‘Champagne Eddie’ Kelly was born May 17th, 1938 in Waterbury, Connecticut, and it was in Waterbury that he first began to wander into the local poolroom. He found a natural calling for the game, which led him to start a little hustling by the time he was fourteen. After a stint in the Marine Corps, […]
One Pocket legend Steve Cook died in his sleep at his home in Lima, Ohio at the age of 56. Under the tutelage of Junior ‘Lefty’ Goff he took to One Pocket as a young man, surprising the field with his 1970 Stardust victory. His boyish looks belied his fierce competitive talent, earning him the […]
Marshall Carpenter was born in February, 1928 in the same Alabama town of Tuscaloosa in which he still lives. He started going in to the poolrooms as a kid selling peanuts, which led to his nickname, ‘The Tuscaloosa Squirrel’. Gambling was deeply ingrained in that part of the South at the time, and Squirrel quickly […]
Billy ‘Cornbread Red’ Burge grew up in the small town of Fulton, which straddles the border between Kentucky and Tennessee in the rural South. Later, for many years he made his home base The Rack, just outside Detroit, Michigan. Formally known as the Capital Billiards Club, The Rack became a mecca for pool’s road players […]
Arthur Bodendorfer came to America from Austria with his family when he was just eight years old. His father was a concentration camp survivor, which no doubt sharpened Artie’s own instincts for survival. As a teenager he worked for the carnival in a ‘flat store’ – a type of game that was fixed. It was […]
Gentleman One Pocket legend Bill ‘Weenie Beenie’ Staton grew up in the Washington, DC area. Although he came to pool at the relatively late age of 23, Bill was one of the early stalwarts of Johnston City. In fact, he was one of a handful of players that used to gather at George Jansco’s in […]
A native of the Philipines, Efren Reyes first introduced himself to the US pool scene by showing up for the 1985 Red’ s 9-Ball, an imposing field of many of the best players of the time, which he blitzed through under the temporary pseudonym Cesar Morales. Not yet acquainted with One Pocket, Reyes was conspicuously […]
Born January 3, 1943 in San Antonio, Texas. After moving frequently during his childhood, Grady’s family came to California in the late ’50’s. It was there that Grady discovered his aptitude for pool. Early on, Grady proved to be an adept student of the game of One Pocket, honing his skills at fabled Cochran’s in […]
Shorty is one of the few players ever to win world titles at both pocket and three cushion billiards, which is one reason he was honored with election into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1999. * As a tournament player, Shorty won more of the Jansco Brother’s One Pocket events than […]
Danny is originally from Buffalo, NY, where he honed his skills playing mostly Straight Pool and 9-Ball. He didn’t really become acquainted with One Pocket until his arrival at Johnston City in 1964. However, he showed a quick understanding of the game, and soon found it very well-suited to his strong all-around skills and intelligent […]
Originally from just New Jersey, Jack Breit came of age as a player during the heyday of the famed poolrooms of New York City. He was a top notch Straight Pool player as well, but One Pocket was the game that really showcased his creative talent, as he brought every trick in his arsenal to […]
Ronnie, “Fast Eddie” Allen, originally from Oklahoma, 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 […]