Tom Wirth: my friend

[Delaware Lar]

Tom Wirth: my friend.

I took a vacation from my retirement to visit my friend Tom in Delray Beach, Florida. Back home in Maryland, we call him Tom Tom. A cold front moved in and the temperature was only 75° with a light breeze. We did a lot of pool playing, gambling at Texas Hold'em, fine dining, and Girling. Tom was better at the Girling than me. He's outgoing and has some showmanship about himself. I got to pick up the stragglers.

Tom gets by teaching pool lessons. He has a regulation pool table in his living room. He's the House Pro at one of the retirement communities. He also makes money grinding at poker. For some reason he likes to play against the regular tough players and not the tourists.

Tom was telling me that he came within the top seventh place at the Derby City Classic one pocket tournament three years in a row and that there were about 485 competitors each year. I also saw him win the Strawberry One Pocket Tournament in Washington DC, beating Grady Mathews in the finals.

With this data, there is a very high probability that Tom's ranking as a one pocket player would not be due to chance occurrence. This scientifically concludes that Tom Wirth is ranked at the top 1.03% of the universe of known one pocket players.

I was curious, does anybody know or who has heard of my friend?

 

[beetle]

I remember Tom Tom and you from the Orange Ball days! I'm sure JAM has a few nice photos.

 

[Tony_in_MD]

Yes, he is a great one-pocket player. I saw him in action once at USA Billiards in Laural MD.

Last I heard he was working in a casino, I guess my info is dated.

Tom Wirth: my friend.

I took a vacation from my retirement to visit my friend Tom in Delray Beach, Florida. Back home in Maryland, we call him Tom Tom. A cold front moved in and the temperature was only 75° with a light breeze. We did a lot of pool playing, gambling at Texas Hold'em, fine dining, and Girling. Tom was better at the Girling than me. He's outgoing and has some showmanship about himself. I got to pick up the stragglers.

Tom gets by teaching pool lessons. He has a regulation pool table in his living room. He's the House Pro at one of the retirement communities. He also makes money grinding at poker. For some reason he likes to play against the regular tough players and not the tourists.

Tom was telling me that he came within the top seventh place at the Derby City Classic one pocket tournament three years in a row and that there were about 485 competitors each year.

With this data, there is a very high probability that Tom's ranking as a one pocket player would not be due to chance occurrence. This scientifically concludes that Tom Wirth is ranked at the top 1.03% of the universe of known one pocket players.

I was curious, does anybody know or who has heard of my friend?

 

[david(tx)]

Tom Wirth: my friend.

I took a vacation from my retirement to visit my friend Tom in Delray Beach, Florida. Back home in Maryland, we call him Tom Tom. A cold front moved in and the temperature was only 75° with a light breeze. We did a lot of pool playing, gambling at Texas Hold'em, fine dining, and Girling. Tom was better at the Girling than me. He's outgoing and has some showmanship about himself. I got to pick up the stragglers.

Tom gets by teaching pool lessons. He has a regulation pool table in his living room. He's the House Pro at one of the retirement communities. He also makes money grinding at poker. For some reason he likes to play against the regular tough players and not the tourists.

Tom was telling me that he came within the top seventh place at the Derby City Classic one pocket tournament three years in a row and that there were about 485 competitors each year. I also saw him win the Strawberry One Pocket Tournament in Washington DC, beating Grady Mathews in the finals.

With this data, there is a very high probability that Tom's ranking as a one pocket player would not be due to chance occurrence. This scientifically concludes that Tom Wirth is ranked at the top 1.03% of the universe of known one pocket players.

I was curious, does anybody know or who has heard of my friend?

Did he ever use Skip as a nickname ?

 

[JAM]

I remember Tom Tom and you from the Orange Ball days! I'm sure JAM has a few nice photos.

Here's a cute story how I met Tom-Tom. I was a regular bar table player at a one-table tavern in my area called Hank Dietle's. It's still there, believe it or not, in Rockville, Maryland. We had regulars at Dietle's. We were like family. We had Cardiac Corner where the old folk congregated each morning as soon as Dietle's opened up. We had the bar people, who used to drink draft beer and put it on their tab. Dietle's only sells beer and wine. Then we had the pool people, which I was a part of.

