The Game of Characters

[The following post was submitted by Brad Royce of of Cut Throat Creations, LLC. I found it touching and wanted to share it here.]

When you walk in to a pool hall or billiards parlor, you never know whom you’ll meet. That is one of the great things about pool; the diversity of people who play the game. There are always characters in sports, but none that rival those belonging to the pool community. Having grown up through the 70’s & early 80’s as an avid baseball fan, I lived to see an era of great characters. Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, Luis Tiant, and so many others. Nicknames were more common and exotic then. “Oil Can”, “Catfish”, and the “Mad Hungarian”, to name a few. The nicknames seem to be fewer and the characters seem to be a thing of the past. Maybe it is the big contracts and the higher emphasis of business and investment that has made the game less for boys and more for businessmen in uniform. The game is still great and still played at an amazing level of skill and athleticism.

To me, the game that boasts the greatest level of characters is pool. All I need to do is look at the friends I have made over the years. In the pool world, I have befriended people from many walks of life and backgrounds that wouldn’t be likely acquaintances under normal circumstances. I have friends that are many years my senior and many years my junior. Most of these people would likely have nothing in common with me, except for a love for pool. Of course you tend to find other things in common as you talk, but those conversations would likely never take place without the foundation of pool.

Pool players seem to be a different breed of person. Many are addicted to action and competition. They love to be apart of it or around it. They are poolroom rats, they linger to watch or talk pool when they are not playing. These players all have stories, and always an audience to hear them. They talk about conquests, tournaments, money games & brushes with the legends of the game. And many of them sport nicknames. “Cornbread Red”, “The Magician”, “Bugs”, “Nubs”, is a few as colorful as the characters themselves. The game is great because it is played by men, women and children, by wealthy and poor and by the strong and the frail. What really makes it great is that you can find the unlikeliest friends from any of them.

Beyond the great challenge, complexity and beauty of the great game of pool is the great friendships that are forged by the common bonding appeal. I have met many great people as a result of this great game, some of which are no longer with us. These people were taken much too early, but their memory lives on and will be carried on in this page.

In Memory:

Jamie Jansen: A great and fierce competitor. This guy had an amazing will to win. He was one of the best bar table 9-ball players I’d ever met.

Rudy “Chico” Alanis: Just the thought of this guy brings a smile to my face. He always brought great humor and wit to the poolroom. He played a very strong game of pool, but was just as happy hustling Dominoes. Hell, I think he would’ve put money on a game of Hop Scotch.

Jerry Mills: Jerry surprised me with his generosity. He was always a fixture at the poolroom, but didn’t log that much table time. He could certainly play, very well at times. But Jerry seemed to thrive more from the camaraderie and relationships he had from pool. He loved the game, loved to watch it played and loved to share stories.

These were great friends and are definitely missed by many. May they rest in peace. The action room in heaven is will definitely be hopping.

Be sure to check out the Tribute Section on their site. If you’ve lost a loved one with a passion for pool, you can submit their bio and photos to be remembered.

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