FSutton said:I love my pool history and I was wondering if anyone on here could share any stories about this famous room in Detroit. Anyone have any pictures of it? Etc I'm all ears
FSutton said:I love my pool history and I was wondering if anyone on here could share any stories about this famous room in Detroit. Anyone have any pictures of it? Etc I'm all ears
12squared said:I grew up in Oak Park, MI, the city where the Rack was located (about 1/2 mile from the Detroit border). The pool room I learned to play was about 1/2 mile from it. I was friends w/"Jew Paul" Bruseloff's (sp) son. We played together at the Cushion and cue. Although I did not go to the Rack often, the first time Paul's son took me there (they had to know you to buzz you in), Jew Paul was playing Freddy Salem one-pocket on 5x10 snooker table for $10,000/game. It seemed to me that it took longer to count out the money than it did to play the game. It was an interesting introduction to the place.
I was also in attendance when Larry Hubbard brought Mike Sigel to play Cornbread some one-pocket on a 5x10 pool table. Sigel won about $35,000 and they both left town. This happened about 3 years in a row with the same result, Mike winning the dough. I wish I was interested in 1-pocket back then.
Dave
Terry Ardeno said:Ed"Detroit Whitey' Beuchene used "The Rack' as him home base. That pretty much says what you need to know about the clientele!![]()
Freddy Bentivegna will have numerous war stories to add should he see this thread.
Some of the stuff that went on there, the statue of limitations STILL hasn't expired!![]()
SJDinPHX said:Terry, rarely,if ever, are you wrong about pool lore. But I must correct you in this instance. Whitey's home base was the "Rathole" on Woodward Ave in Detroit.(as was Cornbread's originally) Whitey was way over the hill when "The Rack" was in full swing. Not saying he may not have been involved in a few clandestine affairs at the Rack, but I doubt he saw much action there. Maybe Steve Lomako can expound on that. Is Whitey still above ground ? THAT would be truely amazing.
Also, if Steve answers, when did the Rathole shut down ?
Dick
PS. Terry, I need two birth dates, Cole Dixon and Billy Stroud. If you have them please PM me. I have a wager in progress. Please do not post it here.
ironman said:This may be in bad taste, but, here goes.
Whitey was one of the most disgusting people I ever met.
He had this pickup truck with a camper on it and left a light on in Denver and I voluteere to give him a jump.
When we got to the truck and he opened that camper, I near puked right there. There were like 4 dogs in there and it smelled as if they hadn't been outside in a month. That was near 40 years ago and I remember that like yesterday.
I saw him take the sickest bet I ever heard of and collect. I may tell it later, but can't think of a way to tell it right now. I mean Sick.
ironman said:This may be in bad taste, but, here goes.
Whitey was one of the most disgusting people I ever met.
He had this pickup truck with a camper on it and left a light on in Denver and I voluteere to give him a jump.
When we got to the truck and he opened that camper, I near puked right there. There were like 4 dogs in there and it smelled as if they hadn't been outside in a month. That was near 40 years ago and I remember that like yesterday.
I saw him take the sickest bet I ever heard of and collect. I may tell it later, but can't think of a way to tell it right now. I mean Sick.
SJDinPHX said:Terry, rarely,if ever, are you wrong about pool lore. But I must correct you in this instance. Whitey's home base was the "Rathole" on Woodward Ave in Detroit.(as was Cornbread's originally) Whitey was way over the hill when "The Rack" was in full swing. Not saying he may not have been involved in a few clandestine affairs at the Rack, but I doubt he saw much action there. Maybe Steve Lemke can expound on that. Is Whitey still above ground ? THAT would be truely amazing.
Also, if Steve answers, when did the Rathole shut down ?
Dick
Dick, in order to justify Terry's claim about Whitey and the Rack, I am going to have to 'fess up hanging out some with that lunatic. Firstly, Ironman was right about Whitey being one of the world's most disgusting individuals. I also have some Whitey tales that are so brutal, that I don't know how I could possibly air them. Whatever hideous stories you all might have heard about Whitey are probably true. I mentioned a few of the tamer ones in my book The GosPool. However, I hate to have to admit that I was fascinated by the man. He liked me and sort of semi-behaved around me. We went in partners one night in the Greek Barbut dice game at the Rack. We put up $75 apiece. In an hour Whitey got up to be $14,000 ahead. Jew Paul got in the game and busted us in four bets, 4k, 4k, 4k, 2k. We got knocked out so fast we didn't have time to take any money down. Later, Whitey tried to keep his image up and he told some people that he held out a g-note on me anyway. Believe me, he didn't go south with a dime. I watched him like a chicken hawk. Houdini couldn't have went south and gotten away with it, as close as I was sweating. Whitey just didn't want people to think that he had given me a square shake. Getting back to the main point, Whitey spent a lot of time in the Rack, but SJD was right about 1 thing, his speed was way off. The only thing he still played real strong was snooker. Is he still alive? Don't know. Last time I heard from him was when he and the famous tush hog Sugar Shack Novak called me from Florida, drunk. A year earlier Whitey had sold Sugar Shack 2k worth of phony gold chains. Sugar caught up with him and instead of killing him, he was so impressed with Whitey's nerve that he got him drunk instead. Whitey had just beaten throat cancer and was hooked up with a voice box at the time. There is a word to describe Whitey perfectly, it's, egregious. Outstandingly bad.
the Beard
daphish1 said:Ironman, how can you go with "sickest bet i ever heard of..." and not deliver with the story![]()
TIMBER1 said:Jack Taylor was upset he was compared to Whitey in Rags to Rifle Man. He said he was nothing like Whitey "Whitey would **** a dog if the money was right".
daphish1 said:Ironman, how can you go with "sickest bet i ever heard of..." and not deliver with the story![]()
SJDinPHX said:I am sure Ironman is refering to Whitey's wager involving one of his female dogs genetalia. It is the most disgusting thing you can imagine.
Whitey was, without a doubt, the crudest human being I've ever met.
I have a story about him and Canadian Pete that I will share someday.
It is worthy of the Beard's War stories column. If he had done to me, what he did to Pete, he would have met his demise much earlier. He was a man with absolutely NO scruples.
Dick
ironman said:No, I heard about that one too though. This is one about his own genetalia.
He laid it out on the billiard table at the old Fun Center in Denver and allowed a guy to smack it with a billiard ball,,,,,,,for $10.00. My skin crawls thinking about that event.
The next day he was in there playing Fat Marty {Martin Kaman} one pocket.
FSutton said:lol now that is just great. That's exactly the kind of stuff I want to here. "look away pool for a hundred a ball" Man you can't make stuff like that up. Is there even a place in the world today that can hold a candle to the the type of action the rack saw, it's doubtful.![]()