While I was a college student, a friend of mine brought me into the Univ. of Michigan's Union poolroom and I was hooked instantly. More than the sounds of the balls hitting the pocket, it was the subculture and the diversity of the people I had met in there that attracted me to pool. Later, as a graduate student in sociology, I ended up writing my thesis on the poolroom subculture. I argued then, and still would, that the poolroom subculture offers more diversity as far as its 'regulars' than any other. I've met everyone from the unemployed to professionals, ex-cons and 'squares,' as well as people of all different racial, socio-economic, gender and age categories. It's pretty awesome I think....
What Attracted You To The Game?
- Thread starter JLW
- Start date
1966-1968....My dads friend had a goldcrown with MOP sights,the Brunswick balls and a set of Arimaths he keep hidden for special occasions.
I was a REAL LIL' DEBIL then and fell in love with the pretty balls rolling around the table
. He and my dad wouldn't let me play 
but some months later my uncle bought one of those cheap 6' tables Sears used to sell... used 
. My uncle wouldn't let me play either but he worked during the day so me and my grandmother would knock the pretty balls around 
and put the balls and sticks right back where we found them .
Neither one of us had a clue what the rules were so she tried teaching me my numbers 
.
Terry< a bigger,older ,fatter lil' Debil now!
Oh yeah and I couldn't understand why the sticks had BROWN devils ears instead of pretty red ones .
I was a REAL LIL' DEBIL then and fell in love with the pretty balls rolling around the table
. He and my dad wouldn't let me play but some months later my uncle bought one of those cheap 6' tables Sears used to sell... used . My uncle wouldn't let me play either but he worked during the day so me and my grandmother would knock the pretty balls around and put the balls and sticks right back where we found them .Neither one of us had a clue what the rules were so she tried teaching me my numbers
.Terry< a bigger,older ,fatter lil' Debil now!
Oh yeah and I couldn't understand why the sticks had BROWN devils ears instead of pretty red ones
.
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My grandfather (Pop) used to supplement his income hustling pool while he was in the Marines.
When I was eight he bought an 8 foot Brunswick table and had it installed in his basement.
Pop was a cheapskate and didn’t run the air conditioner unless it was absolutely necessary.
My parents both worked full-time and sent me to Pop’s house during the summer for adult supervision.
It was frickin hot in that living room, so I always went straight to the basement.
There it was, a beautiful Brunswick, just calling my name.
I loved that damn thing.
I now play 15-30 hours per week
When I was eight he bought an 8 foot Brunswick table and had it installed in his basement.
Pop was a cheapskate and didn’t run the air conditioner unless it was absolutely necessary.
My parents both worked full-time and sent me to Pop’s house during the summer for adult supervision.
It was frickin hot in that living room, so I always went straight to the basement.
There it was, a beautiful Brunswick, just calling my name.
I loved that damn thing.
I now play 15-30 hours per week
I was a gymnast in high school, placed 3rd in Regionals in floor ex when I was 16. Started late, at 14, but worked like the devil to learn everything I could, flipping all around the house and yard. I was voted 'Hardest Worker' on our team.
The only other gymnast from my school that made it to State and I went to register at college together and I met her boyfriend, who was 27 and looked just like Warren Beatty. By the time I moved into the dorms, he was my boyfriend. He would take me to parties and I would sit, bored, watching while he held the pool table all night. When he dumped me and went back to her, there was probably something that said, "I will show him!" Other guys would drag me down to the student union and try to show me how to hold the cue. I think they just wanted someone to beat up on. I remember them saying (with both balls hanging in the jaws) "Try to set up for your next ball." And me saying back, "I don't even think I can make this one!" Pretty soon I was beating them.
I changed majors and schools the next year, and slowly began minoring in pool, spending every hour I could. One guy told me you had to master the 5 p's of the student union - pool, ping pong, poker, pinochle and pinball. They held a couple tournaments in the SU and the first one was a doubles event and we took 2nd and from then I was totally hooked. Like gymnastics, I started late, but worked like crazy to learn all I could.
I loved the colors, the shiny balls and the clicking sounds and the thunk as they hit the pockets. The sound in the wood rack. The absolutely crazy things that you could do with a ball that made no sense. And I liked the solitude. In gymnastics and pool, even though they can both be played as a team sport, they are both individual sports that depend only on myself to pull through, that gives me a little control in a world that can spin so crazily out of control.
I never had formal education in pool, just getting pointers along the way. The very first exposure to pool was in my sister's garage at 14 where I ripped her brand new table's cloth! Not an auspicious beginning.
I got a fake ID and started getting into bars, winning tournaments and playing only bar pool 8ball with the big ball. I would be fearless and go in alone everywhere to play and challenge the locals. I even got one of those cues that doubled as a cane and thought I was so hot. lol. Everyone else must have thought I was hilarious. I met a guy while in college named Brent Gallup? from AZ that said that he won a Cadillac playing pool. That impressed me so much. (Anyone know of him?)
