Odd, I never met an Asian that didn’t love to gamble.
Washington DC 1P
- Thread starter jtompilot
- Start date
Buck was a good friend. We used to laugh and joke all of the time, and had a winning partners record matching up at 9 ball. He would always comment about that to me, LOL. Buck was serious about his action, and I think his other partners got too nervous and dogged it. I would stay light, and pump Buck up during these matches.
I was proud to provide Q Ball photos of Buck in action against ILIR. I took those photos almost 20 years ago one night. At the time, Buck asked that I keep them private and not share them, and I didn't. When I got the call that Buck had passed, I felt it was time, and dug them out and sent them to Larry Steele, where they made t-shirts, and posters, etc for his memorial.
Apologies for a stupid question, but was that the same Buck who used to play at the old Guys and Dolls in Silver Hill, along with the likes of Strawberry, Lefty Joe, Jackie Robinson and Bus Driver Ronnie? I never matched up with him because he played nothing but one pocket while I played nothing but nine ball.
Last time I ran into Ronnie was at Triple Nines in Elkridge, maybe 2 or 3 years ago. It was during one of their Saturday night 8 ball / 9 ball tournaments, but he wasn't playing, just sitting at a table near the bar in the front of the room. He must have been pushing 80, but he still looked to be in pretty good shape.
I've mentioned this about him before, but I used to love the way he'd storm into Guys and Dolls and announce to everyone in a loud voice, 'I'M HERE TO DO SOME DEEP SEA FISHING!" Easily one of my favorite people in Old School DC, a class act and a terrific one hole player, as was "The Mailman", Bill Morton, AKA Jackie Robinson.
That’s where I last saw him as well, about 8 years ago. He was with a young mousey looking guy, real quiet. Ronnie said he was teaching him the finer aspects of 1 pocket. Told me he didn’t charge the kid for the lessons, that he was steering him in action as well and taking a cut of his winnings.
go an hour north of DC to Top Hat. All the 1P you want there...
Be nice to have names attached to that picture! Some of them are easily recognizable, but the focus is a bit fuzzy.
Last time I actually played Ronnie was in 1980 at Guys and Dolls, even up nine ball. Wouldn't have dreamed of trying to match up with him in one pocket. We came out even, but what I really remember was that he introduced me to "Lawrence", a dapper looking gent in a white suit who'd been watching us play.
After he introduced us to one another, "Lawrence" commenced on a little spiel about how he never liked to work, and that what he really liked was to take it easy and have people come by and hand him money. Nice work if you can get it!
Very polite and soft-spoken guy, but after he left I realized I'd been talking to Lawrence "Slippery" Jackson, the biggest smack dealer in DC who'd recently been paroled, but before long was back in jail. About 10 years before that, he'd come into Guys and Dolls one night and lost $100,000 in one pocket. Paid the guy out of a suitcase full of $100 bills, then came back later and won $40,000 of it back. Guys and Dolls was quite the place to be in its heyday.
Bus Driver could really play. I asked him to play straight pool one time. He quickly ran 100 balls, paused, looked at me, and asked, “Would you like for me to keep going?” LOL
Ronnie could play all games, good rotation player as well.
Thanks, I played in a league with him 20ish years back. Not surprised he was regarded as a good 1P player. He was a competitive guy at the table.