Pool Players Photos Rod's Home Edited: 03-19-13 15:27
(Most of these photos came from Mary Kenniston's wall & other contributors via FB. Only now, we can find the player of interest in seconds.)
Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to that section of the glossary. For a number or digit, choose the '#' link.
Al Hogue, Denver, Grand Junction, Colo, 70s, 8-ball & 1-pocket
Al 'Little Al' Romero, Seattle & Los Angeles, 70s, 8-ball. He played tough &very slow
Allen Hopkins 'Young Hoppe' & Mary K. Port Angeles, Vegas, Birmingham & North Carolina, 70s & 80s; 8-ball & 1-pocket
Andy Olguin, Amarillo, Texas, 70s, 8-ball &pitching qtrs to a line
Artie Bodendorfer 70s not much action except when Stormy Hunter chose to play Rod instead of Art. Rod cleaned up at 8-ball in Shelbyville, IN
Benny 'Goose' Conway, Wichita, 70s, 8-ball
Bernard 'Pots & Pans' Rogoff, 60s FL & 80’s NV
Bernardo 'King Kong' Chavez, Los Angeles, late 60s, 8-ball, late 70s, Las Vegas, 8-ball
Bill Amadeo 'Ole Man Bill' kept Rod in cheap action (9, 8 or 1-pocket) all over the US & kept Rod up 24 hrs while opponent show 24 hrs late
Bill Milke, Madison, Wis, 70s, 8-ball
Bill Mullens on the far right brought in some College football players to arm-wrestle Rod cheap & then
beat Rod playing 9-ball 1965 Tampa 
Bill Stack, Jackson, Mississippi, 70s, 8-ball
Bill 'Weenie Beenie' Staton, VA / West VA, FL 60s
Bill Stigel, Tampa. Fla, 8-ball
Billy Burge Cornbread Red Detroit, Reno Cincinnati 70s & 80s
Billy Incardona 'Cardone' Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Vegas, 70s & 80s. Rich Geiler 'The Hat' looking on.
Billy Stroud, Tulsa, OK, 70s
Billy Ray Sudan, San Jose, Missouri, Okla City, 70s, 8-ball& 9-ball
Billy Weir, 70s-80s, Clovis NM, Longdale OK & Denver, 8-ball; Billy beat all the pro in ring 9-ball after Baton Rouge Tourney
Bob Hernandez 'Bakersfield Bob' busted Rod in TX 8-ball but Rod pumped up via Grady so Bob got greedy & Rod won it all + arm wrestling
Bob 'Bob Ogburn' Osbourne, Hialeah, FL, 1965
Bobby Leggs, in his club in Indiana playing 8-ball, 70s
Bob Smith, red-headed, Toledo, OH, 70s
Buddy Dennis, Baltimore & Okla, 60s & 70s. 8-ball & 1-pocket
Calvin Hargrove, 'Country Calvin' Ark, Texas, Louisiana, 70s
Canadian Pete, Michigan City, IN, 8-ball, 70s & 80s
Cecil Hall 'Buddy Hall' The Rifleman, Kentucky, 70s & 80s, Oklahoma, Colo Springs, Sacramento.
