Unknown "monster" players

[2rgrbn]

At the time back in "99 or 2000"? Brian Jones was still just a young fella, he and my brother Counrty Calvin played some 9-ball in Texarkana,Ar. after a big tournament we had, and Brian was 5 sets ahead for $3 an $500.00 , was just one set from busting Country, but Country out lasted him that time,and came back and won all his $ back+ $1,800.00...

I remember he gave Brian $200.00 to go back to Tulsa on, but that kid/man ..Now can play!


David Harcrow

It is the same guy 98 or 99 was when I played him, I bet he does play good now. I played Griffis in Phx maybe 10 days prior to playing Brian, I had 1 game on the wire racing to 5 and went 2 sets to 2 sets with him, when the kid (Brian) got done with me I didn't even know what to say. I won 1 or 2 games to his 10 and I think those came from just wild kicking at balls and getting a break. It is one of the times that sticks in your mind I never got to look at a ball. The three cushion player that he hung out with was the best 3 cushion player I have ever seen and his pocket games were plenty strong enough but I don't remember his name. I always liked Oklahoma because usually even if you ran into a strong player you could beat him with money and the side action with all the old timers was crazy . The match was for $100 and the side action was $5-6K. There was another guy in Oklahoma City that may have made the list if could remember his name the thing is every time I ran into him he was drunk and I would set a time limit going in and would walk on him for 2 hours. Once he was sober he played world class I just don't know if he was ever sober to start a match and he traveled with a backer in the same condition.

 

[sharandrew]

I've heard some pretty good stories about David Rhodes. Maybe someone could shed some light on this... Northwest players??? Had the opportunity to play him a lot, but I could see that he had a crazy gear. I don't think he really loved pool though.. just everything that came with the lifestyle..

No owing money stories.. not enough room for that!

David Rhodes one of the most talented/gisted players..... could beat anyone, say again could beat anyone. Had a gear beat Strickland 11-0 in Houston 20 years ago when Earl was player of the year, Ive seen a bunch of great players most of them David was right there with them........sad story David applied himself to other things then Pool

 

[SK Custom Cues]

was the 3 cushion player a tall lanky fellow?? Jim Whitman might be who you're talking about.

James Walden was the main stick from OKC and he loved to drink. I don't remember him as a sloppy drunk though.

There were some pretty hairy days back in the Palace. You could go in there and win 3, 4 and 5 k in one weekend.

Gabe Owen was hangin around back then. Brian and Gabe were probably the top one pocket players in the pool hall. There were not many others who could beat them.

 

[sharandrew]

I heard Glenn Atwell, Al Perez, Bobby Zack and Gary Crane are some of the best relatively unknown players in the NW capable of beating just about anyone. I have heard that Al is maybe playing as good as anyone and Gary used to be a fierce roadplayer and Glenn and Bobby are more known around the country, but not sure, just things I've heard. But I also would love to hear more about these and other players adventures.

These are not the best unlnown........ Glenn and Bobby yes

 

[sharandrew]

David Rhodes was one of the best players in the country at one time. I have seen most all the pro's in the last 25 years and there are 3 people who stand out in my mind with so much natual talent it scares me and David Rhodes is one of those players. The other 2 players are Keith McCready and Leo Newberry. All three of these players are fearless and make tough shots look very easy. David Rhodes is one of the funnest players also. I remember one time (about 20 years ago) that there were 4 or 5 players betting 5.00 each to see who could kick in the cue ball 3 rails in the corner with the heal of their shoe. David made his attempt and the cue ball slide off the side of his heal and went about a foot. He immediatley said it was a "mis-foot" and asked for another try.

True story..................

 

[2rgrbn]

was the 3 cushion player a tall lanky fellow?? Jim Whitman might be who you're talking about.

James Walden was the main stick from OKC and he loved to drink. I don't remember him as a sloppy drunk though.

There were some pretty hairy days back in the Palace. You could go in there and win 3, 4 and 5 k in one weekend.

Gabe Owen was hangin around back then. Brian and Gabe were probably the top one pocket players in the pool hall. There were not many others who could beat them.

