Who is Jack Hines?

[maxeypad2007]

I have a quite different takes on Jack Hines.

I grew up playing in the early 90s to mid 90s playing pool around Kentucky. Jack hines was a well known player and for lack of a better term hustler.

I played him in a tournament in Somerset, KY and afterwards he took the time to show me how I could improve (where I screwed up) and showed me some pretty sporty 1P shots.

I've heard a lot of bad shit about this guy as well, but for whatever reason he was always friendly when I was around.

 

[richiebalto]

who is jack hines.

this is a easy answer,people can say all kinds of things,so ill tell you the answer.A GREAT TOP NOTCH AMERICAN POOL PLAYER.see how easy that was.

 

[Bob Callahan]

Sort of old, but more recent than other things posted here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47QiWVpOJIU

I never met Hynes, but had a close call--one of my old buddies, who could put together more than ten racks sometimes, played him and didn't like it.

 

[vagabond]

......, but for whatever reason he was always friendly when I was around.

He was nice & friendly with me too in early 90s. last time I ran into him was in 1998/1999 and was still friendly and nice.

 

[ironman]

You don't know shit from shine-ola!

Jack never wronged anyone unles he felt you were getting over on him, and I doubt seriously you knocked a jaw loose , because he would have planted a beer bottle up side your head way before you got that close, he can read your EYES just like the rest of us!


David Harcrow

Now that's the David I know and love!! LMAO!!

 

[JoeyA]

There is a GREAT match between Earl Strickland and Jack Hynes on youtube. It's in a 7 part series and the first part can watched by clicking here.

No beer bottles up against the heads were recorded.

 

[houmatroy]

You don't know shit from shine-ola!

Jack never wronged anyone unles he felt you were getting over on him, and I doubt seriously you knocked a jaw loose , because he would have planted a beer bottle up side your head way before you got that close, he can read your EYES just like the rest of us!


David Harcrow

You right about Jack's ability to read a person..When Jack was down here years ago I was putting him in action & we made some decent money together..well the owner of hightide..Dalton Bourg who was known for his gamble who was in a wheelchair had had his fill with Jack one night...probally cuz we had beat him pretty good a week before at a game he thought he couldnt lose at..jack gave him 2 games going to 4 and all the breaks in 8ball...well Dalton told a local Howard Danos who was a local legend for knocking people out that he would erase his bartab if he got Jack out of his bar & didnt care how he did it...well Howard called jack outside to talk to him & i went to see what was up & Howard was talking to Jack & kinda tryng to get close enuf to catch Jack & you could tell Jack had like a 6th sense about it..well finally Howard thought he was close enuf & took a swing only to come up with air..Jack did a semi backflip over a cargo trailer the band had hooked up to their car & was 20 feet from Howard before Howard knew what was going on..Howard tells takes off after Jack yelling..You better just stop cuz when i catch you it's going to be worst..Howard ran at him bout 20 yards...and jack probally doubled the distance..Howard came back a lil out of breath & I tell Howard come on man let'd go back inside..you wasn't going to catch him & Howard tells me..I know that m/f's fast as shit...they need to call him jack rabbit..lol

 

[JoeyA]

You right about Jack's ability to read a person..When Jack was down here years ago I was putting him in action & we made some decent money together..well the owner of hightide..Dalton Bourg who was known for his gamble who was in a wheelchair had had his fill with Jack one night...probally cuz we had beat him pretty good a week before at a game he thought he couldnt lose at..jack gave him 2 games going to 4 and all the breaks in 8ball...well Dalton told a local Howard Danos who was a local legend for knocking people out that he would erase his bartab if he got Jack out of his bar & didnt care how he did it...well Howard called jack outside to talk to him & i went to see what was up & Howard was talking to Jack & kinda tryng to get close enuf to catch Jack & you could tell Jack had like a 6th sense about it..well finally Howard thought he was close enuf & took a swing only to come up with air..Jack did a semi backflip over a cargo trailer the band had hooked up to their car & was 20 feet from Howard before Howard knew what was going on..Howard tells takes off after Jack yelling..You better just stop cuz when i catch you it's going to be worst..Howard ran at him bout 20 yards...and jack probally doubled the distance..Howard came back a lil out of breath & I tell Howard come on man let'd go back inside..you wasn't going to catch him & Howard tells me..I know that m/f's fast as shit...they need to call him jack rabbit..lol

That was funny.

