Funny to see this, I just played a few racks with mine.
Your 1st Cue, 30 Years Later
- Thread starter Shooter08
- Start date
Last year I bought a cue here that was nearly identical to the first cue I had in the early 1990s. It was an Adam, heavy, very stiff, tons of deflection, 13mm hard tip, conical taper, very coarse linen wrap, with a brass joint. This one is in nearly mint condition, which is far nicer than the one I had. It has an antiquated feel compared to a modern cue, but playing with it feels so nostalgic.
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Sounds like you’ve had a lot of cues that became players favorite cues. What do you play with now?
I have the same one as my first. P-90. it got broken once. So I had Viking refinish it later. They couldn’t salvage the brass pin. So it has a newer style joint. And while there they put white with black speck on it. Viking must’ve liked the design when they got it in because they started selling the same cue again shortly after it was in there. With the white with black speck.
coincidence? Now it’s an a-452 or something like that. It still gets used occasionally. And I still get the “old Viking” taper on all wood shafts from Viking. They play so much better IMHO. The normal pro taper is too stiff. Before that was a 3 piece Walmart cue!Attachments
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My favorite players are from Showman and Schick. I also have cues from Joss, Peppers, and Meucci that I play with occasionally.
Bought my first cue from a guy hanging around the bowling alley I was playing at (76 Lanes on North Avenue). Its a pretty plain Ray Schuler cue which I still have.
I bought my first cue when I was still in high school.
It was a carefully considered investment I made one day after another of my runs through the sporting goods department of The Emporium, a glorious downtown department store on Market Street, right across from the cable car turn platform. The store was a throwback to San Francisco’s post earthquake glory days, with a huge glass dome, and was the place my family purchased a good many of our necessities over the years.
At The Emporium, The Cue that became the object of my lust was displayed in a locked glass case. From the first time I saw it I couldn’t take my eyes off it. And, with every passing visit my desire and passion grew and grew until it could not be denied. So, somehow I scrimped and saved until I had squirreled away the $29.00 ransom the store wanted for the cue -- with its own faux leather luggage style case with red flocked interior (of course) which showed off the cue to its best advantage -- and sealed the deal one memorable weekend.
To me, The Cue was a thing of transcendent beauty: polished brass joint; rich polyurethaned walnut forearm; red and black speckled nylon wrap (genuine); and a butt plate of iridescent multicolored rings. I thought my Mom and Dad were going to kill me when they found out I had squandered most of my meager funds on “a pool cue?!” and I suffered withering words offered in fatherly counsel about “wasting” my money. But I did not care. Having The Cue in my very own mitts was worth it all.
Frequently, locked in my room I would loving wipe down the forearm of The Cue using my Mom’s can of Pledge. To this day, like catching a wafting scent of perfume favored by an old flame, a whiff of lemon-scented Pledge still reminds me of The Cue and our first summer together.
Lou Figueroa
It was a carefully considered investment I made one day after another of my runs through the sporting goods department of The Emporium, a glorious downtown department store on Market Street, right across from the cable car turn platform. The store was a throwback to San Francisco’s post earthquake glory days, with a huge glass dome, and was the place my family purchased a good many of our necessities over the years.
At The Emporium, The Cue that became the object of my lust was displayed in a locked glass case. From the first time I saw it I couldn’t take my eyes off it. And, with every passing visit my desire and passion grew and grew until it could not be denied. So, somehow I scrimped and saved until I had squirreled away the $29.00 ransom the store wanted for the cue -- with its own faux leather luggage style case with red flocked interior (of course) which showed off the cue to its best advantage -- and sealed the deal one memorable weekend.
To me, The Cue was a thing of transcendent beauty: polished brass joint; rich polyurethaned walnut forearm; red and black speckled nylon wrap (genuine); and a butt plate of iridescent multicolored rings. I thought my Mom and Dad were going to kill me when they found out I had squandered most of my meager funds on “a pool cue?!” and I suffered withering words offered in fatherly counsel about “wasting” my money. But I did not care. Having The Cue in my very own mitts was worth it all.
Frequently, locked in my room I would loving wipe down the forearm of The Cue using my Mom’s can of Pledge. To this day, like catching a wafting scent of perfume favored by an old flame, a whiff of lemon-scented Pledge still reminds me of The Cue and our first summer together.
Lou Figueroa
Damn! I need a cigarette after that!
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
My first cue was a POS.
I bought my first "real" cue in 1977 through a small pool hall in Gulfport, Mississippi -- Rack and Roll. I had begun working offshore and bought it with the first money I saved. Total cost was approximately $275, including a case. The pool hall had a binder containing catalogs/information from several cuemakers such as Viking, Meucci, Palmer, etc., but I do not recall McDermott being mentioned. In the end, I chose a company that I considered "custom" as a list of options was provided for me to choose from. The pool hall manager went over the list with me several times and took my order: a 20 oz. full splice cue with ebony butt/points and maple forearm, no veneers, Hoppe Ring, stainless steel joint, two 13 mm shafts, and green specked Cortland wrap. This cue made the three year trip with me to Ole Miss only to be stolen from me in a bar on the Biloxi Strip in 1982.
I had always believed my cue was made by Palmer and identified it as such for years. Later, I learned from a reliable AZ source that Palmer did not make cues with Hoppe Rings. This confused me greatly, Then recently, another AZ member told me that Palmer did in fact build custom cues with Hoppe Rings. All I really know is its gone.
