Larry Price down on his shot at the 2010 Derby City Classic
Larry Price was born January 13, 1952 at Paintsville, KY, to the late Bill and Louella Price. Larry was one of five Price brothers, and all of them got their start at the poolroom in Mullins, West Virginia, that just happened to be owned by the legendary Bud Hypes. Larry’s oldest brother Jim was the first to discover his pool talent. As their surviving brother John recalls it, Bud considered Jim Price the most talented young player that he had ever met, but unfortunately Jim died in a car wreck at the age of nineteen.
Larry Price on the way to winning one of his two Bank Pool titles at the Derby City Classic
Larry’s introduction to pool came when his older brother John took him into Bud Hypes poolroom when Larry was just thirteen. John himself was only sixteen, but he was already continuing the family tradition of working for Bud Hypes, racking balls and such. As a young man, Larry developed into a strong player and began to travel for both tournament and after-hours competition. Somewhere along the way he picked up the nickname, “Turtle” for the way he bent down low over the cue ball.
Larry was a two-time Banks champion at the Derby City Classic, first in 2002 when he defeated Louis D’Marco in the finals, and then again in 2008 when he defeated Sylver Ochoa in the finals. There were 456 players in the Banks division in 2008, one of the largest fields ever assembled for a Banks tournament. Larry was an excellent all-around player who finished high in many regional events around the South. Larry died March 11, 2012, just a couple of months after that year’s Derby City Classic, where he cashed in both the Banks and the One Pocket divisions. He was pre-deceased by his wife Angie Eidson.
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Larry was featured in a local newspaper article back in the 80’s
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Larry as a young man
(Photo courtesy Sue Price)
