Freddie's other place

[Grady]

I don't know what year(s) exactly this would have been but Freddie had a different place. It had almost non-stop poker and pool action. I'm sure it was the 60's, though. It was smallish but had great equipment.
I remember one match vividly. I had come to Chicago with a friend of mine from OK City, Johnny Johnson. One night we drove up to Milwaukee, where we ran across Cole Dickson. We played some even up 9 Ball and Cole beat me and then, believe me, that was no disgrace. So we drive back to Chicago, get some sleep and go to Freddie's place. To our utter surprise Cole was playing poker and we discovered that he had been playing all night. I figured that he had been up at least 36 hours, probably more. So we played again and it was my turn to play well. I ended up having a nice trip and I really liked that joint.

[fred bentivegna]

Grady,
The joint was called the 4 B's Club named after the four partners who all had a B in their name. The time was the early and middle 70's. Many great players came through there and played, including you. We did manage to get stuck up twice. It was very scary getting tied up with baling wire. They had to be good heist men too, because everybody in the joint was usually packing. The main attraction was Gar The Iron Man. He would stay up 7,8,9 10 days at a time playing poker and pool or staking somebody. He was the only stakehorse I ever had who would not let me quit when I had a bad game. He would beg me to play,"Just one more set, one more set."
the Beard

[philip guagliardo]

THE FOUR B'S let me tell you it was a great place horseplayers ,poolplayers and card players all together . but the stick ups were scary . I came in one night after the track , I grinded out a few hundred at the track and wanted to watch a poker game that had been going on all week . all of a sudden a couple guys come flying out of the back room with guns , and they start yelling who's teddy and which one of you is bill ! well there is'nt any bill or teddy . they line us all up and naturally drop your pants boys . then the guy takes the cheese out of your pocket . I got a little lucky they missed about 150 in one pocket , but they got the rest ! I figured it was an inside job because somebody took the bar off the back door and I must have been the guy called bill and teddy was freddy . they must have got the names screwed up . whoever was the inside man probably told them phil carry's a gun and thats why they were yelling who bill ! but while all this was going on there was no freddy ! when they left I went in the back to look for freddy ! there he was crawling out from under the cot he was sleeping in , they must have ran right by him and freddy naturally crawled under the cot , but the amazing thing was that cot was about six inches from the floor , how he got under it still amazes me to this day . seemed impossible ! freddy's no tiny tim ! freddy was so shook up it took him at least a half hour or so to go back to sleep ! yeah freddy was the sleepingest man I ever met back then . play pool for 6 hours and sleep 18 . but all and all the times were good at the old 4 b's . memories and friends I'll never forget .
race track phil

[fred bentivegna]

Phil,
You forgot to mention that it was a fold-up cot and there was a bar in the middle that I had to squeeze around. The end result was, and thank God they never noticed it, in order to get under it I had to lift it a few inches off the ground. When I finally got under it, the cot wasn't touching the floor! I was supporting it on my back. You also forgot to mention when they told everybody to drop their pants, Gar The Iron Man, asked if he could be excused from that since he didn't want everybody to see his shorts, considering he hadn't changed them in about a month. The heist-men sadistically refused his request.
the Beard

[Grady]

Great stuff, guys, keep the stories coming. What year did benzinger's close?

[fred bentivegna]

I dont remember, Grady,
because they moved across the street and were open there for a couple years, although by that time nobody went in the joint except gang-bangers, dopers,pimps or dealers. The joint turned into a real toilet bowl. It was probably in the late 70's.
the Beard

[loveshiscue]

Awesome stories guys, all these action stories make me wish I had cut my pool teeth in Chicago instead of Miami.

Question for Freddie or Phil, in your lifetime what was the most exciting action in Chicago you ever saw go down? Thanks again guys.

[fred bentivegna]

Awesome stories guys, all these action stories make me wish I had cut my pool teeth in Chicago instead of Miami.

Question for Freddie or Phil, in your lifetime what was the most exciting action in Chicago you ever saw go down? Thanks again guys.


Here is a picture of the old North Shore Billiard Club logo. Action: How about when Bugs played Efren for 20k and Bugs won the first 6 in a row, missed a ball and Efren won the next 11!
the Beard

[Voodoo Daddy]

Awesome stories guys, all these action stories make me wish I had cut my pool teeth in Chicago instead of Miami.


