Youngblood

JAM

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Keith got a call last night from a player in California named "Youngblood." Keith's brother Mark saw Youngblood in Hard Times and gave him Keith's cell phone number. :p

As soon as the two of them started talking about the good old days, I couldn't help but overhear the joy in Keith's voice. They were reminiscing about some happy memories they both shared, to include the horses. :cool:

I thought it was funny that Keith asked Youngblood how he got to the horse racetrack, by bus or by car. Keith used to take a bus to the horses when he was younger, if he couldn't get a ride. :D

They both mentioned the loss of Ronnie Allen and Cole Dixon. In fact, I think I overheard Keith say that Youngblood went to Ronnie's funeral. They also talked about Cecil Tugwell, how tragic it was the way he passed.

Apparently, from what I could gather, Youngblood was from Kansas City originally, but now he lives in California. Though he's a bumps player from days gone by, his favorite game today to play is one-pocket. Why is it that when pool players age, they all end up playing one-pocket? I know if given a choice today when gambling, Keith would prefer to play one-pocket. Is that because it entails facets of all the pocket billiard games, 14.1, rotation, and banks? ;)

I would love to learn more about Youngblood, if anybody can please share some pool stories. :)
 

SJDinPHX

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Keith got a call last night from a player in California named "Youngblood." Keith's brother Mark saw Youngblood in Hard Times and gave him Keith's cell phone number. :p

Though he's a bumps player from days gone by, his favorite game today to play is one-pocket. Why is it that when pool players age, they all end up playing one-pocket? I know if given a choice today when gambling, Keith would prefer to play one-pocket. Is that because it entails facets of all the pocket billiard games, 14.1, rotation, and banks? ;)<--That's right Jen..However if you'll notice, the younger guys are finally realizing that fact..IMO, (and many others) its not an 'old man's game', its the best gambling/tournament game on a pool table !

I've known 'Blood' since he was a kid...Anywhere I've ever been, he eventually showed up..He even spent quite a bit of time here in Phx. He played all games well, but One Pocket was always his game of choice ! Good player, good scuff, good guy !

SJD
 

jrhendy

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May 24, 2004
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Placerville, CA
Keith got a call last night from a player in California named "Youngblood." Keith's brother Mark saw Youngblood in Hard Times and gave him Keith's cell phone number. :p

As soon as the two of them started talking about the good old days, I couldn't help but overhear the joy in Keith's voice. They were reminiscing about some happy memories they both shared, to include the horses. :cool:

I thought it was funny that Keith asked Youngblood how he got to the horse racetrack, by bus or by car. Keith used to take a bus to the horses when he was younger, if he couldn't get a ride. :D

They both mentioned the loss of Ronnie Allen and Cole Dixon. In fact, I think I overheard Keith say that Youngblood went to Ronnie's funeral. They also talked about Cecil Tugwell, how tragic it was the way he passed.

Apparently, from what I could gather, Youngblood was from Kansas City originally, but now he lives in California. Though he's a bumps player from days gone by, his favorite game today to play is one-pocket. Why is it that when pool players age, they all end up playing one-pocket? I know if given a choice today when gambling, Keith would prefer to play one-pocket. Is that because it entails facets of all the pocket billiard games, 14.1, rotation, and banks? ;)

I would love to learn more about Youngblood, if anybody can please share some pool stories. :)

He was a regular around the Los Angeles area a little before Keith came along. He was a stone horse nut, as was I, and you would see him at the track as often as the pool room.

The first time I played him was in the mid to late 70's, and he was traveling with L.A. Mo. After a few games of watching him bank in those long rail banks at warp speed like they were hangers, I quit and we moved over to the snooker table and I got even plus.

He would send it at the race track, and pool was just a game to pump up for the horses. He was an action man and when he showed up you knew there would be some kind of game.

I was at Santa Anita once with your guy Keith after he had knocked off a good score at the original Hard Times in Costa Mesa the night before. He had around 3k on him when the races started and had about $800 left for the last race. I asked him how much he was going to bet and he looked at me like I bumped my head.
 

JAM

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He was a regular around the Los Angeles area a little before Keith came along. He was a stone horse nut, as was I, and you would see him at the track as often as the pool room.

The first time I played him was in the mid to late 70's, and he was traveling with L.A. Mo. After a few games of watching him bank in those long rail banks at warp speed like they were hangers, I quit and we moved over to the snooker table and I got even plus.

He would send it at the race track, and pool was just a game to pump up for the horses. He was an action man and when he showed up you knew there would be some kind of game.

