One Pocket Hall of Fame

Annual Banquet at the Derby City Classic

Everyone knows that pool has always had two very different cultures of competition – the establishment culture of tournaments, wholesome recreation and industry endorsements on the one hand, and the after-hours culture of gambling and hustling on the other hand. It is the mission of the One Pocket Hall of Fame to honor and remember those great players and great games that represent the legacy of Pool in Action.

The One Pocket Hall of Fame presented this year’s Lifetime Pool in Action award to the legendary player, backer, and aficionado of action, Seattle Washington’s Harry Platis. Harry compared his success in law to his success at pool, and there is no question that he elevates the dignity of Pool in Action by his whole-hearted participation.

Click here for a gallery of photos from the

One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner

Left to right, Doug Corwin (Fats' nephew), Harry Platis, Teresa Bell (Fats' widow),

Jose Parica & Piggy Banks

This year’s class of inductees in the category of One Pocket, featured the well traveled professional player, Jose Parica, and posthumously, the outspoken legend of pool, Rudolf ‘Fats’ Wanderone, AKA ‘Minnesota Fats’, who was represented by his nephew Doug Corwin and his widow, Teresa Bell. Our Bank Pool inductee this year was the aptly named Glenn ‘Piggy Banks’ Rogers, from Chicago, Illinois.

Krenzel upends Parica to win the One-Handed event

One-handed One Pocket made its return to the Derby City Classic after an absence of several years, and Jose Parica was on hand to defend his title against a field of 27 players. However, when the sun rose the next morning, it was Dave Krenzel that prevailed against Mr. Parica, as the final match wrapped up around 8 AM -- just in time for the table cleaning crew. There was $1500 added to this extra challenging discipline, $1000 by Greg Sullivan (who also played in the event) and $500 by OnePocket.org.

Click here for a gallery of photos of this event

Frost Wins the Derby City One Pocket Title

Scott Frost prevailed over from Texas, Sylver Ochoa.With Reyes falling in the earlier money rounds, and Bustamante in the semifinals, it felt a little like a new generation of players in the finals. Frost was heavily favored by the standing room only crowd (including the balconies!), someone forgot to tell Ochoa as he battled Frost ball for ball and game for game to push the match to hill-hill. After the breaking player had lost the first four games of the finals, Ochoa recovered from nearly scratching on the final break as he went on to build a four to minus one lead on Frost, and got the balls all pushed up table. However, Scott found a loose ball to bank and he managed to sneak back in to the game, eventually taking a 7-4 lead.

It's Back to Back Banks Titles for John Brumback

It seems that once John Brumback found the winning groove for his first Banks title at Derby City, he has become unstoppable, as he cruised through a field of 353 Banks aficionados to claim the 2010 title undefeated. Like last year, he had to beat one of the Filipino players in the finals, but this time it was Reyes that fell to the steady play of the reigning Kentuckian Banks champion.

Click here for a gallery of Banks & One Pocket tournament photos

November, 2009

Michael Surber, 1955-2009

One of the top all-around players from Mississippi and beyond, 'Biloxi Mike' Surber, was found dead in his home earlier this week. Officials have ruled the cause of his death murder, and have named a "person of interest" in the case. Mike was a very popular player, and a top competitor on the national scene in both One Pocket and Bank Pool.

Click here for the OnePocket.org memorial page for Mike Surber

Surveillance camera view of the suspect in Mike Surber's murder

Mike competing at the Derby City Classic last year

Click here for MikeSurber.com

for more information on the ongoing investigation into Mike's death,

and how you can help

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