York's 711 poolroom fame. I just spent the weekend with him up at Saratoga Race Track in upstate NY (July30 - Aug 1). Jimmy was a fixture of the old 711 and Ames poolroom in NYC in the days of Boston Shorty Johnson, Jersey Red Breit, and Brooklyn Johnny Irvolino. Often considered the smartest hustler of those smart hustlers, Jimmy was a terrific player himself, playing maybe the 8 ball under Shorty, when Shorty was Shorty; but Jimmy's true love was horse racing. He went on to become one of the best handicappers in the country, and of course won big money along the way. As good as he played pool, pool was just a means to drum up money to get to the track. For our short stint at the track, Jimmy came through again, winning about $3500 for the two days. He also treated all of us to about $1200 worth of fancy meals.
I was with my room mate, John Bosnak, and Jimmy brought along an old friend of his who had just been released from a 25 to life prison sentence up in Comstock NY. (He did the whole 25 years.) His name was Warren "Chief" Schurman, and he is the last of the "Westies." For those who don't know about the "Westies," they were a wild, violent Irish gang from Hell's Kitchen on the West Side of Manhattan. Some of their most famous (or infamous), adventures included kidnapping Carlo Gambino's nephew, and the murder of Big Jim McBratney by John Gotti. Some other "Westie" notables include, Richie C (Chaisson), Mickey Featherstone, Jimmy Coonan, and Big Jim McBratney. All the old "Westies" are bye-bye, mostly murdered, except for the Chief. I guess that long 25 year stretch is a big reason why he is the last living "Westie."
Chief turned out to be a personable, intelligent, fun-loving sort, and the weekend went by rapidly. For the pool connection to this story, Chief and Richie C spent a lot of time hanging out in Ames and 711 poolrooms, and Chief was good friends with Brooklyn Jimmy way back then.
The Chief composed and sent a letter to the famous NY Post syndicated columnist, Cindy Adams in 2005 while still in jail. I read a copy of the letter and the Chief gave me permission to publish it on my site for posterity, and also for some false, "Westie" psuedo-history clarification.
Link to the Chief's letter:
http://bankingwiththebeard.com/?p=450#TheLast
Beard
Below, pics of Brooklyn Jimmy, me, and The Chief at Saratoga
I was with my room mate, John Bosnak, and Jimmy brought along an old friend of his who had just been released from a 25 to life prison sentence up in Comstock NY. (He did the whole 25 years.) His name was Warren "Chief" Schurman, and he is the last of the "Westies." For those who don't know about the "Westies," they were a wild, violent Irish gang from Hell's Kitchen on the West Side of Manhattan. Some of their most famous (or infamous), adventures included kidnapping Carlo Gambino's nephew, and the murder of Big Jim McBratney by John Gotti. Some other "Westie" notables include, Richie C (Chaisson), Mickey Featherstone, Jimmy Coonan, and Big Jim McBratney. All the old "Westies" are bye-bye, mostly murdered, except for the Chief. I guess that long 25 year stretch is a big reason why he is the last living "Westie."
Chief turned out to be a personable, intelligent, fun-loving sort, and the weekend went by rapidly. For the pool connection to this story, Chief and Richie C spent a lot of time hanging out in Ames and 711 poolrooms, and Chief was good friends with Brooklyn Jimmy way back then.
The Chief composed and sent a letter to the famous NY Post syndicated columnist, Cindy Adams in 2005 while still in jail. I read a copy of the letter and the Chief gave me permission to publish it on my site for posterity, and also for some false, "Westie" psuedo-history clarification.
Link to the Chief's letter:
http://bankingwiththebeard.com/?p=450#TheLast
Beard
Below, pics of Brooklyn Jimmy, me, and The Chief at Saratoga
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