The Third Balabushka

[PhillyPoolGuy]

Anyone know what the current value of this cue might be???

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TO9HOc74dvk/S3lgp0dWgTI/AAAAAAAAGG8/A9u6nO_CN1s/s1600-h/1-23-07.jpg

 

[mamono]

That's a cool article, thanks for sharing!

 

[Hank]

Story

And the history lessons continue,thank's for a great story.

 

[larrynj1]

i wonder how cicero felt after getting screwed like that.

 

[manwon]

Anyone know what the current value of this cue might be???

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TO9HOc74dvk/S3lgp0dWgTI/AAAAAAAAGG8/A9u6nO_CN1s/s1600-h/1-23-07.jpg

That is a great piece of History, I am a big Fan of Cisero Murphy and I wish I could have seen him play in person. Due to the association to Cisero, and the letter of authenticity the cue would certainly be a very very high end cue even in this market, but at auction it would depend on how many people with big pockets want the cue.

But, there is also a problem with the article the cue could not have been Balabushka's third cue made. In 1959 George made a number of cues for his friends, and by the time frame given in the article that states when this cue was made George was already building cues full time. So I don't know what they mean by third cue made unless they were talking about the third cue for a famous player.

Take Care

 

[measureman]

I saw Cisero Murphy play in his prime and as good as anybody says he played- he played better.A true threat to anyone ever in straight pool.

 

[jayman]

That is a great piece of History, I am a big Fan of Cisero Murphy and I wish I could have seen him play in person. Due to the association to Cisero, and the letter of authenticity the cue would certainly be a very very high end cue even in this market, but at auction it would depend on how many people with big pockets want the cue.

But, there is also a problem with the article the cue could not have been Balabushka's third cue made. In 1959 George made a number of cues for his friends, and by the time frame given in the article that states when this cue was made George was already building cues full time. So I don't know what they mean by third cue made unless they were talking about the third cue for a famous player.

Take Care

I am also a big Cisero Murphy fan. Another problem I see with this story is that NOBODY'S third cue ever made, looked like that.
It takes a while to get to that level.And many never do. I wonder if it was the third one with the big acrylic window?...Who knows what the heck George was referring to. Great cue great player!

Thanks for sharing this with us PhillyPoolGuy. Greenie for you sir.

 

[cuesmith]

Anyone know what the current value of this cue might be???

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TO9HOc74dvk/S3lgp0dWgTI/AAAAAAAAGG8/A9u6nO_CN1s/s1600-h/1-23-07.jpg

I can't get the link to work but if it's the cue I think it is, I used to own it's twin and also had the broken remains of another one which I used the bottom (clear with aluminum knurled rings kinda like gears) to make a titlist/Bushka tribute cue a few years back.

 

[flyvirginiaguy]

I also wonder how many Bushka cues Cisero owned, as I am pretty sure (have to re-look at my book) that there is also a little fancier one (with mop inlays, bushka rings) in the 1st edition of the Blue Book of Cues having been owned by him.

 

[ctyhntr]

Link doesn't work for me either.

At the poolhall today, Cicero Murphy and George Balabushka came up on conversation. Now I see it here on AZB. I was chatting with an elderly gentlemen who told me back in the 60's he owned a poolhall in Brooklyn. He told me Cicero Murphy would come in and shoot right handed, get a money game going and then switch to his left hand.

He also told me that Mike Eufemia would come in looking to buy for broken cues, for a woodworker friend in Far Rockaway. He told me that guy offered to make him a cue for $75 or a deluxe one for $150. That guy turned out to be George Balabushka. We then looked at my Duc Lam sneaky pete and pondered.