New upcoming Beard book

fred bentivegna

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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.
 
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mr3cushion

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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 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.

Freddy; Looks like a WINNER so far!

I knew the Marty Stanovich, AKA, "The Fat Man". Around the early 80's, I took a kid who was at one time the Junior Golf Champion of Chicago, you know who he is. We were playing Pete Seiana and his millionaire backer from Indiana. Every Wed. and Sun. we would pay, "Dubsdred", Cog Hill #4. We started out playing, $20.00 a point "Scotch Game", by the 15th. hole we're betting a $100.00 a point, not bad action!

The Fat Man used to hang out there on a regular basis, GREAT golf hustler. I put him in at the same level as "Titanic", super sharp! A few times we had the fortunate timing to have his foursome playing in front of us, now that I think about it, I'm not too sure it was coincidental. When he won BIG money, he would always buy the bar in the clubhouse a round, class act!

Once again Freddy, keep up the great work with all the info you supply the viewers on this forum!

Bill Smith “Mr3Cushion”
http://mr3cushion.com
 

Cowboy Dennis

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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.

Freddy,

Put me 1st on your list for the book when it comes out:).

I remember the Riggs/King match and how big it was at the time. Here's a little info from Wickipedia.
Wickipedia said:
Part spectacle, part sociological phenomenon, the match nevertheless struck a nerve around the country. People who had no interest in tennis were suddenly talking about this match, voicing their opinions, taking sides and placing bets. For a nation weary of the Vietnam War and the ordeal of Watergate being played out on television, the match offered a perfect distraction. It was a bloodless brawl, a cathartic release from the real-life conflicts that had been tearing at the nation--the war in Vietnam, the race riots, the assassinations of the Reverend Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, student protests, growing poverty and the decay of the nation's inner cities, inflation, and rising unemployment. While the issue of womens' rights was serious enough, the real reason the match took off was that Riggs came along at a time when the country desperately needed some comic relief. What Riggs said was often outrageous, even despicable, but as villains went, he was remarkably benign-particularly given the real-life villains being paraded before the nation during the televised Watergate hearings at the time. In his overblown pronouncements, Riggs made it clear his chauvinist shtick was just that, a put-on. He wouldn't know Gloria Steinem, wrote Grace Lichtenstein, if "she tap-danced across his chest in spiked heels." Moreover, King knew it, as did everybody else.[7]

Here's a bit of info on whether or not Riggs did a little beesnus, which had always been rumored.
Wickipedia said:
Legacy

There was also widespread speculation that Riggs had purposely lost, in order to win large sums of money that he had bet against himself.[citation needed] As Kramer writes, however, "Billie Jean beat him fair and square. A lot of men — especially around our age — were so stunned when he lost that they figured he must have tanked. Budge is convinced of that. But what motive would Riggs have for that? Bobby Riggs, the biggest ham in the world, gets his greatest audience — and purposefully looks bad? There's no way. If he had beaten Billie Jean, he could have kept the act going indefinitely. Next they would have had him play Chrissy on clay." The match against King was for $100,000 "winner take all". If Riggs had won, the next match against Evert would have a purse of $1,000,000 "winner take all." Given Riggs's ego and the national attention, it is highly doubtful that he would have intentionally lost to King, especially in straight sets. Selena Roberts claims in her book documenting the match, A Necessary Spectacle, that Riggs later undertook a public lie detector test to prove he did not throw the match.[12]

There's always more than meets the eye where money is involved.

Dennis
 

fred bentivegna

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Freddy,

Put me 1st on your list for the book when it comes out:).

I remember the Riggs/King match and how big it was at the time. Here's a little info from Wickipedia.


Here's a bit of info on whether or not Riggs did a little beesnus, which had always been rumored.


There's always more than meets the eye where money is involved.

Dennis

You are on the list.

I still have to go with the opinion of the triple-dipple sharp, Fat Man. If Fats and the Fat Man were locked in a room I wouldnt know who to bet on that would leave the room with all the money. Riggs was double sharp and the Fat Man still kept him broke; as he did all the great pro golfers that dared play him for money.

The price of the winner's purse, 100k, was popcorn next to the millions that instantly were availed to the Womens Pro Tennis League, and the deep pockets of Lamar Hunt.

Beard

Incidentally, is the Fat Man another of those guys that I dont know but DuckBrain does?:lol It is amazing all the people that I dont know. They could fill a book. Matter of fact they are going to fill a book!:)
 

wgcp

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long beach, mississippi
New Book

New Book

don't know whether to "Bite" for one, or to pay for one...LOL but either way put me on the first edition list...Your other two were to good to pass up this one...

