Bellflower Ca. circa 1971

Island Drive

Verified Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
5,192
From
florence, colorado
One thing Brian Hashimoto told me years ago in So. Ca. When he went out on the road and got in a match that he liked but lost, he would always wait awhile till his game got back in place. Then, he'd immediately fly to the spot and double the bet and you all know the rest of the story. He was a great business man/match maker and never seemed to get outta line. Don't know if he ever played Ether in those days, but if he/they did, it was probably where no one knew the outcome. Maybe Hendy can jump in here. 76-81
 

baby huey

Verified Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
1,950
As his road partner for many years, he always liked the match up. In the late seventies he played Hopkins with a ball in one pocket and beat him pretty bad. Same for Mizerak getting the last two in Steve's own room. The bet did not bother him and those of us who were lucky enough to see him play tough matches were treated to excellance. Nick Varner never beat him playing nine ball for the cash and those matches were fun to watch. Lastly, in the early seventies, he was getting the seven from Billy Johnson and losing. After a year he was beating Billy even up. His game just surged from 71' to 72'.
 

jrhendy

Verified Member
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
5,717
From
Placerville, CA
One thing Brian Hashimoto told me years ago in So. Ca. When he went out on the road and got in a match that he liked but lost, he would always wait awhile till his game got back in place. Then, he'd immediately fly to the spot and double the bet and you all know the rest of the story. He was a great business man/match maker and never seemed to get outta line. Don't know if he ever played Ether in those days, but if he/they did, it was probably where no one knew the outcome. Maybe Hendy can jump in here. 76-81

I never saw them play each other, although I matched up on the wrong end with both of them. I used to whine a bit when Brian beat me giving me what I though were games I had the best of it. Then Brian would say ‘But John, I let you write checks’.
 

boingo

Verified Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2012
Messages
311
From
San Jose, CA
I apologize for hijacking this thread, it wasn't intentional. This thread is about a particular pool room at a particular time. I've edited my original post to delete my anecdote because it was at a different place and time. I was thinking about how sometimes you do get an amazing confluence of people at a certain place and time, Hawaiian Brian was mentioned and I got a little nostalgic. Carry on.
 
Last edited:

baby huey

Verified Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
1,950
John, your comment about Brian "but John I let you write checks" is classic Brian. Back when Hawaiian Jay was around LA and he used to be matched up in tough games and dogging it, Brian would sit and watch and then pull Jay over to the side and tell him to shoot the nine ball left handed. Jay could play a little both handed and Brian said that Jay didn't dog it left handed...........he just missed it left handed. Once on a road trip, we stopped in Vegas and blew 6K at the black jack table. Once we got past stateline on the way back to LA, I pulled over and gave him one thousand of the two thousand I rat holed from our trip. He made me turn around and go back so we could finish gambling.
 

jrhendy

Verified Member
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
5,717
From
Placerville, CA
John, your comment about Brian "but John I let you write checks" is classic Brian. Back when Hawaiian Jay was around LA and he used to be matched up in tough games and dogging it, Brian would sit and watch and then pull Jay over to the side and tell him to shoot the nine ball left handed. Jay could play a little both handed and Brian said that Jay didn't dog it left handed...........he just missed it left handed. Once on a road trip, we stopped in Vegas and blew 6K at the black jack table. Once we got past stateline on the way back to LA, I pulled over and gave him one thousand of the two thousand I rat holed from our trip. He made me turn around and go back so we could finish gambling.
 

jrhendy

Verified Member
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
5,717
From
Placerville, CA
I beat Brian playing nine ball at Five Points Bowl when he first came over here. Hawaiian Jay had already been here a while and warned me not to get too cocky, that once Brian settled in he would beat me. Jay was right of course, but I just really enjoyed playing Brian. I had him trapped playing three cushion once, but he was too smart to stick around very long.
 

Dennis "Whitey" Young

Verified Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
3,923
From
Klamath Falls, Or.
After Cole won the 6 day pay pool & $6500 in doing it, a guy came in and got the 6 from him, and he was from Hawaii but not native but white about 40. This is approx. '71. Cole could not transition to pool and lost, and also many were side betting. It was hard to watch, for me! I hated to see this happen to Cole after playing so great to win the money.
Anyone know who the guy from Hawaii could of been. Whitey
 

baby huey

Verified Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
1,950
The demise of the Bellflower room came around 1975 or so. Action rooms when there's action do well but need pasttime players to survive.
 

Island Drive

Verified Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
5,192
From
florence, colorado
seems owners an bring in action or rec. players rarely good enough to do both. most pool room owners tend to not be good business people in the first place. so they are starting out with one foot in the poor box.
rarely have i seen one whose source of income is his room with a nice car.
Adam Brostoski, Paramount Billards, Long Beach CA. His son was also the owner of the billiard tables that have been given as prizes for decades on Price is Right. Golden West. Adam and I were BEST of friends and almost opened a room together at the Traffic circle in Long Beach as you head south towards Huntington. His son was going to give us each table set up, for $800 a copy, but Adam was getting ready for Leisure/Seizure World in Orange County. I can see em now, chewin' on his cigar, and retipping house cues. He even had me do a promotional match 1978 with a friend of his, one of the old timers/HOF player Cowboy Jimmy Moore . I beat em so bad in 14.1, he told me to lay off in our 9 ball set. Adam told me back then, to never buy a car and pay cash, take payments for 6 mths THEN pay it off. He always had a new Caddy.
 

Frank Almanza

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
2,569
From
Upland, California
The name Hawaiian Jay brings back a nice memory. I had been out doing the bar thing until closing time. Wound up after hours in a match with Jay. The game was nine ball push-out seven ahead for $500. He was being staked. It was one of those days that nothing was going right for me. Every shot seem impossible.
After a few hours of play he was six ahead when his backer came over to tell Jay that he was going for breakfast. With him six ahead he hooked himself on the seven and pushed out for a bank. I decided to take the shot do or die. Well I made that bank, won that game and from that shot on everything that was so difficult before now was a piece of cake. I wound up winning the set very quickly.
His backer returned and saw us standing around so naturally figured the match was over and that he had won.
The look on his face was priceless when he found out that he lost. He was gone less then 45 minutes.
 
Top