A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words #2

One Pocket Ghost

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May 25, 2004
Messages
9,715
From
Ghosttown
Rodan said:
______________________________________________________________

Sorry, Ghost. I’m not a Floridian. My story is, I am a total pool enthusiast,
especially for one-pocket, but I’m a lifetime B player because I never paid my
dues by working hard enough to develop any skill.

However, I have been fantastically lucky in that during 40 years of working
at temp design jobs I got to hang out and sweat the action in pool rooms all
over the country after work and on weekends. I got to see the great ones
pass through and match up.

A lot of rooms I visited were while just passing through, like Bakers in Tampa.
I hung out for longer periods at Grady’s place in Colorado Springs, the Cue
Club, Crystal Palace and Cue-Topia in Las Vegas, Rusty’s in Dallas, Woody’s in
Arlington TX, California Billiards in San Jose, Hard Times in Bellflower, Edgies in
Milpitas CA, and at Dr. Cue’s and later The Golden Fleece in Kenmore WA.

I owned a pool room in Springfield Oregon from 2000 to 2003. You can see
an outtake from my TV ad at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwHsUe1BPiU

That’s Sheldon Lebow the cuemaker, on the far left in the opening scene.

I have many, many stories of things I have witnessed during those years,
and I will post some of them if people are interested. They are not really
about 1-P or any specific pool game, they are about pool players.

Best regards to all denizens of the pool, especially One-Pocket, world.

John E. Ardans a/k/a Springfield Slim a/k/a Rodan.

Whidbey Island, WA

_______________________________________________________________


Welcome aboard John...

Yep, you were very fortunate to have a job that let you travel around all those years and hang out at lots of the great old action rooms - I'm jealous....:)

- Ghost
 

usblues

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Oct 1, 2007
Messages
1,328
From
St Paul,Mn
picture

picture

Hey Rod,is there any way you could email me this picture so I can keep it in my computer.A good friend of mine is on it and I would sure like to have it as I dont have many of him,thanks alot,Bob
 

androd

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Dec 10, 2008
Messages
7,718
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New Braunfels tx.
usblues said:
Hey Rod,is there any way you could email me this picture so I can keep it in my computer.A good friend of mine is on it and I would sure like to have it as I dont have many of him,thanks alot,Bob

Only if you provide me with an e-mail address. Pm me if you wish to keep it private.
Rod.
PS Or e-mail me androd0105@comcast.net
 
Last edited:

gulfportdoc

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Jun 25, 2004
Messages
12,654
From
Gulfport, Mississippi
vapros said:
Jim Brock in the picture - looks like Jerry Brock. Does anyone know?
I don't think that's Jerry. Jerry is 64. That picture is probably at least 25 years old, so Jerry would have been 40 then. That guy looks older...

Doc
 

RedCard

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Jun 30, 2008
Messages
584
Tonk/Grand&Olive

Tonk/Grand&Olive

lll said:
whats the tonk??

Card game. Knock rummy. Easy, fast game. Five cards, draw and discard, 'knock' or 'tonk' if you think you have the low hand, if you 'tonk' and lose you pay double. The fun of the game increases in proportion to the amount bet on each hand.

More detailed explanation at 11:10pm yesterday by someone else.

I haven't seen the Grand & Olive poolroom in St. Louis mentioned here. I was there in the early 70s and actually went back to take some pictures of it in the mid 70s and it was closed by then. It was upstairs near the intersection of, surprisingly, Grand & Olive. Had an etched glass front door. Deli downstairs. Old B&W pictures of players all around the perimeter of the room. Many tables, not sure how many. Three old timey looking light fixtures over each table. Guy in red vest uniform keeping the balls shined.

Just haven't seen it mentioned. Maybe it wasn't as impressive as it seemed to me at the time.
 

SJDinPHX

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Dec 7, 2007
Messages
9,226
One Pocket Ghost said:
mosconiac....I forgive you, and your welcome..:)...and as CaliRed already said, I'm the peckerwood standing up in the middle there, with my weapon in my hand...:D

- Ghost

You mean the one who is NOT gambling...:D :D :D

I am shocked..!!
 

wincardona

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Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
SJDinPHX said:
Neat pics Ghosty, always enjoy them, because many are from my hiatus...Re; the Earl/Efren photo, I would bet that was Louie Roberts...I would also bet that was a young Cole Dixon, right behind Earl's right shoulder.
That is not Cole nor Louie in the picture, two unknown people, not players.
 

wincardona

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Aug 7, 2007
Messages
7,693
From
Dallas Tx.
Rodan said:
Here's one from Caesar's South Lake Tahoe in about 1982.
It was scanned from a 35mm slide. Twenty-year old Earl
was there (Not in this pic). He had to stay in the practice
room because he was not allowed into the casino. He
placed well, and he came back the following year to win
the championship.

Lotta familiar faces there.

Rodan.
Looks like Jim Brock next to Bollman.
 

SJDinPHX

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wincardona said:
That is not Cole nor Louie in the picture, two unknown people, not players.

You are planting seeds of doubt Bill..(I didn't say I'd bet much) Upon further study, the hair may be piled a little too high for it to be Louie. And I don't think Cole would have looked that young, at that time...You have to admit, theres a stong resemblance to both though.
 

fred bentivegna

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Feb 2, 2005
Messages
6,690
From
chicago illinois
Grand and Olive

Grand and Olive

RedCard said:
Card game. Knock rummy. Easy, fast game. Five cards, draw and discard, 'knock' or 'tonk' if you think you have the low hand, if you 'tonk' and lose you pay double. The fun of the game increases in proportion to the amount bet on each hand.

More detailed explanation at 11:10pm yesterday by someone else.

I haven't seen the Grand & Olive poolroom in St. Louis mentioned here. I was there in the early 70s and actually went back to take some pictures of it in the mid 70s and it was closed by then. It was upstairs near the intersection of, surprisingly, Grand & Olive. Had an etched glass front door. Deli downstairs. Old B&W pictures of players all around the perimeter of the room. Many tables, not sure how many. Three old timey looking light fixtures over each table. Guy in red vest uniform keeping the balls shined.

Just haven't seen it mentioned. Maybe it wasn't as impressive as it seemed to me at the time.

I played in a 3 cushion tournament there many years ago. (Yes I could play 3 cush) It was my kind of room. Elegant and old fashioned. All well kept antique Brunswick tables. And I do remember the Deli downstairs. Real good eating spot. I would give anything to play in a room like that again.
That was what great billiard rooms used to look like.

Beard
 

mr3cushion

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Sep 17, 2008
Messages
7,617
From
Cocoa Beach, FL
fred bentivegna said:
I played in a 3 cushion tournament there many years ago. (Yes I could play 3 cush) It was my kind of room. Elegant and old fashioned. All well kept antique Brunswick tables. And I do remember the Deli downstairs. Real good eating spot. I would give anything to play in a room like that again.
That was what great billiard rooms used to look like.

Beard

Freddy; Grand and Olive was a GREAT old style billiard room, reminiscent of the old downtown Bensinger's. You're right very well kept old Brunswick's. Bud Harris won a U.S. Open 3 cushion tourny there in about 1965.

The Deli you're are refering to was called Garidelli's, they had excelent hand carved ham off the bone, turkey, and fantastic rare roast beef, meat loaf to die for, also steins of beer the size of a half gallon jug!
They just don't make memories like that any more!

Bill Smith "Mr3Cushion"
 
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