2006 One Pocket HOF call for nominations

[onepocket]

It is that time of year again -- time for nominations for the 3rd annual One Pocket Hall of Fame ballot.

Over the last two years we have elected fifteen well-deserving players into the One Pocket Hall of Fame:

* Ronnie 'Fast Eddie' Allen * Jack 'Jersey Red' Breit * Artie Bodendorfer * Billy 'Cornbread Red' Burge * Marshall 'Squirrel' Carpenter * Steve Cook * Danny Di Liberto * Larry 'Boston Shorty' Johnson * Ed 'Champagne Eddie' Kelly * Grady 'Professor' Mathews * Efren 'Bata' Reyes * Leonard 'Bugs' Rucker * Bill 'Weenie Beenie' Staton * Eddie 'Knoxville Bear' Taylor * Nick Varner *

Yet there are many other One Pocket greats who certainly deserve to be honored, and it is time now to turn our attention to the next group of deserving candidates.

You are all now invited to use this nominations thread to suggest names for this year’s ballot, or to comment on the candidates that others have suggested. In early November the final list of candidates will be placed into the 3rd annual OnePocket.org Hall of Fame poll, and the voting can begin!

So, who do you like for this year’s nominees, and why should they join the legends already in the One Pocket Hall of Fame? Don’t be shy about sharing your knowledge or opinions about who belongs on this year’s ballot; this is the right time to air it out. The more we all know about the candidates, the better informed we will be when it comes time to vote, and the more unified we will be in celebrating this coming January’s inductees.

Selection criteria for the One Pocket Hall of Fame:

1. Great Players who have demonstrated their excellence in tournament competition over time.
2. After Hours Legends who have demonstrated their excellence and their heart by matching up against the best of their time.
3. Teachers and Promoters of the game who have had a lasting impact on the growth and popularity of One Pocket.

Please note that you do not have to be a tournament player to qualify for the One Pocket Hall of Fame – action guys are a huge part of the legacy of One Pocket, and guys that have had more of an impact as teachers and promoters of the game are clearly invited too.

The 3rd annual One Pocket Hall of Fame legends dinner is already scheduled for Tuesday, January 9th during this coming Derby City Classic. The dinner is a fantastic event with a very entertaining cast of characters. Besides the current inductees and their families and friends, all the previous inductees are also invited, and the crowd becomes a veritable who’s who of pool action over the last 50 years. Last year’s event sold out early, and many people were turned away, so make your reservations early!

 

[onepocket]

Moved JD Dolan's post

Moved JD Dolan's post

I'd like to sugget a six people for consideration for the One Pocket Hall of Fame.

The first three I'd like to nominate are people who have contributed a great deal to the popularity and appreciation of one pocket.

They are:

Eddie Robin. Eddie is the author of Winning One Pocket, and Shots, Moves, & Strategies. These are still the best books to date on the game of one pocket, and they introduced us to many fine players.

Greg Sullivan. Greg is the owner of Diamond Billiard Products, and the guy who dreamed up the Derby City Classic and made it a reality. Without Greg Sullivan, there would be no Derby City Classic.

Scott Smith. Scott is the tournament director for the Derby City Classic, and his personality (and intelligence, humor, and patience, etc.) are a big part of why the Derby City Classic is, in my opinion, the greatest tournament ever.

The next three are players who have contributed to the game through their outstanding ability, and through their dedication to the game of one pocket.

They are:

Scott Frost: A U.S. Open champion, and always a contender at the DCC--or anywhere.

Cliff Joyner: A U.S. Open Champion, a DCC champion. A champion, period.

Shannon Daulton: Probably the youngest person to win a major one pocket championship, and a young guy who's been playing and winning longer than many of the old guys in the game of one pocket.

These three men are relatively young, but they have proven themselves as champions. And they have, through their dedication and excellence, kept the game of one pocket thriving.

J.D.

JD, I moved your post into the official nominations thread -- thanks for kicking this off!

 

[gulfportdoc]

I think Eddie Robin definitely deserves a nomination in the Teachers and Promoters category. He authored the one pocket "bibles".

It's time to move Buddy Hall in there. Great player. Won many 1P titles. His best pool is probably behind him at this point, so there's really no reason to wait. It's better to get the guys in while they're still alive, don't you think?

Arguably Cliff Joyner and Shannon Daulton are the two best 1P players competing today, who are not already in the HOF. They should make the nomination list.

Doc

 

[MFH]

I'd like to throw Jose Parica out there too. He's got a DCC title, and also won at Hard Times, Roanoke, the Capital City Classic, and other smaller events, not to mention being a renowned action guy.

Johnny Ervolino is also worth a mention, having won the Stardust twice, as is Mike Sigel, whose one pocket game was also excellent, although overshadowed by his accomplishments in 14.1 and 9-ball.

I agree with the nominations of JD and Doc, but I think Scott Frost's nomination is a bit early. Although he's one of the best out there now, he's still very young and a little less accomplished than the others.

 

[Cal]

2006 One Pocket HOF

2006 One Pocket HOF

I would like to nomonate #1. Marvin Henderson #2. Strawberry #3, Cliff Joyner

 

[Voodoo Daddy]

JD, I moved your post into the official nominations thread -- thanks for kicking this off!

