Guest Post: Fast-Shooting Lou Butera Gunned ’em Down

Guest Post: Fast-Shooting Lou Butera Gunned ’em Down

by | Nov 27, 2019 | Historic Players, Lou Butera

Lou Butera got his “Machine Gun” nickname for his quick shooting style. By Jack Smiles/Guest Contributor Lou Butera photo courtesy of the Greater Pittston Historical Society Sam Butera opened a billiard parlor on South Main Street in Pittston, Pennsylvania, in 1937 the same year his son Lou Butera, later to be known as Machine Gun, was born. At 10 Lou was famous around the...
Guest Post: Puckett Still Haunting Texas Pool Hall?

Guest Post: Puckett Still Haunting Texas Pool Hall?

by | Oct 10, 2019 | Historic Rooms, Hustler Stories, U.J. Puckett

Poolroom regulars say the old pool hustler, dead now for more than 20 years, still causes mischief. By Jennifer Gardner Utley Puckett, better known to the pool world as hustler U.J. Puckett, was born in 1911 and died 81 years later, in 1992. In life he knew fame and fortune as a professional nine-ball and one-pocket champion alongside fellow sharks Jersey Red and Ronnie Allen. He was famous for...
Guest Post: CARTOONING IN THE POOL HALL

Guest Post: CARTOONING IN THE POOL HALL

by | Oct 4, 2019 | Pool Videos

Five fascinating examples of cartoons that prominently feature pool, pool playing or pool halls. By Ellen Levitt America’s Golden Age of animation began in the 1930s, an era almost precisely corresponding with the glory days of American pool. In 1935, not long after Willie Mosconi made his national tournament debut, Warner Brothers released its first Porky Pig cartoon. The studio followed...
The Spin on Pool: Innovator Francois Mingaud

The Spin on Pool: Innovator Francois Mingaud

by | Jun 30, 2019 | Equipment, Historical Notes, Industry History

By Allie Leigh Adams Francois Mingaud We can thank the French for some of pool’s most important innovations. Fifteenth-century French royalty, for instance, transitioned the game from one played on outdoor lawns to one played indoors on wooden tables. Another innovation — and perhaps nearly as important — was the addition of cue tips to wooden cues. Without cue tips, there would be no...