What was your first pool hall?

hotrod622 said:
The first pool hall I played in once I reached California was Mel's Bowl in Alameda. That was also the first time I met Mark Haddad. He came in and asked me to play 5 dollars a game. He barely beat me every game making me think I had a chance. I quite at 45 dollars in the hole and my friend who was with me offered to play him some. Mark proceeded to beat my friend out of another 100 but had to show a lot more speed to do so. After the first hundred my friend decided to change the game to one pocket. This turned out to be a bigger mistake as Mark turned out to be an excellent one pocket player. In the end Mark beat me and my friend out of just over four hundred dollars on the pool table. With only forty dollars left between us, my friend asked Mark to flip quarters for 20 dollars a flip. In the end we won all our money back and then all of Mark's money flipping quaters on a pool table. Did not leave the bowling alley until around 7:30 am. Those were the good ole days.
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Great story. Mark Haddad is now the top dog in Denver, having supplanted Danny Medina (and Andy Hudson before him). Never seen Haddad play, but I'm told he knows his way around the table. His girlfriend is also a top player, Melissa Little, the house pro at a downtown joint above Wynkoop Brewery, called Wynkoop Billiards.

Oddly, it's not a players room, near as I can tell, but more of a date place.
 
jgpool said:
I grew up in Villa Park until about 1974 when I moved to Colorado. Palace billiards I thought was gone I think it was owned at one time by John Abruzzo and had a coup;e of locations. I'm not sure where the Stardust is, I used to play at Villa Park Bowl. It was torn down in the early 70's if I remember correctly. How you do in the cook off? :smile:
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Palace is still there...its actually one of the few places that still is.
new owners though... so it frequently sucks in there.

Oscar's on north ave is gone.

Stardust bowl is just off Addison, about 1/2 mile north of north ave...it's one of Chicagoland's many 40's and 50's era bowling centers that is still barely hanging on...

we have the cook-off and food drive at Lunar Brewing Co on St Charles...
I cant enter my chili because i'm the head judge :grin: and yes i'd vote for myself !
 
First or most fondly remembered? First would be the Tropicana Lanes in Inglewood California. When I was six or seven my uncles would take me there to watch while they played pool. I was too young to be there but back in the 60s nobody cared. Sometimes they let me knock the balls around between games and I've been addicted to pocket billiards ever since.

Fondest memories would be the Billiard Inn in Culver City, CA. This was my home away from home in the early 80s and my first real home room.
 
If I hadn't moved at 16 White Diamonds probably would have been my first.....

The first pool hall that I frequented all the time was The Tulsa Billiards Palace
second was Magoos.....

There were no pool halls where I went to college/hs (Natchitoches, LA), the one that they did have closed down about 3-5 years b/f I moved there.

Tulsa Billiards palace shut the doors in 06-07 I believe

-Grey Ghost-
 
9BallPaul said:
I did a thread recently about being a basement player on his own home table, which describes me perfectly today. But then, I'm a broken-down wine-drinking 9-baller who plays against his table, not real opponents. Having my own home bar just adds to the fun, especially when sports are on the tube and I'm in stroke..

Otherwise, it's the Dead, loud.

Anyway, my first pool hall in Denver was Celebrity Lanes on South Colorado Boulevard and East Kentucky Avenue. Owned by the Disney Corp., the place featured 80 lanes, a dozen AMF 9-footers, and four AMF snooker tables. I played there for two years nearly non-stop, and that's where my pool jones took hold. My pal Mickey Urling and I devised many schemes that allowed us access to free pool, and we spent an entire summer watching the sun come up through the glass roof of Celebrity Lanes' swimming pool, which adjoined the pool room. We'd play pool all night, then drive school buses during the day for L&S Day Camp (true story).

Celebrity is the place where I met many characters described in other posts on these pages. Martin Kaimen, Indian Karl, etc.

