jrhendy
Verified Member
I grew up in Monterey Park, just a few miles from downtown Los Angeles. One of our neighbors were the Henry's who had two sons, Dick and Jerry. Dick was Several years older than I was and ended up moving to Colorado in the late 50's/early 60's. He started out as a snooker player at the same pool room I started out at, Steves on Garvey Blvd. Dick was hanging around Hollywood Billiards when I was starting to get out of my home room a bit and I ran into him a time or two before he ended up in Colorado. Any old pool scuffs that remember Dick will tell you he was a great player but stone crazy. His brother Jerry was almost as nuts as Dick. Jerry did not play pool but knew I played.
Jerry got ahold of me and told me he had a spot to make some money. The bar was next to a ditch digging service and they all came in on Friday to cash their checks and play pool. I meet Dick and we head over to the Skip Inn, a few miles away. Turns out the foreman of the group was playing eight ball and Jerry started barking at him about gambling at something. The Dodgers were getting ready to play the Giants on tv and the foreman said we can bet on the game and he wanted San Francisco. Jerry said ok and then they argued about how much to bet. Jerry had an idea and called the waitress over and told her to stick her hand in his pocket and grab a bunch of money and that would be the bet. The foreman agreed and the waitress pulled out almost all of Jerry's money. The Giants scored eight runs in the first inning. Juan Marichal was pitching for the Giants, we lost the bet and left without playing a game of pool.
At that time I was a route salesman for a saw company, married and had two young sons. The very next Friday I got off work and went into the bar with $20 in my pocket. Sure enough, the ditch diggers were playing eight ball for $5 a game. I put my quarter up and when it was my turn four or five people wanted to bet me on the side. Since I only had a few barrels I told them $5 was my limit and I would choke if I bet more. Pretty soon I started taking the side bets and raising the bet. When they finally figured out I could play, they called a player in and we played for $50 with some more side bets. I put a three pack on the guy and he quit without hitting a ball. I had cleaned out all the ditch diggers and pretty much won their paychecks. When I got home and counted up all the money it was well over 2k.
Well, guess where I was the following Friday after work. I walked into the Skip Inn and the owner said I could have a beer, but no pool. The ditch diggers were broke all week and drinking on a tab, their wives were pissed and his business took a hit because I had cleaned them out. While I was talking to him a bus stopped in front of the bar and a small Mexican guy wearing a Dickies uniform and carrying a lunch pail gets off the bus and comes in for a beer. I recognized him because he had beaten me playing nine ball a couple weeks earlier. It was Mexican Phil from San Francisco, a top player in all games. I ran into Phil in Denver several years later and he told me he hung around there for a couple months, never taking too much but enough to pay the nut and have a few beers.
Jerry got ahold of me and told me he had a spot to make some money. The bar was next to a ditch digging service and they all came in on Friday to cash their checks and play pool. I meet Dick and we head over to the Skip Inn, a few miles away. Turns out the foreman of the group was playing eight ball and Jerry started barking at him about gambling at something. The Dodgers were getting ready to play the Giants on tv and the foreman said we can bet on the game and he wanted San Francisco. Jerry said ok and then they argued about how much to bet. Jerry had an idea and called the waitress over and told her to stick her hand in his pocket and grab a bunch of money and that would be the bet. The foreman agreed and the waitress pulled out almost all of Jerry's money. The Giants scored eight runs in the first inning. Juan Marichal was pitching for the Giants, we lost the bet and left without playing a game of pool.
At that time I was a route salesman for a saw company, married and had two young sons. The very next Friday I got off work and went into the bar with $20 in my pocket. Sure enough, the ditch diggers were playing eight ball for $5 a game. I put my quarter up and when it was my turn four or five people wanted to bet me on the side. Since I only had a few barrels I told them $5 was my limit and I would choke if I bet more. Pretty soon I started taking the side bets and raising the bet. When they finally figured out I could play, they called a player in and we played for $50 with some more side bets. I put a three pack on the guy and he quit without hitting a ball. I had cleaned out all the ditch diggers and pretty much won their paychecks. When I got home and counted up all the money it was well over 2k.
Well, guess where I was the following Friday after work. I walked into the Skip Inn and the owner said I could have a beer, but no pool. The ditch diggers were broke all week and drinking on a tab, their wives were pissed and his business took a hit because I had cleaned them out. While I was talking to him a bus stopped in front of the bar and a small Mexican guy wearing a Dickies uniform and carrying a lunch pail gets off the bus and comes in for a beer. I recognized him because he had beaten me playing nine ball a couple weeks earlier. It was Mexican Phil from San Francisco, a top player in all games. I ran into Phil in Denver several years later and he told me he hung around there for a couple months, never taking too much but enough to pay the nut and have a few beers.
