Where and when did you get your first POOL experience??????????????????????

In my uncles basement on the Westside of Chicago back in the 50's. My dad did not want me to be down there with them and can still here the voice of one of my uncles telling my dad that he should let me play and that I could be another Willie Hoppe ( I did not have a clue who Willie Hoppe was, I was just 4 or 5 at the time.) My dad quickly got that subject squashed telling him that he wanted me to be a lawyer or a Doctor or something crazy like that (man it was just a game and still is played on the greatest toy ever created by man WTF). They had this one eight ball with this liquid inside...they said that it was wine or some sort of liquor and all I ever thought about was trying to get that out of there to see what it tasted like. I was reintroduced to the game in 1968 at a friends house who grandfather was an old gangster (I mean thompson sub machine gun violin case toting and all) he had a GC 1 or 2 in his basement and we played all day every day on that sweet sweet table. His grandfather was a One Pocket player and I would be shattered every time we went over there and his crew was on it which means we had to leave and go some place else as we were not allowed to spectate there. My family bought a table from Sear (what a piece of crap but I stayed on it day and night). Well from there off and on until 2003 when the sparked turned into flame and here I go again...can't get enough.
 
my grandfather was a volunteer bartender Sunday afternoons at the VFW..

he would take me with him most weeks this is oh 1975 or so.. and I learned straight pool from a bunch of grizzled WWII vets..

great memories..
 
First experience was when I was 6 years old at Dixie Lanes Bowling Alley in Natchitoches LA. My parents played in a bowling league once a week for about 3 years. I would play around with it, but not seriously. I didn't really start playing until I was 25 years old on an old brunswick medalist in my wife's dorm in college.
 
In 1944 at the Boy's Club in NYC. Just moved from Chicago and the Boy's Club and the local Public Library were my hangouts.
 
Milts pool room in White Plains on the second floor. It was some sort of "club" to get around some laws but it really wasnt.

My friends and i played there about a month and never had a bad word with any of the regulars but we were from the middle class side of town and and i guess at least 2 people unbeknownst to us didnt want us there.

One day 4 of us were leaving but me and another kid (we were 14-15) ran to the car to get "shotgun". We were waiting and waiting and i got out and looked back and the driver-he was 17-was on the ground and my other buddy was screaming bloody murder. Neither were fighters.

They had been jumped by two of the regs and they smashed the drivers face on the sidewalk among other things. 52 Stitches in the face and several days in the hospital. I still remember the name of the 2 punks who did it though its been over 45 years.
 
I started to play in the US Army -stateside. Stationed at the Presidio,San Francisco, Ca 1968. We had a 9footer in the day room of our missile support compound. Then next at Fort Bliss, El Paso Texas 1969-70 we had a couple of 9 footers at Headquarters company of a Hawk missile battalion. We played bank 8ball. Bank everything-call # of rails, kisses etc. 8ball had to go 3 rails or better or kick at it 3 rails or better. A couple of black guys from Chicago introduced the game and it stuck. 4 and 5 railers became reasonable options. Games took a long time. Break for lunch and play till dinner- sometimes -the same game. It was better than painting rocks.

Some of us used to go down to Juarez after payday. Then borrow 10 for 20 later in the month. I wouldn't go to Juarez now. Those were good days-I could have been in much worse places. Funny thing is -guys would comeback stateside after a tour and request transfers back to that southeast asia vacation destination to get out of painting rocks and other stateside spit and polish. Strange times.

3railkick
 
I started playing around 6 years ago in a little corner store with a 7 foot barbox in the back of it. I think I was a junior in high school and a few of my buddies talked me into skipping school to play pool. I was horrible when I started. I looked like a monkey F###ing a football the first few months of playing. I started playing pool every chance I got. Before long I was improving drastically, and have been getting better ever since.
 
two months ago in my local bar, I havent skipped a day since. I have increased by 300% in the two months.
 
The Beer Joint

My dad took me with him to the beer joint every now and again when I was 5 years old. He let me take a couple of swigs of beer and gave me some quarters to play pool. I dont think child protective services had quite the reach they do today...:eek:
 
I worked in a bar at the age of 18 and saw guys hustling pool............it was interesting and then their pool team won the Busch league, now known as APA national championships. I thought it was cool so asked if they would teach me. of course the players said yes for $5 a game those jerks! hustlers all the way but I learned how to play quickly and by the time I was 20 I was beating players that had been playing 10 years!! fun stuff
 
6 foot Sears table when i was 10 or 11. Didnt start really playing until i went to a pool hall next to my school wheni was 16. Thats when i was truly bit by the bug!!!!! :cool:
 
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