B
 

Jimmy B

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You are on the list.

I still have to go with the opinion of the triple-dipple sharp, Fat Man. If Fats and the Fat Man were locked in a room I wouldnt know who to bet on that would leave the room with all the money. Riggs was double sharp and the Fat Man still kept him broke; as he did all the great pro golfers that dared play him for money.

The price of the winner's purse, 100k, was popcorn next to the millions that instantly were availed to the Womens Pro Tennis League, and the deep pockets of Lamar Hunt.

Beard

Incidentally, is the Fat Man another of those guys that I dont know but DuckBrain does?:lol It is amazing all the people that I dont know. They could fill a book. Matter of fact they are going to fill a book!:)




I never thought Billie Jean was in on it. She was playing for blood. I also heard Riggs was also totally exhausted from the pretty girls who were throwing themselves at him for many days leading up to the match. He was doing one after another and couldn't get enough is what I heard. I would like several first edition copies also. I guess they won't be out for Christmas, no??
 

SJDinPHX

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Here is a little snippet of my upcoming book, The Encyclopedia of Pool Hustlers. The hustlers will be cataloged alphabetically.

Really looking forward to it Freddy...I'm sure it will be a winner..:) :) :)

Your Old Pal, Super Head-Dick :p :p :p

PS..When you tell MY colorful "Pool Life" story...Would you mind using the "D" for my name, when you are alphabetizing ?..If you use the "S" (as in SJD), it is too far down the alphabet, and I'm afraid my 'fan club' will get bored before they come to ME !..Thanks a lot..:) :) :)
 

fred bentivegna

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Really looking forward to it Freddy...I'm sure it will be a winner..:) :) :)

Your Old Pal, Super Head-Dick :p :p :p

PS..When you tell MY colorful "Pool Life" story...Would you mind using the "D" for my name, when you are alphabetizing ?..If you use the "S" (as in SJD), it is too far down the alphabet, and I'm afraid my 'fan club' will get bored before they come to ME !..Thanks a lot..:) :) :)

Since you and I have no shared experiences, whatever Bio appears -- under "S," will have to be self-provided by you -- or somebody else.
The list will not really be comprehensive because I am going to limit it to those I knew and knew much about.

Beard
 

Cowboy Dennis

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I never thought Billie Jean was in on it. She was playing for blood. I also heard Riggs was also totally exhausted from the pretty girls who were throwing themselves at him for many days leading up to the match. He was doing one after another and couldn't get enough is what I heard. I would like several first edition copies also. I guess they won't be out for Christmas, no??

B.J. King was definitely NOT in on it. Riggs was 55 yrs. old and many middle-aged men couldn't believe that a woman had beaten a man, so they started many rumors of a dump by Riggs. If you read up on it you'll see that King hit many shots that a younger man could have returned but Riggs simply couldn't get to, hence the "pretty girls" theory.

No matter, Riggs was an excellent showman & hustler and he probably brought women's tennis to the forefront single handedly. There's no doubt that Riggs was a fan of women's tennis & helped it out quite a bit.

Partially due to Riggs, the women now, unfortunately, make the same money as the men. You've got to admit though, the women are mostly easy on the eyes.

Dennis
 

SJDinPHX

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Since you and I have no shared experiences, whatever Bio appears -- under "S," will have to be self-provided by you -- or somebody else.
The list will not really be comprehensive because I am going to limit it to those I knew and knew much about.

Beard

Wow, so then is it gonna be kinda like the Encyclopedia Brittanica Volumes, that I bought for my kids, (years ago, before 'google')
...Every time I thought I was through paying for them, they'd come out with a new stinking volume..:(

What about our cordial "SHARED EXPERIENCES" here on the forum..Surely that would fill an exciting volume, or 2, wouldn't it ? :confused:

SuperDuck<--Will be crushed if he, and his amazing 'legacy' is not included, as will his tens of thousands of "adoring fans".(think of all that lost revenue, Fred)..:eek:

PS..Please DO NOT tell me you will be including the Gh:eek:astess and Dennis :frus..I know you've known them for years, but are you
going to dilute the quality of content, by including every 'MEDIOCRE' B player you ever ran across ? :confused:..Besides, their fan base only consists of four people...HIM, RIVA, (sp) RBL and SPIKE ! (his cat)..:lol :lol :lol..(of the 4, Spike MAY buy a copy)..Please..use your head, Fred..:rolleyes:
 
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fred bentivegna

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I never thought Billie Jean was in on it. She was playing for blood. I also heard Riggs was also totally exhausted from the pretty girls who were throwing themselves at him for many days leading up to the match. He was doing one after another and couldn't get enough is what I heard. I would like several first edition copies also. I guess they won't be out for Christmas, no??

