The Rack in Detroit

By far the best Thread I have ever read on the net. I lived in the area most of my life but was just a kid during that time. My Dad tells me he knew Cornbread Red but only through dad's first cousin Andy Manning. Andy was suppose to be a great player? Another family member that I am told that frequented the rack was Charles "stud" Roberts he was a good shot but spent most of his time betting on the side. Anyone ever heard of Andy or Stud?

My dad and Uncle said Whitey was sitting in the middle of the road outside Hazel Park because he had won $20,000 at the rack the night before and lost it all on the ponies that day and was flat broke.
 
This is just a bump, but I was in Detroit visiting my folks so I stopped in to the old Cushion & Cue/Champions Billiards/ and now Oak Park Cue. It looks different and i was only able to stop in in the early afternoon. I saw Bernie Schwartz and asked him if he would share some of his favorite stories that I could post and he declined. Bummer, they would have been great.

Bump!

Dave
 
Just thought I'd give this thread a Christmas bump. There's a lot of good stories in here that some of the newer members might not have read and of course I hope more stories can be added.
 
This is hands down my favorite thread on here. Here's hoping we get some more stories added.

Johnny
 
JohnnyShakes said:
This is hands down my favorite thread on here. Here's hoping we get some more stories added.

Johnny
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No doubt - me too. If there are new posters on AZB who never caught up with this thread...click on FIRST PAGE... and read through it. You'll thank me later.

Stories from The Rack are from pool's gambling golden era, imo. Hopkins has a few great stories from The Rack-- I need to make sure I have the details right before posting them. The stories from The Rack are so berserk, they seem like fiction - except that sometimes reality is more far-fetched than fiction.

Unforunately, I didn't get into pool (or was born for that matter) until after The Rack cooled off a bit. All I can do (like most of you) is pray the guys who sweated the action post stories.

Dave
 
I lived 7 houses off the corner from the Rack. New Gil Elias pretty well and was in there most nights or at Cushion and Cue. Everynight was like the Color of Money. Freddie Salem,Paul Bruselove,Cornbread,Al Sherman,Babyface,and just about every top hustler and pro player I ever heard of was there at onetime or another.But it was all about the weight given and the money bet. And of course these guys would bet on anything from pitching pennies to screwball tricks. Alot of people never heard of a ring 7 ball game on a snooker table or no-count 1 pocket games. It was a time you wanted to be a pool player!
 
I swear the stories from this place could be made into a mini-series on HBO or Showtime.
 
Terry I was around Don Willis in minneapolis,mn.in the early seventies and he could not back a ten dollar pool game. I doubt very much whether he had any reserve money when he passed away. I drove to his poolroom in not canton but madisonville, ohio. very small dirty room in a bad neighborhood. great player and hustler, but not a saver.
 
You could ask some of your local pros to share stories with you about THE RACK and then you could write them up here on AZB Main Forum but you should WARN your local players that Steve Lomako will call them out if they tell a whopper. :D

Two thumbs up for this thread. You know, I always forget to rate a thread. After I post this I'm going to fix that.

Your older players from yesteryear might have a chance for THE RACK stories but in my case, a 50 year old had some pretty good stories about it.
 
Sure brings back memories, I use to play California John Mccue banks in the 70s at the Rack. Sadly he passed away a couple of years ago. Also played a guy named Woffey, don't know what happened to him but I believe he was an insider and knew everyone. Could not just walk in, had to know someone. Ronnie Reynolds and Bob Dancer, local shortstops would always vouch for me and my friends. Great time, wonderful memories.
Tom
 
Yeah I remember Wolffy had a shifty eye and Ronnie Reynolds.Had california John make me a Sneaky Pete once. He had a cue making operation in his garage! Here's another 2 guys I remember,Joe Teatro and Roy.Just saw Teatro's obit in the Detroit Free press. He was a bookie along with Roy I think.Real snappy dressers! Were you from Oak Park?
 
Rocky247 said:
Yeah I remember Wolffy had a shifty eye and Ronnie Reynolds.Had california John make me a Sneaky Pete once. He had a cue making operation in his garage! Here's another 2 guys I remember,Joe Teatro and Roy.Just saw Teatro's obit in the Detroit Free press. He was a bookie along with Roy I think.Real snappy dressers! Were you from Oak Park?
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bump for some more stories and links to other road stories threads.
 
Couldnt find my Cornbread Red book...so I figured I would bump this thread. This thread is amazing and maybe some AZ'rs have not read it yet. Who knows, maybe some more stories will surface.

~Perk
 
My time with the bread

I was too young to enjoy the rack but I was very lucky to spend alot of sunday mornings playing cornbread over a cup of coffee. I was a young lad and he tought me so much, thankyou mr. bread
 
I still love to read this thread so I'd thought I'd dig it up for some of the newer members.
 
calibration...That would be "thank you, Mr. Burge!" All kidding aside, you got a great "pool education"! Many people would have killed for that opportunity! :grin: I'm guessing that you know that his son-in-law still has a poolroom in Livonia?

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

calibration said:
I was too young to enjoy the rack but I was very lucky to spend alot of sunday mornings playing cornbread over a cup of coffee. I was a young lad and he tought me so much, thankyou mr. bread
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This a another great story that happen in the rack,i have read this in the BOBBY COTTON book,then i called my good buddy PITTSBURGH MIKE KATSARIS and let him know about the great story i had just read about him,COTTON and NUTSY (as cotton called mike this name)were together at the rack,husteling and doing there thing,well something came up and COTTON had to leave,so when he left,MIKE had stayed at the rack with a wopping 45 dollars in his pocket,so COTTON goes and does what he had to do and about a week later shows back up at the rack,to meet up with MIKE again and to COTTONS amazment,NUTSY(MIKE)HAD RUN THE 45 dollars into over 4000,that was a nice surprise for COTTON when he returned and they split every penny of it,hows that for odds on your money!
 
The Cushion and Cue turned into Oak Park Cue

The Cushion and Cue was a great Poolroom,with many big,action Matches over the years. It later became Oak Park Cue,and recently closed in the bad economy. The Poolroom was sold to some Arabic guys,and the Jewish people didn't come as often,but the action was still good and the crowd remained mixed. Jew Paul,Freddy Salem,Ronnie Wiseman,Richie Rich,Cornbread,and many other big-time rollers were there on a regular basis. I saw Nick Varner do an exhibition there with some other Champ (can't remember who it was),and many Top pros came thru and got their Action on! It never approached the action at the Rack,though. The House of Champions is located on Mound and 13 Mile,5 miles North of Detroit,in a Strip Mall just North of the GM Tech Center. I think Ronnie Wiseman was the House Pro. We were told that a Lottery Winner that loved to play there,bought it,completely remodeled it, and turned it over to his friend to run. It used to be a poolroom on Warren Ave. in Detroit,and when Cornbread was a little older(after the Rack closed) Alex P. and Corey Deuel was running together(before they were 21)and I remember them beating Cornbread and Miami to death in 9-Ball. I knew then that Alex Pagulayan was gonna be a killer! Miami used to play a lot of One-handed 9-Ball,and One-Pocket, and bet big.
 
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