It is where I first got into pool full-time, and I mean full-time. In the beginning, I couldn't run two balls in a row. At night time, Dietle's was packed, and instead of putting quarters on the table for who's next, they had a list that ran about 20 names. Eventually, the people decided to play partners to shorten the list. We played for a couple bucks each, nothing big.

Well, one night, my name is next. I asked who wanted to be my partner, and everybody already had their pool partner, somebody who could actually play. They knew I couldn't shoot a lick. It felt like the last guy that gets picked to be on somebody's baseball team. Nobody wanted me as a partner. :frown:

There was this new guy in the bar, though, and he saw me struggling. He asked me if I wanted him to be my partner. I'm thinking, man, it's $2 apiece, and I don't even know this cat. I said, "You know we're playing for money, right?" like $2 would dissuade him. Much to my surprise, he said, "Okay. Let's do it." Well, this stranger in the bar was Tom-Tom, and he was probably one of the best one-pocket players in Maryland at that time, but I had no idea who he was. Best of all, though, neither did anybody else in the bar. Ka-ching! :grin-square:

We proceed to win, win, win, and I made almost 20 bucks shooting with Tom-Tom. I was in heaven. Of course, later on after I got to know him, I found out who he was. It was Tom-Tom who introduced me to Geese at the pool room. That's when my pool journey started, I guess. Going on the road with Geese is an experience I will never forget. May he rest in peace.

Here's a picture of the gang. We were having a charity poker game at my house because one of our friends went to jail. We were cutting the pot $2 each hand and then sent the total (about $150 as I recall) to the jail, so he'd have canteen. Front row is Baby Huey, Parks, Jennifer, Keith, and back row is Larry and Tom-Tom, whose face I blackened out because he still likes to sneak up on people sometimes to get in action.

Also, I think this is the day that Tom-Tom changed the cloth on my table to the fast Simonis.

 

[JAM]

Yes, he is a great one-pocket player. I saw him in action once at USA Billiards in Laural MD.

Last I heard he was working in a casino, I guess my info is dated.

Years ago -- and I mean MANY years ago, like over 20 -- I think I recall Tom-Tom was dealing cards at one of those poker rooms in Southern Maryland, like at a firehouse or a VFW. Of course, today these firehouse/VFW-type joints are banned, but back then a lot of the hardcore action players used to go there to play cards.

 

[JAM]

Tom Wirth: my friend.

I took a vacation from my retirement to visit my friend Tom in Delray Beach, Florida. Back home in Maryland, we call him Tom Tom. A cold front moved in and the temperature was only 75° with a light breeze. We did a lot of pool playing, gambling at Texas Hold'em, fine dining, and Girling. Tom was better at the Girling than me. He's outgoing and has some showmanship about himself. I got to pick up the stragglers.

Tom gets by teaching pool lessons. He has a regulation pool table in his living room. He's the House Pro at one of the retirement communities. He also makes money grinding at poker. For some reason he likes to play against the regular tough players and not the tourists.

Tom was telling me that he came within the top seventh place at the Derby City Classic one pocket tournament three years in a row and that there were about 485 competitors each year. I also saw him win the Strawberry One Pocket Tournament in Washington DC, beating Grady Mathews in the finals.

With this data, there is a very high probability that Tom's ranking as a one pocket player would not be due to chance occurrence. This scientifically concludes that Tom Wirth is ranked at the top 1.03% of the universe of known one pocket players.

I was curious, does anybody know or who has heard of my friend?

Long time no see, Larry. It's kind of funny communicating with you here on the forum when you live less than 5 minutes from my house. :grin-square:

Hope life is treating you well. I'm back in work mode full-time now, 24/7. I quit smoking. This February, it will be 5 years of no smoking. Sammy died, but we have a new dog, Mickey. Believe it or not, Chrissie is now a nurse, an RN, graduated nursing school, and is currently going for her master's while working full-time. What a flip-flop, huh?

Interestingly, at the second Capital City Classic in Maryland, I was supposed to meet Colin there. I hadn't been in the pool world for many years, as I was working full-time downtown on the Hill. I had taken a hiatus from pool to pursue my career. I ran into Colin accidentally after he got out of jail. After we chatted a bit, he suggested we could meet up the next night at this pro pool tournament in Lanham, MD, which ended up being this Capital City Classic. I was hesitant to do it, but something made me say yes.