I was at Santa Anita once with your guy Keith after he had knocked off a good score at the original Hard Times in Costa Mesa the night before. He had around 3k on him when the races started and had about $800 left for the last race. I asked him how much he was going to bet and he looked at me like I bumped my head.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! That sounds like my Keithy. :lol

Keith loves Santa Anita. He talks about it often, even to this day. He says how beautiful it is out there. :)

Youngblood sounds like a cool cat. I like him. :p

Thanks for sharing, John. I absolutely adore hearing the talk from those who walked the walk like you. :cool:
 

fred bentivegna

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LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! That sounds like my Keithy. :lol

Keith loves Santa Anita. He talks about it often, even to this day. He says how beautiful it is out there. :)

Youngblood sounds like a cool cat. I like him. :p

Thanks for sharing, John. I absolutely adore hearing the talk from those who walked the walk like you. :cool:

His name is actually James Brown. I have a great story of when he and I were on the road together in Detroit and he almost got me killed. It is in my book and I am going to give it to Robt Cotton LeBlanc and his sister Sydney, to publish in his new internet magazine, "Cotton's Tales." I had already promised them the story so you will have to read it in the December issue of Cotton's Tales. http://confessionsofapoolhustler.com/magazine/

Beard

That wasnt the only time "Texas Blood" (another nickname) almost got me killed. I beat him playing even Onepocket at the Rack for $1800 with Al Sherman staking him, and Sherman later cornered me in an alcove and put a 9mm into my gut and demanded his money back. Sherman couldnt believe that I could beat 'Blood on the square. Blood had a very good line of shit that he would dispense shamelessly to prospective backers, whereby he would describe his pool talents to be well above his actual level. Cardone eventually straightened out the beef -- but I did not get the win money back. I always wondered why, if he thought Blood tossed him, why did he put the pistol on me?
 

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JAM

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Oh, Fred, this is good stuff. Wow! I can't wait to show Keith this thread.

Thanks for the photo, too. Man, I love this kind of talk! :cool:

What would REALLY be neat is if Billy Incardona chimes in about that incident. ;)

I hope other forum members post on this thread as well. That is what is very unique about this forum. It is so rich with history by those who were actually there.
 

mr3cushion

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Sep 17, 2008
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Cocoa Beach, FL
His name is actually James Brown. I have a great story of when he and I were on the road together in Detroit. It is in my book and I am going to give it to Robt Cotton LeBlanc and his sister Sydney, to publish in his new internet magazine, "Cotton's Tales." I had already promised them the story so you will have to read it in the December issue of Cotton's Tales. http://confessionsofapoolhustler.com/magazine/

Beard

Freddy; I don't know if you remember, I used to play him 3 cushion on table #7 in Bensingers. He never stopped jabbering the entire game, which usually didn't last long, thank God! lol!

When I get ready to start work on my life story, I'll reveal a play Blood, myself and Louie Roberts maneuvered one night down the street from Bensingers!

Bill Smith "Mr3Cushion"
 

androd

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New Braunfels tx.
I hope other forum members post on this thread as well. That is what is very unique about this forum. It is so rich with history by those who were actually there.

When I met him he was very young and small, everyone called him "Baby James"
We took him with us to Shreveport and Little Rock with us. It was the early 60's and the cops in North Little Rock rousted us sitting outside an action joint where Barefoot Calvin (he was about 12/13 years old) played. They wanted to know what we were doing with that little jigaboo in our car.
My partner was a sharp guy, he said "this guys a jockey and we're going to Hot Springs to bet on a fixed race, but he won't give us the name of the horse til we get him there." Someone said this spot has great sandwich's and we're getting them to go.
They started laughing and shaking their heads and said "get outta here"
James said can we wait on our food they said "get your asses outta here now " :)
Rod.
 

1on1pooltournys

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Oh, Fred, this is good stuff. Wow! I can't wait to show Keith this thread.

Thanks for the photo, too. Man, I love this kind of talk! :cool:

What would REALLY be neat is if Billy Incardona chimes in about that incident. ;)

I hope other forum members post on this thread as well. That is what is very unique about this forum. It is so rich with history by those who were actually there.

Good stuff indeed. I'd never heard of this guy but sounds interesting.
 

wincardona

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Dallas Tx.
Oh, Fred, this is good stuff. Wow! I can't wait to show Keith this thread.

Thanks for the photo, too. Man, I love this kind of talk! :cool:

What would REALLY be neat is if Billy Incardona chimes in about that incident. ;)

I hope other forum members post on this thread as well. That is what is very unique about this forum. It is so rich with history by those who were actually there.

