Harry Platis is a name synonymous with pool action over the last thirty years, yet at the same time, he is a successful lawyer – not your everyday combination. Yet as Harry describes it, his vocation in law is not unrelated to his avocation in pool. As a successful Seattle lawyer, most of his practice […]
Banks champion John Brumback was born November 9, 1963, and grew up in the small town of Owenton, KY. It was a small town, but still had its own small poolroom. Furthermore, Owenton was within 60 miles of the Bank Pool Mecca’s of Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati. When John was only about 6 years old, […]
Born in Elizabeth, NJ, in November, 1951, Allen Hopkins was one of those child prodigies that surface now and then in pool – even carrying the moniker “Young Hoppe” for a while — except unlike many of the flash and burn careers of other young talents, Hopkins proved to have staying power. Growing up first […]
Diana Hoppe photo Congratulations to our new Hall of Fame inductees! The One Pocket Hall of Fame is pleased to announce this year’s class of inductees in the categories of One Pocket, Bank Pool and Lifetime Pool in Action. This year we have two One Pocket inductees, the well travelled professional player, Jose Parica, and […]
Photo courtesy Jimmy Spears The Lifetime Pool in Action honor this year goes to action legend, Jimmy ‘Flyboy’ Spears. Over his long career as player, Flyboy has been known as a determined competitor with a reputation for skills, extraordinary stamina and an eagerness to gamble, making him one of the best high stakes players of […]
Piggy banking out at the Derby City Classic 2010 Glenn ‘Piggy Banks’ Rogers was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago, near the Bulls stadium. As a teenager, he had a good shoe shine business going, and when Glenn discovered pool, but was still too young to play in the poolroom, he convinced […]
Artist’s rendering courtesy Ray Desell Players that knew ‘Fats’, especially those that knew him during his prime years before he took on the Minnesota Fats moniker, generally describe Fats as a very good player, but still a ball or two below the best. This is the way Eddie Taylor described it in an interview with […]
Like many child prodigies at pool, Jose got an early start because his father owned two poolrooms – one in his own hometown and another in downtown Manila. And his father was a good player, so Jose got to watch many of the best local players as they came in to challenge his father. By […]
Jack & Barbara Cooney & Jimmy ‘Flyboy’ Spears Congratulations to our new Hall of Fame inductees! There was a heck of a party inside the Horseshoe Southern Indiana Tuesday night, despite the worst ice storm in recent memory that paralyzed the region outside. The late legendary player Marvin Henderson and living legends of action Jack […]
A young Jimmy Reid in action at Johnston City Photo courtesy Kenneth Cook ‘Hippie’ Jimmy Reid was born 8-23-46 and as a youngster grew up in Gloucester, MA – an old New England fishing port and an unlikely town for a top pool player. However, Boston and the Olympia Billiard Room, better known as The […]
Tony Fargo competing in the one-handed One Pocket mini at Derby City in 2006 A modern master of traditional full rack Banks, Tony ‘Fargo’ Ferguson topped our 2008 Bank Pool vote. Tony grew up in the heart of Banks country but it was a road trip to Southern California that was his main introduction to […]
Born in 1934 in West Virginia, Marvin Henderson moved as a child to the hill district of Pittsburgh, where an early job shining shoes just down the hill at ‘Woogie’ Harris’s Crystal Barbershop gave Marvin his first glimpse into the enticing world of pool action. It was a classic barbershop in the front with a […]