yobagua - Topics of the conversation
yobagua - Topics of the conversation
As I remember - (I ain't getting any younger) - The topics went from "Bust Out Joints" - to - Greatest Games Played - to - Greatest Games Seen - to - Greatest Players Playing (at that time) - to - Johnston City Stories - to - Personal History Stories. Many times as I think about different Subjects or Players, A recalled story will pop into my head from that dinner conversation. As I said, I was there hustling and it was at the time Buddy was The King Of Nine-Ball. Buddy and I have always been friends since Our Johnston City days as we are only about 8 months apart in age. We were kind of the Young Punks of those days - around Johnston City, I remember Buddy, A player named Fat Eric & myself, kinda hanging around. I'll never forget a tourney match between the previous years winner (Al Cosloskey) & myself. Buddy was kinda in my corner and at one time he says to me, "Tom, Do you realize that you have 9 cigarettes going? I was Soooo nervous, I dogged my brains out. I had just got a map of the Carolina's from Eddie Burton detailing who, when & where to play. It was only 3 weeks later I left St. Louis to hustle and my first stop was Paducah, KY - I got in touch with Buddy because he had told me to call him if I got into the area as he had a score for me. He told me of the score and when I took it off it was about 3am. I wouldn't leave town without giving Buddy his end but I didn't want to sleep in Paducah so I call him to meet for coffee and we sit and talk. He tells me that he had just met (@ Johnston City) a Backer from Flagstaff, AZ who wanted him to come out west and stake him in Phoenix & Denver. Buddy didn't have a car or much cash and I remember being pretty impressed with his playing even though we were supposed to play about alike or maybe him playing the last 2 better than me at most. Now I had a new Buick Wildcat and a $3,000 bankroll so I tell Buddy "There ain't no reason why I can't go west instead of east and if he wants to - we can leave in the morning and head west. I agreed to give him 50% of that nights score instead of the agreed 20% because I had won pretty much more than either one of us anticipated. Later in life, I realized that was my Strong Suit. Buddy & I take off "WEST"! As far as I know, this was Buddy's FIRST real ROAD TRIP where you just head in a direction and HUSTLE as you go. Our first real playing stop was "Gringo's Lounge" in Tulsa. We beat a few locals the first night and the owner asked us to return the next afternoon as he has a player who would be there to give us a good game. When we go back, I see who it is but say nothing to Buddy. He doesn’t know him. In the back of my mind, I'm thinking - If Buddy knows who this is, he might be too nervous. He (Buddy) had played very good the night before and I figure - Why not "Take A Shot" with half the winnings and see what happens with Buddy Playing The Currently Recognized Best Bar Box Player Of That Time -THE one and only "ONE-EYED-TONY". Buddy hit a gear that I had never seen. He didn't just fall "In Stroke" - He hit a different level of playing that he or I had never seen before. He was in such a state of mind & concentration that he didn't even realize how good he was playing. I'LL NEVER FORGET IT!
He continued to give Tony all he wanted for 2 or three more days and we headed west for our next stop (Okla. City) with a lot more $$$ to manage than before.
I'm pretty sure that Buddy later became good friends with that Gringo's Lounge Owner and they made some good $$$.
Do you see what has just happened here? I started out telling about a dinner conversation w/ Jersey Red & Eddie Taylor and go off into another story about something all together different. My wife says "This Ain't Good"
I'm now tired of typing and will get back to the "Dinner Story" - Later.
) a couple of days ago, and all I can say is, any of you who really know him up close and personal are so lucky! What a gift to the pool world he has been, and what a great person, too.