As soon as I arrived in the parking lot of the hotel of the Capital City Classic, Colin called me on my cell to say he couldn't make it, as he had to work overtime. What a jerk!

I almost drove back home without going inside, but I figured, well, I was there already, so I'd check it out. I was fearful of not knowing anybody and sitting alone in a corner. :sorry:

When I walked in the lobby of the hotel, my eyes cast upon none other than the Wilsons, Dennis and Rose. In fact, Dennis was the tournament promoter of this huge event. Rose gave me a big ol' hug, and I immediately felt I was at home. It was great seeing them. When I walked into the ball room where all the tables were, much to my surprise, the whole gang was there, and everybody made me feel so welcome, saying, "Come over here and sit with us." I was actually having fun. There was Timmy Crown, Tom-Tom, Black Brandon, and a few others. I was a little green about pro pool back then. I had never been to a pro tournament of this caliber before.

I decided to go outside and smoke a cigarette, and there in the flesh was "Grady Seasons." I knew Geese was good friends with this player named "Keith McCready," but I had never met Keith before. For whatever reason, I got the nerve up to speak to him. At that time, Geese was living in Florida and called me up on the phone pretty regularly. He missed Maryland terribly when he and his mom moved to Florida. :frown:

Anyway, I spoke to Keith and said, "You don't know me, but a good friend of mine said you and he were on the road together." Keith had good words to say about Geese, telling me the best time he ever had laughing it up was with Geese on the road.

We began to chat together while puffing away on our ciggies, when up walks this short man, who speaks to Keith. Keith introduced me, stating that this was his road partner at the tournament. The man shook my hand, and I said, "Do you shoot pool too?" The guy chuckled and replied yes. He then proceeded to go inside. In fact, a few days later, this same guy won the Capital City Classic one-pocket tournament. His name was Jose Parica.

 

[Cornerman]

Tom-Tom, whose face I blackened out because he still likes to sneak up on people sometimes to get in action.

I wish I read the whole thing first before trying to find Tom Wirth in your photo! I was thinking I knew exactly what he looks like but couldn't find him!

Freddie <~~~ doesn't know Dick or Harry either

 

[JAM]

I wish I read the whole thing first before trying to find Tom Wirth in your photo! I was thinking I knew exactly what he looks like but couldn't find him!

Freddie <~~~ doesn't know Dick or Harry either

LOL! When I first read the title of the thread and saw who wrote it, I feared Tom Wirth had gone to the celestial shores in heaven.

I'm relieved to know he's still living his life exactly the way he wants to, which is in the pool world. Not many folks can make a living doing what they love. In this regard, he's quite fortunate!

 

[Black-Balled]

LOL! When I first read the title of the thread and saw who wrote it, I feared Tom Wirth had gone to the celestial shores in heaven...

I had the same fear!

Tom is well-known in the mid-atlantic. I have never been what I would define as a friend, but we have been in the same room many a time and I have never seen even a hint at anything less than quality behavior from him.

A damn good player, fer sher.

 

[Delaware Lar]

Hi JAM.

Didn't you once tell me that there was nothing wrong with Tom Tom's libido?

 

[TRWpool]

Hi to all those who have been so kind as to post threads regarding my pool career as well as to those who have commented on the possibility of my own death which I assure you all that that rumor has been greatly overestimated. The truth is, I simply moved into God's own waiting room, Florida.

FYI: I had to change my username for AZbilliards because I lost my password and gave up trying to find a way to retrieve it through AZ. So to all my friends and anyone else who wishes to become a friend, I can now be reached with the user name TRWpool. :smile:

 

[12squared]

I saw Tom play one time at DCC in 2003 I think. He played a friend of mine in the 7th or 8th round of the one-pocket and my friend was telling me how well he played (Tom that is). He was right, Tom knocked my friend out of the tournament. He was a perfect gentleman & pleasure to watch.

Dave

 

[jimmyg]

Hi to all those who have been so kind as to post threads regarding my pool career as well as to those who have commented on the possibility of my own death which I assure you all that that rumor has been greatly overestimated. The truth is, I simply moved into God's own waiting room, Florida.

FYI: I had to change my username for AZbilliards because I lost my password and gave up trying to find a way to retrieve it through AZ. So to all my friends and anyone else who wishes to become a friend, I can now be reached with the user name TRWpool. :smile:

Hi Tom, welcome aboard, I think you'll add quite a bit to the forum, and enjoy doing it.

