One Pocket Hall of Fame

The Class of 2010 is set!

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 to be honored at our 7th annual One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner, January 25th, 2011 -- Tuesday night during the upcoming 2011 Derby City Classic.

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

This year the reigning two-time Derby City Banks champion, John Brumback is our Banks inductee. John grew up in the heart of Bank Pool country and has built an unmatched resume of tournament victories.

Everyone knows that pool has always had two very different cultures over the years – the establishment culture of tournaments, wholesome recreation and industry endorsements on the one hand, and the after-hours culture of gambling and hustling on the other hand. It is the mission of the One Pocket Hall of Fame to honor and remember those great players and great games that represent the legacy of Pool in Action.

Allen Hopkins

(Mike Haines/Bill Porter photo)

John Brumback, Banks Champion

Don’t miss the One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner on Tuesday, January 25th, during the biggest pool jamboree ever, the Derby City Classic. This year our banquet will feature a Johnston City Tribute in honor of the 50th anniversary of the very first Johnston City tournament (1961-2011). Join us in the “Legends” bar (right in the Horseshoe Casino complex) for our own private party! This promises to be a very entertaining evening, as these players are among the most colorful, talented and action-oriented legends in all of cue sports.

Click here for more information and HOF dinner reservations

Wade Crane competing at the Carolina Open 2005

December 26, 2010

Wade 'Boom-Boom' Crane Dies

Wade Crane, the great all-around player from Rome Georgia, died in a car accident December 26th in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Wade was born February 20, 1944 and got started playing pool as a teenager. Known best as one of the most powerful 9-Ball players of his time, Wade won numerous tournaments both under his real name, Wade Crane, and his road name, 'Billy Johnson' in a career that spanned from Johnston City to recent Derby City Classic events.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Townson-Smith Funeral Home, Robbinsville, NC - Robbinsville.

Wade Crane has been selected posthumously for the Lifetime Pool in Action award to be presented at the upcoming One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner January 25th during the Derby City Classic.

Wade Crane Lifetime Pool in Action page

Wade Crane Wikipedia page

George Rood was honored by the One Pocket Hall of Fame for 'Lifetime Pool in Action' in 2007

October 14, 2010

Legendary Player George Rood Dies

George Rood, the legendary pool player who nearly bridged the 20th Century pool scene, died peacefully early in the morning of October 10 at the Widow’s Home in Dayton Ohio.

George was born November 11, 1914 in Marietta, Ohio. He became a strong player in his teens, and he continued playing right into his 90’s. With such an extended career, George ended up competing against many of the top players from one end of the 20th Century to the other, including such early greats as Ralph Greenleaf, Willie Mosconi, Andrew Ponzi, James Caras, Luther Lassiter and ‘Rags’ Fitzpatrick. His stellar play earned George the respect of the very best players of the 20th Century. Mosconi reportedly described George as ‘the most natural player I have ever known.’

A memorial service is scheduled for Tuesday, October 19 at 6-8 PM at the Newcomer Funeral Home on 4104 Needmore Road, Dayton, Ohio. Their phone number is 937-235-1000. In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested toward the Widow’s Home, 50 South Findlay Street, Dayton, OH 45403, or The Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45420 or to the Doberman Pinscher Rescue Foundation of America, 17 George Street, Framington MA 01702-8710.

Click here for full obituary

Hollywood Jack Memorial One Pocket

The Hollywood Jack Memorial One Pocket was rescued this year and held in Bellflower, California at Hard Times Billiards over the 4th of July weekend!  The One Pocket play was spectacular all weekend as fans filled the room and many more watched online to see who would earn the title.  Matches were a race to 3, double elimination; with one race to 4 in the finals.

The field was capped off at 32 players and play began Saturday afternoon on the beautiful Gold Crown 9-foot tables.  $1,000 was graciously added by Hard Times owner Eddie Arregiun.  And Jay Helfert was the smooth Tournament Director.  While most players were from California, a few ventured from out of state to compete.

Click here for more of the story & results 

The late 'Hollywood Jack'

One Pocket Hall of Fame Raffle

OnePocket.org is pleased to announce a raffle to benefit the One Pocket Hall of Fame, made possible by the generous donations of people like TR McIntosh (Derby Cues), Pat Fleming (Accustats), Freddy the Beard (Banking with the Beard) and Diana Hoppe (Pool Pics by Hoppe). As soon as just one hundred tickets are sold, the raffle goes, and with multiple prizes, your chances to win are excellent!

Next year marks the 50th anniversary (1961-2011) of the first Johnston City tournament, so our next One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner will have a distinct Johnston City focus. We are hoping to have as many veterans of those legendary tournaments join us as possible for what will amount to a Johnston City Reunion next January 25th during the 2011 Derby City Classic. We are reaching out to all Johnston City veterans to get as many as possible to Derby City for this event. You can help by supporting this raffle.