I bought my first "real" cue in 1977 through a small pool hall in Gulfport, Mississippi -- Rack and Roll. I had begun working offshore and bought it with the first money I saved. Total cost was approximately $275, including a case. The pool hall had a binder containing catalogs/information from several cuemakers such as Viking, Meucci, Palmer, etc., but I do not recall McDermott being mentioned. In the end, I chose a company that I considered "custom" as a list of options was provided for me to choose from. The pool hall manager went over the list with me several times and took my order: a 20 oz. full splice cue with ebony butt/points and maple forearm, no veneers, Hoppe Ring, stainless steel joint, two 13 mm shafts, and green specked Cortland wrap. This cue made the three year trip with me to Ole Miss only to be stolen from me in a bar on the Biloxi Strip in 1982.
I had always believed my cue was made by Palmer and identified it as such for years. Later, I learned from a reliable AZ source that Palmer did not make cues with Hoppe Rings. This confused me greatly, Then recently, another AZ member told me that Palmer did in fact build custom cues with Hoppe Rings. All I really know is its gone.
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It was my first "real" cue too.
I posted about my Meucci MO-3 when I was thinking of getting it restored. I never did; it's still all-original. I bought it in 1975. My Richard Black cues are only 25 years old.
Considering a Restore on My Meucci Originals MO-3
I sent a message and these pictures to the Contact Us email on the Meucci Website on Wednesday May 11th. Anyone know what a reasonable time is to expect a response? I'm thinking I should hear something within 2 weeks. I asked about cost to...
forums.azbilliards.com
No really, l.m.a.o.!
This, I guess, is my Red Ryder BB Gun story.
Although, many moons ago, Dan White wrote that another story I wrote was straight out of, "A Christmas Story." Anywhos, anything that compares anything I've written to the great Jean Shepard is a compliment of the highest order.
Lou Figueroa
I started playing pool in 1960. Our church had a youth center that had 2 ping pong tables and 2 pool tables. Table time did not come easy since the older teenagers used it mostly and they were a lot bigger and very intimidating to me and my friends. But when a table was open, we’d jump at the chance. The following summer, we were older and bigger and table time increased but also because some of the other teenagers turned 18 which meant they could go to bars and drink. But then the Hustler was released and all that summer we played pool getting ready to see the movie. And I turned into a pool addict, especially since I could go to Ames Billiards to play pool once I turned 16 yrs old. And I did and played a lot of pool there imagining myself playing Jackie Gleason in front of a big crowd.
When I was ready for my 1st cue, my step dad took me to the Palmer Cue Factory in New Jersey. He knew the manager and when we walked in, he greeted us, showed us around and we wound up at the display cases. My step dad said it’s his choice…..and the manager asked anything special? He smiled and said…..No, just any cue he wants.
I was showed Palmer Frank Paradise cues, lots of cues with fancy inlays and veneers but none of that appealed to me.
So the manager asked me what I wanted and I told him just a plain cue, all wood, but something that had a rich look.
I didn’t want a cheap looking SP cue but something that had a different look. He thought for a moment and said I think
I have the cue you might want in the back that we haven’t yet added to our catalog line. It’s all Cocobolo wood and it
has a dark stain with lots of graininess you can see. It’s different from other cue forearms you see. He brought it out and as soon as I saw it, I knew that was my cue. Back at that time, Cocobolo was becoming to be popular with cue makers.
The cue came with one shaft but I asked for a 2nd much thinner shaft get made for playing billiards. I needed a case and a violin case just looked so cool and so I chose the nicest version they had….The Palmer deLuxe Case. I stopped playing with that cue many years later after getting my first custom cue from Bob Runde back in ‘85 while Schon was still relatively new.
Now the Runde Schon is also retired, ironically also many years later, after I switched to playing with flat ivory cue joints.
Here’s my very first pool cue…my Palmer Cocobolo version of what I suppose could be considered a Merry Widow design.
When I was ready for my 1st cue, my step dad took me to the Palmer Cue Factory in New Jersey. He knew the manager and when we walked in, he greeted us, showed us around and we wound up at the display cases. My step dad said it’s his choice…..and the manager asked anything special? He smiled and said…..No, just any cue he wants.
I was showed Palmer Frank Paradise cues, lots of cues with fancy inlays and veneers but none of that appealed to me.
So the manager asked me what I wanted and I told him just a plain cue, all wood, but something that had a rich look.
I didn’t want a cheap looking SP cue but something that had a different look. He thought for a moment and said I think
I have the cue you might want in the back that we haven’t yet added to our catalog line. It’s all Cocobolo wood and it
has a dark stain with lots of graininess you can see. It’s different from other cue forearms you see. He brought it out and as soon as I saw it, I knew that was my cue. Back at that time, Cocobolo was becoming to be popular with cue makers.
The cue came with one shaft but I asked for a 2nd much thinner shaft get made for playing billiards. I needed a case and a violin case just looked so cool and so I chose the nicest version they had….The Palmer deLuxe Case. I stopped playing with that cue many years later after getting my first custom cue from Bob Runde back in ‘85 while Schon was still relatively new.
Now the Runde Schon is also retired, ironically also many years later, after I switched to playing with flat ivory cue joints.
Here’s my very first pool cue…my Palmer Cocobolo version of what I suppose could be considered a Merry Widow design.
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My first cue was a Palmer, custom made in 1975, 59" long, 21 ounces. It is still my favorite playing cue 49 years later. Tried many cues but keep on going back... I paid $150
Yes, I grew up at our local YMCA in the late 60's. I remember purchasing a one piece aluminum cue from them for $7 or $8. They came in red or green. I really wouldn't mind finding one of those.
The house cues at my college fraternity never had tips. Mine wasn’t much as a pool cue, but I always played with a tip.