Name That Player

Terry Ardeno

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Washington, Pa
Freddie,
I counted 13 guys in your replies to my posts that you had in bold indicating you never gambled with them.
A couple of more notes...
You said Johnny Irish died in 1962...Johnny "Johnny Irish" Lineen died on March 17, 1965...that's 75 days into 1965 (your choice of a start date). I'll spot Johnny the 76th day (March 17th) and so not counting that, you still had 75 days in which to match up with him! :)

You said Ray Martin was only a straight pool player. Well, not counting his 3 King of The Hill 9 Ball victories over stacked fields, I call your attention to the 1998 Worl 1 Pocket Championship in Baton Rouge, La. 3rd place finisher was...RAY MARTIN. I know he played 1 pocket in the 1980's as well.

On the telephone, between making me laugh so hard with your stories, you said "Irving Crane never gambled". In the Jan / Feb 1983 issue of Billiards Digest, on page 24, 3rd colum over, Irving Crane says "I'm not a hustler "by trade"...."I play for money, but there's a difference."

When you said Johnny Vevis "wouldn't play" you...that means you didn't gamble with him.Good call on Alvin "Titanic Thomas" Thompson. He was born in 1892 BUT...although that did make him 73 in 1965, you did not mention any "age requirements" in your original challenge. :) :)

All of my above pontificating is done in jest Freddie. I love you a lot and I have loads of respect for you. This is all so much fun though!
 

Terry Ardeno

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Freddie,
I just glanced at the list you DID gamble with...Was Bill "Weenie Beanie" Staton on there? If he was, I missed it. On my fiirst two posts, I didn't dare list him becasue I would have been shocked if you 2 didn't lock up.

Also...
Unknown last names:
California California Shorty xxx
Nate Black Nate xxx
Vince Joe Dimaggio from Allingers in Philly xxx
Iceman Black Iceman xxx
Red Jew Town Red xxx
Charley The Ape xxx

***If these phantoms are unknown to EVEN YOU, how, pray tell, are they players "of some reknown." ???

You say you didn't know Bill Stephen, he beat Beanie in the 1994 Roanoke 1 Pocket Championships in May, 1994. Just under Toby Fleharty's speed.
 

fred bentivegna

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You may or may not be right

You may or may not be right

suki said:
On its face I would say no human being could remember that many people he played. I guess some people have unreal recall. Me, I can't remember much after my marriiage.
I will point out one thing though that makes the list suspect. You list One Eye Hank Hurst. You could not have played in from 1965-1990. He committed suicide in 1961. So how old are you Freddy? It is hard to believe you gambled with him in S.F. at that early age and I know Hank didn't go anywhere. He was my best friend from 1956.

There was a Hank from San Francisco that came to Bensingers in the early
60s, I just assumed it was him. Bud Harris (who was also from Frisco) knew him.

the Beard
 
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fred bentivegna

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Need some notoriety

Need some notoriety

glee said:
Keth Ryan Kans City Mo. Isis Pool Hall, Clem gave him a ball, Clem lost, How did you match up with Clem?
Angus McDonald, probably around L.A in the late 60's he was mentioned in the book " Off the Rail" about Okie Sams age.
Mexican Phil, probably not, he was a basket case in the late 60's.

In order to count, the players need some notoriety. They would have had to enter into the stream of action at some point, (tournaments, high rolling, etc.) For example: Cleo Vaughn, who seldom went anywhere, but was a known gambling target for anybody going through Alabama. Local yokels, who never left home court and kept the bet at 20 a game dont qualify.
Clem trapped me on a bar table playing 8 ball. I woke up quickly and quit. He went to jail immediately after that and pretty much quit playing.

the Beard
 

fred bentivegna

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Remember, old and over the hill dont count either.

Remember, old and over the hill dont count either.

