Cochran's and Palace Billiards

androd

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Dec 10, 2008
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New Braunfels tx.
I really miss SJD. He was a one of kind guy. A ton of gamble even in his twilight years. He could drink like a sailor. Lived many years and smoked the whole time. He was built differently as I feel many people born from his time were. So glad to have called him a friend and been on a couple road trips with him. I never got to see Dick play in his prime. I know he was one of the best in the world at one pocket in his day. What I admire about him most was the devoted family man he was who left the game for many years to be a great father and husband. RIP my friend.

You can see his interviews with me on YouTube linked below including Dick talking about Cochran's and many players on that list.


I also miss my old buddy Dick, when he was barred It kinda soured me on the site.
 

lll

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Mar 19, 2007
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vero beach fl
I also miss my old buddy Dick, when he was barred It kinda soured me on the site.
i dont remember him being barred and of course you must be right rod
he was abrasive to freddy in particular as i remember
but he was always great to me
i have a cd of his kids band
he and dennis "cowboy"
another one who got banned sent me a copy of buddys book rags to rifleman....:eek::D
i too havent quite 'soured to the site '
but its not like the old days which i miss alot
i am not sure i am going to bogies thus year
but if i do
i hope we can have lunch or dinner and play alittle if you want to
for the record
you have always been a mentor in your replies to me for which i really appreciate
and i apologize now for the time i gave you my wrong address to send me an instructional video for free
this is like a story from my past
in the old day there was mercurichrome and methiolate for cuts
one of them burned and the other did not
i do not remember which
but i had a cut
i was young
and my dad said this would not hurt
he put the one on that burned and i screamed
30-40 years later he told me how bad he felt about that
my apology rod is to make amends for that so many years ago
be well my friend
larry
 

vapros

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baton rouge, la
Merthiolate burned, Larry, final answer. You have not lived until you've had your jock itch treated with a mixture of alcohol, merthiolate and salicylic acid. :oops:
 
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Jeff sparks

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Apr 2, 2015
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Houston, Texas
I see Frank. I read where he hung out with Harry The Russian a lot. There were people with unusual nicknames there. Like Jesse The Go Away Kid'. How did he get that name? Did he leave town and then come back quite often, like 'One Eyed Hank' who would leave and go out to sea every year for six months or so? How could he stay in stroke like that? Fascinating people. Sleepy Bob.. He must have fell asleep in the pool room a lot.. Tugboat', ? I'm sure he was in the water a lot also. Anybody here deal with them???
I see Frank. I read where he hung out with Harry The Russian a lot. There were people with unusual nicknames there. Like Jesse The Go Away Kid'. How did he get that name? Did he leave town and then come back quite often, like 'One Eyed Hank' who would leave and go out to sea every year for six months or so? How could he stay in stroke like that? Fascinating people. Sleepy Bob.. He must have fell asleep in the pool room a lot.. Tugboat', ? I'm sure he was in the water a lot also. Anybody here deal with them???
I played Jesse “ The go away kid” in a long narrow pool room in Oakland sometime in 66’ I was not a seasoned player then, so I was no match for him…
As I recall, it was a 100% black joint and my friend/partner and I were the only two salt shakers in the room… I lost of course, and we went outside and were sitting in the car in the parking lot planning how to pump up again and a guy stuck a knife under my chin and demanded our money! I immediately told him to go get it from “ The go away kid” inside the pool room, because he just busted us! He lowered the knife and slipped away into the night!

Jimmie,
I was losing and towards the end of the game Jesse was running out the rack and made a loud and bold statement to everyone watching the game, he said, “I’m the go away kid, and I’m gone!” He ran out the rack and got applause from the crowd…. So, from the horses mouth came the definition… Now as to how it came to be his name, I have no idea whether he named himself or someone else did it, but from what he said, it referred to him running out the remaining balls, “ go away” as in “ gone” as in “I’m out”

I loved my time in Frisco, I was young and learning the ropes in the pool room…. It was the beginning of the hippie generation and mini skirts and the burn your bra days! Wow, it was the best of times!
 
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Jimmy B

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Aug 17, 2007
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I played Jesse “ The go away kid” in a long narrow pool room in Oakland sometime in 66’ I was not a seasoned player then, so I was no match for him…
As I recall, it was a 100% black joint and my friend/partner and I were the only two salt shakers in the room… I lost of course, and we went outside and were sitting in the car in the parking lot planning how to pump up again and a guy stuck a knife under my chin and demanded our money! I immediately told him to go get it from “ The go away kid” inside the pool room, because he just busted us! He lowered the knife and slipped away into the night!

Jimmie,
I was losing and towards the end of the game Jesse was running out the rack and made a loud and bold statement to everyone watching the game, he said, “I’m the go away kid, and I’m gone!” He ran out the rack and got applause from the crowd…. So, from the horses mouth came the definition… Now as to how it came to be his name, I have no idea whether he named himself or someone else did it, but from what he said, it referred to him running out the remaining balls, “ go away” as in “ gone” as in “I’m out”

I loved my time in Frisco, I was young and learning the ropes in the pool room…. It was the beginning of the hippie generation and mini skirts and the burn your bra days! Wow, it was the best of times!