I graduated from that room to York Billiards, owned by the mob, and eventually to the Family Fun Center, where I still play today. In that room, a guy named Andy Hudson pretty much ruled the roost. He died a few years ago and now the best in town is Mark Haddad.
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my first poolhall was the old sportsman poolhall in moberly mo. 4 ten foot snooker tables and two scratch tables. i was bout 9 or maybe 10 and have been hooked ever since.
 
I learned how to play pool in the late 40's at the Boy's Club on Avenue A and 10th St. in NYC. About 1948 my buddies and I graduated to Evon's on 7th St. just between Avenue A and Avenue B. That little section, in the lower East Side of Manhattan, was primarily Polish/Ukranian/Russian. On 7th Street between Ave A and 1st Ave was a Catholic Church - St Stanislaus (Polish speaking priests and church goers). Evon had about 8 or 10 7-foot tables in the front room where the old men used to play 8 ball for 5 cents a game. In the back room Evon had two larger tables (can't recall whether they were 8 foot or 9 foot). Those he rented by the hour (I believe it was 50 cents/hour). Us younger guys used to play there for hours. In 1950-51 I started to go to Ames (I believe it was on 43rd and Broadway). Used to ride the subway there and then walk up the stairs to the pool room. I enlisted when the Korean War broke out and that ended my pool room days for quite some time. Guess those days are gone forever.
 
My first poolhall

My first pool hall was Juliann's on 14th street in NYC, I went to H.S. about two blocks over and would play straight pool there on my lunch hou, the year was 1955 and 56. Julianns was the spittin' image of the pool hall in the movie "The Hustler". I loved being there watching the snooker players and learning how to play billards. In the the mid 1980's I happen to find myself on 14th St. and saw Juliann's was still there and I could'nt resist going upstairs for a game. I was disappointed almost as much as Fast Eddie Felson was in the Color Of Money, although Julianns was still there The old timers was gone as well as the snooker tables and I don't remember any billard tables either and the place was to well lit and the giggling of girls showed me that the old place had changed. I played a quick game of 8 ball and left.
......As they say you can't go back home, just take a look around and get back in the stream.
Chezduval
 
Edison Lanes in Edison, NJ was my first pool hall. Even though it was an over 18 only pool hall, I was able to play on Sundays when the owner/manager wasn't there. I was only 7 or 8 yo.

I remember their uncomfortable wooden slat benches, from when I was watching my dad earn some extra cash.
 
Any Denver oldtimers?

Got to thinking about this, and realized that the first room I ever played in was called the Plush Rack, on South Colorado Boulevard in Denver near East Evans Avenue.

My cousin drove me there one Thanksgiving night shortly after The Hustler boom started. This would have been mid-60s, by my recollection.

From there, I quickly moved to Celebrity and the rest is dubious history.

Anyone else ever play that joint? Don't think it was open too long.
 
Ron's Family Recreation in Jonesboro AR

1 Snooker Table 10'
8 Gandy Big G 9'
6 Gandy Big G 8'
2 Valley Bar Tables

Room had a VERY large and loyal customer base. It was like one big family and we all miss that place. Pool hasn't been the same in NE AR since he sold it.
 
My first place

When I was about 14 was Kline's drive-in in Dodge City, Ks on West Wyatt Earp Boulevard. West Wyat Earp was a cruising street in Dodge where all the teenagers went. Several drive-in's and Fast Food places were there.

Klines had originally been a milk producing place. The Klines, including Pop Kline, Noble, and son Phil all ran it. It was a nice drive-in for burgers and fries and to meet your friends. They finished off the back into a big Pool room, all 8 and 9 foot tables, and a Snooker Table. That is where I cut my teeth on Pool. I was there almost everyday after school and at nights.
I had so much blue chalk on my fingers that my mom threatened to stick them into the Purex bottle.

The Klines were all real nice, and made you feel at home while you were there. I, once, won an Ice Cream eating contest there, eating 23 scoops of Ice Cream.
 
