February 6, 2013

Ronnie 'Fast Eddie' Allen Dies

July 12, 1938 - February 6, 2013

One Pocket legend Ronnie Allen was originally from Oklahoma, and it was there he first developed the makings of a great pool player. In his teens Ronnie found his way to California, where he discovered the very active pool scenes in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He won the very first tournament he ever entered, Cochran's One Pocket tournament of 1962, which included a veritable who's who of early One Pocket.

As a tournament player, Ronnie won major One Pocket events over three decades:
   Cochran's One Pocket tournament in 1962
   Johnston City One Pocket division in 1970
   Red's Open One Pocket in1984

Ronnie also won the 9-Ball division at the Jansco's 1966 Stardust tournament, which qualified him for the finals, and indeed he went on to capture the all-around title for that year. Surprisingly, his clinching win for the all-around title came over Cicero Murphy at the game of Straight Pool, thus proving that Ronnie was one of the top all-around players of his day.

As an after hours player, Ronnie was the dominant One Pocket player for nearly twenty years, from the mid 60's to the mid 80's. His flamboyant style at the table was as popular with the spectators as it was overwhelming to his opponents. During those peak years, it took a rare player to face Ronnie even; nearly everyone could get a ball or two -- or more.

Ronnie also developed a very strong one-handed technique. Many players who hesitated to step to the table with him in normal fashion were enticed to take him on, their two hands to his one, only to find he shot nearly as well one-handed!

Credited with inventing ‘power One Pocket', Ronnie was famous for his creative shots that aggressively moved several balls at once away from his opponent's pocket and towards his own. His entertaining and exciting style of play came as quite a contrast to the conservative style employed by most of the top One Pocket players when Ronnie first burst on to the One Pocket scene. His exciting style has inspired many of our younger generation of players, which has made the game itself more entertaining for countless fans.

Ronnie was elected into the One Pocket Hall of Fame in 2004 for his outstanding contribution to the legacy of the game of One Pocket.

December 9, 2012

One Pocket Hall of Fame

Class of 2012 Inductees Announced

The nomination and voting process is now complete for our incoming class of One Pocket Hall of Fame inductees. OnePocket.org is pleased to announce that Shannon Daulton has been elected both for One Pocket and Bank Pool this year. He joins an elite small group of players that are represented both in the Bank Pool and One Pocket divisions of our Hall of Fame, and is the first to be elected to both in the same year. Shannon also becomes our youngest player ever inducted -- a fitting honor, since no player before or since has ever come to dominate the game of One Pocket at such an early age as Shannon did, beginning as a teenager. Congratulations to Shannon Daulton!

We are also proud to announce that the late champion Larry Price will be our second inductee in the discipline of Bank Pool this year. Larry was a two-time winner of the Derby City Classic Banks division.

April 18, 2012

Grady 'The Professor' Mathews Dies

January 3, 1943 - April 18, 2012

Grady Frederick Mathews III was born January 3, 1943 in San Antonio, TX and passed away on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. He was a son of the late Grady F. Mathews, Jr. and Sammie Lois Lynch Mathews. Grady is survived by his daughter, Marie Cram (Thomas); son, Grady Frederick Mathews, IV; grandson, Thomas Cram, Jr.; brothers, Steve Mathews and Vince Mathews; sisters, Karen Taylor and Terry Gary.

They called him ‘The Professor’, but they could just as aptly have called him Mr. One Pocket. It is hard to imagine a model for contributing more to the game of One Pocket than exhibited over the career of Grady Mathews; he has truly been an ambassador to the game.

When Grady was a teenager his family moved to San Mateo, California, just about 25 miles outside of the pool Mecca of San Francisco. Grady was a good natural athlete, but once he got started with pool, that is where he turned his attention. He proved to be an adept student of pool, especially the game of One Pocket, honing his skills at fabled Cochran’s in San Francisco ...

Click here to read the rest of our

Tribute to Grady Mathews

January, 2012

2012 Derby City Classic

Not since Mark Tadd at the Los Angeles Open in 1993 has a player so dominated a major all-around tournament like Shane Van Boening did this year at the 14th annual Derby City Classic. It took the straight shooting young man from Canada, John Morra, two tries to defeat Van Boening in the Banks finals, thus preventing what would have been a sweep for Van Boening, as he went on to win both the One Pocket and 9-Ball divisions.

Morra had entered the final Banks round with his "buy-back" still available, whereas Shane had suffered a loss in an earlier round. Shane prevailed in the first final match, but was finally dispatched by Morra in the second final match. Third place went to Brandon Shuff and 4th to John Brumback.

It only got better for Van Boening in the One Pocket division, as he navigated his way through a field of 312 players to sweep his way to the top prize. Not that it was easy, nor was it just his superior fire-power that carried him. He survived one match with veteran Chicago player Ike Runnels that included a single two hour game in which Shane clawed out a win after falling way behind.

Obviously, Van Boening also came away with the Master of the Table bonus. It was a great week for Van Boening overall, who took home $33,000 in purses and an extra $20,00 for the Master of the Table bonus.

Click here for many more photos from Derby City

October, 2011

Johnston City

50th Anniversary of Jansco Brothers First Tournament 1961-2011

October 25th, 1961 the world of pool in America woke up to a remarkable new kind of tournament that shook the pool establishment out of a deep slumber. It was an unusual event on several fronts; one being the unlikely location for a major national pool tournament, deep in rural southern Illinois. Second, it was a game, One Pocket, not recognized by the established sanctioning body of pool in America at that time, the Billiard Congress of America. Third, the tournament boldly featured a number of known hustler pool players who had not participated in the few sanctioned events of the mid-century -- whether by their own choice, or because they were not invited due to their reputations. And finally, the promoter was a total newcomer to pool tournament promotions, a fellow who had his roots more in the gambling side of pool than the establishment side of pool, the remarkable George Jansco. So who were the Jansco Brothers, and what made them think a small town in southern Illinois could become the “Billiard Capitol of the World”?

Click here for more of the story about the Jansco's legendary Johnston City tournaments

Banking with the Beard

by Freddy Bentivegna

Freddy 'the Beard' Bentivegna has just published a unique new book on banking, entitled Banking with the Beard, Secrets of a Master Banker.  Chicago has for years been host to a culture of big action Bank Pool, home to legends such as 'Bugs' Rucker, Glenn 'Piggy Banks' Rogers, and of course, 'The Beard'.

Click here for our complete review