bill stroud passed

[beatle]

i knew billy not real well as a friend but had some dealings with him over the years. he was always a square shooter and never tried to get over anything on you. Bill kept his word and did the right thing. And for those that didnt know he was a top shooter and high stakes gambler in his prime years. no one went looking for him. R.I.P

 

[GoldCrown]

Sorry to hear

 

[crabbcatjohn]

Sorry to hear

 

[NH Steve]

Damn, that is a bummer. So many are now gone from the 60's generation of players.

 

[jtompilot]

I’m really sad. I chatted with him a few times but never got to meet him. I cherish his fine playing cue.

 

[lll]

R.I.P.Bill
i spoke to him a few times
he was very cordial
my condolences to his loved ones

 

[Miller]

very sad to hear of this

 

[keoneyo]

Sad loss to our community. Any pics of Bill?

 

[cincy_kid]

I heard his name a few times around the pool room when I was younger and playing every day so I am not sure if he was from Cincinnati or lived near here at some point. Then I saw him here on the forums. Always seemed nice and knowledgeable both about the game and good players from the past. My condolences to his friends and family, RIP.

 

[vapros]

Sad news, indeed. Seems that not too long ago he advised us that he was getting his game back in shape - maybe one to two years? That's not long.

 

[RedCard]

Sad loss to our community. Any pics of Bill?

I think this was taken in 1972.

 

[Island Drive]

Got to know him and his wife Barb when they moved to Colorado Springs probably late seventies early eighties. My wife and I spent many good times with those two, so sorry for your loss Barb. I remember seeing my first full sized Elephant tusk in one of his closets, musta been over 5' in length. We played a few times and we were on the Wizards BCA 8 ball team together for many years, with Scott Smith as our team captain, bar/room owner at that time, we did win the nationals in 1982. Billy was the only man in our league that had an average over 900 for the season, tough turtle to drown. Our team was, Stroud, Scott Smith, Myself, Brett Smith, Carl Nelson and Jr. Harris.

 

[jrhendy]

Rest In Peace Bill. When he started playing again after retiring from making cues, I ran into Bill at Derby City. He had been posting about practicing a lot and was starting to run a lot of balls. I asked him if he wanted to play some. He said ‘I don’t want to play another old guy, I want to play some of the real good younger players’. Then he told me he was on his way to the pool room in Louisville to play some with Jeremy Jones. I told him to let me know how that worked out and then I would let him know if I wanted to play.

here is a pic of him with Tad Kohara at a cue show.

 

[crabbcatjohn]

A few years before i got there, but I never knew Carl Nelson was on your team back then Bill. We played a lot of pool in HCPL over the years after that. I did get to play Stroud One Pocket at DCC about 6 or 7 yrs ago when i was first learning. I remember winning the first game and none more...lol.

 

[Ratamon]

Very sad to hear this . Joss Wests made by Billy are the best playing cues I've ever had. It's because Billy was not just a talented cue maker but an excellent player, too!

He was also a fine commentator - check out this match from 1991 Legends of One Pocket (held in Columbia, SC) - https://store.accu-stats.com/stee-cook-vs-bill-stephen-dvd/ (There is a mistake in the description which says it's Weenie Beenie and Jeff Carter commentating).

Rest in peace Billy

 

[Dennis "Whitey" Young]

RIP Billy, condolences to the family, and many thanks for your contributions and knowledge you gave to the game you loved. Whitey

 

[Scrzbill]

I only met Bill once at the DCC when they had a seniors one pocket tournament starting midnight. Nice guy. The start was actually a little later. He played some very complex shots that did not make it and I moved on. What the most devastating about this loss is the loss of an elite cue maker to our small society.

 

[hankh]

Howdy All;

Never met the man but have communicated with him several times over the intergoogleweb.
Bought one of his cues from e-bay and wanted to get it authenticated. He did.
As I was also trying to get some sort of consistency back into my game I was watching a lot of
videos and "How to" stuff. Ran across this one. Interview starts at about 3:20 into the video.

hank

 

[HowardK]

Bill was a great player, cue maker and long time friend. He made me my first custom cue in 1975. Since then, I have owned at least a dozen Joss West cues. He was always innovative and came up with some very interesting and novel cue designs. I believe he was the first cue maker to use CNC for cues. He did that so all of his cues would play the same. He also started the ICCS. This brought the finest cue makers and collectors together and really advanced the art of cue making and design. In addition, he was also very hospitable. I stayed with him at his home in Colorado Springs, Austin and Scottsdale. He will be missed.

 

[Hardmix]

Hank thanks for posting the video. I did not know Bill personally but I enjoyed watching the interview.