Ronnie and Fats played a few times, contrary to what Ronnie might say today to someone. He did not lose "everything" however. He won some and lost some with Fats.
Excerpt from my upcoming blog page, "
War Stories, but none by Oliver North," that will soon appear on my web
www.bankingwiththebeard.com. :
...In Johnston City, in 1969 or 70, I had the pleasure and privilege of watching Ronnie and Fatty play Onepocket. I say privilege because few people were allowed to watch the game. To see Fats play Ronnie or Richie Florence you had to be invited. Getting a spot, and maybe getting beat in public was pretty much the reason Fats would only play to a selected audience. Fatty didn't want any squares seeing him getting a spot from Ronnie Allen and Richie Florence. Some earlier scribes, who obviously weren't there, said Ronnie gave Fats 8 to 6 and Richie Florence gave him 9 to 7. Not true. Richie gave him 8 to 7, and Ronnie played him 9 to 7 and $330 to $300 on the money. ($300 a game in those days is equivalent to about 4 million a game today.) They broke even. Greatest Onepocket performance by both players that I ever saw. Ronnie ran 9 and out every time he seen the edge of a ball, and Fats ran 7 and out like it was water. The games lasted an average of about 5 minutes each. The outcome was predictable, after a couple of fantastic hours, they were about even and they quit...
the Beard
now for the plug:Check out my new, souped up website and blogs.
www.bankingwiththebeard.com. I have learned how to do my own web programming, and my site is now at least 40 pages long. One big section on
The Last Days of Bugs Rucker, another,
Secrets of a Hard Core Pool Hustler, with more to come. Videos, slide shows, pics, Books, DVDs,memorabilia, etc. Log on, enjoy the stories, pics, hustler instruction, outrageous opinions, and eventually, spend some moola.