Click here for more info (raffle is finished)

If you know how to reach a Johnston City tournament veteran, please

Contact Us

Derby Cues now available from Banking with the Beard

This is the raffle cue

Derby Cues Design DC12

five points ebony with veneers into bird’s eye maple
twenty ivory inlays
black leather wrap

February 9, 2010

Jeanette Lee wins 2010

Derby City Louie Roberts Award

In an arena dominated by males, Jeanette Lee stood head and shoulders above the rest to capture the 2010 “St. Louie” Louie Roberts Action and Entertainment Award at the Derby City Classic. The voting of the award by DCC attendees and members of the various internet forums resulted in a landslide victory for Lee as she was named on over 90% of the ballots. Others in consideration for the award included players like “Strong Arm” John, Harry Platis and Richie Richeson.

Click here for more of the story and more photos

The 'Black Widow' in action at this year's Derby City Classic

Sylver Ochoa, with the Pool Action TV live stream crew in the background

Photo courtesy Shawn Smith

February 8, 2010

Sylver wins Gold at T-Town

One Pocket Classic

Sylver Ochoa came out on top of a field of 42 players at the T-Town One Pocket Classic tournament that wrapped up at Magoo's Billiards in Tulsa, Oklahoma last night. Sylver followed up his second place finish in the One Pocket division at the Derby City Classic against Scott Frost with a strong finish here -- including a 4-0 whitewash of Frost to reach the finals. Rafael Martinez then handed Frost his second loss in the finals of the loser's bracket, which left the Freezer in third place and secured Martinez his spot in the single race to five final match with Ochoa. Martinez seemed to carry momentum from his win over Frost into the final match, as he jumped out to a 3-1 lead over Ochoa. But from there it was all Ochoa as he settled down to finish Martinez off for a 5-3 championship win.

Ochoa took home $5020 for first place.

Complete payouts are available here: T-Town Classic One Pocket

One Pocket Hall of Fame

Annual Banquet at the Derby City Classic

Everyone knows that pool has always had two very different cultures of competition – the establishment culture of tournaments, wholesome recreation and industry endorsements on the one hand, and the after-hours culture of gambling and hustling on the other hand. It is the mission of the One Pocket Hall of Fame to honor and remember those great players and great games that represent the legacy of Pool in Action.

The One Pocket Hall of Fame presented this year’s Lifetime Pool in Action award to the legendary player, backer, and aficionado of action, Seattle Washington’s Harry Platis. Harry compared his success in law to his success at pool, and there is no question that he elevates the dignity of Pool in Action by his whole-hearted participation.

Click here for a gallery of photos from the

One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner

Left to right, Doug Corwin (Fats' nephew), Harry Platis, Teresa Bell (Fats' widow),

Jose Parica & Piggy Banks

This year’s class of inductees in the category of One Pocket, featured the well traveled professional player, Jose Parica, and posthumously, the outspoken legend of pool, Rudolf ‘Fats’ Wanderone, AKA ‘Minnesota Fats’, who was represented by his nephew Doug Corwin and his widow, Teresa Bell. Our Bank Pool inductee this year was the aptly named Glenn ‘Piggy Banks’ Rogers, from Chicago, Illinois.

Krenzel upends Parica to win the One-Handed event

One-handed One Pocket made its return to the Derby City Classic after an absence of several years, and Jose Parica was on hand to defend his title against a field of 27 players. However, when the sun rose the next morning, it was Dave Krenzel that prevailed against Mr. Parica, as the final match wrapped up around 8 AM -- just in time for the table cleaning crew. There was $1500 added to this extra challenging discipline, $1000 by Greg Sullivan (who also played in the event) and $500 by OnePocket.org.

Click here for a gallery of photos of this event

Frost Wins the Derby City One Pocket Title

Scott Frost prevailed over from Texas, Sylver Ochoa.With Reyes falling in the earlier money rounds, and Bustamante in the semifinals, it felt a little like a new generation of players in the finals. Frost was heavily favored by the standing room only crowd (including the balconies!), someone forgot to tell Ochoa as he battled Frost ball for ball and game for game to push the match to hill-hill. After the breaking player had lost the first four games of the finals, Ochoa recovered from nearly scratching on the final break as he went on to build a four to minus one lead on Frost, and got the balls all pushed up table. However, Scott found a loose ball to bank and he managed to sneak back in to the game, eventually taking a 7-4 lead.

It's Back to Back Banks Titles for John Brumback

It seems that once John Brumback found the winning groove for his first Banks title at Derby City, he has become unstoppable, as he cruised through a field of 353 Banks aficionados to claim the 2010 title undefeated. Like last year, he had to beat one of the Filipino players in the finals, but this time it was Reyes that fell to the steady play of the reigning Kentuckian Banks champion.

Click here for a gallery of Banks & One Pocket tournament photos

November, 2009

Michael Surber, 1955-2009

One of the top all-around players from Mississippi and beyond, 'Biloxi Mike' Surber, was found dead in his home earlier this week. Officials have ruled the cause of his death murder, and have named a "person of interest" in the case. Mike was a very popular player, and a top competitor on the national scene in both One Pocket and Bank Pool.

Click here for the OnePocket.org memorial page for Mike Surber

Surveillance camera view of the suspect in Mike Surber's murder

Mike competing at the Derby City Classic last year

Click here for MikeSurber.com

for more information on the ongoing investigation into Mike's death,

and how you can help