We are talking about the same people, it is not so much that he was a sloppy drunk but he played better sober then drunk and I played good enough for it to matter, the first time we played for about 8 hours and I let him get back to even the other couple times I left out a decent lick ahead of him. I don't know that he would have been a world beater if sober and focused on pool was his thing but I do know he would be tougher then what I was looking to deal with. I won a world championship in foosball when I was kid so I play foosball as well the thing about the Palace was after I had been put in my place in pool, Tommy Atkinson (The Lance Armstrong of Foosball) started playing there with his buddies so the Palace was a bad place for me to go. I couldn't beat there A list guys and the B list wouldn't play. That whole area of Oklahoma has a ton of guys that can get out. I had a home on Lake Tenkiller and when I would get out and play I would at random run into guys that you had to play to beat. One of the unknowns (George Azbill) that I listed initially in this thread actually lives in Skiatook just North of Tulsa, he has not played in 10 years or better but he was definitely a pleasure to watch play. I watched him and Billy Weir play for a week one time that was good, and I don't now how much I learned watching him and Deliberto play straight pool when I was younger but I'm sure it didn't hurt my game any.

 

[sharandrew]

Speaking of great bar table players, does anyone know if "Chino" (Sebastian Franco) is still out there hustlin? I've seen him do some amazing things on a bar table. He has showed up pretty much anywhere there is pool being played.

He lived in Portland 10 years ago.. I see him in Vegas yearly.... nice guy

He has seen it all

 

[SK Custom Cues]

We are talking about the same people, it is not so much that he was a sloppy drunk but he played better sober then drunk and I played good enough for it to matter, the first time we played for about 8 hours and I let him get back to even the other couple times I left out a decent lick ahead of him. I don't know that he would have been a world beater if sober and focused on pool was his thing but I do know he would be tougher then what I was looking to deal with. I won a world championship in foosball when I was kid so I play foosball as well the thing about the Palace was after I had been put in my place in pool, Tommy Atkinson (The Lance Armstrong of Foosball) started playing there with his buddies so the Palace was a bad place for me to go. I couldn't beat there A list guys and the B list wouldn't play. That whole area of Oklahoma has a ton of guys that can get out. I had a home on Lake Tenkiller and when I would get out and play I would at random run into guys that you had to play to beat. One of the unknowns (George Azbill) that I listed initially in this thread actually lives in Skiatook just North of Tulsa, he has not played in 10 years or better but he was definitely a pleasure to watch play. I watched him and Billy Weir play for a week one time that was good, and I don't now how much I learned watching him and Deliberto play straight pool when I was younger but I'm sure it didn't hurt my game any.

Very interesting. I love to hear about the old days like that. I was around back then as I have been playing for 20+ years, but I was not around consistently. I was also not really serious about my game. I messed around and was more interested in just having fun. Now, I am serious about my game and if you were to ask me who any of the players were, I would be able to tell you.

All the older memories of I have of pool are choppy.

I do remember James Walden as a primary one who sticks out, but he's not unknown. Someone on here said Glen Atwell, he's well known. Brian Jones is really not known in the mainstream media, but if you were to go around the local OK, TX, KS and other states, you might've heard of this guy. A couple of others are Joey Gray and Chip Compton from OKC. They played in the shooters 10 ball. So did Shane McMinn. In fact, he won last year and got runner up this year. Don't think he would be an unknown though, being how he was on TAR and all.

 

[SK Custom Cues]

Oh man.

I got one for ya. Larry Barnes. Ask anyone from the Tulsa area. He is someone who grabbed a house cue off the wall and handed you your ass. He could play 1 hole, 9 ball and whatever. He was a mean SOB.

"Fat" Randy Wallace too. He used to own Boulder Billiards formerly called 'Docs' downtown in the basement of the Tulsa World Newspaper building. He supposedly gave Mike Sigel the 7 and busted him. He was playin good mainly around at the time of Greg STevens. I only wish I could've seen Greg STevens play. I only heard stories, but EVERYONE who would know told me that there wasn't anything he couldn't do on a pool table. All the old timers, the top players, all agree that GREG STEVENS WAS THE MAN, but he's gone. I'm talking pure animal here.

 

[2rgrbn]

Randy's name was out there I had heard of him in Az. I think if I could bust Sigel with him giving me the 7 my name would be out there you wouldn't even have to wait I'd put it on a T-Shirt. When I played I worked fast track construction so every 1-2 months we would relocate to the next job. It was perfect because I had time to go through most of the players and sell some cues before matching up with "the guy" in town. It was pretty much the same routine. I was in Kingman Az which has a couple of decent players, I was waiting for "the guy" and an older 70ish guy comes in and joins in our games while we wait. He pulls out his stick and I notice that a portion of the joint collar is missing. Azbill was with me and he says take a good look at that stick. It was Bushka with a delrin insert. The guy was really nice and had no idea about the match. He played OK but we were just batting them around I figured the match was going to be a no show so we were having fun. The guy finally shows up and it turns out that him and the older gentlemen have some non pool issues. Words exchange and I hear "well there is a pool table let's settle it there" None of us really thought the old guy could play. He says I'm to old for these kids games lets play 14.1. I never played my match and I bet the old timer played 50 or better to score in his day because if he made 1 ball he made 60+ balls. He busted the guy put his stick away and said let's drink, I tried to buy the cue, he told stories of cleaning a pool hall as a kid, we got drunk. I'm sure that when he was younger he was known but none of us knew him. He was a black guy and would have been in his prime 60 years ago times were different then I hear but if you run into an 80 Year old black dude playing with a busted Balabushka. I wouldn't play straight pool he may run 300 for you. A few real strong players in Az were a Veterinarian named Max Taylor and a road player that went by "Crow"