Charles 'Bucktooth' Cook, Oakland, Reno, Vegas 70s
CJ Wiley, Dallas, TX
Cole Dixon, Las Vegas, 1-pocket
Cross-eyed Ray, Atmore, Ala, 60s, 8-ball
Dallas West, Rockford, 8-ball 70s
Danny DiLiberto, since 1964 in Miami, Alexander, seen all over the Country
Danny 'Handsome Danny' Jones (with Eddie Taylor) since 1965-80s in OH FL LA 8-ball & pitching qtrs to the spot
Dan Louie, WA, Port Angeles, CO 70s, 8/9-ball straight pool. On a road trip, player quit Dan because he brought his own powder (not really)
Danny Medina, Denver & Las Vegas, 70s & early 80s, 8-ball & 1-pocket
David Howard 'Little David the Giant Killer' FL when he was a teenager 1965+, Oklahoma in early 80s
Dave Knottingham, 70s-80s, Sheridan, WY, Vegas
Dave Matlock, Ponca City, Ok, 70s, 8-ball; Rod never lost a race to 15 & would have won the bet except they played 10 ahead & it took 2 days
Dave 'Cadillac Dave' Piona, Oregon & Willard, OK, 70s, 8-ball
Denny Searcy, Houston, Okla & NC, 60s&70’s, all games, cue/broom/chop-sticks/bumper pool
Dick 'San Jose Dick' McMoran, Dallas, late 60s, 8-ball; his backer pulled a gun on Rod after Rod won in 8-ball
Dick Lane, Houston, late 70s, 8-ball
Dick McGivern, OR CA WA 1970s
Dick Miles, Utah & Las Vegas, 70s, 8-ball & 1-pocket on a bar table
Doc 'The Poet' White, Albuquerque, Canyon City, Colo, 8-ball, I ran 8 racks & won, he got one shot)
Don 'Waterdog' Edwards, Denver, 70s, 8-ball/ straight pool, all sized tables, ran 98 balls & won 100 to -1
Don McCoy, Des Moines, Iowa, 70s-early 80s. After 5 yrs on the road with Rod, Omaha John only lost 2 matches (McCoy & Earl Strickland)
Don 'Portland Don' Watson, Deland, Fla, 60s & Alabama, late 70s, 1-pocket
Don Willis, Akron, Ohio, 70s *
Donnie Folks, Bartlesville, OK, 8-ball; Omaha John beat him playing 9-ball on a snooker table
Earl Strickland, Rod is 6-0-1 with Earl for big $. 60s-80s Houston/Okla in 8-ball/last-pocket/pitching qtrs after Earl beat Omaha John in 9-ball
Eddie 'Champagne Eddie' Kelly, Baltimore/Fredrick, MD, 60s, asked him to play over the phone *
Eddie 'Detroit Whitey' Beauchene, Las Vegas, Nev, 70s, I had him brain-dead shooting 1-pocket.
Eddie 'The Hat' Burton, South Carolina, 60s, 8-ball
Eddie Taylor 'Knoxville Bear' Lot of respect for Eddie in Shreveport where he played golf on the bar box. Old-timer Champions Bunch
Erman Bullard, Tulsa & Okla City, late 70s, Plays all games, especially banks. Omaha John beat Erman playing 9-ball after Rod won at 8-ball
Ernest 'Nubby' Morgan, Las Vegas, 70s, 8-ball & 1-pocket on bar table
Ernesto Dominguez at a tourney Scott K threw the cue ball with tip of his cue across the room, landed on Ernesto's head & hence the hospital
Fat Randy, Tulsa, 70s, 8-ball
Felipe 'Mexican Phil' Valdez, Denver, 70s, 8-ball & 1-pocket on a bar table
Gabe Owen came thru Utah & beat Rod 2003 after Rod retired from the Gov & 20 yrs after retirement from pro pool but left town the next day
Gary Pinkowski, great guy where Rod met him in 1964-65 bartending on N. Miami Beach. Gary & Rod partnered up hustling North of Miami.
