Does anybody have any stories about Vernon they would like to share? I've seen some of the proposition shots that are credited to him, but not much else.
Vernon Elliott
- Thread starter Palmetto cue
- Start date
I am too young to know much about him, but I know no one went looking for him to play even banks. I have also heard that many players would try to arrange games when he was in the room that would allow one shot to be played by another player and he was the one picked to bank a ball regardless of which bank champions were in the room.
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Vernon was a gambler and a good one. A former world class player told me Vernon in his prime was one of the five best bank players in the country. He also told me that Vernon was a real strong player in all other games, but that the ones who were world champion speed 9 ball players would beat him, if he played them. But Vernon knew how to match up, so very few of them ever got to beat him out of his cash. Even in his last years before he got wheel chair bound, he showed up at a local pool hall and just sat around side betting. He over heard a local C class player saying how much weight he would give another C class player in one pocket. He then asked the younger man how much weight he would give him. So the C player thinks this old man can't play, so he offers him 9 to 7 one pocket. Vernon gets up and starts playing. Then those on the side line are laughing and tell the C player what he had got ahold of. So he pulled up after losing one game. Vernon probably needed to give the other guy maybe 11 to 5 to even make it fair, but he gladly took the spot himself. Yes, he knew he was stealing, but like I said he was a gambler and a good one. If you ever saw him playing, you could bet on him, because he surely thought he had the best of it if he was playing. He was a really strong player and would show up at tournaments and would not enter them. He would wait for the winner, and unless the winner was a top pro, he would try to match up and win the winner's winnings. He got little exposure this way and kept under the radar pretty well. He only had to win one match to win the first place money and that all took place after the tournament.
Vernon was elected into the One Pocket Hall of Fame for Banks a couple of years ago. He had a great time enjoying the spotlight for that, and coming back the next year for more -- the spotlight of course being something he had avoided his whole career. We're going to miss him this year :frown:
Here is his HOF page at Onepocket.org:
http://www.onepocket.org/ElliottHOF.htm
And here is the obituary I wrote after he died earlier this year:
Banks Legend Vernon Elliott Dead at 71
The family of Banks legend Vernon Elliott sadly reports that Vernon died the afternoon of May 9, 2009, after suffering a heart attack following several recent surgeries.
Vernon Elliott, like fellow Legend of Bank Pool ‘Cornbread Red’, was a tough country bred Kentucky road player from the old school. Except unlike Red, Vernon completely shunned the publicity of tournaments, never once playing in one. Like Red, Vernon’s fearless hustling style took him all over the country, into even the toughest of poolrooms in the toughest of neighborhoods. Often called the “greatest under-cover player of all time.”
As a young man he developed as a player among the great bankers of the day in the banking capital of the universe, Louisville, KY. Among Louisville’s banking legends were guys like Bob Bowles and Charlie Jones, where even Eddie Taylor was humbled now and then. A patient and observant player who could also win at 9-Ball and One Pocket, Vernon hunted the big game players, seeking out the ‘big score’, which he was very successful at.
In a 2006 interview with OnePocket.org’s Steve Booth, Vernon described it this way, “I’m going to tell you something pardner, I wouldn’t let nobody play cheap; if they want to play cheap, they can get somebody else. I always made ‘em bet. They always thought that I was just a damned old country boy, that I couldn’t do nothin’. I got big action everywhere I went, damn near, because I always had that ability to make ‘em bet. They didn’t ever know my real name, because I wouldn’t tell them, and I never played in a tournament, so they couldn’t find out.”
Vernon Elliott was born February 18, 1938 in Kentucky. He raised a family of six by playing pool and hustling his whole life, until he was finally forced to retire in the 90’s after suffering several strokes. During his playing years, he was possessed of one of the most powerful pool strokes, and if he couldn’t get a game for the money he wanted, he had an array of impossible looking proposition shots that he could win at. Once he even cashed in with Eddie Taylor on a bank shot that even the great Taylor thought was impossible.
Vernon was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame in recognition for Bank Pool in January, 2007.