Terry Ardeno said:
Freddie,
I counted 13 guys in your replies to my posts that you had in bold indicating you never gambled with them.
A couple of more notes...
You said Johnny Irish died in 1962...Johnny "Johnny Irish" Lineen died on March 17, 1965...that's 75 days into 1965 (your choice of a start date). I'll spot Johnny the 76th day (March 17th) and so not counting that, you still had 75 days in which to match up with him! :)

You said Ray Martin was only a straight pool player. Well, not counting his 3 King of The Hill 9 Ball victories over stacked fields, I call your attention to the 1998 Worl 1 Pocket Championship in Baton Rouge, La. 3rd place finisher was...RAY MARTIN. I know he played 1 pocket in the 1980's as well.

On the telephone, between making me laugh so hard with your stories, you said "Irving Crane never gambled". In the Jan / Feb 1983 issue of Billiards Digest, on page 24, 3rd colum over, Irving Crane says "I'm not a hustler "by trade"...."I play for money, but there's a difference."

When you said Johnny Vevis "wouldn't play" you...that means you didn't gamble with him.Good call on Alvin "Titanic Thomas" Thompson. He was born in 1892 BUT...although that did make him 73 in 1965, you did not mention any "age requirements" in your original challenge. :) :)

All of my above pontificating is done in jest Freddie. I love you a lot and I have loads of respect for you. This is all so much fun though!

I give. You tweaked the list a little, but I'll give you credit for a win. Squirrel, Fats, Taylor, Lassiter were all at the bottom of the gambling careers in 1965 and didnt gamble much after that. Send me your address and size and I'll send you a shirt anyway.
Johnny Irish used to go to Miami every winter and bet horses. The reason for my date of demise is I never got to meet him when I went down to Miami and hung out in Kramer's 79th and Biscayne pool room. He had been there the year before and everybody talked about him with respect and awe. I went to Miami every winter starting in 1961. So I never got to see him play. I thought the reason he wasnt there was because he was dead.

I played Ray Martin in that tourney in Baton Rouge. I also did the commentary on one of his matches. We are good pals, and he did come in 3rd in the tourney, but Ray's just a great pool player. He has little clue about 1pocket and would be the first to admit it.

And actually, I did later specify age requirements. I also never did see Crane lay a bet.



the Beard
 
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fred bentivegna

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Never played Beanie

Never played Beanie

Terry Ardeno said:
Freddie,
I just glanced at the list you DID gamble with...Was Bill "Weenie Beanie" Staton on there? If he was, I missed it. On my fiirst two posts, I didn't dare list him becasue I would have been shocked if you 2 didn't lock up.

Also...
Unknown last names:
California California Shorty xxx
Nate Black Nate xxx
Vince Joe Dimaggio from Allingers in Philly xxx
Iceman Black Iceman xxx
Red Jew Town Red xxx
Charley The Ape xxx

***If these phantoms are unknown to EVEN YOU, how, pray tell, are they players "of some reknown." ???

You say you didn't know Bill Stephen, he beat Beanie in the 1994 Roanoke 1 Pocket Championships in May, 1994. Just under Toby Fleharty's speed.

I only dont know their last names. They are players of reknown. Jay Helfert, for example, knows every one of them. Black Nate is still around. I ran into him at this year's DCC tourney.

The cutoff, remember was 1990. I was on the fade at that point myself.

the Beard
 

gulfportdoc

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Gulfport, Mississippi
fred bentivegna said:
Im not sure if its the same guy, Doc. Harry was a real creep, much disliked. Played real good 3 cushion and real good 1 handed 3 cush. Decent 1 pocket. I must have played Hollywood Jack, but I dont seem to remember doing it. He played at Celebrity Billiards right? If so, I had to have played him. Phillipino Gene and I never got down.
the Beard
Yeah, that's the Harry I remember. He was pretty much a true lock artist. I'm sure you'd know the late Hollywood Jack (Gabriele). He started as houseman at Hyd & Western in the late '50s, then he worked out at Chopstick's Billiards on Victory in N Hyd in the '60s. But he played pool and cards all over L.A. County. I'm sure he played at Celebrity and also Ye Billiard Den. Below is a thread from several months back about Jack. There's a link Steve put up about him with pictures.