That's a fantastic war story, Jeff and it had a bright side. You picked a very good time to be robbed with a knife, because you were already empty. Even heist men had some decency back then. Todays scumbags would shove a knife in your neck to show their contempt for not being able to score. And you happened to quote my question from the other month in which I mentioned Tugboat. He happens to appear in the great photo Larry posted concerning the 1962 Johnston City Jamboree. Now who can point out where Maurice 'Tugboat' Whaley is seated?
 

Dennis "Whitey" Young

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Jul 8, 2017
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Klamath Falls, Or.
A few days back I ran into a fellow pool player in our town. He is a good player, older than I in early to mid - 70's, and I knew he was from the bay area. His name is Keith 'Zesty' Wright.
I asked him if he played at Cockran's, and he said yes, and I was young and thought I was something, until I ran into this redhead girl, and boy did she clean my clock, and then after that I saw her killing a grey hair old man in 3c.
I then asked him if he ever met Cockran, and he replied maybe that was he that she was killing!
I asked him when he started playing, and he said at 5, playing snooker.
This is all in mid to later 60's. Just wondering if anyone knows of this redheaded girl.

I think the bay area was a OP town, at least Don Waterman (sp?) said you could always get a $20 game. We were talking about how things have changed so much since the 60's - early 70's.
Whitey
 

gulfportdoc

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Jun 25, 2004
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Gulfport, Mississippi
...

I think the bay area was a OP town, at least Don Waterman (sp?) said you could always get a $20 game. We were talking about how things have changed so much since the 60's - early 70's.
Whitey
That's true, things changed. SF may have been a OP town in the '60s, but in the '90s you'd have to travel 400 miles to get a one-pocket game...:( A few guys in L.A., and a very few in SF (like Henderson) played it, but it was all 9ball.
 
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catkins

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boulder creek ca
That's true, things changed. SF may have been a OP town in the '60s, but in the '90s you'd have to travel 400 miles to get a one-pocket game...:( A few guys in L.A., and a very few in SF (like Henderson) played it, but it was all 9ball.
most of my experience was playing one pocket in oakland and emeryville and some at holywood and family in san francisco. From my experience I never had any trouble finding one pocket games in the bay area from philipino gene to dave piona and billy palmer and mark hadad all could play some world class pool
 

gulfportdoc

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Gulfport, Mississippi
most of my experience was playing one pocket in oakland and emeryville and some at holywood and family in san francisco. From my experience I never had any trouble finding one pocket games in the bay area from philipino gene to dave piona and billy palmer and mark hadad all could play some world class pool
Those were some good players. I know that Filipino Gene played one hole, along with Palmer and Hadad. There was a big S.F. 1P tournament held at that room (Chalker's?) owned by a lady proprietor (Bachman?) whose name I can't remember. They had a good turnout. I'd say that was around 1996.
 

12squared

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Fort Collins, CO
Those were some good players. I know that Filipino Gene played one hole, along with Palmer and Hadad. There was a big S.F. 1P tournament held at that room (Chalker's?) owned by a lady proprietor (Bachman?) whose name I can't remember. They had a good turnout. I'd say that was around 1996.
Sue

There was a lot of one pocket at the original California Billiards in San Jose in the 90s. I moved from there in 2000.
 

baby huey

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Oct 29, 2008
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This is not relevant to Cochrans or the Palace but gambling at pool was never an issue with the police in San Francisco. In LA, where I grew up, the police were always arresting those pool players who gambled. That's the thing about the CITY that the police didn't hassle pool players. I enjoyed going up there very much. The food was better too.......HA
 

Tobermory

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Mar 12, 2017
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San Francisco, CA
There was plenty of one pocket to be played in SF/Bay Area in the 90's, whether at California Billiards or the Q Club/Hollywood Billiards, Town and Country in Daly City and even at Delbert Wong's Family, which was mostly 9 ball. Not so much at Sue Bachman's rooms. Jesse the Go Away Kid hung out some at the Q Club in the early 90's and I played him a few times, but whatever he had going in the 60's was pretty much gone by the 90's. He could still play jacked up one handed gaffe games with skill and elan. I'm pretty sure it was George Bailey or maybe Billy Rum who told me that Jesse got his nickname in the black rooms in the Fillmore when he was young and always pestering the older players for easy action and handouts.
 
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Tobermory

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San Francisco, CA
In the 90's in SF/Bay Area/Sacto, I got to play one pocket against some great players coming through town, including Ronnie Allen, Shannon Daulton, Tang Ho, Mike Zimmerman, Efren, Danny Medina, Parica, Keith McCready (who lived at the Q Club for almost a year in 93 or 94), Youngblood, Santos. As others have said, there were also many really good (or decent) local players, like Billy Palmer, Snake, Hendy, Filipino Gene Ventura, George Bailey, Ricardo Aquino, Baby Frank, Dave Piona, Cee, Bee, John Campbell, Lettuce Larry, Dave LeBlanc, Bill Cress, Billy Teeter, Bob Simon, Chris McDonald, Rex Norman, Jimmy Duval, Poker Paul, Rusty Jones. I got down with all of them (except John H. somehow) and they taught me how to play the game.
 
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vapros

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baton rouge, la
Cat Man, you have let it slip. With all that action, there can be no doubt you have a headful of stories that the members here would love to see. You can't take them with you. How about it? (y)
 
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