Saturday, July 4, 2009

The Hole

The Hole:

My dad ran this pool hall, on Troost, half block north of 47th, at night (after working his day job) so I spent a lot of time there. It was a big place that catered to older men. I learned enough there that when I had a traveling job a few years later, I was able to go in any small town pool hall and hold my own.

Rains and I used to play some intense games of 8 Ball, since both of us were equally competitive. Lots of others, too, played there as well as another place just south of 47th on the east side of Troost. Not as big a pool hall, but it catered to teens and the guy who ran it, Paul, would let you play on credit.

2 comments:

Bob Pflanz said...

So you're telling me that your dad worked in a hole? Was that the name of the place, or just your feelings about it? Surely, it was something like "Fred's billard parlor" and not "The Hole"?

Rex Weddle said...

The official name of the place was Rockhill Billiards, located on the east side of Troost; however, it was in a huge basement with front and back entrances. When you went down either set of steps, it was just like descending into a hole. Large space' something like 16 tables.