 

[TwoTone68]

I remember Jack well from when I worked at Hi-Q billiards in Toledo in the early '80s. To be honest, he was always a perfect gentleman to me and my (now) wife. He never had any money but somehow managed to come up with enough to buy a practice card for $50 bucks. He could play by himself for free with the practice card and he did.... for hours and hours.... every day. This is when he was honing his skills.

I didn't bother him much because his game was so much more advanced than mine, but we did talk when he would take a break from practicing. The only advice he gave me was "know where whitey is going and you got it made" Pretty simple, but true.

I moved to Dallas for 5 or 6 years and when I got back it was evident Jack had the skills of a champion. There was another small room called Mason's near where I lived and I would walk down there every Thursday for cheap tourneys. The only good players that ever showed up were Jack and Tommy Nash. Every time one of them broke, the other would look at how the table laid and usually just rack em up. They hardly ever played out a rack. It was fun to watch while I was playing for third place.

Then I had the opportunity to work at a few Glass City Open tournaments for Larry K. One year, a fella knocked off Earl quite convincingly in the tourney. I don't remember his name but he was the reigning bank pool champ of the day. Anyway, he showed up to Rocket Billiards that night-where Jack hung out. Jack jumped up and offered him the 8 ball. Jack was being backed by a fellow named Marice. Mo goes nuts and asks why he thinks he can spot the guy who just kicked Earl ars. He looks Mo in the eye and says "because I'm Jack". It was no contest. Jack practiced on a snooker table at Rocket all day with full size balls. It was amazing to watch him drill the balls into the center of the pocket on a 10' table.

The next year at the GC Open, Jack was scheduled to play Earl and didn't show up on time. Joe Kerr was the tournament director and put the clock on Jack. It didn't take long and he was disqualified. Earl stayed on the table to practice while the tourney was going on around him. About one half hour later Jack showed up raising hell that these tourneys payed like $hit and he couldn't even afford to put gas in his car and had to walk. Earl talked to Joe Kerr and said he would play anyway. I think Earl won 11-5. This is one time that someone got into Jack's head first.

For all the people that got dumped/cheated/screwed by this guy, you might enjoy this one. Jack was playing a tourney at a Jalapenos one time and it came up he was looking for a cheap car. One of the guys there said he had one in the parking lot for sale for a good price. When they went outside to look it over, the guy robbed Jack and took off with the car and money.

I'm sure I could think of more stories, but this is enough for now.
Jon Miller

 

[JoeyA]

I remember Jack well from when I worked at Hi-Q billiards in Toledo in the early '80s. To be honest, he was always a perfect gentleman to me and my (now) wife. He never had any money but somehow managed to come up with enough to buy a practice card for $50 bucks. He could play by himself for free with the practice card and he did.... for hours and hours.... every day. This is when he was honing his skills.

I didn't bother him much because his game was so much more advanced than mine, but we did talk when he would take a break from practicing. The only advice he gave me was "know where whitey is going and you got it made" Pretty simple, but true.

I moved to Dallas for 5 or 6 years and when I got back it was evident Jack had the skills of a champion. There was another small room called Mason's near where I lived and I would walk down there every Thursday for cheap tourneys. The only good players that ever showed up were Jack and Tommy Nash. Every time one of them broke, the other would look at how the table laid and usually just rack em up. They hardly ever played out a rack. It was fun to watch while I was playing for third place.

Then I had the opportunity to work at a few Glass City Open tournaments for Larry K. One year, a fella knocked off Earl quite convincingly in the tourney. I don't remember his name but he was the reigning bank pool champ of the day. Anyway, he showed up to Rocket Billiards that night-where Jack hung out. Jack jumped up and offered him the 8 ball. Jack was being backed by a fellow named Marice. Mo goes nuts and asks why he thinks he can spot the guy who just kicked Earl ars. He looks Mo in the eye and says "because I'm Jack". It was no contest. Jack practiced on a snooker table at Rocket all day with full size balls. It was amazing to watch him drill the balls into the center of the pocket on a 10' table.

