A young Jimmy Reid in action at Johnston City
Photo courtesy Kenneth Cook
‘Hippie’ Jimmy Reid was born 8-23-46 and as a youngster grew up in Gloucester, MA – an old New England fishing port and an unlikely town for a top pool player. However, Boston and the Olympia Billiard Room, better known as The Mines, wasn’t too far away, and there lurked ‘Boston Shorty’, Bob Ingersol, ‘Cuban Joe’ Valdez and other veterans of pool action.
Photo courtesy Jimmy Reid
Jimmy was gifted with a potent combination of talent, determination, and the confidence to be the best. Just the right age to catch the wave of popularity that swept pool in the years of The Hustler and Johnston City, Jimmy hit the road while he was still a teenager and began to work his way up the food chain among the great young players with names like Sigel, Hall and Rempe. By the time he entered his first Johnston City tournament, he was playing championship level pool. In 1972, Reid stood at the top of the leader board in both the 9-Ball and One Pocket divisions in Johnston City at the moment it was raided by the FBI. As one of the detained players, that raid cost him the chance to win the One Pocket crown that his good friend Jimmy Fusco ended up winning.
Reid is congratulated by Grady Mathews & Billy Incardona at the 2008 One Pocket Hall of Fame dinner
Photo courtesy Diana Hoppe
Reid is a US Open 9-Ball champion, and winner of numerous other tournaments, yet he considers ring games and after-hours action to be where he played his best. His best games were 9-Ball, and especially 10-Ball, but Jimmy was a fearsome One Pocket player as well, with an explosive offensive style of play.
In recent years he has inspired a whole new generation of players to both play their best, and bring their best attitude to the table through his popular videos and his website, freepoollessons.com. Jimmy credits his father for both his natural athleticism, and his positive attitude; his dad having been a champion boxer before he was seriously wounded during WWII.
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‘Hippie’ Jimmy Reid at the Stardust in 1973
Photo courtesy Conrad Burkman -
Conrad Burkman presents a trophy to Reid at a tournament a few years back
Photo courtesy Conrad Burkman
