2013 One Pocket HOF Call for Nominations

[Scrzbill]

Hubert Cokes isn't going to like being passed over again. Things like his induction should be done by fiat rather than popular vote. These matters can't be left to the masses to decide.

I agree with that statement not only about Cokes but many others. It's not like one pocket hall of fame has been around for fifty years, it's in its infancy and such should recognize players from yesteryear. It would be like starting a hall of fame out thirty years from now and not having Fred as a nominee year after year and no one remembering him for his banks. Refresh my memory, was it banks or ten ball, getting old. Recognize an extra two three a year. It doesn't have to be a wholesale induction. I keep wanting Bob Bowles for the banks but so very few remember what a great player he was. A teacher and a nice man, a credit to the game. His running mate for years was Eddie Taylor and Eddie didn't run with slouches. Multiple fiat inductions have my vote. Three max per year for a certain number of years.

 

[Scrzbill]

Yes it depends on knowing that you are a real person -- either by sufficient posting reputation or by direct contact or by a valid referral, or maybe they bought something or contributed toward a raffle, etc. You do not have to be someone special -- ordinary players are okay too.

Anyone who would like to upgrade should contact me.

I thought you had to know somebody that knew someone that knew someone else who was friend of a cousin that dated a sister in high school?
Have I been deleted now?

 

[suki]

Just for the hell of it

Just for the hell of it

Since I read his book
Steve (the lizard) Smith)

 

[Scrzbill]

John Henderson... he promotes the game... publishes a great pool magazine... and will match up with anyone...

Bille

I second that nomination instead of nominating him year after year. My reasons are these, he is and has been one of the top players on the West coast for nearly half a century.
He will play anyone for the cheese
He is the quiescent gentleman of the game, up or down
He will teach anyone, for thirty a game
He is a great ambassador to the game of one pocket
He knows one pocket as it should be played and he plays it that way
He is my friend and is very much admired and appreciated by all who know him
Thank you Col for nominating him

 

[Scrzbill]

Since I read his book
Steve (the lizard) Smith)

He's in Santa Cruz and can't escape the beach:lol

 

[BackPocket9Ball]

While I have deemed myself ineligible for nomination, the ham in me must still set the record straight.

1 pkt Hall of Famers playing dead even:
Varner, a few times before he sold his soul to the devil.

Beard

Fred,

in what way and when did Nick Varner sell his soul to the devil?

Just curious.

 

[fred bentivegna]

Fred,

in what way and when did Nick Varner sell his soul to the devil?

Just curious.

For years he was just a pretty good player, the he made a trip to my joint, North Shore Billiards. He gambled around there for about a month, did real well, and then went to New York to the Commodore Hotel and the world's straight-pool championship. He didnt even really want to go. He was winning big money at my place and he didnt really think he had a chance to beat the big boys. I didnt either. However, he won the damn thing to everyone's surprise! From that point on he became a genuine monster.

Beard

 

[stevelomako]

Have to throw in my 2 cents here.


For the deceased guys:

Marcel Camp (anyone Kilroy talked highly of means something)
Johnny Ervolino
Mike Carrela


Living:

Cliff Joyner
James Walden (cant believe no one ever mentions him!)
Rafael Martinez

 

[SJDinPHX]

I second that nomination instead of nominating him year after year. My reasons are these, he is and has been one of the top players on the West coast for nearly half a century.
He will play anyone for the cheese
He is the quiescent gentleman of the game, up or down
He will teach anyone, for thirty a game
He is a great ambassador to the game of one pocket
He knows one pocket as it should be played and he plays it that way
He is my friend and is very much admired and appreciated by all who know him
Thank you Col for nominating him

Let me 3rd, and 4th that, Scrzzie !..Looks like Cliff may be the fave this year, but if Hendy doesn't get in next year, I am cancelling my SS, and my pension !...(and also RBL's long overdue, 'frontal lobotomy', which, I was gladly going to pay for)..

 

[wincardona]

I'd like to see Joey Spaeth inducted this year before he's forgotten!

Sherm

Not too many of todays players know about Joey Speath. Joey was as solid as a guy and a player then there ever was. Joey was the type of a player that most would try to emulate had they known him, he was a solid grind it out player that never gave anything away, you had to earn it the hard way playing Joey. Any time Joey played the table would be difficult to play on, due to all the powder that he used during the contest. Joey would constantly powder up making his "lock down" game more difficult to compete against. It looked like a real battle was going on whenever Joey played...and there was.:heh

Joey was always a gentlemen on and off the table..at least the Joey that I knew, and I admire him for that. Yes Joey Spaeth would be a a great addition to the One pocket Hall Of Fame.

Dr. Bill

 

[lll]

where does billy palmer fit into the picture??

 

[Scrzbill]

where does billy palmer fit into the picture??

By himself, unless you use a wide action lens.

 

[Tom Wirth]

At the risk of being criticized for my beliefs on this subject I will go full speed ahead and voice my opinion regarding yearly inductions into the "Hall of Fame"

Whether it be a Hall of Fame for a pool game, baseball, tennis, or whatever, if there is a constant yearly search for the next inductee, the standards for qualification will always tend to be slackened. Maybe I have an unrealistic view or possibly a more reverend vision of what makes a Hall of Fame player.

I see "Hall of Fame" players as absolute standouts in there respective sports. These players are not just moderately better than the rest of the field for a short period of time but they have demonstrated dominance and or achievements which exceed all others throughout a career. These players are a rare breed and induction should be just as rare.

To go out of our way to induct a player into the "Hall of Fame" simply because another year has past is not in my opinion a good enough reason. By reducing the standards of induction aren't we at the same time diminishing the star status of the truly exceptional players? Any perspective inductee should be a "no brainer" not a treasure hunt.

