Remember When…
(This was the final installment of the Hill-Hill column that appeared in the last issue (April 2023) of Pool and Billiards magazine.)
Through the years this great sport of ours has certainly seen some changes. We have had our share of ups and downs with Pro Tours coming and going, some pool rooms flourishing while others closing their doors. I guess that is just the natural progression of the world, out with the old and in with the new. Let’s explore some of the old things that have fallen by the way side. Hopefully some of you younger players will find it interesting and for the gray-haired folks like myself maybe some of you will remember with a smile.
Tommy
Now to be fair, I started hanging around the pool room and playing seriously in the mid-eighties so I can’t say much about the pool scene before that.
Who remembers roll out nine ball? When I started playing nine ball we still played roll out. Anytime during a game if you didn’t like your shot, you could push out or roll out. Just klike the modern day push out, if the opponent didn’t like the shot they could give it back. The jump cue hadn’t become main stream yet so at the local level there weren’t too many guys you had to defend against the jump shot. Another huge different in roll out was how ball in hand worked. On a fould, ball in hand was behind the line or otherwise known as in the kitchen. If the next object ball was in the kitchen it would be spotted. Any ball that was pocked or knocked off the table during a foul would be spotted, in numerical order if multiple balls were the case. Sometimes scratching on a shot was the correct play depending on the situation. Needless to say, we practice the spot shot daily.
TJ
Texas Express nine ball rules took the place of roll out nine ball sometime in the late eighties. Texas Express are the same rules we still play under today. The common thought is the rules were changed in order to make the game faster and more exciting to hopefully attract television networks like CBS and ESPN.
Tommy
Movies, although there are a decent handful of pool related movies out there, only two had any kind of box office success. The Hustler starrring Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman is a must-see movie for any pool player in my opinion. In 1986 a movie called Top Gun hit the theaters and was a huge hit that made Tom Cruise the number one actor in the world. Soon after came the release of the pool movie The Color of Money with Keith McCready, Tom Cruise & Paul Newman. When this movie came out pool had been in decline but with the popularity of Tom Cruise and the movies use of top professional players there was a resurgence in our sport. Upscale pool rooms were popping up all over the country. Our sport was as popular as ever and it was now cool to be a pool player.
TJ
When Covid hit the world shut down. Many pool rooms were forced to shut down and leagues were put on hold. In this post-covid world we are living in the leagues are back up and running again and there are some new pool rooms opening but even though the pool world seems to be doing ok again we could sure use a good movie to thrust our sport back into the limelight once again.
Tommy
Let’s talk about Bar Leagues. Before the leagues found their way into the pool rooms and casino’s they were called Bar Leagues or tavern leagues. All of your local watering holes would put their best 5 players up against the bar down the road and around the corner. Players would play for bragging rights, a few drinks and some fun while defending their home turf. At the end of each session the winning team would get a great big trophy to be displayed at their home bar with all of their names on it. Those were good times and I will happily admit that I played on a few winning teams. One of those bars is still in business today and that trophy that is over 30 years old now is still standing in the same spot where we put it all those years ago. Every now and again I will go over there to have a beverage, look at that trophy in all it’s dust and glory and remember old friends and good times gone by.
TJ
My dad still enjoys playing in leagues. I am not old enough to remember the leagues playing out of the bars exclusively. All of our local leagues are based in the pool rooms with an occasional team playing out of a bar. It seems like now the leagues are so competitive with everyone trying to win the cash payouts or make it to the national tournaments that we sometimes forget that they are meant to be fun. Maybe the old bar leagues had It all figured out.
Tommy
Professional pool. I was blessed with just enough skill, a whole lot of heart and a bunch of pride and desire to play pool professionally. During my playing days we had the PBT (Professional Billiards Tour) followed by The RJ Reynolds Camel Pro Tour. Both tours are long since gone now. When the law was passed that smoking was prohibited indoors the RJ Reynolds Company (Camel cigarettes) no longer wanted to be the sponsor of a sport that was played exclusively indoors. Can’t really blame them for that. It is not my place to talk about why the PBT disbanded but I was that would have never happened. That was a good era for pool.
For many years the pool world survived without a professional organization to give the players a chance to make a living. The players had to fight for scraps. There were a few attempts at professional organizations but for whatever reason none of them have survived but it seems that maybe now this is turning around.
TJ
Professional pool seems tobe in pretty good shape these days. The Predator tour has plenty of stops. There are strong regional tours happening and plenty of open tournaments around the country to play in. I am a young player who is trying to make it as a professional. It is nice to see that although it may not happen for me that it is at least possible for someone like myself to make a living playing pool professionally.
Tommy
Well we certainly can’t talk about everything that has slipped away from us but a few other notable mentions would be THE USPPA player rating system. The Sands Regency open nine ball tournaments. It’s George cue cases and too many others to mention.
It’s always nice to stroll down the memory lane. It’s nice to remember people, players and places that are no longer with us but I honestly think pool is as strong today as it has ever been. I’m glad that I can still hit a ball half way decent and compete a little. I love to travel with TJ and watch all these young players. It is very exciting indeed.
Well folks that’s all we have fo this month. As always TJ & I appreciate you reading our stuff and we appreciate all of the nice feedback we have been getting from some of you out there. Until next month folks stay safe out there and keep that cue ball rollin.