Here is his HOF page at Onepocket.org:
http://www.onepocket.org/ElliottHOF.htm
And here is the obituary I wrote after he died earlier this year:
Banks Legend Vernon Elliott Dead at 71
The family of Banks legend Vernon Elliott sadly reports that Vernon died the afternoon of May 9, 2009, after suffering a heart attack following several recent surgeries.
Vernon Elliott, like fellow Legend of Bank Pool ‘Cornbread Red’, was a tough country bred Kentucky road player from the old school. Except unlike Red, Vernon completely shunned the publicity of tournaments, never once playing in one. Like Red, Vernon’s fearless hustling style took him all over the country, into even the toughest of poolrooms in the toughest of neighborhoods. Often called the “greatest under-cover player of all time.”
As a young man he developed as a player among the great bankers of the day in the banking capital of the universe, Louisville, KY. Among Louisville’s banking legends were guys like Bob Bowles and Charlie Jones, where even Eddie Taylor was humbled now and then. A patient and observant player who could also win at 9-Ball and One Pocket, Vernon hunted the big game players, seeking out the ‘big score’, which he was very successful at.
In a 2006 interview with OnePocket.org’s Steve Booth, Vernon described it this way, “I’m going to tell you something pardner, I wouldn’t let nobody play cheap; if they want to play cheap, they can get somebody else. I always made ‘em bet. They always thought that I was just a damned old country boy, that I couldn’t do nothin’. I got big action everywhere I went, damn near, because I always had that ability to make ‘em bet. They didn’t ever know my real name, because I wouldn’t tell them, and I never played in a tournament, so they couldn’t find out.”
Vernon Elliott was born February 18, 1938 in Kentucky. He raised a family of six by playing pool and hustling his whole life, until he was finally forced to retire in the 90’s after suffering several strokes. During his playing years, he was possessed of one of the most powerful pool strokes, and if he couldn’t get a game for the money he wanted, he had an array of impossible looking proposition shots that he could win at. Once he even cashed in with Eddie Taylor on a bank shot that even the great Taylor thought was impossible.
Vernon was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame in recognition for Bank Pool in January, 2007.
Vernon
Thanks for sharing! True to form, you just don't read very much about him. He did a good job of staying undercover. Please add more if they come to mind. Thanks again...
Thanks for sharing! True to form, you just don't read very much about him. He did a good job of staying undercover. Please add more if they come to mind. Thanks again...
C'mon Freddy, hook us up with a beaut! :grin:
The White Hope
Vern Elliott was known as the White Hope in his era 'cause
the majority of top bankers were thought to be black.
I offered him $100 to show me the impossible bank which
i assume is what amazed Eddy Taylor. But Vern didn't do
anything cheap,even for a salary.
Made a score at the Rack in Detroit.Jesse,who owned the Dunes
motel kept $50.000 in his safe for him.Each day he got a few thousand
and went to the track.When it was all gone he went to the Rack and
got some more. He wouldn't bet less than $10,000 on the impossible
bank.The hi-rollers at the Rack,to my knowledge,never faded him.
Vern Elliott was known as the White Hope in his era 'cause
the majority of top bankers were thought to be black.
I offered him $100 to show me the impossible bank which
i assume is what amazed Eddy Taylor. But Vern didn't do
anything cheap,even for a salary.
Made a score at the Rack in Detroit.Jesse,who owned the Dunes
motel kept $50.000 in his safe for him.Each day he got a few thousand
and went to the track.When it was all gone he went to the Rack and
got some more. He wouldn't bet less than $10,000 on the impossible
bank.The hi-rollers at the Rack,to my knowledge,never faded him.