I played 15 years that way, (got a better cue) in leagues, taking off the summers in the beginning because my husband didn't play pool, and started branching out and about 18 years ago I started playing 9 ball on big tables with a small cueball, 1-pocket, etc. Asked my current husband for lessons when I first met him and so far in those 15 years have only gotten 2, but they were all valuable, one was on open table safes where there is no ball to hide behind, and one was on position play for playing at least 3 balls ahead.
From the early years in bars to the WPBA and now the IPT, woo hoo! All because I wanted to show my old boyfriend. Even now, I wish I could get him in a game and clean him out...even though he is a multi-millionaire now in Laguna Beach.
The only other gymnast from my school that made it to State and I went to register at college together and I met her boyfriend, who was 27 and looked just like Warren Beatty. By the time I moved into the dorms, he was my boyfriend. He would take me to parties and I would sit, bored, watching while he held the pool table all night. When he dumped me and went back to her, there was probably something that said, "I will show him!" Other guys would drag me down to the student union and try to show me how to hold the cue. I think they just wanted someone to beat up on. I remember them saying (with both balls hanging in the jaws) "Try to set up for your next ball." And me saying back, "I don't even think I can make this one!" Pretty soon I was beating them.
I changed majors and schools the next year, and slowly began minoring in pool, spending every hour I could. One guy told me you had to master the 5 p's of the student union - pool, ping pong, poker, pinochle and pinball. They held a couple tournaments in the SU and the first one was a doubles event and we took 2nd and from then I was totally hooked. Like gymnastics, I started late, but worked like crazy to learn all I could.
I loved the colors, the shiny balls and the clicking sounds and the thunk as they hit the pockets. The sound in the wood rack. The absolutely crazy things that you could do with a ball that made no sense. And I liked the solitude. In gymnastics and pool, even though they can both be played as a team sport, they are both individual sports that depend only on myself to pull through, that gives me a little control in a world that can spin so crazily out of control.
I never had formal education in pool, just getting pointers along the way. The very first exposure to pool was in my sister's garage at 14 where I ripped her brand new table's cloth! Not an auspicious beginning.
I got a fake ID and started getting into bars, winning tournaments and playing only bar pool 8ball with the big ball. I would be fearless and go in alone everywhere to play and challenge the locals. I even got one of those cues that doubled as a cane and thought I was so hot. lol. Everyone else must have thought I was hilarious. I met a guy while in college named Brent Gallup? from AZ that said that he won a Cadillac playing pool. That impressed me so much. (Anyone know of him?)
I played 15 years that way, (got a better cue) in leagues, taking off the summers in the beginning because my husband didn't play pool, and started branching out and about 18 years ago I started playing 9 ball on big tables with a small cueball, 1-pocket, etc. Asked my current husband for lessons when I first met him and so far in those 15 years have only gotten 2, but they were all valuable, one was on open table safes where there is no ball to hide behind, and one was on position play for playing at least 3 balls ahead.
From the early years in bars to the WPBA and now the IPT, woo hoo!
All because I wanted to show my old boyfriend. Even now, I wish I could get him in a game and clean him out...even though he is a multi-millionaire now in Laguna Beach. 
PoolSleuth
Banned
Think it was 1954, or 1955 I was first introduced in to the game of Pool at the Boys Club of America in Miami Florida.
First games of Pool were played on small tables with noisy dead cushions, legs that wobbled the entire table when the balls were too hit hard, or the tables were leaned upon.
Gambling was prohibited by Boys Club Rules, but it never stopped most of the Pool Players from gambling with one another for each others lunch money.
After moving to California in 1958 I continued playing Pool, but on full sized Pool Tables at the Y.M.C.A, or commercial Pool Rooms.
Those are my first memories of the game of Pool, a game I have been playing, loving, and trying to learn how to play better than my competition for over a half century.
First games of Pool were played on small tables with noisy dead cushions, legs that wobbled the entire table when the balls were too hit hard, or the tables were leaned upon.
Gambling was prohibited by Boys Club Rules, but it never stopped most of the Pool Players from gambling with one another for each others lunch money.
After moving to California in 1958 I continued playing Pool, but on full sized Pool Tables at the Y.M.C.A, or commercial Pool Rooms.
Those are my first memories of the game of Pool, a game I have been playing, loving, and trying to learn how to play better than my competition for over a half century.
lfigueroa said:
Lou, I have been there on RSB from '95 with you, and... I simply find this incredible, I think you be wanking our cranks here, your love of billiards I don't accept (based on all other known basis for love of the game) can be founded on others saying nope, you clumsy bastard, dont' want you ripping the cloth, ya dummy. Unless you had a bad habit of jacking up on every shot. And please describe for us when pool was off, why it is now on... you have been a fixture on the internet pool scene for years... was it all a mistake? I'm confused. Perhaps tiddlywinks or chess may have suited you better? What games do you enjoy most these days, where might we find you?
Kevin in Japan