Mine was 'Milt's on the second floor of a seedy area on Orawampum St in White plains ny. My crowd was from the right side of the tracks and we were not welcome as it turned out. 2 of my buddies were attacked leaving the place, one was in the hospital for a week or more. Nothing precipitated it- i had left minutes before and was waiting in the car when i saw the guy staggering down the street covered in blood. Took him to the hospital and never went back.I can take a hint.
 
My 1st real pool hall was Billiards Straight-In. It was in Eau Claire, WI. 8 Gold Crown 3's and 4 Valley bar box. It was only open for 8 years. It was also open 24 hours, 365 days a year. I spent many of days/night in that place. It was the only place I knew of at the time that had a daily playing special of $6.00 from 10am - 4pm Monday through Friday. I was sad to see it close. Someone else bought it, but they didn't last more than a year. Since I wasn't bar legal at the time, I went to play. The regulars didn't like me at first, cause I was taking their action:D. But after a few months I was playing with the top shooters at that time.
 
My first pool hall was country club u.s.a in Chelmsford Ma. First game was played at a fish and gun club my father belonged to when I was 10 or 11 yrs old.
 
Plush ...

9BallPaul said:
Got to thinking about this, and realized that the first room I ever played in was called the Plush Rack, on South Colorado Boulevard in Denver near East Evans Avenue.

My cousin drove me there one Thanksgiving night shortly after The Hustler boom started. This would have been mid-60s, by my recollection.

From there, I quickly moved to Celebrity and the rest is dubious history.

Anyone else ever play that joint? Don't think it was open too long.
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Both John Gatton and Isadore Weinelauer told me a few tales about playing each other there, but they'd mentioned the Velvet Rail and Celebrity more from that (approximate) time period. Pic had some choice things to say 15+ years ago about lots of places around the Denver area (I heard he's still alive...) including Plush Rack.


To add to the thread; my first real pool room would have been Grady's had I been allowed to play (way too young), I was allowed to watch a little.
So, I'd have to say that Stick's Billiards, Colorado Springs, CO was where I caught the bug. It was a Clicks chain that couldn't make it and eventually thrived (for a while) under new ownership. Plenty of B+ to open class players and lots of action (again, for a while) 4 GC 9's, maybe 6 Valley Cougars and I think 10 Brunswick 4x8. Later expanded to allow for about 6 or 8 more Valley's and a 24 hour clientele (too bad that didn't last).
This October it will have been closed for 2 years, the location is now a Laser Tag and still has those same 4 GC's ... weird.
 
Pioneer Bowl,1968, corner of Pulaski and North Avenue in Chicago.Brunswick alleys down stairs,gold crowns upstairs.Two snooker tables,four three cushion tables.Don't be on 3c table number one at 3pm Saturday afternoon.The Mafia won't like you playing on their table.Counter guy walked with a limp.Oh the joys of a miss spent youth.
 
Island Drive said:
Swank pool hall 1964, Roosevelt Rd. Glen Ellyn IL, 16 9' GC I's, candy, soda, wall racks full of cues and front counter with New Viking Cues.
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I'll tell you what... it's pretty friggin' amazing that you find two people who started their pool journey in the exact same pool hall more than 50 years ago.

I started in Swank as well. In '64 I was 15. Best guess is I started playing there a year later. And I bought one of those new Viking cues right there in Swank Pool Club. I still have it. :thumbup2:

I mostly played there during the summer days and on Saturday afternoons. I worked nights in the factories of Addison.

Memories. ;)

ID - Do you remember Roy?... the old geezer that ran the counter during the day? He was a hoot.
 
Started playing at the Saratoga, Bloomington, IL in 1963 using 1948 Brunswick Anniversary Model tables. Also around the same time the Cheyenne and the Alhambra...all within about 6 blocks of each other in downtown Bloomington. My 1st cue was a 1940's Brunswick Willie Hoppe pulled out of a trash barrel. I sent it to AE Schmidt in St Louis, MO to have it rebuilt...new shaft, new brass joint, wrap and my initials engraved in the butt all for around $20 including shipping. I still have that cue.
 
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