http://www.onepocket.org/forum/showthread.php?t=892&highlight=hollywood+jack

Doc
 

glee

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Messages
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fred bentivegna said:
In order to count, the players need some notoriety. They would have had to enter into the stream of action at some point, (tournaments, high rolling, etc.) For example: Cleo Vaughn, who seldom went anywhere, but was a known gambling target for anybody going through Alabama. Local yokels, who never left home court and kept the bet at 20 a game dont qualify.
Clem trapped me on a bar table playing 8 ball. I woke up quickly and quit. He went to jail immediately after that and pretty much quit playing.

the Beard
How about
Junior Preston
Mark Tadd
Portland Don Watson and Long Beach
 
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Terry Ardeno

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Messages
467
From
Washington, Pa
fred bentivegna said:
The first guy that accumulates ten players I ducked or missed will win a Banking With The Beard T-shirt and a BWTB or The GosPool Book. This wont be easy. There are very few players that I didnt cross swords with. Further details will be posted by Steve very soon.

the Beard

Freddie,
Counting Weenie Beanie now, do I have enough for the GosPool?
Thanks,
Terry
 

BackPocket9Ball

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Philadelphia
100andout said:
I don't know too many from back in the day Freddie and I'm from the north east...

Jimmy Mats
Lou Johnson (Delaware)
Delaware dogs
Russell Parsons
Andy Toth
Dave Daya
Florida Bob Maidhoff
Kevin Milbourne
Don Polo

spelling might be a bit off, but thats all I can think of right now.

Gerry

Jimmy Matts was most definitely a gambler and a great, great 9-ball player from Pennsylvania who committed suicide in the 90s.

Russell Parsons was a very strong all-around player from Delaware. Doesn't play anymore. Gambled high.

Dave Daya is/was a very strong 9-ball player from central Pennsylvania. Played lower pro-speed in the 80s and 90s. Still plays strong. he's about 60. He plays about Larry Price's speed and is about the same age.

Don Polo was a strong straight pool player from ?New Jersey. Doesn't play anymore.
 

BackPocket9Ball

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fred bentivegna said:
I only dont know their last names. They are players of reknown. Jay Helfert, for example, knows every one of them. Black Nate is still around. I ran into him at this year's DCC tourney.

The cutoff, remember was 1990. I was on the fade at that point myself.

the Beard

Black Nate's last name is Colbert. He's from the DC area and was a top-notch one pocket player. He's in his late 60s and still plays strong.
 

fred bentivegna

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Long Beach

Long Beach

glee said:
How about
Junior Preston
Mark Tadd
Portland Don Watson and Long Beach

Junior Preston, Dont know him. Mark Tadd, 1990 on the way up as I was on the way out. He did come to Chicago, but I was done and didnt play. Portland Don. Was never around him except for Johnston City. He didnt play bank and I was totally uninterested in playing him anything else. Long Beach: Where the hell did you dig him out of? He was around Chicago in the early 60s. Terrific player, and an even better drunk. Drank lethal amounts of hard liquor. Beat him playing banks in Bensingers.

the Beard
 

fred bentivegna

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Ok, you are the first winner

Ok, you are the first winner

Terry Ardeno said:
Freddie,
Counting Weenie Beanie now, do I have enough for the GosPool?
Thanks,
Terry

Send me an address and a size.
Incidentally, the Beard T-Shirt is now semi-famous. The judge presiding over the biggest trial in the country, the Brown's Chicken multiple murder trial is an old pal (Vincent Gaughn) and alumnus of Bensingers. He has promised me he will wear my Beard T under his robe during the trial. He also has the second biggest case to handle, he is the judge in the R Kelly kiddy porn trial. So wear your shirt proudly.

the Beard
 

fred bentivegna

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Take two

Take two

BackPocket9Ball said:
Jimmy Matts was most definitely a gambler and a great, great 9-ball player from Pennsylvania who committed suicide in the 90s.

