South Florida, Ghost, Toby Sweet, etc.

One Pocket Ghost

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I'm moving these posts out of respect for Peter's thread...


So its October, Holloween month and as you would expect The Ghost appears. Good to see you back. Also sorry for the highjack but its the Ghost's fault.

welcome back Ghost!

Wish I could play in these Peter, would love to play!

Added to the events calendar


Hey what's up, brothers Chris and Keith....I'm not back though - just visiting.
 
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One Pocket Ghost

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Apologies Peter for the slight-hijack, but seeing Hollywood, Fla. posted just gave me a flashback...

The last time I was in Hollywood, Fla. (playing One Pocket of course) was 18 years ago......I stopped into Gold Crown Billiards to look for/talk to Toby Sweet <<< that's a name from the past - not everybody knows what a great player Toby was...

Then I went to the action room Hollywood Billiards and wound up playing "Hollywood Randy" some One Pocket (I didn't know him at all at the time but later found out that he was a strong playing shortstop, and somewhat of a tushhog).......he won the first three games, then I won the next three to get back to even - he didn't at all like me getting back to even after he was up 3 games, he muttered some obscenities :eek: and quit the session...:lol...

I spent the next 3 months traveling through Fla. from bottom to top/east coast & west coast/Miami to Talahassee, playing One Pocket - it was a fun time.

- Ghost
...........


You hit the nail on the head.

Toby was the one who suggested playing to 6 balls to speed up the game. 9-ball player mentality. But it was a great idea, and so I adopted it as an express mode to speed up matches that go over the allotted time.

Hollywood Billiards closed down in 2012, and Gold Crown just last year.

When it comes to pool, South Florida is a snake pit. Worst place in the country.
 

One Pocket Ghost

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Bruce,

Isn't it funny how small the pool world actually is, and even when we don't actually make a connection we have narrow misses.

I lived in the Pompano Beach area for about 25 yrs and was there in 2000 when you traveled through. I know who Toby Sweet was, saw him play a little. He was legendary in South Florida. He also had a little room in Hollywood for a while.

I played at that time at Q-stix in Pompano and at Hustlers in Margate, and a little at Hollywood Billiards. Played a lot of Golf on snooker and golf tables in the area.

Sorry we never ran into each other, I would'a loved to introduce you to Golf. :heh:heh (not at one pocket) :lol


Darrell, our pool world is even smaller than you thought = when I was down in that area, where I was staying was Pompano Beach - and I played several times at Q-stix..:eek:...

I remember at Q-stix back then cuemaker/fishing captain Bob Manzino was hanging in there, and an old guy with a real nice Balabushka was playing there...

As for you introducing me to golf - not hardly = I was playing golf regularly 30 yrs. before that :cool: back in the late 60's at the Golden 8Ball in downtown Chicago.

- Ghost
 

darmoose

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Darrell, our pool world is even smaller than you thought = when I was down in that area, where I was staying was Pompano Beach - and I played several times at Q-stix..:eek:...

I remember at Q-stix back then cuemaker/fishing captain Bob Manzino was hanging in there, and an old guy with a real nice Balabushka was playing there...

As for you introducing me to golf - not hardly = I was playing golf regularly 30 yrs. before that :cool: back in the late 60's at the Golden 8Ball in downtown Chicago.

- Ghost

Bruce,

That is amazing, I'll bet I was in Q-stix at least 5-6 days a week at that time, they had a nice 6x12 snooker table near the front of the room and we had a regular group of 15-20 guys who fought to get in that game.

You musta met Nick and Silver, the owners (both mob types) very nice guys.

Bob Manzino was a pretty good friend back then. I still have the first cue he made for me in 1995, one of his first 4 or 5 cues ever made. Used to go to his little shop off Dixie hwy and drink beer and watch him make that cue. Bob is a fantastic cue maker today.

You must have run into Melrose at that time I would think. He was all around there too.

Too bad we never ran into each other then. Did you get to play anybody in there?
 
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oldschool1478

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I was raised in the Hollywood Fla area and went to McArthur High School (class of 66), which is 1/4 mile west of the place where OneRock's original post announced the tournament.

None of the places from those high school days are around anymore. I met Toby Sweet when I rented a dock behind his apartment on the Intercoastal Waterway at Hollywood Beach. He owned the place in downtown Hollywood then. He gave me a few pointers and even tolerated a few 'just for fun' games when no one was looking.

