jay helfert said:
In California John Henderson never passed up a game with anyone.
I didn't duck many, but I didn't have to travel as far as you guys. Most of them came to me. Looking at both of your lists, I can count alt least a hundred I have played, either gambling or tournaments. That's quite a few, but not that many when you are going back over 40 years. In the 70's and early 80's I had an insurance agency a few miles down the road from the Golden Cue. Players came, they called me and I came down and matched up doing something. I booked a lot of losers but I was in action and they didn't all win. Billy Ray Suden showed me where I was in his book after he beat on me. Play the big guy with glasses, it said. He will lose a few hundred. A few days later he was at Hard Times in Costa Mesa trying to match up with Keith. He wanted me to go in with him getting the 7 going 7 ahead for a thousand. When I declined, he got hot and told me I was stupid because no one could give him the 7. Keith beat him in about 30 minutes, and while I didn't have any action on it, I had a litle smile on my face on the way home. Once I see the names I can remember almost every win and loss, where and how much, so I guess I didn't kill too many brain cells over the years. You guys keep it up, this is a great thread. I'm sorry I never ran into Freddy in So. CA, but they kept me in action close to home.
Since I was not careful who I played while on the road, I booked plenty of losers. Especially after I discovered cocaine and speed. I had a reputation of being a "loose" gambler. However, that was not the case on home court, Bensinger's. I had a batting average like Ty Cobb in Bensinger's. Very few losses to top players down there. In truth, very few top players ventured into Bensingers when they were in Chicago. They usually stayed in the outlying poolrooms or bars. Keep in mind, if they somehow got past me, Artie and Mexican Johnny were waiting in the wings. Guys like Grady, Steve Cook, David Howard,etc., came in once, took a beating and never returned. They would play elsewhere, but Bensinger's was a cross-off. And forget about getting any road man to try us on any one of the twelve 5 x 10's that were in the joint. Billy Incardona and Cole Dickson were exceptions to that rule. Oh yeah, a sixteen year old Steve Mizerak, Jersey Red, and Baby Face Whitlow also had no difficulty with the 5 x 10s. The muggy, oxygen thin air down there was worth at least a ball.
the Beard
