The old guy that hangs out at the pool hall

[stick8]

old guy

you are talking of me, as i am 69 yr and love to hang out with the guys, rather than the HOME,you should me good to the guy you cant figure out as he is the histery of the game have you tried to talk with him?? bet he could tell you some good stories, granted some is ??? but they are enjoyable if you listen.i know as i have a few my self will tell you one if you want let me know!!! STICK

 

[jimmyg]

you are talking of me, as i am 69 yr and love to hang out with the guys, rather than the HOME,you should me good to the guy you cant figure out as he is the histery of the game have you tried to talk with him?? bet he could tell you some good stories, granted some is ??? but they are enjoyable if you listen.i know as i have a few my self will tell you one if you want let me know!!! STICK

Hey Stick8! How about a story? Love to hear one.

Jim

 

[philw]

Mr. Steve, was this guy in the pool room where I "grew up in", the Sports Palace of New Orleans. Mr. Steve had emphysema and could not sleep well. He was a little different from some of the old guys. He like to play for the time or a small wager. I played him one pocket for $5 a game and while his eyesight was poor (or so he said) and he would use the inhaler at the start of every match and he never played any of the top players he always seemed to always win one or two more games than I would. Often we would play for just the time but he did like to bet that half a sawbuck. After about a year and a half of meeting up with him between midnight and 2 am I had learned enough from Mr. Steve to give him a good run for his money. I knew it and he knew it and so by this time I was about $65 down overall and I saw him as usual one late night and asked him to play for our usual $5 a game to which Mr. Steve politely and kindly replied, "Oh no son, that money is all locked up now. Your game has improved too much for me to win". I was stunned to say the least and stammered for a few minutes but can only smile when I remember Mr. Steve Paternostra and the lessons I learned from him.
JoeyA

Thank you! finally the correct answer. That old guy is usually a hustler and that's how most of us got introduced to hustling. I completely recognize your story sounds like my mentor! Philw

 

[Tom In Cincy]

Dozens of them here

really... if being over 65 is a qualifier for the 'ole man in the pool room'... it's like a frickin' senior citizen center during the day and late afternoon...

at nite... there is only a few (more than 3) that frequent the pool hall, but they are the tougher old geezers... that can handle the whipper snappers with ease.

All of them can still play, teach and coach pool players and have some of the best recollections of stories for either the room or other rooms they've been associated.

The saddest part is when they leave us. They seem to take a huge part of the room with them.

We try to take photos and record the stories when we can.. but sometimes their schedule isn't accomodating.

 

[alstl]

In St Louis I know one room with a guy like that, another room with more than one guy like that, and one guy who travels from room to room to hang out. In each case they used to be strong players.

 

[acedotcom]

Poetic Justice

Here's a poem about an old guy who hung out in the pool hall.

Old Sharkie's Deathbed Revelation
by Ace Toscano

Everyone knew his end was near,
Yet, when it arrived, only I was there.
He'd been hustlin' the reaper for three dark days,
Then he sat straight up, his eyes ablaze.
He beckoned me forward. I crept to his bed.
Then, Old Sharkie chuckled and unmistakably said,
"Tune out."

With that, he died, and left me trying
To decipher exactly what he'd been implying.
It seemed obvious enough, and I noted clearly,
That this wasn't a reference to Timothy Leary.
T'was in the world of pool Sharkie'd made his name;
This was sage advice meant to lift my game -
Don't be distracted - "Tune out."

I swore an oath to give his wisdom a chance;
Now, I focus so fiercely I go into a trance.
Yet, as hard as I work on my concentration,
I'm far from becoming a pool sensation.
In nine-ball tourneys, I'm still overmatched,
And I'm always the first chump to get dispatched -
Two 'n' out.


©2005 by Ace Toscano

 

[Randy Bailey]

Old man Stick

you are talking of me, as i am 69 yr and love to hang out with the guys, rather than the HOME,you should me good to the guy you cant figure out as he is the histery of the game have you tried to talk with him?? bet he could tell you some good stories, granted some is ??? but they are enjoyable if you listen.i know as i have a few my self will tell you one if you want let me know!!! STICK

Stick, do you remember when you got old? I don't know when it was that I did, one day I looked in the mirrow and a old man was looking back at me. Sometimes you can get some good stories and infomation from the OLD man in a pool room.........Beatle.........

 

[kennyratt]

old getlemen.

Great thread. I hope for more replys; regards,Kennyratt

 

[BlackDragon]

this old guy in the pool room . Well we were short of a player one night in the pool league so we picked him up. He won his games, stayed with the team and took us through to win the finals. I saw him later wearing Australian colors playing New Zealand in the masters. Silver hair, hunched over, glasses. He then went on to join another team with three young guns and they won the finals the next two years....

 

[stick8]

storys

Hey Stick8! How about a story? Love to hear one.

Jim

well here goes== back in the late 50s, a friend and i were shooting 8 ball $2 agame in small bar having fun , this rail buzzard keep mouthing us- you cant shoot , i could beat both of you ect,ect, well enough, my friend broke the rack and the 8ball stoped next to the side pocket, so i as rail buzzard if he wants to wager $5 that my opponent will not get another shoot, boy he jumped on the bet , so bar tender holds money, i turn and shoot 8 ball in side, lose game walk over abd pick up the bet im 3$ up, he @##$%$##@$ cant do that, i said he didnt get a shoot , he argered, so bar keep showed him the door!!!!

