Who was 'Sneaky Pete'?

[grindz]

I'm sure someone out there knows. Who was the original 'sneaky pete'
that the generic no frills cue was named after? Was he a true 'hustler'
on the road or just a name that some cue maker branded to successfully
market cues.

I know that they were around when I got into pool in the later 70's, so it's
got to predate that. How long have they been around?

Just curious.

td

 

[Tramp Steamer]

His real name was Peter W. Lieberman, and he was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1934. Mr. Lieberman was a woodcarver by trade and specialized in wooden horses for merry-go-rounds.
To make a very long story short, one day he took some scrap maple and fashioned a rather plain and simple pool cue so he could play billiards with his friends at the local VFW hall.
Because he was married to a strict and puritanical wife, Mr. Lieberman was forced to invent excuses so that he could sneak off to the VFW to play.
When he would show up for a night of pool his friends would ofttimes say, "Well, it looks like old sneaky Pete made it tonight." :smile:

 

[grindz]

lol.......

I knew the story was out there. Thanks TS!

I love a nice sneaky.... even the not so sneaky ones.

td

 

[Celophanewrap]

I had always heard the sneaky pete was cheap booze from the 2nd World War, but I like the pool story much better

 

[PoolBum]

His real name was Peter W. Lieberman, and he was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1934. Mr. Lieberman was a woodcarver by trade and specialized in wooden horses for merry-go-rounds.
To make a very long story short, one day he took some scrap maple and fashioned a rather plain and simple pool cue so he could play billiards with his friends at the local VFW hall.
Because he was married to a strict and puritanical wife, Mr. Lieberman was forced to invent excuses so that he could sneak off to the VFW to play.
When he would show up for a night of pool his friends would ofttimes say, "Well, it looks like old sneaky Pete made it tonight." :smile:

Was this his favorite beer?

 

[cuesblues]

The inventor of the "house cue" built the first Sneaky Pete for a road player named
Peter, who was just tired of carrying around a one piece cue.
The cuemaker could of been Herman Rambow, I know it came out of Chicago after WWII.

That's no shit

 

[WildWing]

His real name was Peter W. Lieberman, and he was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1934. Mr. Lieberman was a woodcarver by trade and specialized in wooden horses for merry-go-rounds.
To make a very long story short, one day he took some scrap maple and fashioned a rather plain and simple pool cue so he could play billiards with his friends at the local VFW hall.
Because he was married to a strict and puritanical wife, Mr. Lieberman was forced to invent excuses so that he could sneak off to the VFW to play.
When he would show up for a night of pool his friends would ofttimes say, "Well, it looks like old sneaky Pete made it tonight." :smile:

I think I knew Peter's cousin, Seymour Lieberman. Seymour was also a woodworker, and made a special part for the merry-go-round wooden horses. Seymour would take the wooden spool centers from the middle of large spools of wrapping paper, and cut off the little rounded ends of the wooden spool centers. Why, you ask? They were used to make the assholes for the wooden horses. It was a perfect fit, though a bit tight. Although Seymour was the butt of a lot of jokes, he went with the flow, and he thought it all came out in the end. I think woodworking was running in the family...

All the best,
WW

 

[Paul Schofield]

Enough with the nonsense. The original Sneaky Pete was actually a "Sneaky Paul" http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=125779 This cue was made for me by Gus Szamboti in 1976-77. The cue fleeced so many players that it had to be renamed to "Sneaky Pete" just so that it could continue to slither up on unsuspecting players. Before the name had to be changed again, I quit playing in 1978, so the second name stuck to this day...quite a tribute to this special cue.

