Tom Wirth Article by Steve Booth

What a joyful read for me! I am wishing Tom all the very best in Vegas. If anybody can get there, it's Tom. One Pocket always has been Tom's best game.

I got a kick out of reading about Walker Roach. What a name, but that was actually his real name. I remember that guy.

I thinks Roman Billiards may have been the pool room where Old Man Mickey the bookmaker worked. Old Man Mickey aka "Mr. Johnson," as he was called on the telephone in the pool room, used to book all the players sports' bets. When I worked at the pool room, someone would call and ask for Mr. Johnson, and I knew right away that itw as Old Man Mickey. About 12 years ago, Old Man Mickey passed away, and you should have seen the crowd at the funeral home for the wake. I learned then that he put his daughters in college, unbeknownst to them, with his gambling exploits. I'm sure Tom learned a few one-pocket tricks from Mickey along the way.

Randolph Hills Billiards was owned by a family that has a farm with a swimming pool for racehorses. Thoroughbred racehorse owners would bring their horses to this farm and exercise them for the big races. Of course, the track rats would gather at Randolph Hills each morning, hoping to get a tip on who's been swimming at the farm, so they could proceed to the track and make their bets.

There were some real characters in that pool room, ball room dancers, trickshot masters (Chester Morris), and a lot of scufflers and hustlers. We had a few players back then whose best game was one-pocket. There was Tom-Tom, who was probably the best, Geese, Bus Driver Ronnie, Elevator Larry (can't remember his last name), and Strawberry, just to name a few. Tom-Tom, as he was known, was always a force to be reckoned with.

Well, OnePocket.org could not have chosen a better representative for the upcoming tournament. Win or lose, Tom Wirth will make us proud!

Good luck Tom! And congratulations! If all goes well, maybe you can go hill hill in the final and shoot the billiard from the Alex Shannon thread to win the tournament

gulfportdoc said:

Reading about Tom was very enjoyable, and Steve did a nice job as usual on the write-up. I hadn't realized Tom had come up through the Greater D.C. system. I enjoyed reading JAM's comments as well.

Tom, you must have known our old friend Mike Surber from the Weenie Beenie days. As you know, Mike was murdered here in the Biloxi area Nov. '09, and his murderer has never been caught. Mike told me a few stories about Weenie Beenie's, and how he spent as many hours a day as he could hanging out there and learning to play. I believe he said that he worked there for awhile.

During the 60's I lived in Cincinnati, then L.A., so I never did get to see Jack & Jill's. Did you ever play Mike, or have any stories about him?

Cheers~ Doc

Click to expand...

Good question Doc, and I am embarrassed I did not ask Tom

Mike Surber was one of my favorite players.

One thing I do know from talking to Mike himself, not only was he influenced by Beenie in pool, it was Beenie that first got Mike steered into casino employment. Mike was a huge favorite of Beenie's! The last time I saw Beenie at Derby City, after I interviewed him, he was off to sweat Mike's match!!

great write up steve
fir those who may not know you can find the interview on the home page
http://www.onepocket.org/index.html
jam
maybe you could retell the story i read at azb about how you met tom (to refresh your memory the team game at the pool hall)
to tom
good luck at the open
do your best
may the rolls be with you

Hey Tom wishing you a great time in LasVegas. Enjoy it and Good Luck.Your Billiard Buddy,FastEddieF.

lll said:

great write up steve
fir those who may not know you can find the interview on the home page
http://www.onepocket.org/index.html
jam
maybe you could retell the story i read at azb about how you met tom (to refresh your memory the team game at the pool hall)
to tom
good luck at the open
do your best
may the rolls be with you

Click to expand...

Oh, sure. Here's a cute story how I met Tom-Tom.

I was a regular bar table player at a one-table tavern in my area called Hank Dietle's. It's still there, believe it or not, in Rockville, Maryland. We had regulars at Dietle's. We were like family. We had Cardiac Corner where the old folk congregated each morning as soon as Dietle's opened up. We had the bar people, who used to drink draft beer and put it on their tab. Dietle's only sells beer and wine. Then we had the pool people, which I was a part of.

It is where I first got into pool full-time, and I mean full-time. In the beginning, I couldn't run two balls in a row. At night time, Dietle's was packed, and instead of putting quarters on the table for who's next, they had a list that ran about 20 names. Eventually, the people decided to play partners to shorten the list. We played for a couple bucks each, nothing big.

Well, one night, my name is next. I asked who wanted to be my partner, and everybody already had their pool partner, somebody who could actually play. They knew I couldn't shoot a lick. It felt like the last guy that gets picked to be on somebody's baseball team. Nobody wanted me as a partner.

There was a stranger in the bar this night, though, and he saw me struggling. He asked me if I wanted him to be my partner. I'm thinking, man, it's $2 apiece, and I don't even know this cat. I said, "You know we're playing for money, right?" like $2 would dissuade him. Much to my surprise, he said, "Okay. Let's do it."

Well, this stranger in the bar was Tom-Tom, and he was probably one of the best one-pocket players in Maryland at that time, but I had no idea who he was. Best of all, though, neither did anybody else in the bar. Ka-ching!