The next year at the GC Open, Jack was scheduled to play Earl and didn't show up on time. Joe Kerr was the tournament director and put the clock on Jack. It didn't take long and he was disqualified. Earl stayed on the table to practice while the tourney was going on around him. About one half hour later Jack showed up raising hell that these tourneys payed like $hit and he couldn't even afford to put gas in his car and had to walk. Earl talked to Joe Kerr and said he would play anyway. I think Earl won 11-5. This is one time that someone got into Jack's head first.

For all the people that got dumped/cheated/screwed by this guy, you might enjoy this one. Jack was playing a tourney at a Jalapenos one time and it came up he was looking for a cheap car. One of the guys there said he had one in the parking lot for sale for a good price. When they went outside to look it over, the guy robbed Jack and took off with the car and money.

I'm sure I could think of more stories, but this is enough for now.
Jon Miller

Great stuff Jon.
When the writing itch hits you again, please start putting it down.

You write well and your stories about Jack, not only ring of the truth but are new ones, that I haven't heard.

I especially enjoyed hearing about the early days of Jack!

 

[Slide Rule]

Welcome to AZ Billiards.

I remember Jack well from when I worked at Hi-Q billiards in Toledo in the early '80s. To be honest, he was always a perfect gentleman to me and my (now) wife. He never had any money but somehow managed to come up with enough to buy a practice card for $50 bucks. He could play by himself for free with the practice card and he did.... for hours and hours.... every day. This is when he was honing his skills.

I didn't bother him much because his game was so much more advanced than mine, but we did talk when he would take a break from practicing. The only advice he gave me was "know where whitey is going and you got it made" Pretty simple, but true.

I moved to Dallas for 5 or 6 years and when I got back it was evident Jack had the skills of a champion. There was another small room called Mason's near where I lived and I would walk down there every Thursday for cheap tourneys. The only good players that ever showed up were Jack and Tommy Nash. Every time one of them broke, the other would look at how the table laid and usually just rack em up. They hardly ever played out a rack. It was fun to watch while I was playing for third place.

Then I had the opportunity to work at a few Glass City Open tournaments for Larry K. One year, a fella knocked off Earl quite convincingly in the tourney. I don't remember his name but he was the reigning bank pool champ of the day. Anyway, he showed up to Rocket Billiards that night-where Jack hung out. Jack jumped up and offered him the 8 ball. Jack was being backed by a fellow named Marice. Mo goes nuts and asks why he thinks he can spot the guy who just kicked Earl ars. He looks Mo in the eye and says "because I'm Jack". It was no contest. Jack practiced on a snooker table at Rocket all day with full size balls. It was amazing to watch him drill the balls into the center of the pocket on a 10' table.

The next year at the GC Open, Jack was scheduled to play Earl and didn't show up on time. Joe Kerr was the tournament director and put the clock on Jack. It didn't take long and he was disqualified. Earl stayed on the table to practice while the tourney was going on around him. About one half hour later Jack showed up raising hell that these tourneys payed like $hit and he couldn't even afford to put gas in his car and had to walk. Earl talked to Joe Kerr and said he would play anyway. I think Earl won 11-5. This is one time that someone got into Jack's head first.

For all the people that got dumped/cheated/screwed by this guy, you might enjoy this one. Jack was playing a tourney at a Jalapenos one time and it came up he was looking for a cheap car. One of the guys there said he had one in the parking lot for sale for a good price. When they went outside to look it over, the guy robbed Jack and took off with the car and money.

I'm sure I could think of more stories, but this is enough for now.
Jon Miller

Nice stories Jon. You are a bit before my time, though I probably am near
your age. I bought practice cards at Hi Q when I started to play. Jim
Gregg worked there and later Bill Brothers. Joe Thomas was a regular
playing one pocket.

I also bought practice cards later at Glass City where I met Jack. He had
a late match of 8 ahead. I spoke of it earlier in this thread. Three
consecutive kick shots.