No kiddin'...feels like we got shortchanged, dont it? :(

[philip guagliardo]

Awesome stories guys, all these action stories make me wish I had cut my pool teeth in Chicago instead of Miami.

Question for Freddie or Phil, in your lifetime what was the most exciting action in Chicago you ever saw go down? Thanks again guys.
freddy seen all the action and participated . I myself use to usually catch the tail end of the action because I'm a track man . but I use to love to watch artie totally frustrate his opponents ! they would end up talking to themselves cause they could'nt believe this guy keeps trapping them every shot . I remember cecil playing artie , he could'nt take the punishment anymore , so he punched artie in the mouth and ran out the door at bensingers . the guy made you crazy ! many times I also wanted to strangle him after he busted me out ! so I really did enjoy the action when I was'nt on the receiving end of artie's rath . just seeing the great players come and go in the north shore was really a once in a lifetime experience . it would take me days to write down all the good games I did see ! but one game in particular i did like . I asked keith mccready to give freddy a ball playing banks 9 to 8 since he already beat freddy even . keith was winning pretty good at the time , so I flashed about 15,000 at him ! he said ! no I cant give him a ball ! he would'nt budge and he was about 10,000 winner since he came to the north shore . so I told freddy here's four hundred play him 200 a game . freddy looked at me 2 barrels ! freddy played good for my money when I put him under pressure . I left and later went to the track and a friend of mine told me freddy's about 4000 winner ! well when races ended I rushed to the north shore ! I watched one game and seen freddy was dead tired . so I grabbed freddy and said how do you stand ? he said 1200 winner ! keith was racking the balls . I walked to the table and said games over and pushed all the balls in the corner. keith looked at me and said he's still stuck and then I told him put up 10,000 and you can play tomorrow ! your not getting even playing a guy who's ready to go to sleep ! just put up the money and play tomorrow I told him again ! keith left town the next day ! it was'nt a big win , but I enjoyed it a real lot ! I did'nt like road players looking to play the nuts in my place ! he did'nt show much gamble , thats why freddy beating him made my day . freddy could play banks sometimes like god , but his lasting power was limited . like I always said he slept more than any human I ever met ! he could play some banks when he was fresh ! but then you would need to know how long he's been awake ! then you could gauge if he could win ! yes my man freddy is truly one of kind . race track phil

[fred bentivegna]

He could play some banks when he was fresh ! But then you would need to know how long he's been awake ! Then you could gauge if he could win ! Yes, my man Freddy is truly one of kind . Race Track Phil[/QUOTE]


Thanks Phil,
I beat Keith Mc Ready the first eleven games in a row, and was pounding him pretty good. Finally his mixture held up better than mine. (They don't call him "Ether" for nothing) I'm glad you pulled me up. Keith and I played banks again a few years later at the St. Charles, IL, tournament with Toupee Jay Helfert staking him. We were playing pretty high, with many of Chicago's black guys betting on me, Jay went to go check on the tournament matches, and when he returned Keith was broke. I charged him about 4500.
the Beard

[philip guagliardo]

He could play some banks when he was fresh ! But then you would need to know how long he's been awake ! Then you could gauge if he could win ! Yes, my man Freddy is truly one of kind . Race Track Phil


Thanks Phil,
I beat Keith Mc Ready the first eleven games in a row, and was pounding him pretty good. Finally his mixture held up better than mine. (They don't call him "Ether" for nothing) I'm glad you pulled me up. Keith and I played banks again a few years later at the St. Charles, IL, tournament with Toupee Jay Helfert staking him. We were playing pretty high, with many of Chicago's black guys betting on me, Jay went to go check on the tournament matches, and when he returned Keith was broke. I charged him about 4500.
the Beard[/QUOTE]
hey freddy was I still in ? wheres my end ? just kidding ! i knew you could rob him . I mean think about it ! how many players did i ever stake with racetrack cash ? backer phil

[OldHasBeen]

What made North Shore so unique was also the entire neighborhood and area of Chicago that it was in.
One night about 2 or 3 am I took a walk for about an hour. It was like a different place at that time of day. There was more ACTION going on within an 8-block area than most people will see in their life. Sure, it was the underbelly of society with all the pimps, ho's, thieves & street hustlers - BUT - it was all part of the Chicago economy.
I grew up in an area of St. Louis much like this area of Chicago (DeBalivere Strip) but is was only about 6 blocks long.
I will always remember North Shore (Freddy's) as one of the top 5 Pool Rooms I've ever been in.

TY & GL