One pocket pool
One Pocket Pool
One Pocket.org home About onepocket.org Learning the game Hall of fame marketplace a one pocket pool forum

Selection criteria for The One Pocket

Hall of Fame

1. Great Players who have demonstrated their excellence in tournament competition over time.

2. After Hours Legends who have demonstrated their excellence and their heart by matching up against the best of their time.

3. Teachers and Promoters who have had a lasting impact on the growth and popularity of the game.


NEW!!

HOF Photo Gallery

You can view photos and buy prints


You can help support our Hall of Fame

by making a donation

Any amount helps!

2016 One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner

I regret to announce that there will be no One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner this year. Basically we need a rebuilding year, following the back to back losses of Grady Mathews and Freddy the Beard. It's not just the obvious loss of our Master of Ceremonies. It is also the inestimable role those two played in helping vet candidates, develop back stories and assist with inside information and contacts -- all the background work that happens well ahead of the dinner. The third thing is we need is sufficient sponsorship help because I can no longer personally cover the financial risks of the dinner.

I will be at the Derby City Classic of course, and Thursday 6 PM (our scheduled dinner time slot this year) I would like to sit down with those who would like to be part of our team moving forward.

Thank you for all your support over the years and let's get ready for next year!!

Steve Booth

   

January 27, 2015

* 11th Annual *

2015 One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner

The 11th annual One Pocket HOF dinner featured a slideshow presentation remembering the late Freddy 'The Beard' Bentivegna, including a soundtrack featuring the song 'Banking with the Beard', written by Chicago musician and songwriter Dave Roberts. One of our very special guests this year was Freddy's daughter Catherine 'Cat' Bentivegna. Freddy's long time roommate and best friend John Bosnak provided some background stories to go along with some of the older photos of Freddy going back to his childhood and his army years.

There were no new player inductions this year for either One Pocket or Banks, however we did have one surprise Lifetime Pool in Action award, that indeed worked out to be a complete surprise -- Diamond Billiard Products founder and Derby City promoter, Greg Sullivan.

 

Click here for many more photos

 

Greg Sullivan

2015 Lifetime Pool in Action Honoree

along with special guest Marshall 'Squirrel' Carpenter


January 28, 2014

* 10th Annual *

2014 Hall of Fame Dinner

The 10th annual One Pocket HOF dinner featured the induction of Cliff Joyner for One Pocket, and Tony Coleman for Bank Pool. In addition, the late Hubert 'Daddy Warbucks' Cokes was inducted posthumously.

Cliff is recognized as one of the top players of his generation, with many One Pocket tournament victories from coast to coast. Of course, Cliff is known to get into plenty of action too. For Coleman, action was the name of the game. In fact, both Cliff Joyner and Tony Coleman are prior winners of Derby City's "Louie Roberts Award for Action/Entertainment".

Hubert Cokes was represented by fellow HOF'er Nick Varner, who was mentored by Cokes as a young man.

Click here for more photos

 

Inductees Tony Coleman & Cliff Joyner


January 29, 2013

2013 One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner

Celebrating the Legacy of Pool in Action

    

OnePocket.org is pleased to welcome Shannon Daulton into the One Pocket Hall of Fame, 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 ever to be elected to both categories 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!

The late champion Larry Price was a posthumous inductee in the discipline of Bank Pool this year. Larry was a two-time winner of the Derby City Classic Banks division. Larry died March 11, 2012, just a few months after participating in last year's Derby City Classic. Larry was represented at the Hall of Fame dinner by his long time friend, Joe Blackburn

 

Shannon Daulton flanked by Marge & his mom

Click here for many more photos from the 2013 HOF dinner


 

January 24th, 2012

2012 One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner

The class of 2011 inductees into the One Pocket Hall of Fame were feted by a big crowd at the annual HOF dinner held during a break in the Derby City Classic tournament at the Horseshoe Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana. The legendary champion Cecil 'Buddy' Hall was one of two great players inducted this year. Representing the west coast school of players, 'San Jose Dick' McMorran was also welcomed into the One Pocket Hall of Fame. McMorran was unable to attend, but he was represented by fellow west coast player John Henderson, who spoke on his behalf.

In the Bank Pool category, Nick Varner became one of just a handful of players to be honored for both One Pocket and Bank Pool.

Instead of a Lifetime Pool in Action award, this year we had a special living tribute to Grady Mathews.

Click here for a gallery of many more photos from this event


January 25th, 2011

Congratulations to the Class of 2010!

We had a great turnout at our 7th annual One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner, held Tuesday night during the 2011 Derby City Classic.

Our One Pocket inductee this year was the great all-around player, Allen Hopkins. Allen won Grady Mathews' very first Legends of One Pocket event in 1991; he was also one of the most feared after hours players of his time.

This year yet another Kentuckian banking legend, John Brumback, was our Banks inductee.