Frost, Daulton & Joyner will be great names to add inna couple yrs. If Johnny Ervolino isnt deserving of a spot in the HOF, I'm a pygmie from Bora-Bora!! Parica is also VERY deserving of a HOF vote...maybe Al "New York Blackie" Bonifay!!

 

[NH Steve]

Let's keep the focus on 'One Pocket guys'

Let's keep the focus on 'One Pocket guys'

If you look through the names of the players currently in the One Pocket Hall of Fame, one universal fact jumps out -- every single one of them fully embraced the game of One Pocket virtually as soon as they ran into it. To put it another way, for them it has been a life-long relationship, not a handful of steamy affairs

Guys like Sigel, Rempe & Mizerak were great, great players, and sure they could play One Pocket, and even won a tournament here and there, but these are not the icons of our game, the ambassadors of the game that we want to be honoring in our Hall of Fame, IMO. We want the guys that have treated the game with the same longtime respect that we feel for this great game.

I'm much more excited about guys like Melvin 'Strawberry' Brooks, who was a great player, who specialized in One Pocket, and who also promoted a couple of major tournaments for us back in the early 90's. Likewise, Jimmy Fusco, another lifelong addict of the game who was instrumental in helping Grady Mathews get the Legends of One Pocket tournaments started.

To a certain extent, I still put Buddy Hall kind of in the same category as Rempe, Miz & Sigel -- great players who will forever be known as among the very best -- at other games! For by far the bulk of his career, Buddy was a 9-Ball player, and seemed to avoid One Pocket. It is true he has come around over the last ten years, but I am not yet ready to see him overshadow guys that spent their whole careers in the One Pocket trenches, just my humble opinion.

 

[BackPocket9Ball]

Eugene "Clem" Metz -- pretty sure he's still alive in Cincinnati
Johnny Ervolino -- deceased
Johnny "Irish" Lineen -- deceased, a killer from NYC
Marvin Henderson -- deceased, a killer from Pittsburgh
Jimmy Fusco -- still plays sporadically
Melvin "Strawberry" Brooks --73 and living in DC
Jose Parica -- still playing
Allen Hopkins -- still playing
Buddy Hall -- sorry NH Steve, this guy is a prime-time, all-time great one
pocket player, I don't care what his game of choice was in the 70s
Earl Heisler -- ?best ever from the deep south
John "Rags" Fitzpatrick -- deceased
Haydon Lingo -- deceased
"Connecticut Johnny" Vives -- deceased
Glen "Eufaula" Womack -- deceased, Squirrel and Grady have talked a lot
about this player from the 40s

Two guys I've read about who died young but played as good as anyone:
"Oakland Don" Decoy
Robert "Big Nose Roberts" Rodman

Rudolph "Fats" Wanderone -- this guy helped bring this game from obscurity
to big-time
The Jansco brothers Paul and George

 

[hemicudas]

Eugene "Clem" Metz -- pretty sure he's still alive in Cincinnati
Johnny Ervolino -- deceased
Johnny "Irish" Lineen -- deceased, a killer from NYC
Marvin Henderson -- deceased, a killer from Pittsburgh
Jimmy Fusco -- still plays sporadically
Melvin "Strawberry" Brooks --73 and living in DC
Jose Parica -- still playing
Allen Hopkins -- still playing
Buddy Hall -- sorry NH Steve, this guy is a prime-time, all-time great one
pocket player, I don't care what his game of choice was in the 70s
Earl Heisler -- ?best ever from the deep south
John "Rags" Fitzpatrick -- deceased
Haydon Lingo -- deceased
"Connecticut Johnny" Vives -- deceased
Glen "Eufaula" Womack -- deceased, Squirrel and Grady have talked a lot
about this player from the 40s

Two guys I've read about who died young but played as good as anyone:
"Oakland Don" Decoy
Robert "Big Nose Roberts" Rodman

Rudolph "Fats" Wanderone -- this guy helped bring this game from obscurity
to big-time
The Jansco brothers Paul and George

Just for the record, Cleo Vaughn, was the best one pocket player from the deep south. Grady avoided, Mobile, AL. Ask him.

 

[godzilla]

question

question

Would it be possible to poll the current members of the 1pkt hall of fame and ask them who they think deserves a nomination?

 

[gulfportdoc]

We want the guys that have treated the game with the same longtime respect that we feel for this great game.

Point taken, Steve. It makes sense to get the early guys in: Lingo, Fitzpatrick, maybe Ervolino. I can't recall the name, but the guy who really got one-pocket going in the pre-WWII era would be a good candidate. I think Freddie was still in high school in those days...

The Jansco's ought to get consideration in the Teacher/Promoter category. Eddie Robin should go in at some point in the same category.

Doc

 

[ironman]

nomine's

nomine's

Point taken, Steve. It makes sense to get the early guys in: Lingo, Fitzpatrick, maybe Ervolino. I can't recall the name, but the guy who really got one-pocket going in the pre-WWII era would be a good candidate. I think Freddie was still in high school in those days...