We proceed to win, win, win, and I made almost 20 bucks shooting with Tom-Tom. I was in heaven. Of course, later on after I got to know him, I found out who he was. It was Tom-Tom who introduced me to Geese at the pool room. That's when my pool journey started, I guess. Going on the road with Geese is an experience I will never forget. May he rest in peace.

Here's a photo of the inside of Dietle's. We did everything togethere there, had a pool league, softball team, even played music.

Here's the outside of Dietle's. Even though we were located in affluent Montgomery County, Maryland, this place was like an old-fashioned tavern. Their motto was "Surliness and flies, no charge."

Jam
thanks for sharing the story and pics

JAM said:

Here's the outside of Dietle's. Even though we were located in affluent Montgomery County, Maryland, this place was like an old-fashioned tavern. Their motto was "Surliness and flies, no charge."

Click to expand...

My kind of joint.

Beard

gulfportdoc said:

Reading about Tom was very enjoyable, and Steve did a nice job as usual on the write-up. I hadn't realized Tom had come up through the Greater D.C. system. I enjoyed reading JAM's comments as well.

Tom, you must have known our old friend Mike Surber from the Weenie Beenie days. As you know, Mike was murdered here in the Biloxi area Nov. '09, and his murderer has never been caught. Mike told me a few stories about Weenie Beenie's, and how he spent as many hours a day as he could hanging out there and learning to play. I believe he said that he worked there for awhile.

During the 60's I lived in Cincinnati, then L.A., so I never did get to see Jack & Jill's. Did you ever play Mike, or have any stories about him?

Cheers~ Doc

Click to expand...

Doc,
It was a horrible thing what happened to Mike. And the fact that no one has been held accountable for his murder makes it that much worse. I don't remember meeting Mike at Jack & Jill but that isn't all that surprising seeing that I didn't start going down there until after 1972. I think the room closed shortly after '75 or '76. He may have been working for Beenie in Atlantic City by the time I started going there.

I did meet Mike for the first time at a tournament in N.C., what was the town's name? Greenville or something like that. I remember having a short conversation with Mike and his friend while standing out in front of the pool room. I think his friend's name was Greg. Does that sound right? Both really nice people and very friendly. I think we probably both played in other One Pocket events over the years like Grady's Legend's tournament in Baton Rouge or his event in Columbia S.C. So we played in a few of the same tournaments but I never had the pleasure of playing him. It's too bad, I would have enjoyed that.

Tom

PS I have a few interesting stories about Jack & Jill's if any of you would like to hear them.

gulfportdoc said:

You might be referring to the 2005 Carolinas Open 1P, where Mike finished second to Gabe Owen. Mike's road pal at the time was Glen K.

And, yes, I for one would love to hear some stories about Jack & Jills!

Thanks~

Doc

Click to expand...

Here is one of the experiences I have from attending as a spectator one of the major tournaments held at Jack & Jill's Cue Club during the early '70s. I was far too green and new to the game to even remotely consider myself a viable contender in any contest which featured such greats and Ed Kelly, Luther Lassiter, Weenie Beenie, and a host of others. Such wild dreams were a long way off. But as a student of the game I could hardly be kept away.

From the street you would enter the Cue Club though a glass doorway that was never locked, descend a flight of steps, make a right turn, and enter through a second glass door. To the right was a raised counter where the house man dispensed the racks of balls, assigned tables to customers, and collected the rental fees. A little further along the same wall was a lunch counter as my poor memory recalls.

When first entering the club the first sight was of a sprawling sea of pool tables. Back in the seventies let me tell you, it was one impressive sight to see. I don't think there were any bigger pool rooms in the country at that time. Centered in the back of the room was an alcove which opened up into a room with two '9 foot tables. I don't remember if they were Gold Crowns or Gandy tables. That pool room had both. I seem to remember they were Gold Crowns. Someone reading this story may remember that detail better than I.

These two tables sat side by side with tiered Bleachers on three sides. This room was dark with the only lighting that which illuminated the beds of the two tables which were used for the final matches of the annual U.S. Open events and much of the after hours action matches which happened on a regular basis at Jack & Jill's. This remote, confined room projected something somber, something final, and serious on the senses of all who approached. At least that was the sensation which was impressed upon me. The tables in this room were to me like altars to the gods of pool. And the bleachers housed its congregation who bowed and paid homage to the champions who bared their souls in competition.

I was one of many parishioner of this holy temple. I was young and fairly new to pool. I had only been playing the game for about five years and just beginning to show signs that I might become a force in the game I chose to devote most of my conscious hours. One Pocket was it. The greatest game ever invented and as far as I was concerned. Man was I hooked, and as you may suspect, I still am.

This one night I wanted to arrive much earlier than my usual 1am or 2am arrival time. I wanted to watch a few of the tournament 9ball matches which were being played in the back room. I was late. Very late. The final match of the evening had concluded hours ago and the stands were empty except for two or three folks catching up on some much needed sleep. No one was playing pool on either of these two tables. However, I saw Steve Cook and Larry Lisciotti talking quietly in a corner of the room and by all appearances they were matching up to play some pool.