Vernon Elliott stories
For the last 5--6 years of Vernon's life he and I had breakfasts together and he told me many of his life's adventures, pool and otherwise. The ones that were too outrageous for a normal person to conceive I checked out with the "cast members" who were involved. Not once did I catch him overstating the outrageous events. He was the real deal; the good, the bad, (very bad), and the ugly and I consider myself lucky to have been his friend. Vernon played and beat all world class 9 ball players that would "gamble". He would often say why should he play a world champion for cheap. He told me of trying to get Steve Mizerak to play after Mizerak had won a tournament in Detroit. The most Mizerak wanted to play for was $300 a game at which Vernon scoffed at but then Mizerak wasn't known to be a gambler; just a great player. Vernon's life story would cause "The Hustler's" rating to be changed to "PG" by comparison. Freddy is a good source to elaborate about Vernon along with Buddy, Keith, and the other true gamblers of Vernon's era.
For the last 5--6 years of Vernon's life he and I had breakfasts together and he told me many of his life's adventures, pool and otherwise. The ones that were too outrageous for a normal person to conceive I checked out with the "cast members" who were involved. Not once did I catch him overstating the outrageous events. He was the real deal; the good, the bad, (very bad), and the ugly and I consider myself lucky to have been his friend. Vernon played and beat all world class 9 ball players that would "gamble". He would often say why should he play a world champion for cheap. He told me of trying to get Steve Mizerak to play after Mizerak had won a tournament in Detroit. The most Mizerak wanted to play for was $300 a game at which Vernon scoffed at but then Mizerak wasn't known to be a gambler; just a great player. Vernon's life story would cause "The Hustler's" rating to be changed to "PG" by comparison. Freddy is a good source to elaborate about Vernon along with Buddy, Keith, and the other true gamblers of Vernon's era.
Doug...I KNEW you would post in this thread, and if you hadn't, I was going to post that AzB poster "Doug" is the guy to get the scoop on Vernon! :grin:
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
The impossible shot
the Beard
My pal, Vernon was buried with my Bank on Brother, hat.
In 1972 I was in Johnston City with my wife and new born baby daughter. Early in the morning I went into the back room, where all the action took place, behind the Show Lounge. Vernon Elliot was banging balls around and telling stories to some younger players. He had been up all night. He set up this ridiculous cross corner and said that he was shooting it as a proposition earlier in the night. He said he was stalling around with it and getting many shots, but for cheap money. He said it was only when he said he could make it in two tries that the smart money showed up and tried to bust him. He bragged that he made a carload of money by making it in two pops. I looked at the shot and stupidly challenged him. "Well, you can go ahead and bust me with those two tries!" I just figured he was one of those country boy bull sh*tters. I knew he could play, but that shot made no sense. "I dont want your money kid, I know you're here with your wife and that new baby, and I won enough last night to buy an airplane." He pulled out a giant lump from his pocket but that still wasn't enough for me. Like a dummy, I'm still insisting that he bet me. "Forget about it, kid. Watch this," And he shot and made the cross-corner on the first attempt. From then on I was a Vernon believer, and we became good friends. I would still try him time to time, and he always won. I finally managed to come three games ahead one time in Hot Springs, AR and I was happier than a knocker with the first cell phone. As Buddy Hall said about Vernon, "Yeah, those shots are impossible, but dont bet he can't make 'em."
the Beard
My pal, Vernon was buried with my Bank on Brother, hat.
Attachments
Vernon
Thanks Freddy, and everybody else! Will any of you be at the Derby This year?
Thanks Freddy, and everybody else! Will any of you be at the Derby This year?
Yes we will, and you are invited to join us. We'll miss Vernon, but there is always an interesting and entertaining group at the One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner. Freddie is one of the Master of Ceremonies, along with Grady Mathews, so you can imagine the stories. You should come...
The Beard congratulating Vernon when he was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame for Bank Pool in January 2007
Vernon
I was told by a reliable source, that George Breedlove was playing Veron some 9-ball when George was younger and out playing on he road. The bet was at $4000, and Vernon looks over at George and makes a comment, "C'mon kid, let's bet somethin, so I can get out of my stall gear".
I was told by a reliable source, that George Breedlove was playing Veron some 9-ball when George was younger and out playing on he road. The bet was at $4000, and Vernon looks over at George and makes a comment, "C'mon kid, let's bet somethin, so I can get out of my stall gear".