Al Sherman was a top professional thief, in every sense of the word. He made scores that were unbelievable...we're talking hundreds of thousands, many many times. Al was also a close friend of the boss of "The Purple Gang" a notorious violent Jewish gang that reigned during the prohibition era, but remained strong ever since. Al being Jewish himself was adopted and used by the Purple Gang, and because of that Al used them as his muscle and wasn't afraid to let people know that he was a dangerous person if intimidated in any way.:eek: :focus Of course he didn't like to get beat, that was his racket..beating people. And yes Youngblood was a top "con man" when it came to selling himself and he did that when he sold Al the idea of staking him against Freddie. After Youngblood lost Al felt that he got had and retaliated to "even the score" He went after Freddie because he actually loved Youngblood and gave him a pass because of that. Freddie then came to me knowing that I was doing business with Al along with another man by the name of Phill Hubbard. Phill and Al were extremely tight and respected one another and Phill was my partner in Detroit during the time when the gambling in Det. was only second to Las Vegas. I went to Al along with Phill and explained to Al that Freddie was totally innocent along with Yougblood, and there wasn't any underhanded dealings of any kind. Plus I said that Freddie would probably lose the money back at some point which made the story easier to digest.:D Since Al loved Youngblood and totally understood the the pit falls in gambling he was content to leave it alone and get back to doing what he did best. Beating people.

Detroit was filled with characters during the time when gambling on pool was at it's highest, and there wasn't any where in the world where I would of rather been than in Detroit during that time. It certainly was the highlight of my life, and I can honestly say that my experiences in Detroit were more exciting and interesting than any one could imagine. "The Rack" and the "characters" that frequented there will never be forgotten."The Rack" reigned from the late 70's through the 90's, and if you missed it you really missed something special.:D


Bill Incardona
 

Frank Almanza

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Youngblood and I played a few times in the seventies and eighties. Nice guy and easy to get along with.
In the LA open in 93 he was playing a one pocket match with an east coast player (I just can't remember who it was but it will eventually come to me (Fusco?) and was ahead in the match. The east coast player complained to the TD that James was taking too long to shoot. After that he never won another game. Steve Cook won that tournament.
 

JAM

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When I met him he was very young and small, everyone called him "Baby James"
We took him with us to Shreveport and Little Rock with us. It was the early 60's and the cops in North Little Rock rousted us sitting outside an action joint where Barefoot Calvin (he was about 12/13 years old) played. They wanted to know what we were doing with that little jigaboo in our car.
My partner was a sharp guy, he said "this guys a jockey and we're going to Hot Springs to bet on a fixed race, but he won't give us the name of the horse til we get him there." Someone said this spot has great sandwich's and we're getting them to go.
They started laughing and shaking their heads and said "get outta here"
James said can we wait on our food they said "get your asses outta here now " :)
Rod.

Aw, "Baby James." That's cute! :)

Yeah, the '60s were a trubulent time in our country as far as racial tensions, but in the pool room, I never noticed any. It didn't matter whether you were black, white, brown, rich, poor, old, young, fat, skinny. In the pool rooms, the players would let their sticks do the talking. Pool, thank goodness, was color-blind for me. :)
 

JAM

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Al Sherman was a top professional thief, in every sense of the word. He made scores that were unbelievable...we're talking hundreds of thousands, many many times. Al was also a close friend of the boss of "The Purple Gang" a notorious violent Jewish gang that reigned during the prohibition era, but remained strong ever since. Al being Jewish himself was adopted and used by the Purple Gang, and because of that Al used them as his muscle and wasn't afraid to let people know that he was a dangerous person if intimidated in any way.:eek: :focus Of course he didn't like to get beat, that was his racket..beating people. And yes Youngblood was a top "con man" when it came to selling himself and he did that when he sold Al the idea of staking him against Freddie. After Youngblood lost Al felt that he got had and retaliated to "even the score" He went after Freddie because he actually loved Youngblood and gave him a pass because of that. Freddie then came to me knowing that I was doing business with Al along with another man by the name of Phill Hubbard. Phill and Al were extremely tight and respected one another and Phill was my partner in Detroit during the time when the gambling in Det. was only second to Las Vegas. I went to Al along with Phill and explained to Al that Freddie was totally innocent along with Yougblood, and there wasn't any underhanded dealings of any kind. Plus I said that Freddie would probably lose the money back at some point which made the story easier to digest.:D Since Al loved Youngblood and totally understood the the pit falls in gambling he was content to leave it alone and get back to doing what he did best. Beating people.

Detroit was filled with characters during the time when gambling on pool was at it's highest, and there wasn't any where in the world where I would of rather been than in Detroit during that time. It certainly was the highlight of my life, and I can honestly say that my experiences in Detroit were more exciting and interesting than any one could imagine. "The Rack" and the "characters" that frequented there will never be forgotten."The Rack" reigned from the late 70's through the 90's, and if you missed it you really missed something special.:D


Bill Incardona

OMG, Billy. I'd have been walking on pins and needles in the Rack with that Purple Gang. :eek:

Thanks for sharing this great pool happening, Billy. I love hearing about the golden years of pool. We were so fortunate to experience the best that pool ever had to offer.

