Connecticut Johnny
Connecticut Johnny
johnny vives won the first jansco tournament.
calired was wondering that maybe some of the other players didnt want the publicity for winning the 1p
can any of you share some stories about him???
where he stands among the best players over his playing carreer??
Firstly, the idea that the contestants in the 1st Johnston City event were stalling is absurd. That tourn generated next to zero publicity around the country. It was an event only known to hard core hustlers. The publicity it received from Sports Illustrated and the Tom Fox article is the reason the tourn took off after that.
Johnny Vives as SJD remarked was a heroin junkie. And his career was a short one.
Vives story from one of my books:
Eugene "Cincinnati Clem" Metz might have been the toughest safety player of them all. Jersey Red told the story of when Clem was playing "Connecticut Johnny" Vives (winner of the first Johnston City One-Pocket tournament). Clem and Vives had been playing for many hours. Vives had been on a starvation shot-diet, getting nothing good to shoot at during the whole session. Clem was squeezing him like a python.
Finally, Vives spots Clem looking up-table at a long bank shot. It looked like Clem was finally going to leave Vives far away, but at least leave a shot toward Johnny's pocket.
Vives nudged Jersey Red as if to say, "Lookie here, Clem is going to finally loosen up and give me a shot at my hole." Vives's hopes were soon dashed when Clem shot up-table at the long bank and drew the cue ball back into the stack!
I went to Vives home pool room in Connecticut around 1970 with Sugar Shack. We were actually looking for Sailor Barge, but wound up in Johnny's room. I looked to play anybody
something back then, and tried to make a game with Vives. I started practicing on the 5 x 10 they had in there. Hoping that he would think I didnt even know the difference. I asked him to play even bank pool, or for him to give me 9 to 8 playing 1 pkt. on the big table. As was the case with most of my ventures into the North East, no one would play a stranger -- that looked like he might be able to play, he didnt even consider my offer.
Beard
.