 

[commswatch]

His real name was Peter W. Lieberman, and he was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1934. Mr. Lieberman was a woodcarver by trade and specialized in wooden horses for merry-go-rounds.
To make a very long story short, one day he took some scrap maple and fashioned a rather plain and simple pool cue so he could play billiards with his friends at the local VFW hall.
Because he was married to a strict and puritanical wife, Mr. Lieberman was forced to invent excuses so that he could sneak off to the VFW to play.
When he would show up for a night of pool his friends would ofttimes say, "Well, it looks like old sneaky Pete made it tonight." :smile:

Tramp, thats quite the story! Didn't you also have quite a story few months back about "Merry Widow" origins? You are quite the tale spinner, ala Patrick McManus. Ever consider writing a humorous collection of pool based short stories? I'm not calling your stories out....I'm becoming a fan.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

Tramp, thats quite the story! Didn't you also have quite a story few months back about "Merry Widow" origins? You are quite the tale spinner, ala Patrick McManus. Ever consider writing a humorous collection of pool based short stories? I'm not calling your stories out....I'm becoming a fan.

I tried writing for a living, once. I lost so much weight from not eating I had to give it up and go back to the circus.
All my stories have at least a small kernel of truth attached to them. For instance, the Sneaky Pete story here. The VFW does indeed have a member named Peter.
I like Schofield's story the best. It almost sounds authentic. :smile:

 

[Eric.]

His real name was Peter W. Lieberman, and he was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1934. Mr. Lieberman was a woodcarver by trade and specialized in wooden horses for merry-go-rounds.
:

You forgot... Peter "Sneaky Peter/Sneaky Pete" Lieberman also ran for political office. He lost the general election to Tricky Dick, I believe.


Eric

 

[macguy]

I'm sure someone out there knows. Who was the original 'sneaky pete'
that the generic no frills cue was named after? Was he a true 'hustler'
on the road or just a name that some cue maker branded to successfully
market cues.

I know that they were around when I got into pool in the later 70's, so it's
got to predate that. How long have they been around?

Just curious.

td

I would say it was not a person and the term applied to that class of cue.. Years ago Pete Margo had a line of cues and one was the two piece house cue they called the "Sneaky Pete" I assumed after Pete. He also had one called "The Saturday night special" that was a SP.

Having said that, they have been around forever and no one person is the inventor. I bet a lot of people had the same idea independently. I had one made by Rocky Tillis back in the 60's. When I described the cue to him and why I wanted a cue like that I wanted it to hustle bars.
I had not seen another before that and for all I knew it was my idea.

 

[Sealegs50]

I would say it was not a person and the term applied to that class of cue.. Years ago Pete Margo had a line of cues and one was the two piece house cue they called the "Sneaky Pete" I assumed after Pete. He also had one called "The Saturday night special" that was a SP.

I have heard this, too.

 

[pt109]

I don't know who Sneaky Pete was....
...but I'm pretty sure that Plane Jane was a stewardess.

 

[PoolBum]

I don't know who Sneaky Pete was....
...but I'm pretty sure that Plane Jane was a stewardess.

Is there any truth to the story that Plane Jane ended up a Merry Widow?

 

[Tramp Steamer]

I don't know who Sneaky Pete was....
...but I'm pretty sure that Plane Jane was a stewardess.

Uh, oh. Here we go.
I once saw a horse and a house fly, together.

 

[grindz]

tap tap tap...

Thanks for all the stories, and for keeping it light.

I'm more confused than ever! :scratchhead:

td

 

[commswatch]

Is there any truth to the story that Plane Jane ended up a Merry Widow?

If Plane Jane was in fact a Merry Widow, then according to TrampSteamer (by deduction), Sneaky Pete was murdered by his wife (Plane Jane of course), sometime back in the 1920's (ish) with a pool cue. When asked why Jane did it, she responded that he gambled too much in the barber shop (pool hall back then).

it's all starting to make sense.

 

[9andout]

What about the "Sneaky Pete" nitrous systems for cars??

 

[pt109]

What about the "Sneaky Pete" nitrous systems for cars??

Yeah, the Sneaky Pete syndrome has spread to the auto world....
...here's a Peterbilt....cleverly disguised as Santa's sleigh....heh, heh, heh