Click here for more about the 2011

One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner

Allen Hopkins, One Pocket HOF Inductee &

John Brumback, Banks HOF Inductee

One Pocket Hall of Fame

Hubert 'Daddy Warbucks' Cokes *

Bank Pool Hall of Fame

* Tony 'Banks' Coleman *
Nick Varner *

     

   Lifetime Pool in Action

  

Memorial Pages

A Roll Call of notable

One Pocket players

who have passed away recently

Earl Heisler
Peter 'Rabbit' Linhard
Gene Nagy
Bernard 'Bunny' Rogoff

January 26, 2010

2010 One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner

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 the outspoken legend of pool, the late Rudolf ‘Fats’ Wanderone, AKA ‘Minnesota Fats’. Our Banks inductee this year is the aptly named Glenn ‘Piggy Banks’ Rogers, from Chicago, Illinois.

Click here for more about the 2010 One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner 

   

Jose Parica

Jose Parica, our 2010 honoree for One Pocket

Jack & Barbara Cooney & Jimmy 'Flyboy' Spears

January 27th, 2009

2009 One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner

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 Cooney and Jimmy ‘Flyboy’ Spears were the featured honorees at the fifth annual One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner at the recently concluded 2009 Derby City Classic.

Fittingly, the banquet tables were eight of the Diamond tournament tables, fitted with custom made dining table conversion tops, and then dressed for the occasion by the Horseshoe catering staff.  Despite short-staffing caused by the ice storm, and tight time constraints due to the ongoing tournament need for those eight tables, the Diamond crew and hotel staff whipped the room into celebratory condition just in time for the 6pm social hour. Special thanks goes to Greg Sullivan, who personally shepherded this rapid transition. Despite the storm and the economy, there was a packed house once again for this highlight event in the world of pool action...

Click here for more of the 2009 Hall of Fame Dinner


January 8th, 2008

4th Annual Hall of Fame Dinner

 

It was another full house for the 2008 One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner held Tuesday night during the middle of the action at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. With special guests with names like Reyes, Varner, Bustamante and Corr, and veterans of the road like Di Liberto, LeBron and Rood, the room was chock full of veteran players and fans of pool action. This was truly an occasion of great players being honored by their peers. Like One Pocket inductee Billy Incardona said, “To be honored among all these great champions is really something special.”

Grady with One Pocket inductee Jimmy Fusco  

Click here for more of the 2008 Hall of Fame Dinner


January 9, 2007

3rd Annual

2007 Hall of Fame Dinner

It was somewhat of a family night as a full house gathered in Louisville for the third annual One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner held Tuesday during the Derby City Classic. With Strawberry's recent death, all three One Pocket inductions were posthumous, but aside from the elusive Hayden Lingo,

all were well represented by immediate family...

Click here for 4 pages of photos and highlights from our 2007 Dinner


January 10, 2006

Congratulations to our 2006 Hall of Fame inductees

One Pocket Inductees

* Artie Bodendorfer * Marshall 'Squirrel' Carpenter * Steve Cook * Ed 'Champagne Eddie' Kelly *

Bank Pool Inductees

* Freddy 'The Beard' Bentivegna * Truman Hogue * Leonard ‘Bugs’ Rucker * Billy ‘Cornbread Red’ Burge *

* Gary Spaeth * Eddie 'The Knoxville Bear' Taylor *

Cick here for a 3 minute YouTube slide show with audio highlights from the 2006 dinner

Click here for a photo gallery from our 2006 Hall of Fame dinner

One Pocket inductee Ed 'Champagne Eddie' Kelly was unable to attend our event in Louisville, so plans are underway for a local event for him in Las Vegas later this year.


On the Road with the

One Pocket Hall of Fame

 

September 7 , 2005

Nick Varner was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame at a special ceremony held at Fast Eddie’s Sports Bar and Grill during a break from the Carolina’s Open tournament action on Wednesday night. Grady Mathews acted as master of ceremonies, and the owners and staff of Fast Eddie’s bent over backwards to make the evening memorable for Nick, as they pitched in with hard work, good humor and great hospitality.

Click here for two pages of photos from Nick's induction


 

April 28, 2005

The crowd filled Dave Egdal’s Brighton Billiards Thursday evening for a special local One Pocket Hall of Fame event honoring the late Larry ‘Boston Shorty’ Johnson. Many of Shorty’s old friends and companions on the road came out to exchange stories and remember the legendary pool and billiards star. Though barely more than five feet tall, he was a giant of a player, one of a very select few cue stars to win major championships on both pocket and pocket-less tables.

Click here for two pages of photos from this event

Grady Mathews' appearance at Brighton Billiards was his third as Master of Cermonies for these special local events on behalf of the One Pocket Hall of Fame.  All the reviews have been in agreement that he has done a fantastic job at all of these events, and OnePocket.org would like to extend the utmost thanks to Grady for the dignity, knowledge, sincerity and of course entertainment that he has brought to every one. Thanks, Grady!!