 

[stick8]

old

Stick, do you remember when you got old? I don't know when it was that I did, one day I looked in the mirrow and a old man was looking back at me. Sometimes you can get some good stories and infomation from the OLD man in a pool room.........Beatle.........

hello beatle: i told a guy that i was playing golf with the other day, i dont jump the fences like i use to .but i run up to them and crawl over STICK

 

[stick8]

ol man

hello beatle: i told a guy that i was playing golf with the other day, i dont jump the fences like i use to .but i run up to them and crawl over STICK

also you young guys better look out, as us old men now have [rograin] for our hair-- [titatinoum] for golf clobs, and [vigara] for our sex life, so watch your back door!!!!! STICK :

 

[StraightPoolIU]

Oh for Pete's sake. We're just guys!

Guys that have lived a few more days than some others. We're just guys hangin out. Nothing more... nothing less. Just guys hangin out shooting the sh^t with folks and spreadin a lil love for life. Shootin a little pool, sippin a lilttle beer, flirtin with a pretty filly, fartin, laughin. Just guys hangin out.

Yea that's what I figured too, but hell what's wrong with romanticizing the poolhall subculture once in a while.

 

[twilight]

Yea that's what I figured too, but hell what's wrong with romanticizing the poolhall subculture once in a while.

I agree, that's why I started this topic, I mean there's more to pool than just hitting balls. The poolhall subculture is fascinating. Pool players are pretty unique in and of themselves, but is pretty interesting that you can find this same type of person in most every pool hall.

 

[!Smorgass Bored]

If I'm Lying, I'm Dying

Stick, do you remember when you got old? I don't know when it was that I did, one day I looked in the mirror and a old man was looking back at me.........Beatle.........

I'm still 21 in my mind and able to leap tall buildings while being faster than a speeding bullet. In reality, I have to get to rocking back & forth in order to get up out of the sunken spot in my sofa cushion.

I'm not the old man at the poolroom yet, but I AM the old man at the Chinese Buffet.

Doug
( I have ALOT of stories to tell........... and all TRUE )

 

[rod442]

Be nice to these guys...you might make a new friend. As I approach that age myself... Anyway, I'm sure they have interesting life stories to tell. Many of them could be lonely guys who lost their wives...just like to hang out somewhere, have a nice conversation from time to time.

AGREED. When I first started going to the Michigan Union, in 89 or so; I would always see this older guy there. I sort of figured he was a decent player, but might be one of those "ann Arbor'ites". Weird old guys that just hang out in places. Some are homeless, some are not. I never got the guts to talk to him at the pool hall, and boy did I miss out on some of the best lesson's I would have ever learned.

After seeing him a few more times, I noticed he would be up there with old pictures, a few cues and cases for sale and also played 3 cushion from time to time.

About a year later, I was ready to buy a newer cue than the POS I had already; and my buddy Dave took me over to this guys apartment. Come to find out it was the same guy. Carl Conlon. (RIP). A pretty much legend in the 3 cushion world, and a great guy who would go out of his way to spend time with you if you wanted to learn a few things.

I still have the 2 cues I bought from him, and probably will play with them forever. I dont know if I'll ever be good enough to need a better cue than the Helmstetter I picked up, and I know I wont ever wear them out.

Sometimes I wish I had paid a little more attention than thinking he was just some crazy old guy who liked pool.

The things we have a hard time learning at 17/18, lol. Wisdom.

 

[akaTrigger]

If you look around and don't see this guy...it might be you!

Mike

OMG that's funny!

 

[smittie1984]

You see these people anywhere you go. I've done pool table jobs for senior centers/parks that have pool tables. They'll gather around and usually talk about how "Good they use to be" and "How they moved 5" 1peice slate through the jungles of Vietnam by themselves". Their usually is a leader who is the best player and brags about it. Then the followers who will tell you the greatness of this person.

They're good people. But I think they find a place where they are accepted and migrate back to the place. I'm sure Freud has something to describe this.

But the Old Man at hte pool hall is nothing as bad as the Old Man at the Club. That is who I hope to never be.

 

[akaTrigger]

How many of you have one of these guys, or someone similar at your hall? Strange topic I know... I was just thinking off into space and this came up.

There's a guy like that in the pool room I practice in. I've been going there for several years and saw him play 1p a couple of months ago for the first time and he was damn good (I had no idea)! Heard he's in his 80s. I played him the other day some 1p myself.

However, the one guy that comes to mind even more was when I was living in Jacksonville, Florida in the late 90s. The first few times I saw him, I never saw him play pool, but everyone was always around him listening to his stories. Check out who it was: (we ended up being good friends before he passed)

Melinda


World Champion Jimmy Caras

 

[ajrack]

Me?

I talked to many of those "Old timers" for the last 30+ years, obtaining much knowledge and maybe not so much, at times. I learned to play quite well and I now realise, "I are one of those Old Timers"!