Today's tournament soldiers won't have ride as far as we all did. I don't care what anybody says. Before the Internet, the road warriors would come into town, step up to the plate, and it was anybody's guess who would come out on top. Most times, there was not haggling or handicapping. They would play each other blind, just to get played, and then adjust. Today, everybody's looking for somebody to drop their wallet. There's no gamble anymore.

Great stuff in this thread! :)
 

JAM

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Youngblood and I played a few times in the seventies and eighties. Nice guy and easy to get along with.
In the LA open in 93 he was playing a one pocket match with an east coast player (I just can't remember who it was but it will eventually come to me (Fusco?) and was ahead in the match. The east coast player complained to the TD that James was taking too long to shoot. After that he never won another game. Steve Cook won that tournament.

Was it Geese from the East Coast? He was on the road out there in California during that time period, I think.

Wish we had the pool tournaments today that there used to be. They're drying up now. So-called pro-caliber players are banned from many tournaments today, as the regional tours are geared more for the amateur or recreational shooter. Nothing wrong with that, I guess.

No more tournaments, and the Internet killed the action in pool. I'm hoping something's going to happen for the better soon in pool. This Mosconi Cup coming up is exciting. I do enjoy that! :)
 

fred bentivegna

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chicago illinois
Al Sherman was a top professional thief, in every sense of the word. He made scores that were unbelievable...we're talking hundreds of thousands, many many times. Al was also a close friend of the boss of "The Purple Gang" a notorious violent Jewish gang that reigned during the prohibition era, but remained strong ever since. Al being Jewish himself was adopted and used by the Purple Gang, and because of that Al used them as his muscle and wasn't afraid to let people know that he was a dangerous person if intimidated in any way.:eek: :focus Of course he didn't like to get beat, that was his racket..beating people. And yes Youngblood was a top "con man" when it came to selling himself and he did that when he sold Al the idea of staking him against Freddie. After Youngblood lost Al felt that he got had and retaliated to "even the score" He went after Freddie because he actually loved Youngblood and gave him a pass because of that. Freddie then came to me knowing that I was doing business with Al along with another man by the name of Phill Hubbard. Phill and Al were extremely tight and respected one another and Phill was my partner in Detroit during the time when the gambling in Det. was only second to Las Vegas. I went to Al along with Phill and explained to Al that Freddie was totally innocent along with Yougblood, and there wasn't any underhanded dealings of any kind. Plus I said that Freddie would probably lose the money back at some point which made the story easier to digest.:D Since Al loved Youngblood and totally understood the the pit falls in gambling he was content to leave it alone and get back to doing what he did best. Beating people.

Detroit was filled with characters during the time when gambling on pool was at it's highest, and there wasn't any where in the world where I would of rather been than in Detroit during that time. It certainly was the highlight of my life, and I can honestly say that my experiences in Detroit were more exciting and interesting than any one could imagine. "The Rack" and the "characters" that frequented there will never be forgotten."The Rack" reigned from the late 70's through the 90's, and if you missed it you really missed something special.:D


Bill Incardona

Sherman didnt weight 110 lbs when he put that pistol on me, and he was 70 plus years old. I could have (and would have) taken it away from him, save for the fact that I knew he had the infamous murderous Purple Gang hit-man, Candy backing him up outside of the alcove that he confronted me in.

Beard
 

androd

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Dec 10, 2008
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New Braunfels tx.
Aw, "Baby James." That's cute! :)

Yeah, the '60s were a trubulent time in our country as far as racial tensions, but in the pool room, I never noticed any. It didn't matter whether you were black, white, brown, rich, poor, old, young, fat, skinny. In the pool rooms, the players would let their sticks do the talking. Pool, thank goodness, was color-blind for me. :)

The reason we had James along was in the small towns in the south, Blacks weren't allowed in White rooms but Whites could go in the Black rooms and gamble.
This was before the Blacks became militant.
James could get something started everywhere. :) He rarely shut up.
Rod.
 

androd

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New Braunfels tx.
Though he's a bumps player from days gone by, his favorite game today to play is one-pocket. Why is it that when pool players age, they all end up playing one-pocket? I know if given a choice today when gambling, Keith would prefer to play one-pocket. Is that because it entails facets of all the pocket billiard games, 14.1, rotation, and banks? ;)

It's the only game where you can miss and still win.
Rod.
 
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