fred bentivegna
Verified Member
Here is a little snippet of my upcoming book, The Encyclopedia of Pool Hustlers. The hustlers will be cataloged alphabetically.
Bobby Riggs/Billy Jean King
Did he toss that match?
I got it from a near-unimpeachable source that the Bobby Riggs/Billy Jean King, celebrated Tennis match was a dump. I got it from a guy that used to keep Bobby Riggs broke; I won't give his name even though he's dead. His nickname was, "The Fat Man." He was a champion golf hustler. He was not the pool player/hustler, Minnesota Fats.
In the 60s, the lifetime proposition- hustler and con man, Bobby Riggs, had an interest in an unrelated business venture in Ft Lauderdale back then. I was hanging out at the Miscue Lounge in Ft. Lauderdale with pool and golf hustlers, and other assorted thieves that knew and associated with Bobby. That group included the Fat Man.
The Fat Man said Lamar Hunt paid Bobby off to toss the match. Lamar was the backer of the Women’s Tennis Association which took off like a rocket after Bobby lost. If anyone recalls, after Bobby beat Margaret Court the first female champion he played, there was absolutely no buzz about it, but when he lost to Billy Jean, it got world-wide attention, and women's tennis came to life. Before that match, the women were playing for a hot dog and a coke. I wouldn’t have snitched that off, as it is an absolute violation of the “Hustler’s Code,” except many years have gone by and most of the constituents are dead.
Beard
The book is months away from publication. Periodically I will drop a few more morsels to 1pkt.org.
Bobby Riggs/Billy Jean King
Did he toss that match?
I got it from a near-unimpeachable source that the Bobby Riggs/Billy Jean King, celebrated Tennis match was a dump. I got it from a guy that used to keep Bobby Riggs broke; I won't give his name even though he's dead. His nickname was, "The Fat Man." He was a champion golf hustler. He was not the pool player/hustler, Minnesota Fats.
In the 60s, the lifetime proposition- hustler and con man, Bobby Riggs, had an interest in an unrelated business venture in Ft Lauderdale back then. I was hanging out at the Miscue Lounge in Ft. Lauderdale with pool and golf hustlers, and other assorted thieves that knew and associated with Bobby. That group included the Fat Man.
The Fat Man said Lamar Hunt paid Bobby off to toss the match. Lamar was the backer of the Women’s Tennis Association which took off like a rocket after Bobby lost. If anyone recalls, after Bobby beat Margaret Court the first female champion he played, there was absolutely no buzz about it, but when he lost to Billy Jean, it got world-wide attention, and women's tennis came to life. Before that match, the women were playing for a hot dog and a coke. I wouldn’t have snitched that off, as it is an absolute violation of the “Hustler’s Code,” except many years have gone by and most of the constituents are dead.
Beard
The book is months away from publication. Periodically I will drop a few more morsels to 1pkt.org.
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