I last talked to Toby a few months ago by phone. He said he is living full time in NY State now and rarely plays pool anymore. He has taken up oil painting as a hobby.:confused:
 
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One Pocket Ghost

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Bruce,

That is amazing, I'll bet I was in Q-stix at least 5-6 days a week at that time, they had a nice 6x12 snooker table near the front of the room and we had a regular group of 15-20 guys who fought to get in that game.

You musta met Nick and Silver, the owners (both mob types) very nice guys.

Bob Manzino was a pretty good friend back then. I still have the first cue he made for me in 1995, one of his first 4 or 5 cues ever made. Used to go to his little shop off Dixie hwy and drink beer and watch him make that cue. Bob is a fantastic cue maker today.

You must have run into Melrose at that time I would think. He was all around there too.

Too bad we never ran into each other then. Did you get to play anybody in there?


Darrell...yeah, too bad we didn't meet back then....I didn't have much luck getting a One Pocket game at Cue-Stix - the only game I remember getting was with a young 20-something yr. old kid who's name, iirc, was Tim...

The one decent score that I made was from playing the owner of the roadhouse/bar/poolroom in Oakland park, which I believe was on the NE corner of Oakland park blvd & Dixie hwy - do you know that place? - I don't remember the name of it....the owner was real good action - wouldn't quit til he was about 12 games loser...

I was also hanging a little at Bill Maloney's room in Wilton Manors - I was playing some 3cushion there - Bill was a real nice guy......also Ming Ng was hanging around there at that time and I taught her a little One Pocket - naturally I was hitting on her a little bit also...:heh...:)

- Ghost

PS, I did run into, and play some of the local good players, Mario Cruz, etc. - but I never saw the hacker.
 
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darmoose

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Darrell...yeah, too bad we didn't meet back then....I didn't have much luck getting a One Pocket game at Cue-Stix - the only game I remember getting was with a young 20-something yr. old kid who's name, iirc, was Tim...

The one decent score that I made was from playing the owner of the roadhouse/bar/poolroom in Oakland park, which I believe was on the NE corner of Oakland park blvd & Dixie hwy - do you know that place? - I don't remember the name of it....the owner was real good action - wouldn't quit til he was about 12 games loser...

I was also hanging a little at Bill Maloney's room in Wilton Manors - I was playing some 3cushion there - Bill was a real nice guy......also Ming Ng was hanging around there at that time and I taught her a little One Pocket - naturally I was hitting on her a little bit also...:heh...:)

- Ghost

PS, I did run into, and play some of the local good players, Mario Cruz, etc. - but I never saw the hacker.

Bruce,

Ha, I knew Bill Maloney also and played golf on a snooker table he had for a wile in Wilton Manors. That place turned into a gay bar and pool room.

I don't know the bar at oakland and Dixie. There was a bar/poolroom call Side Pockets on Federal Hwy somewhere around Oakland.

Dick Weaver had a place in Coconut Creek around that time also, did you know Dick. He played on the pro circuit for quite a while. He and I grew up together at Stardust Bowling Alley in Hammond, Indiana in the 60's & 70's. I know he played around the Chicago rooms in the 70's.

Melrose was a fairly top player around Broward County then, he was big (read fat), loud, and had a big beaufont hairdo, kinda like he is now, I guess.:lol:lol
 

One Pocket Ghost

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Bruce,

Ha, I knew Bill Maloney also and played golf on a snooker table he had for a wile in Wilton Manors. That place turned into a gay bar and pool room.

I don't know the bar at oakland and Dixie. There was a bar/poolroom call Side Pockets on Federal Hwy somewhere around Oakland.

Dick Weaver had a place in Coconut Creek around that time also, did you know Dick. He played on the pro circuit for quite a while. He and I grew up together at Stardust Bowling Alley in Hammond, Indiana in the 60's & 70's. I know he played around the Chicago rooms in the 70's.

Melrose was a fairly top player around Broward County then, he was big (read fat), loud, and had a big beaufont hairdo, kinda like he is now, I guess.:lol:lol

Yeah Darrell, I know Dick...he and I played an 8 hour session of One Pocket about 20 years ago at Chris's - we came out even...

I stopped in his Fla. room on that trip, but he was out of town...his room was called Sticks & Stones.
 

mr3cushion

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Yeah Darrell, I know Dick...he and I played an 8 hour session of One Pocket about 20 years ago at Chris's - we came out even...

I stopped in his Fla. room on that trip, but he was out of town...his room was called Sticks & Stones.

Weaver's room was in in Lake Worth, It was called, 'sticks & stones.' GREAT room with the pit for all the tables, 6'x12' snooker first table to the left.
 
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