The Jansco's ought to get consideration in the Teacher/Promoter category. Eddie Robin should go in at some point in the same category.

Doc

Granted, I haven't been around here much lately, been real busy. Any way.
There was a fellow out of San Antonio who played real good and was a great instructor named Banans Rodriguez {deceased}. Just my 2 cents worth. He moved about the country real well. I think Freddy is pretty familiar with him, as was Grady.

 

[bjspivey]

vote

vote

Rags wife Cris is 81 and want's to show up this year. What do you think? Rags Fitzpatrick,he beat the best!

 

[dmyroncox]

strawberry brooks

strawberry brooks

has to be
just think about it!

 

[rossaroni]

You would think Hayden Lingo would have to be in, since he is the one credited for inventing the game. Plus, Rags was very feared in his day. I believe Eddie Taylor said Rags was the best one pocket player he ever saw- that's good enough for me! I agree with others that it is way too early for Frost to be included in this group.

 

[NH Steve]

Grady's top 10 in 1983

Grady's top 10 in 1983

Would it be possible to poll the current members of the 1pkt hall of fame and ask them who they think deserves a nomination?

I think that is a great idea, although some are a little harder to get hold of than others...

I recently came across an interview with Grady Mathews in the National Billiard News, from 1983 -- around the time Grady was really beginning to be recognized for his stellar One Pocket. In fact, he is referred to as Mr. "One Pocket" in the article headline. Anyway, he was asked, "Who are the ten best one-pocket players in the country?" in the interview. The names he came up with at that time were

Bugs Rucker
Ronnie Allen
Allen Hopkins
Steve Cook
Steve Mizerak
Nick Varner
Jack Cooney
Artie Bodendorfer
Jimmy Fusco
along with himself

He was clear to point out that these names were not in any particular order. Of course these were current players at that time.

 

[Grady]

Avoid Cleo?

Avoid Cleo?

I offered to play him in a neutral place but at the time I thought it was a tough game for me at "Jimmy's". Same thing with several guys for me. Sammy Blumenthal, for example. I offered to play him a set for $10,000 in a neutral site. Carella, too. He wanted to play in a hellhole of a joint in Tallahassee but nowhere else.

 

[MFH]

One more name I haven't seen yet...

One more name I haven't seen yet...

I think Pat Fleming of Accu-Stats is also deserving of this honor (or at least nomination) for having made so many great one-pocket matches available to those of us who can't make it to every tournament we'd like to see.

 

[rossaroni]

Cooney would have to be taken for consideration in the action department. However, it seems that the stories about him are scarce, becasue he stayed under the radar most of the time. However, he was right up there with the best from people in the know.

 

[fred bentivegna]

My two cents worth

My two cents worth

My choices in no particular order.
First the dead guys:
Marcel Camp, nee Canada. We all learned from him in Miami.
John "Cannonball Lefty" Chapman, Chicago. Should be elected in both categories.
Gene "the Fullerton Kid" Skinner, nee CA. My mentor, known only to the greats of the 30s and 40s. Played even with them all and bet his own.
John "Rags" Fitzpatrick, Wash. DC. Never seen him play, but Skinner told me that he spotted just about everybody.
Robert"Big Nose Roberts" Rodman, Never seen him. Only know what I heard from Gene Skinner.
Glen "Eufala Kid" Womack. Another Skinner choice.
Johnny "Irish" Lineen. NY. Endorsed by Jersey Red and Brooklyn Jimmy.
Tommy the Greek. Played at 4th and Main in LA. Fought Eddie Taylor to a 24hr draw when he was 69 years old. Need info on his real name.
Steve Mizerak. NJ Was almost the best in the world for a short stretch.
Hayden Lingo. OK. Probably invented 1pkt. Beat Marshall Carpenter giving him 9 to 7.
Marvin Henderson. Pitts. Was a legend in the Rack and Cue in Detroit.
"Oakland Don" Decoy. Wisconsin great Al Miller touted Don's 1pkt spd.
Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone. NY. In opposition to Danny DiLiberto, I loved the way Fats played 1pkt!

These guys are still around:
Cliff Joyner, NC. A deserving living candidate.
Melvin "Strawberry" Brooks. Wash.DC. Played 'em all for whatever they wanted to bet.
Allen Hopkins. NJ. Was the best in the world for a short stretch.
Billy Incardona. Pittsburg. He has already been elected into my Rogues Gallery but he still deserves consideration for his high-rolling against all the best players. Plus he narrates a pretty good game on the "mike" for Accu-stats.
Javenly "Youngblood" Washington, Chicago. Still alive in his 90s. Probably the best all-around black player of all-time. Another 2 category candidate.
Jimmy Fusco, Philly. I love to watch him play 1pkt.
Jose Parica. Philipines. After learning all he could from me he got to be a pretty good player.
Jack Cooney. San Francisco. Probably won more playing 1pkt than the rest of the above list combined.
Eugene "Clem" Metz. Cincinnati. Beat Eddie Taylor in Ohio.

If I left anybody out, keep in mind these are personal choices. Under pressure I would reveal my top 10.

the Beard
Bank on, brother!