 

[2rgrbn]

I had limited success in the pool halls in Ok and Tx, typically not only did I find players I found gamblers and they were in groups. I did have success in the bars the same groups existed but they had a lower skill set. My Grandparents lived there and I later bought a place there so I came through 1-3 times a year and my name got around enough to limit the easy action and have the A players licking their chops. At different times I feel I have shown out as a Salty player but Tx & Ok were pick your battles wisely states for me. There are some players and gamblers there, known & unknown.

 

[2rgrbn]

He lived in Portland 10 years ago.. I see him in Vegas yearly.... nice guy

He has seen it all

Does he wear coke bottle glasses, I played some guys in the area and the name is familiar, the best player I ran into was a BCA league player that wore glasses that looked like he had to be blind, this was about 3 years ago in Roseburg Or. My guess is it is not the same guy but the name is familiar for some reason. Maybe someone talked about him it is hard to say my memory is terrible which is good sometimes because if I get beat I can remember it my way.

 

[rackmsuckr]

David Rhodes one of the most talented/gisted players..... could beat anyone, say again could beat anyone. Had a gear beat Strickland 11-0 in Houston 20 years ago when Earl was player of the year, Ive seen a bunch of great players most of them David was right there with them........sad story David applied himself to other things then Pool

Thought I would revive a couple of stories about a few of these players mentioned. I played David just after he got out of jail, in a tournament. Mike said he got to practice an awful lot there though. Anyway, he had me in stitches the whole set. I knew he was just playing with me and would have put the screws to me, but I missed several relatively easy shots that could have made the match lots closer and he told me he escaped. It's hard not to like the guy.

Billy Bob Cress - One time we were sitting together when a guy walked by that was all belly. He said, "Linda, which would you rather have? A million dollars or that guy's belly filled with nickels?"

At one time, Mike brought Billy up to Seattle to play Harry, cleaned him up, got him a place to stay (those were the days when I was dating Mike, hanging out with some great players there) and practiced with him.

I heard he just moved to Seattle from Portland. Mike misses all the guys up there. Bill promised me a roast dinner next time I visited him. Here is a picture of Bill on the right, Mike on the left, and Scotty in the middle, taken last year, so you know the stories of his death were exaggerated.



JD - Russ, you asked why JD wasn't a bigger player than Mike. IMO, it is the company he keeps.

Geiler - he does that 3 rail kick shot with the heel of his foot better than anyone I have seen. If he ever misses, he just chalks his heel up and gives it another go. And he doesn't stutter when he sings, just like Mel Tillis. His license plate says R-R-R-Rich!

Monk - Warren Costanza - He coached me one time when all the boys were watching, in a 1 pocket game against my husband, Mike...and I won!

To stay on topic, of course, I have to mention my honey, Mike Zimmerman who was a big unknown until the IPT, and his top 100 finish, coming first out of his bracket a few times. He has beaten every major west coast player except one. He and Cole Dickson go way back to their teen years, and so do his stories!

 

[2rgrbn]

Monk - Warren Costanza - He coached me one time when all the boys were watching, in a 1 pocket game against my husband, Mike...and I won!

To stay on topic, of course, I have to mention my honey, Mike Zimmerman who was a big unknown until the IPT, and his top 100 finish, coming first out of his bracket a few times. He has beaten every major west coast player except one. He and Cole Dickson go way back to their teen years, and so do his stories!

I got a little coaching from warren myself once, before we finished, I had to make 1 ball to his 8 playing for 50 I was 200 down when I got the 8-1 spot I was 350 down when I left. It was a valuable lesson in putting the game scenario in your strengths he could have beat me in 9 ball but we still played one pocket and I had no chance.
There is a young female BCA player in S Oregon (Roseburg) she is a local level player but seems to always make a good showing in tournaments regardless of size....Debbie Hollander is her name. Another somewhat overlooked West Coast player is Jerry McWorter. I have not seen him in match but the rumor is that he plays good enough.