Russell Parsons was a very strong all-around player from Delaware. Doesn't play anymore. Gambled high.

Dave Daya is/was a very strong 9-ball player from central Pennsylvania. Played lower pro-speed in the 80s and 90s. Still plays strong. he's about 60. He plays about Larry Price's speed and is about the same age.

Don Polo was a strong straight pool player from ?New Jersey. Doesn't play anymore.

I'll credit you with two, Jimmy Matts and Russell Parsons. I dont remember any of these guys in the big tourneys in the 70s and 80s.

the Beard
 

glee

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fred bentivegna said:
Junior Preston, Dont know him. Mark Tadd, 1990 on the way up as I was on the way out. He did come to Chicago, but I was done and didnt play. Portland Don. Was never around him except for Johnston City. He didnt play bank and I was totally uninterested in playing him anything else. Long Beach: Where the hell did you dig him out of? He was around Chicago in the early 60s. Terrific player, and an even better drunk. Drank lethal amounts of hard liquor. Beat him playing banks in Bensingers.

the Beard
Fred this thread is getting to be a real kick!!!
Junior ( Amarillo Slim ) Preston, hes in the Gospool, him and Don Willis together, probably the rarest photo on the planet. Where in the hell did you get that picture???
How about Sleepy Bob Johnson??
Long Beach was around Cochrans in the late 50's , along with his running buddy, Tommy the Sailor, and their protage Marvin ( Stomach ) Yakieani
Wasn't much future in playing Portland Don nine ball, my high school buddy Bucktooth faded 14 racks in a row, never got to shoot, sent him and his dad Charlie back to East Oakland tapped out. If there was a man to duck playing nine ball, he had to be at the head of the list
 
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fred bentivegna

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Why didnt you say Amarillo Slim?

Why didnt you say Amarillo Slim?

glee said:
Fred this thread is getting to be a real kick!!!
Junior ( Amarillo Slim ) Preston, hes in the Gospool, him and Don Willis together, probably the rarest photo on the planet. Where in the hell did you get that picture???
How about Sleepy Bob Johnson??
Long Beach was around Cochrans in the late 50's , along with his running buddy, Tommy the Sailor, and their protage Marvin ( Stomach ) Yakieani
Wasn't much future in playing Portland Don nine ball, my high school buddy Bucktooth faded 14 racks in a row, never got to shoot, sent him and his dad Charlie back to East Oakland tapped out. If there was a man to duck playing nine ball, he had to be at the head of the list

Sleepy Bob rings a real bell, but I need more reminders. I dont remember if he and I played or not. There is a photo of Tommy the Sailor next to Artie Bodendorfer in the GosPool. Long Beach must have taught him how to be a drunk because he was certainly a hideous, foul drunkard. What was Long Beach's name? Marvin I did not know.

the Beard
 

glee

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fred bentivegna said:
Sleepy Bob rings a real bell, but I need more reminders. I dont remember if he and I played or not. There is a photo of Tommy the Sailor next to Artie Bodendorfer in the GosPool. Long Beach must have taught him how to be a drunk because he was certainly a hideous, foul drunkard. What was Long Beach's name? Marvin I did not know.

the Beard
Long Beach's real name might be a little tough to get, I'm down to two sources that are sort of reliable, he was a child prodigty pool player kind of like Keith Mckredy, and Bucktooth. He was around the Bay Area in the late 40's early 50's doing the child bandit thing. Quite a character!!
Sleepy Bob arrived at Cochrans in the late 50's along with his pal Legs. I watched VCR match between Jack Bret and Bob Osborne and Osborne is almost a clone of Sleepy Bob, cue ball control and speed. Hope that helps.
Ive got the VCR of your match with Eddie Burton, so between this thread and the neckties on the VCR I'll be in stiches till about tomorrow after noon.
Eddie Burton sort of resembles Richard ( the Canadian ) Franklin, a long time regular at Cochrans
 