Jack's widow, Dottie Breit

accepted Red's plaque

 

April 4, 2005

Jack 'Jersey Red' Breit was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame at a special event at the the Cue & Cushion in Houston, Texas monday night. Jimmy 'Flyboy' Spears was the host for this special gathering of Red's family, friends and fans. Grady Mathews acted as Master of Ceremonies, but he had plenty of help as several joined him in talking about Red's legacy and influence. Included among the notables were such top players as Jeremy Jones, Gabe Owen and Charlie Bryant, as well as local legends like 'Duke' Dowell.

Click here for photos from this event


Eddie Taylor in the

One Pocket Hall of Fame

 

April 2, 2005

Eddie Taylor, the Knoxville Bear, was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame today at a special event in his honor at Sidepocket Billiards in Shreveport, Louisiana. Hosts Brett and Debbie Sempter pulled out all the stops to make sure Eddie and the crowd had a great time. Grady Mathews acted as Master of Ceremonies, and demonstrated his own special talent at the table in performing an exhibition before the induction.

At 86 years young, Eddie even took a moment to demonstrate one of his impossible looking bank shots and he speared it on his second try.

According to guest Diane Garrard, "There were a lot of folks that came just for Eddie; he is so revered and loved! Eddie was very touched by this and became emotional on more than one occasion. Grady also displayed an emotional moment during his presentation to Eddie when he told of how Bugs Rucker looked upon Eddie as his mentor. Of course Eddie's modesty wouldn't allow him to take credit for this and said Bugs was a natural born player. Eddie boasted of some of his mighty feats such as running 37 banks in a row. He also ran all 15 banks off at least 4 times that he can distinctly remember, and there were probably a couple more times he couldn't remember. The first time he did this he was only 12 or 13 years old."

Click here for three pages of photos from this event


January 18, 2005

One Pocket Hall of Fame Banquet

The first ever One Pocket Hall of Fame banquet featured six of the recently elected members of the One Pocket Hall of Fame gathered together to receive their plaques and share their stories. The event filled the room to overflowing as one after another great player entertained the crowd with tales of their own adventures in One Pocket, and acknowledgement of the many other well-deserving players that they traveled with, matched up with or learned from.

 

Click here for the full story and a photo gallery

from the 2005 One Pocket HOF Banquet


Grady 'Professor' Mathews

the first inductee into the One Pocket Hall of Fame

 

OnePocket.org is pleased to announce that Grady 'Professor' Mathews is the first inductee into the One Pocket Hall of Fame. This presentation took place appropriately, at the recently held Gulf Coast Classic event, the latest of many events featuring the game of One Pocket that have been promoted by Grady over the last twenty years.

Click here for more on Grady's induction

Grady receives his One Pocket Hall of Fame plaque from

OnePocket.org's Steve Booth


The One Pocket Hall of Fame
is the creation of OnePocket.org, established for the purpose of recognizing those players, promoters and teachers that have contributed the most to the legacy of the game of One Pocket. Some of these great players for years made a career choice to avoid tournament play, shying away from the establishment spotlight, yet knowledgeable fans recognize them as among the best ever; thus the need for an independent hall of fame. The One Pocket Hall of Fame offers an opportunity to celebrate the game of One Pocket in particular, and the players that have dedicated themselves to One Pocket in particular, rather than pool and billiards in general.

Although several of the finest One Pocket players of all time have already been honored by election to the Billiard Congress Hall of Fame, fans of the game recognize that One Pocket has always featured a little different cast of characters than the mainstream of pool and billiards.

There have been so many great One Pocket players over the years, including deceased legends like Johnny Ervolino, Earl Heisler and Hubert Cokes, that were not only great players, but they inspired others to take up the game. There are also many other legendary players still with us, but who are in the later stage of their playing careers, like 'Little Al' Romero, 'San Jose Dick' McMorran and Buddy Hall, that would make excellent candidates for the One Pocket Hall of Fame.

And these few names are only the tip of the iceberg – there are many other good candidates still active, retired or deceased that have won tournaments, invented shots, taught other players, or otherwise promoted the game of One Pocket to the extent that they really deserve special recognition. We want this to be more than a popularity contest – we want the most deserving candidates to have their day, even if their entire career was played out under the radar, or before our time!

If you would like to help honor some of those others who have contributed so much to One Pocket, yet might be less well known outside the game, head on over to the message board or contact us if you have any suggestions, stories or old photos to offer to this effort!

"OnePocket Hall of Fame" and "Pool in Action" are OnePocket.org Trademarks

All content ©2004-2010 Steve Booth OnePocket.org

  

  

Membership in OnePocket.org is free, and there is a lot to learn about One Pocket here!


  © 2004 OnePocket.org
Web Design by J Maze Design