Let's light up them greenies. :thumbup:

Jimmy

 

[TRWpool]

Mean Streets

Hi Jimmy,
Mean Streets.....Great movie! I wonder how many people on this site have seen it.

 

[Johnk78]

I have had the pleasure of playing in a couple of tournaments with Tom. He is a great player and even nicer guy. His knowledge of the game is second to none. I thought about taking one pocket lessons from him as he is the best in this area.

 

[Donny Lutz]

Great photo!

Here's a cute story how I met Tom-Tom. I was a regular bar table player at a one-table tavern in my area called Hank Dietle's. It's still there, believe it or not, in Rockville, Maryland. We had regulars at Dietle's. We were like family. We had Cardiac Corner where the old folk congregated each morning as soon as Dietle's opened up. We had the bar people, who used to drink draft beer and put it on their tab. Dietle's only sells beer and wine. Then we had the pool people, which I was a part of.

It is where I first got into pool full-time, and I mean full-time. In the beginning, I couldn't run two balls in a row. At night time, Dietle's was packed, and instead of putting quarters on the table for who's next, they had a list that ran about 20 names. Eventually, the people decided to play partners to shorten the list. We played for a couple bucks each, nothing big.

Well, one night, my name is next. I asked who wanted to be my partner, and everybody already had their pool partner, somebody who could actually play. They knew I couldn't shoot a lick. It felt like the last guy that gets picked to be on somebody's baseball team. Nobody wanted me as a partner. :frown:

There was this new guy in the bar, though, and he saw me struggling. He asked me if I wanted him to be my partner. I'm thinking, man, it's $2 apiece, and I don't even know this cat. I said, "You know we're playing for money, right?" like $2 would dissuade him. Much to my surprise, he said, "Okay. Let's do it." Well, this stranger in the bar was Tom-Tom, and he was probably one of the best one-pocket players in Maryland at that time, but I had no idea who he was. Best of all, though, neither did anybody else in the bar. Ka-ching! :grin-square:

We proceed to win, win, win, and I made almost 20 bucks shooting with Tom-Tom. I was in heaven. Of course, later on after I got to know him, I found out who he was. It was Tom-Tom who introduced me to Geese at the pool room. That's when my pool journey started, I guess. Going on the road with Geese is an experience I will never forget. May he rest in peace.

Here's a picture of the gang. We were having a charity poker game at my house because one of our friends went to jail. We were cutting the pot $2 each hand and then sent the total (about $150 as I recall) to the jail, so he'd have canteen. Front row is Baby Huey, Parks, Jennifer, Keith, and back row is Larry and Tom-Tom, whose face I blackened out because he still likes to sneak up on people sometimes to get in action.

Also, I think this is the day that Tom-Tom changed the cloth on my table to the fast Simonis.

Thanks so much for posting this pic!
I played on a team with Jennifer in 1995. A real sweetheart.
When I moved to Maryland in 1987, Dietle's was the first pool table I played on. I met Jimmy Scrima there in 1990, and two years later we played on the Breakers (Rockville) team that took 3rd at the BCA nationals.
I met Tom Tom about the same time at Champion Billiards in Rockville, when he ran the weekly tournaments there. Super nice fella. When he heard that I had unjustly been fired from my job as house pro in Gaithersburg, he got me a job as resident instructor/league/tournament director at Champions in Laurel.

 

[TRWpool]

Hi Don,
Good to hear from you and thank you for remembering me here on AZ Billiards. I haven't been frequenting this site for a long time but I think I've been making a mistake in not doing so. I hope to be hearing a lot from all the folks from my pool past. There are so many great people I've known in the pool world. You are one of them, Don.

 

[Jerry Yost]

Tom Tom

Tom,
Glad to hear Florida is treating you well. It was good to see you at Doug Sharp's memorial in April of last year.

 

[ibuycues]

This is exactly the kind of thread I like to read on AZ. One with character, friendship renewal, recollections of great times in the past, and warm projections of times to come. I also enjoy the stories, the depictions of places, the photos, and feel my attachment to the overall world of billiards ever deepening.

JAM, a special thanks. You are a real contributor to the piece of AZB that makes me get on the site every day and see what`s going on.

Will Prout