Terry Ardeno

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fred bentivegna said:
I give. You tweaked the list a little, but I'll give you credit for a win. Squirrel, Fats, Taylor, Lassiter were all at the bottom of the gambling careers in 1965 and didnt gamble much after that.

the Beard

Freddie,
Luther Lassiter won the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in 141. in 1966 & 1967. He won the U.S. Open 14.1 Championship in 1970 & 1971 and finished 2nd in 1973. He also won the Johnston City 1 Pocket Championship in 1969, the 1967 & 1969 Johnston City 9 Ball Championships, the 1970 & 1971 Johnston City 14.1 Championships, The ALL AROUND TITLE in Johnston City in both 1967 & 1969. He also won the ALL AROUND CHAMPIONSHIP at the Stardust Open in 1971 as well as the 1971 Stardust Open 9 Ball Championship. To say that Wimpy was at the bottom of his gambling careeer may also be construed as "TWEAKING" it a little as well.:) In fact, since Luther didn't die until October 1988, and since he never had a job after leaving the U.S. Coast Guard as a teenager, all of his income came from gambling. With the exception of royalies from his book "Billiards for Everyone" that he had published in 1965 and his other book The Modern Guide to Pocket Billiards" that was published in 1964. If he was able to compete and WIN in the aforementioned fields, why would he NOT gamble, being that he was still a powerhouse?
 

Terry Ardeno

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Messages
467
From
Washington, Pa
fred bentivegna said:
The first guy that accumulates ten players I ducked or missed will win a Banking With The Beard T-shirt and a BWTB or The GosPool Book. This wont be easy. There are very few players that I didnt cross swords with. Further details will be posted by Steve very soon.

the Beard

Freddie,
I PROMISE I'm not trying to be a smart%#$ nor a pest. But, your previous post to me stated I won the shirt. Very much appreciated. But, I held off on getting the GosPool because I wanted it for after June 16. This is our 1st vacation since 1998 and I wanted to have it to read then. If I got it before then, I would have it done in a day or so. So here's my question...Did I win the GosPool also? If not, I still love you the same and I'll just ordet a copy.

If I did win the book (which I'm really hoping for, hint-hint) than would you mind inscibing something inside? Preferably something that when I die and my kids pick thru my books and read it, they won't think you hate me...:)
 

fred bentivegna

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Bud Harris

Bud Harris

glee said:
Long Beach's real name might be a little tough to get, I'm down to two sources that are sort of reliable, he was a child prodigty pool player kind of like Keith Mckredy, and Bucktooth. He was around the Bay Area in the late 40's early 50's doing the child bandit thing. Quite a character!!
Sleepy Bob arrived at Cochrans in the late 50's along with his pal Legs. I watched VCR match between Jack Bret and Bob Osborne and Osborne is almost a clone of Sleepy Bob, cue ball control and speed. Hope that helps.
Ive got the VCR of your match with Eddie Burton, so between this thread and the neckties on the VCR I'll be in stiches till about tomorrow after noon.
Eddie Burton sort of resembles Richard ( the Canadian ) Franklin, a long time regular at Cochrans

Maybe my recollection of Sleepy Bob, and now Legs, was a result of stories that Bud Harris would tell about Cochran's in Frisco. I'm sure I never played Legs. That might be why I thought I played 1 eyed Hank, because if I did I cant remember any particulars of the game. I'm sure I played a Hank that was on the road, but thats all I can recall. It was over 45 years ago.
The "Hat" Burton were good friends but would play whenever we ran into each other. For years I didnt know he was bald because he never took his hat off.

the Beard
 
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