If it really was a dump a sharp hustler like Riggs would insist that Billy Jean not be brought in on it. He would know from experience oftentimes the "catcher"* in the dump gets so nervous that they play badly and can’t take it off. ‘Better that they think it's on the square and then hopefully, play their regular game.
Example: when Brooklyn Pancho dumped music mogul, Phil Specter, in LA at Specter's house, to Marvin Henderson for 5k. Marvin fell completely helpless, and the score of the straight pool game wound up 125 to 124! Pancho in a misguided attempt to make it “look good,” ran 56 balls off of the break, completely unnerved Marvin, and he couldn't make a ball from there. Jimmy Caan was there sweating the game. Marvin played so badly, and Pancho had to miss so many balls in order to lose, and the match looked so bad; it is nothing short of a miracle that Pancho got out of there with his life. One of Specter's bodyguards was a very bad, ex-mob guy from New York who had spent plenty of time in pool rooms.

Beard
 
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fred bentivegna

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Wow, so then is it gonna be kinda like the Encyclopedia Brittanica Volumes, that I bought for my kids, (years ago, before 'google')
...Every time I thought I was through paying for them, they'd come out with a new stinking volume..:(

What about our cordial "SHARED EXPERIENCES" here on the forum..Surely that would fill an exciting volume, or 2, wouldn't it ? :confused:

SuperDuck<--Will be crushed if he, and his amazing 'legacy' is not included, as will his tens of thousands of "adoring fans".(think of all that lost revenue, Fred)..:eek:

PS..Please DO NOT tell me you will be including the Gh:eek:astess and Dennis :frus..I know you've known them for years, but are you
going to dilute the quality of content, by including every 'MEDIOCRE' B player you ever ran across ? :confused:..Besides, their fan base only consists of four people...HIM, RIVA, (sp) RBL and SPIKE ! (his cat)..:lol :lol :lol..(of the 4, Spike MAY buy a copy)..Please..use your head, Fred..:rolleyes:


There will probably be a 15 or 20 yr cutoff for players I knew. This will be for memorabilia fans only. New players will have to be chronicled by somebody else.

Beard
 

fred bentivegna

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Snippet # 2

Snippet # 2

Boston Shorty, Larry Johnson
Boston
I had the good fortune to spend time with Shorty for about a year, when he lived in Chicago and hung out at Bensingers. I think it was the late 70s. I really respected him as a player, and he and I didn’t gamble much. We played a few games of banks. But that didn’t last long, as great a shooter as he was, he was bank helpless.
He didn’t get much pool action in Chicago. He was older by then, and he didn’t have much hustle left in him. He was getting taken care of, and lived with, Al Fuss, a medium speed 3-cushion player.
Shorty lost a five day, One-pocket challenge match to Artie Bodendorfer, but immediately afterwards he beat Bugs Rucker in a big money match. He was getting a ball, 8 to 7 from Bugs.
In his time at Bensingers, Shorty played mostly 3- cushion. He brutally tortured our best player at the time, Luis Compos, for a solid week in another five day match. When it was over, Compos needed oxygen and a week at a rest home. Luis, who was very stoic, and known for never uttering a peep while playing, finally exploded on the last day of the match. Shorty had been playing a suffocating safety game for the whole five days, and it finally got to Luis. After another free-shot, and subsequent safety executed perfectly by the Short Man, Luis started screaming, referring to the final resting place of the cue ball. "It's always here!” (Pointing to the cue ball frozen to the cushion, with the other two balls ten feet away) “Here! Never here!” (Pointing to an imaginary place a few inches off of the cushion) No one had ever seen Luis crack like that before.

Beard

PS I am not worried about releasing too much before actual publication. I have tons more on Shorty and the others.
 

SJDinPHX

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There will probably be a 15 or 20 yr cutoff for players I knew. This will be for memorabilia fans only. New players will have to be chronicled by somebody else.

Beard

Am I to take that as a NO ?..Thats all my fans have, is memorabilia and memories..:cool:
 

fred bentivegna

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Am I to take that as a NO ?..Thats all my fans have, is memorabilia and memories..:cool:

Let me reiterate. As a courtesy to the forum people and your multitude (sic) of fans, I would include your contribution if:

"Since you and I have no shared experiences, whatever Bio appears -- under "S," will have to be self-provided by you -- or somebody else."

Doesn't anybody wuv you enough to chronicle you? Fast Lenny? If Fast Lenny does it, tell him to leave Frankie the dog out of it. Since she is a doxie, the dog can have her own spot.

Beard
 
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