Wimpy’s Norfolk Years: America’s Greatest Pool Town?
Norfolk during World War II was a mecca for big-time pool. Greatest pool town ever? Johnston City you say. New York during the 1960s? Ladies and gentlemen I present for your consideration Norfolk, Virginia. During World War II the Navy town was a wonderland of gambling, top-notch pool hustling and just general pandemonium. It also was in Norfolk that Wimpy Lassiter, arguably...
Favorite Pool Halls: Allinger’s, St. Elmo, Cue & Cushion
Pool halls. Everyone has a favorite. I was partial myself to Houston’s Cue & Cushion and Costa Rica’s Center Pool. Both now are defunct. For this post I’ve reproduced a number of letters I’ve received over the years about our readers’ favorite rooms. Some were stately. Others decrepit. But all, in their way, important. At the end of this post I’ve also...
Sociologist Recalls Jersey Red and 1960s Hustler Culture
A little more than 20 years ago I interviewed Ned Polsky, the late author of Hustlers, Beats and Others. We spoke about the 7-11 pool hall and Jersey Red and where pool’s been and where it was then going. Polksy himself had met Red at the 7-11 in Manhattan, and the two became fast friends. The 7-11, as you many New Yorkers may recall, was then one of the city’s premier action rooms....
Upstairs at the Low-Down Julian Billiards: A NYC Landmark
All the greatest pool halls require players to either go up or go down a flight of stairs to get to them. Julian’s, at 138 East 14th Street in New York City, was no exception. The famous second-floor room opened in 1933 and remained at that location for decades. It eventually gained a reputation for seediness. One old timer recalls: “I loved shooting pool at Julians. The big tables...
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