Watching last night's 1p match reminded me of a conversation had with JJ killing time as we watched what seemed like never ending white lines pass down the highway 4 or 5 years ago. One of the great perks of the job was being able to listen to great players express their thoughts on the game in an unedited personal setting. After seeing alot of players getting beat nearly to death with questions about shots, strategies, players of yester year, and other pool related subjects nearly everyday at tourneys and spots I would try to give them a break from pool and not mention it unless brought up by them. Jeremy brought up his mentor Jersey Red. As we chuckled about one liners once said by Jack and what a character he was Jeremy began to unleash some one pocket gems taught to him by Jersey Red. He said Jack had five main rules or principals he tried to follow every shot. Not like the typical move balls uptable when ahead, leave em on the rail kind of stuff but more advanced. One of the five rules was when moving a ball(s) to your hole or protecting a ball in your hole always leave them pinned to the center diamond of the top rail because that angle produces the most double kisses and awkward removal scenarios. JJ then confided that he really didnt remember Jacks 5 in-depth rules of the game or shot. Would love some input if anyone else knew Jack, his rules, and his approach to the game. Thanks
Jersey Red and forgotten gems of 1p past???
- Thread starter J SCHWARZ
- Start date
Island Drive
Verified Member
Only thing I remember about the man, was seeing em at Janscos in the late 60's. His wife was always beside him for his matches and she always took his cue stick out of the case and hand warmed it up before match play in the pit. Extremely outgoing man/character....when I saw em each yr. till the raid by the Treasury Dept. Don't remember if he was there, but do remember the Treasury people all seemed to have women with em, blending into the crowd probably as husband/wife set ups.
lll
Verified Member
I don’t know his other rules but thank you for sharing that one.
I met Jersey in 1969 around the time of the LA Open 14.1 events hosted by Fred Whelan. Jersey spent about 3 months in the LA Area and of course he was a very funny man. I played him a couple of times cheap for $10/game getting 8/6 and never won. The one takeaway was that he was the first player of that era who used an open bridge almost entirely. I had never seen that before and I asked him about that. He told me he could see the cueball better. He only closed his bridge when using power draws. This was in the time of felt not Simonis cloth. The next time I saw that unusual bridge style was when Efren came to the states some 15 years later. Now it's commonplace to see the open bridge by many players. I watched him play RA many times getting either 9/8 or 8/7 and he gave Ronnie all he could handle. Lastly, Jersey loved to play the horses and kept himself broke most of the time. I never saw him in the poolroom in the daytime, at least not until the 9th race was over. Like most pool players of that time, win at pool donate to the horses..........
cincy_kid
Verified Member
Thanks for the post, I would also like to hear those rules 
Island Drive
Verified Member
J.J. would have what you seek. He like Varner were both groomed by great men at their disciplines.Thanks for the post, I would also like to hear those rules
cincy_kid
Verified Member
who was Varner's mentor? Hal Mix?
Island Drive
Verified Member
Yeah, but Hubert Cokes/Daddy Warbucks... took em under wing in the sixties at Janscos.
NH Steve
Administrator
Varner was in college not too far from where Cokes lived, and Cokes took him under his wing -- particularly relating to One Pocket and action I would venture. Nick I believe was a two time national collegiate champion.
gulfportdoc
Verified Member
I recall Freddie B. talking about Varner's time in Chicago playing Artie. He stayed for several days and was losing big. Varner's dad told it was time to vamoose because he couldn't ever beat Artie. Varner said, "I can't leave. I'm learning too much!"
Bob Jewett
Verified Member
I think that Hal met Nick long after Nick learned to play. I think Hal was more of a coach and road partner.
TxOnePocket
Verified Member
Love these types of threads/topics, the breakdown after the fact was great Larry, thank you.
gulfportdoc
Verified Member
You're right, Bob. I went up to Salem, OR in the early '90s to take a lesson from Hal, and that's what he told me. He also worked with Tinsley Johnson. Remember him?
NH Steve
Administrator
This story illustrates something about how we humans learn, and it definitely applies to One Pocket. Basically our minds only absorb what they are ready to absorb. More advanced teaching is much less likely to stick if we are not "there" yet in our own learning curve. It is very tough to save a nugget that you don't yet see the value to. It's human nature.
That said, those of us that have Eddie Robin's books and we got them as neophytes, probably ought to revisit them lol!!!
I happily was around when Red was still playing. Luckily we have Accu-Stats have in their library tapes of Jack playing. The one thing he said has stuck with me is when he said-"Never, ever, give up". That has guided me through everything I have encountered.
Last nite JJ and Josh Roberts were commentating it was just as interesting as the semi final game between Justin Hall and Orcollo. Some profound thoughts came out especially when JJ talked about the complexity of the game and the variations of shot one has to learn about the game. It was amusing to hear when they both had different opinions about a particular shot. Josh, still a young man, was passionate in his ideas while JJ being the elder kept countering in his Yoda like way. You could hear him say-"You think so, my little Jedi?".
Later when Alex and JJ teamed up Alex showed JJ the complete reverential respect saying JJ was one of the smartest guys in the game and the hardest to fight when you were down to the last ball. He ended by saying, "At least Busty and I think so!". As if to say well If we think so, it must be so. And who could argue?!
They also talked about learning the game and how Dennis is still learning. That one could learn 8 ball and 9 ball in a few years and win tournaments but in one pocket it might take decades because of the different shots and situations.
These discussions are so valuable and thank Ray Hansen for giving us in this modern age the ability to preserve and listen to these words of wisdom. The discussions are just as interesting as the game itself to one pocket enthusiasts.
Last nite JJ and Josh Roberts were commentating it was just as interesting as the semi final game between Justin Hall and Orcollo. Some profound thoughts came out especially when JJ talked about the complexity of the game and the variations of shot one has to learn about the game. It was amusing to hear when they both had different opinions about a particular shot. Josh, still a young man, was passionate in his ideas while JJ being the elder kept countering in his Yoda like way. You could hear him say-"You think so, my little Jedi?".
Later when Alex and JJ teamed up Alex showed JJ the complete reverential respect saying JJ was one of the smartest guys in the game and the hardest to fight when you were down to the last ball. He ended by saying, "At least Busty and I think so!". As if to say well If we think so, it must be so. And who could argue?!
They also talked about learning the game and how Dennis is still learning. That one could learn 8 ball and 9 ball in a few years and win tournaments but in one pocket it might take decades because of the different shots and situations.
These discussions are so valuable and thank Ray Hansen for giving us in this modern age the ability to preserve and listen to these words of wisdom. The discussions are just as interesting as the game itself to one pocket enthusiasts.
gulfportdoc
Verified Member
Last time I saw him --20+ years ago-- he had cut his long ZZTop beard off, but he still had red hair...