fred bentivegna
Verified Member
...and y'all didnt take it seriously? (With good reason???:lol) The one about when Sir Edmund Hillary was climbing in the Himalayas and he found a monastery high up and discovered that the Monks there had a room with a pool table in it. When he told the monks he had just came from Derby City in the US, the first thing the monks asked him was, "Hey, how's the Beard playing?" Well here is a vindication of that story from an email I got this morning from the son of the guy that used to own the Chicago Billiard Cafe:
Hey Freddy,
Long time no see. Hope you're in good health and still playing often.
I got a story for you: I've been living in the Netherlands for about 7 months now--I am studying at one of the universities in an exchange program. A few months ago, in the middle of winter, I was looking for something to do. I saw a posting on the door of the only poolhall for 20 miles, it was for a bank/one-pocket tournament. I was shocked that there would be a tournament like this in my small town in the middle of the Netherlands! Well, I hadn't played in 5 or 6 years, but I thought "what the ****", I'm from Chicago, I should be able to hold my own. It turns out I was pretty out of stroke, but I still managed to make it to the final 8. Anyhow, while I was there, word got around that I was from Chicago, and it turns out you have a large fan base in the Netherlands. I became an instant celebrity when they found out that I was a friend and old-time student of yours. A team of players from The Hague (there room is named the Hague 5) told me that they treat your book (Banking with the Beard) as a bible, and that they have weekly training sessions based upon it. The were starving for stories about you, and some of the other legends I was too young to fully appreciate back in the day.
I thought it was really cool that your persona has expanded so far, and I wanted to let you know about it. I don't know if you have ever been to the Netherlands, but I bet these guys would help pay your way if you were to give a lesson or two. I'm going to check on this for you. When I go and play in this Derby style tournament in a couple of months. All the guys I met will be there for the 10,000 euro guaranteed prize fund.
Good Luck and Good Health,
Kyle Van Den Bosch
University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Class of 2014
Hey Freddy,
Long time no see. Hope you're in good health and still playing often.
I got a story for you: I've been living in the Netherlands for about 7 months now--I am studying at one of the universities in an exchange program. A few months ago, in the middle of winter, I was looking for something to do. I saw a posting on the door of the only poolhall for 20 miles, it was for a bank/one-pocket tournament. I was shocked that there would be a tournament like this in my small town in the middle of the Netherlands! Well, I hadn't played in 5 or 6 years, but I thought "what the ****", I'm from Chicago, I should be able to hold my own. It turns out I was pretty out of stroke, but I still managed to make it to the final 8. Anyhow, while I was there, word got around that I was from Chicago, and it turns out you have a large fan base in the Netherlands. I became an instant celebrity when they found out that I was a friend and old-time student of yours. A team of players from The Hague (there room is named the Hague 5) told me that they treat your book (Banking with the Beard) as a bible, and that they have weekly training sessions based upon it. The were starving for stories about you, and some of the other legends I was too young to fully appreciate back in the day.
I thought it was really cool that your persona has expanded so far, and I wanted to let you know about it. I don't know if you have ever been to the Netherlands, but I bet these guys would help pay your way if you were to give a lesson or two. I'm going to check on this for you. When I go and play in this Derby style tournament in a couple of months. All the guys I met will be there for the 10,000 euro guaranteed prize fund.
Good Luck and Good Health,
Kyle Van Den Bosch
University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Class of 2014
