Anyone heard of Donnie Simpson "Blood" from NC?

[Matt_24]

I recently purchased an 80's era JOSS cue on ebay, and the cue came with an interesting letter about the previous owner. From the letter it sounds like this guy was an interesting person and I was just wondering if anyone had heard of him?

I received my cue yesterday and some information about the previous owner. The letter, included with the cue stated the following:

"As for the previous owner of this cue, he was a great pool player. He loved to play one pocket and I bet on his side many times, and usually won. He was a great game maker also. I only knew this man as "Blood" for 20 years and I only learned his name upon his death. He was a champion golfer also. He made bets using one arm on the club, or standing on one leg. He was a large built black man who always wore tinted glasses and a Hogan Cap. He drove an immaculately kept BMW. Unfortunatey 8-9 years ago he fell asleep driving home late down I-85 to Durham. He hit the retaining wall and got out to inspect the damage to his prized vehicle. It was dawn and a pick-up truck driver came over the hill and killed him instantly. His name was Donnie Simpson. He never spoke unless there was a purpose to speak. "Blood" was a true sportsman."

Needless to say, this cue has a very cool history - and saw a lot of battle. It is slightly battle worn, but was taken good care of, all things considered.

 

[NH Steve]

I recently purchased an 80's era JOSS cue on ebay, and the cue came with an interesting letter about the previous owner. From the letter it sounds like this guy was an interesting person and I was just wondering if anyone had heard of him?

I received my cue yesterday and some information about the previous owner. The letter, included with the cue stated the following:

"As for the previous owner of this cue, he was a great pool player. He loved to play one pocket and I bet on his side many times, and usually won. He was a great game maker also. I only knew this man as "Blood" for 20 years and I only learned his name upon his death. He was a champion golfer also. He made bets using one arm on the club, or standing on one leg. He was a large built black man who always wore tinted glasses and a Hogan Cap. He drove an immaculately kept BMW. Unfortunatey 8-9 years ago he fell asleep driving home late down I-85 to Durham. He hit the retaining wall and got out to inspect the damage to his prized vehicle. It was dawn and a pick-up truck driver came over the hill and killed him instantly. His name was Donnie Simpson. He never spoke unless there was a purpose to speak. "Blood" was a true sportsman."

Needless to say, this cue has a very cool history - and saw a lot of battle. It is slightly battle worn, but was taken good care of, all things considered.

It is great to have that kind of provenance for your cue! I often hear different names come up during my interviews with players, but I don't recall hearing this one. But now that I have heard the name, I can try fishing for more about him -- he sounds like he was an interesting man. There have been a few pool hustlers over the years that also crossed into golf, but I would think a black man would have a whole different angle to his story given how segregated golf has tended to linger compared to other sports.

 

[TheClamp]

very cool story and it looks like a nice piece of wood too !

 

[Matt_24]

It is great to have that kind of provenance for your cue! I often hear different names come up during my interviews with players, but I don't recall hearing this one. But now that I have heard the name, I can try fishing for more about him -- he sounds like he was an interesting man. There have been a few pool hustlers over the years that also crossed into golf, but I would think a black man would have a whole different angle to his story given how segregated golf has tended to linger compared to other sports.

He does sound like an interesting man. If you find out more, I would love to know. I know that JOSS was a very popular cue amongst players of that era. Mike Sigel, Nick Varner, and many others played w/ some beautiful 80s JOSS cues....so I imagine only a "player" would buy something like this. Remember, I think this cue went for $800 or so in 1985 which was nothing to sneeze at then, or now, for a cue. It just goes to show that for every great player we hear about, there are plenty of players/gamblers that have yet to be heard of.