 

[jigmoore]

We are talking about the same people, it is not so much that he was a sloppy drunk but he played better sober then drunk and I played good enough for it to matter, the first time we played for about 8 hours and I let him get back to even the other couple times I left out a decent lick ahead of him. I don't know that he would have been a world beater if sober and focused on pool was his thing but I do know he would be tougher then what I was looking to deal with. I won a world championship in foosball when I was kid so I play foosball as well the thing about the Palace was after I had been put in my place in pool, Tommy Atkinson (The Lance Armstrong of Foosball) started playing there with his buddies so the Palace was a bad place for me to go. I couldn't beat there A list guys and the B list wouldn't play. That whole area of Oklahoma has a ton of guys that can get out. I had a home on Lake Tenkiller and when I would get out and play I would at random run into guys that you had to play to beat. One of the unknowns (George Azbill) that I listed initially in this thread actually lives in Skiatook just North of Tulsa, he has not played in 10 years or better but he was definitely a pleasure to watch play. I watched him and Billy Weir play for a week one time that was good, and I don't now how much I learned watching him and Deliberto play straight pool when I was younger but I'm sure it didn't hurt my game any.

walden was a world beater. especially on table 1 at 50th and may. still plays pretty damn sporty i'm sure. i remember him giving mark dimick the wild 6 ball (one of okc's better players in the mid 90's). many of us were watching the match. knowing that was a big spot...but still...it was james. iirc james beat mark pretty badly with it. gabe owen happened to be one of the ones watching and jokingly said to james 'i'll take that spot'. james in his big drawl said 'you know that's outta line'...we all laughed in agreement. gabe had already started to make a name for himself and was starting to get national attention by now. james continued 'you need the 6 AND the break'. we all about fell off our chairs laughing...but he was serious. gabe put up all the money he had, his car and his cue. then proceeded to get trampled. left penniless and thumbing a ride with no cue over his shoulder. a quote and story that still rings as one of the most memorable i've witnessed.

also, tommy atkinson was one hell of a foosball player. before the big foosball boom i was one of okc area's best foosball players. then this young kid tommy came along and it seemed the tourneys always came down to me and him. at first it was a good battle then as the months went on, he continued on and really became a force. i got out of foos as the game really boomed in that area...i really just became outclassed...mainly my defense. but i did bump into tommy a lot on the pool table later on. kid really turned into a punk. i used to tell him that all the time. drug running, mouthy...a real ass. don't know how he is now...but this was right around the time he won some big doubles national or something....probably around '96 or '97.

since it sounds like you know the foosball world decent (i don't), i've always wanted to confirm a guy's story. after oklahoma, i ended up in college in pensacola florida and a teacher/professor there and i would play alot. he said he used to be a pro foose player. i'm thinking his last name was peterson....maybe tom peterson? wicked pull shot. i can't remember. name ring a bell?

 

[2rgrbn]

since it sounds like you know the foosball world decent (i don't), i've always wanted to confirm a guy's story. after oklahoma, i ended up in college in pensacola florida and a teacher/professor there and i would play alot. he said he used to be a pro foose player. i'm thinking his last name was peterson....maybe tom peterson? wicked pull shot. i can't remember. name ring a bell?

My stature as a world class foosball player was short lived, as a senior in high school 1986 I won a series of tournaments that labeled me world champ it was sponsored by Tornado / Stryker I don't know if today's championship is the same one or not. In the 90's I was raising my kids mainly and when I got a chance to get back to the foosball table my 5 row was lacking and I lost interest in the game I play around 11 round cricket darts too. So as it all turned out in pool, foosball and darts I was good but not great and I ended up having the most success in small to med size towns and gambling. I ran into pros in all three events but I was smart enough to get out when I couldn't win. I don't know many of the pro foosball players. Ok / Tx is where many of them are, if you can play at Tommy's level you are as good as you need to be I think he has several world championships and was considered the best for a long time.

 

[mcrisp]

Billy Costello

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[Bobby]

Any one ever see or hear of Billy Costello playing?
He was an awesome road player in the late 60's and 70's. Did road trips with Johnny Ervolino etc..
Billy was a 150 and out player. He thught me to play when I was in High school.

Ervolino told me about a player he used to travel with, I don't recall the name but it could be Costello. This player was super unkown, in fact he didn't take pool all that seriously unless he needed money. He was the son of one of New York's mob bosses in the 50's and 60's. Johnny said this guy once ran an 11-pack in 9-ball! He said he had incredible natural talent but never persued a pool career. Johnny once went on a road trip with 3 other guys, one of which was the mob bosses son and one other guy who could really play also and the fourth guy was just the muscle in case things went bad. So it sounds like one those could've been Costello.

 

[mcrisp]

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[mcrisp]

Jim Avery

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