Mo wouldn't be a martial arts guy would he? A good friend.

Just where was the Rocket?

Appreciated
Al

And welcome to AZ Billiards.

 

[jayman]

I will assume this is the man in question?
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jack+Hines&aq=f

 

[Black-Balled]

I will assume this is the man in question?
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jack+Hines&aq=f

Nope. He is this guy:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=2733058&postcount=166

 

[paulempor]

Great reads in this thread. Could not stop reading all the stories.

Thanks to everyone

 

[Celtic]

One of the most entertaining pool stories I've ever heard. The iguana jumps off his shoulder and chases the 9-ball into the pocket. Freaking hilarious. What a character.

That whole story is worthy of a movie scene. Along with the Wimpy Lassiter story with the girl he was smitten for told in Danny D's book.

Someone needs to write a semi-fiction pool movie following a low end hustler/pro (nowhere near the best, more of a shortstop who is simply part of the scene) much like McGoorty, and then write in alot of the coolest scenes from the last 60 or 70 years following the game from the 1930's until the 90's or so.

Write the screenplay as a recollection of the past (start with an old man in a pool hall watching pool on TV and watching a couple goofy late teens kids trash talking and gambling for $5 a game, circa 1990). It is mid day, the place is largely dead, he is just sitting there drinking coffee, the bartender just cleaning up the bar and asking him if he wants "anything more then just coffee". One of the cocky kids asks him to gamble, knowing the 80 year old man will not play. On getting the known response the kids laughs and walks back to his table and friend. The old man sits there, listening to the laughing, and the scene fades to 1930's Chicago or the like and so, back to his youth.

Go through the era's of pool, introduce characters through the eyes of the old man as you follow him through his life and experiences, the cool scenes, the legendary players, the classic hustles and life on the road. Use the music of the era's, great art direction with the cars, the style of 1960's Los Angeles when he is there and the Beach Boys are huge on the radio.

Don't make the guy a star, make him a decent player, a road player good enough to beat the average guys, good enough to be known by most of the players, but at that level where he is no match for the truly top players. Don't make the movie about him, make it about the game, the other people in it, the scenes that take place, just make the old guy the eyes and memories via which the things are seen.

 

[racefornine]

Jack Hynes

I just missed him . While I was getting shirted by E . Reyes then R . Souquet at the Derby he stopped in my room Gallery Billiards in Newburgh NY . Under a fake name entered a five dollar 8 ball tourny . One of my senior players got the line on him , my Employee gave him his five back . He fessed up his real name hung around a while and left .

 

[Chi2dxa]

I really had hopes of seeing him at DCC but it did not happen, oh well.

 

[JoeyA]

I just missed him . While I was getting shirted by E . Reyes then R . Souquet at the Derby he stopped in my room Gallery Billiards in Newburgh NY . Under a fake name entered a five dollar 8 ball tourny . One of my senior players got the line on him , my Employee gave him his five back . He fessed up his real name hung around a while and left .

How is a hustler supposed to make a living, when he can't even slip into a five dollar 8 ball tournament?

Jack should grow him a mustache and shave his head. Yeah, that ought to do it. Oh yeah, and wear one of those Geoffrey Beene Cabby Cap like he's trying to cover up something on his head. When he pulls off the cap, and you see a shaved noggin, none will be the wiser.

Run Jack run. See Jack run.

 

[TATE]

It will be like Big Foot, UFO's, and Elvis - a new slew of Jack Hynes sightings in various disguises.

I just had an Efren sighting - he was at Hard Times in Bellflower Sunday night. I hope he sticks around for the Swanee - which is now full.

 

[The Saw]

How is a hustler supposed to make a living, when he can't even slip into a five dollar 8 ball tournament?

Jack should grow him a mustache and shave his head. Yeah, that ought to do it. Oh yeah, and wear one of those Geoffrey Beene Cabby Cap like he's trying to cover up something on his head. When he pulls off the cap, and you see a shaved noggin, none will be the wiser.

Run Jack run. See Jack run.

Whats Jack going to do to cover up that big mouth of his???