I'm not saying we have no one who deserves induction this year. I would not know whether we do or not. What I am saying is let's keep the standards for induction very difficult to achieve and the "Hall of Fame" club an extremely exclusive club. If that means we wait another year or possibly two then so be it. We have thousands of soldiers who show exceptional heroism on a daily basis but we don't decorate many of them with the Medal of Honor. Am I aiming too high?

Tom

 

[RedCard]

For years he was just a pretty good player, the he made a trip to my joint, North Shore Billiards. He gambled around there for about a month, did real well, and then went to New York to the Commodore Hotel and the world's straight-pool championship. He didnt even really want to go. He was winning big money at my place and he didnt really think he had a chance to beat the big boys. I didnt either. However, he won the damn thing to everyone's surprise! From that point on he became a genuine monster.

Beard

Last week a friend of mine told me that he saw Nick beat a real good player at North Shore several years ago. He thought it was Mike Carella but wasn't sure.
~~~
I almost posted something about like what Tom Wirth put up today but thought it was probably already covered and was too lazy to go back and check. Anyway, in my opinion the HOF has developed into something meaningful and shouldn't be cheapened by admittances driven by regional affiliations, brief but notable careers, friendships or pool stories.

You can't start a HOF today and expect anybody to care. If it's run right for 10 years or so, then people will care. With the dinner, the quality of the players in so far, a good supporting web site and undoubtedly factors unknown to me, it has evolved into something worthwhile. It should be important above all to keep induction an actual honor. Steve Booth strikes me as someone who won't be swayed by the many (good) ideas put forward to permit entry by any number of good players/personalities.

That said, Cliff Joyner for the living, Hubert to help keep order in the emeritus division if there is or ever is one.

 

[fred bentivegna]

Last week a friend of mine told me that he saw Nick beat a real good player at North Shore several years ago. He thought it was Mike Carella but wasn't sure.
~~~
I almost posted something about like what Tom Wirth put up today but thought it was probably already covered and was too lazy to go back and check. Anyway, in my opinion the HOF has developed into something meaningful and shouldn't be cheapened by admittances driven by regional affiliations, brief but notable careers, friendships or pool stories.

You can't start a HOF today and expect anybody to care. If it's run right for 10 years or so, then people will care. With the dinner, the quality of the players in so far, a good supporting web site and undoubtedly factors unknown to me, it has evolved into something worthwhile. It should be important above all to keep induction an actual honor. Steve Booth strikes me as someone who won't be swayed by the many (good) ideas put forward to permit entry by any number of good players/personalities.

That said, Cliff Joyner for the living, Hubert to help keep order in the emeritus division if there is or ever is one.

Carella never came into my joint, North Shore. If he had, I woulda threw him down the stairs.

Beard

 

[Island Drive]

Most Memorable Match

Most Memorable Match

Quote from Evelyn....Hubert Cokes/Daddy Warbucks from Evansville IN....''Fats liked to beat Cokes, not because he didn't like him, he did like him''. They always played one pocket. ''Fats and I had been on a long trip and got back to So. IL to rest and take it easy. We would get into the car and go to Evansville and get a hotel and I could rest and Fats too, when he wasn't playing. Games would start out maybe cheap....neither of em cared how much, they would bet any amount it seemed. But the money wasn't the thing, it was who could beat who. Hubert was a very good player, he wasn't Daddy Warbucks, but he looked like warbucks. The match was memorable for not me, but for each of them''.

 

[gulfportdoc]

where does billy palmer fit into the picture??

Palmer was always a top West Coast player, even though he held down a job, ala Mike Surber and others. I played in some 9 ball tournaments with him, but never 1P. My impression of Billy is that he was possibly the best West Coast 1P player back when no one out there played much one-pocket. He did beat Efren one time in a DCC event, and he won a couple of Hard Times 1P jamborees, beating the likes of Santos and Scott Frost.

I imagine age and health problems are catching up to Billy a little. What I like about his game is his patience, and his insistence on sticking to classic 1P play. He never did too much fancy stuff, just good, solid moves.

As good as he is, I don't think he's really HOF material. Bill, John, or some of the other West Coast guys can chime on this.

Doc

 

[gulfportdoc]

... I see "Hall of Fame" players as absolute standouts in there respective sports. These players are not just moderately better than the rest of the field for a short period of time but they have demonstrated dominance and or achievements which exceed all others throughout a career. These players are a rare breed and induction should be just as rare.

To go out of our way to induct a player into the "Hall of Fame" simply because another year has past is not in my opinion a good enough reason. By reducing the standards of induction aren't we at the same time diminishing the star status of the truly exceptional players? Any perspective inductee should be a "no brainer" not a treasure hunt. ...

Good points, Tom (and Red). We've had a couple glitches over the past few years, but in the main, the guys who were inducted deserved it.

But I agree that we shouldn't be eager to jam someone in there every year just to have an induction. And we might sometimes be better off concentrating on some of the legendary guys who haven't yet made it.

Doc

 

[lfigueroa]

This is not tough: Cliff Joyner/ Hubert "Daddy Warbucks" Cokes.

Lou Figueroa

 

[JohnInNH]

Johnny Ervolino for One Pocket.. For him to not be in there already is criminal.. For the record he knew more about one pocket and more shots and strategy and more about the stack than ANYONE who posts on this forum PERIOD and it isn't even close.. Forget all the bullshit stories you hear on here about how they beat him. Johnny forgot more about the game than any of these guys will ever know if they live to be 120 years old.

I have to agree with you, Johnny was also a great straight pool player.