They had decided to play straight pool 125 points for $200 a game. I'm sure I was a tad disappointed they had not settled on a session of One Hole but watching these two greats and being the pool fanatic that is was, I was happy to pull up a ringside seat and watch them duke it out.

Most all of you who frequent this site know Steve Cook could play any pool game, and play it great. But for some reason he never seemed to get his due respect with the overall pool playing public. Maybe he liked it that way, I don't know. Steve was underrated by a lot of people. Maybe it was that baby face of his but Steve Cook was one of the greats. A true professional was Steve Cook.

He owned Larry in this first game. It didn't take long for Steve to gain a sizable lead and he eventually reached the point in the game where he needed but three or four balls for the win. I remember the shot like it happened yesterday.

It is funny how some things which you witness but once stick in your mind while other things which you see time and again become vague recollections. Steve's cue ball was frozen on the side rail and his key ball was also frozen along the same rail very near the first diamond close to the foot of the table. The only other ball on the table was in ideal position for a break shot to the same corner pocket.

Steve did not hesitate. He got down on the shot and stroked the ball smoothly in the hole just as he had done with 120 some balls previous to this one and drew the cue ball cleanly back for the break ball. The cue ball inched up the side cushion reaching a point near the side pocket and appeared to stop at a perfect location where he would have access to its center while stroking the shaft through the gap of the side pocket. The ball hung there as though floating in space. The ball appeared to be moving, infinitely slowly toward the abyss, finally and inexplicably after a second or two, it dropped in the side. No one in the stands could believe it. I couldn't believe it, and most of all neither Steve Cook nor Larry Lisciotti could believe it. After all, this was one of the tournament tables at the Jack & Jill Cue Club. This should not happen, but it did.

Larry, jumped from his chair. Life renewed, energy flowing through his veins he was instantly transformed into another player. Steve, head down, supported only by his chest shuffled like an old man to his chair.

Larry was fearless and confident that no matter what, he knew he was destined to win. His stroke was a joy to watch. He was one smooth player.
With a rhythm Gulfportdoc would be proud of and needing a ball count in the seventies, Larry proceeded to run the game out making it all look so easy.

Steve was obviously stunned. Who could blame him. The gods were cruel beyond measure. To his credit Steve, (if you look at it one way) played a second game. He wanted to find the will to overcome the adversity he suffered in that first game but he just wasn't up to it and Larry won easily. Just enough of the fight was gone from Steve after this wicked twist of fate to seal the deal in the second game. Maybe he too had a sense of destiny and lost his belief that on this day he could win.

Tom

I hope you enjoyed.

thanks for the story tom

Good story Tom -- talk about a tough angle to scratch!

You have reminded me that I was also at the Carolina's Open tournament in 2005, and I have photos


Glenn Kelly and Mike Surber out front

And Tom Wirth

What a great thread, if I do say so myself!

Love the cool pool stories, Tom, and how neat is that to see the photos of the tournament with Mike Surber.

Great read. Thanks to all!

Great story Tom. I was there many nights.Thanks FastEddieF.

Thanks for the great story, Tom. The writing was first class.

JAM said:

Oh, sure. Here's a cute story how I met Tom-Tom.

I was a regular bar table player at a one-table tavern in my area called Hank Dietle's. It's still there, believe it or not, in Rockville, Maryland. We had regulars at Dietle's. We were like family. We had Cardiac Corner where the old folk congregated each morning as soon as Dietle's opened up. We had the bar people, who used to drink draft beer and put it on their tab. Dietle's only sells beer and wine. Then we had the pool people, which I was a part of.

It is where I first got into pool full-time, and I mean full-time. In the beginning, I couldn't run two balls in a row. At night time, Dietle's was packed, and instead of putting quarters on the table for who's next, they had a list that ran about 20 names. Eventually, the people decided to play partners to shorten the list. We played for a couple bucks each, nothing big.

Well, one night, my name is next. I asked who wanted to be my partner, and everybody already had their pool partner, somebody who could actually play. They knew I couldn't shoot a lick. It felt like the last guy that gets picked to be on somebody's baseball team. Nobody wanted me as a partner.

There was a stranger in the bar this night, though, and he saw me struggling. He asked me if I wanted him to be my partner. I'm thinking, man, it's $2 apiece, and I don't even know this cat. I said, "You know we're playing for money, right?" like $2 would dissuade him. Much to my surprise, he said, "Okay. Let's do it."

Well, this stranger in the bar was Tom-Tom, and he was probably one of the best one-pocket players in Maryland at that time, but I had no idea who he was. Best of all, though, neither did anybody else in the bar. Ka-ching!

We proceed to win, win, win, and I made almost 20 bucks shooting with Tom-Tom. I was in heaven. Of course, later on after I got to know him, I found out who he was. It was Tom-Tom who introduced me to Geese at the pool room. That's when my pool journey started, I guess. Going on the road with Geese is an experience I will never forget. May he rest in peace.

Here's a photo of the inside of Dietle's. We did everything togethere there, had a pool league, softball team, even played music.

Click to expand...

Yep, it's where we go....