Gene Catron Not much action but good at knock-down dominos & proposition shots 70s
Gene 'The Machine' Cooper, Port Angeles & Sacramento, 70s, 8-ball, 1-pocket & pitching qtrs
George Brunt,Milwaukee,70s,8-ball; tripled the bet, played last pocket, Rod won every game, $300 per; two great pool players/friends
George 'Tacoma Whitey' Michaels, Tacoma & Seattle,70s, 1-pocket & 8-ball; sore loser
Grady Mathews: good friend & although Rod won every game on bar/3-cushion table, Grady won more $ on big table: 1-pocket in CO 1980
Greg 'Big Train' Stevens chased Rod from Wichita KS to Galveston TX in 1966, Rod won 8-ball, Greg won 9-ball & nicknamed 'Surfer Rod'
Greg Sullivan, Indiana & Kentucky, 70s. Greg had a lot of proposition games & made his own jewelry for sale
Harry McConnell The Horse. Rod in the Navy stationed at Phily, was impressed by Harry's stroke at Allinger's. Later in 65, Rod beat him 8-ball
Harry Platis was 1st mentored by Rod in Seattle 1974. They have been opponents & partners for big $ (lot's of stories) (with Mary Kenniston)
Harry 'Poochie' Sexton, Detroit & Flint, Mich, 60s & 70s, 8-ball
Ismael 'Morro' Paez, San Jose/Las Vegas 70s, 8-ball; last-pocket 8-ball
Jack 'Frisco' Cooney, Okla City, 70s, hustled Rod for a spot playing 1-pocket but would not play even
James 'Youngblood' Brown, Stockton, CA & Chicago, late 60s, 8-ball Denver, last-pocket 8-ball
James Christopher, Houston, 60s/ColoSprings 80s, 1-pocket, 8-ball & last pocket 8-ball
James 'Junior' Norris, Wichita Falls, Texas, 70s & 80’s, 8-ball, 9-ball & 6-ball
Jay 'Swanee' Swanson, Atlanta, 70s, 9-ball on a bar table
Jeff Carter, Omaha & Madison, WI, 70s, 8-ball. Rod won every game in a short set for $300.
Jerry Brock, Mobile, Ala, 70s, 8-ball, last-pocket 8-ball & 1-pocket
Jersey Red, Jack Brett, NJ / Las Vegas 60s / 70s *
Jim 'King James' Rempe, Houston, 60s, 8-ball when he was reigning champion
Jimmy Caras put on an exhibition in San Diego while Rod was in the pool room. Rod left for the East Coast via ship thru Panama Canal, 1963
Jimmy 'The Phily Flash' Fusco, Detroit, Mich, 70s, 1-pocket but he didn't play long
Jimmy Mataya, Lansing/Las Vegas, 60s thru early 80s, 8-ball when he was reigning champion
Jimmy Marino, Washington, PA, 60s or 70s, 8-ball & 9-ball
Jimmy 'Cowboy' Moore, Albuquerque, 70s, 1-pocket; we both had nice slip strokes back then.
Jimmy 'Hippie Jimmy' Reid, Las Vegas, 70s *
Jimmy 'Fly Boy' Spears, Houston/Tenn, 70s, 8-ball; Rod had his number & won a lot over the yrs
Joe Barlett Smokey Joe, 70s-80s, Mississippi, Abilene, Reno
Joe 'Tracy Joe' Salazar, Las Vegas, 70s 8-ball & 1-pocket
Joey Spaeth, Cincinnati, 70s The Cincinnati Kid + his son. Rod played them both one-pocket on the big table. Have funny story regarding Jr.
Joey Torma 'Dallas Joey' Denver, 8-ball & 9-ball
John 'Mexican Johnny' Vasquez, Miami, El Paso, TX, 60s & 70s, 8-ball & 1-pocket
John McHenry 'John Henry' all night club outside Chicago, late 60s (9-ball) & Oklahoma, 70s, 8-ball
John Shuput 'Omaha John' & Rod are best friends who went on the road (77-82) playing their specialties. John only
lost twice in 5 yrs 
Johnny Ervolino since 1965, Miami Beach, dog-track, New Jersey, NYC
Johnny Irish, Miami with cue & broom handle, '64' or '65' playing 8-ball at the Calypso, Miami Beach
Junior Brown, Wichita, Kansas, 70s, 8-ball
Junior Sweatman, Miss & Birmingham, late 60s, 8-ball & 9-ball (played 2 days alternating opponents)
Keith McCready, Port Angeles/Houston/LA, 70s & 80s where Rod won in 8-ball & pitching qtrs & Keith won in 9-ball & 1-pocket
Larry 'Iceman' Hubbart, Baton Rouge & ColoSprings 1980, 8-ball & last-pocket 8-ball
Larry Johnson 'Boston Shorty' Las Vegas, 70s
Larry 'The Prince of Pool' Lisciotti, Miami, 60s, after Rod saw him play in NYC, Rod won playing 8-ball
Leonard Rucker Bugs shot Rod's ball in, Rod shot Bugs' in, etc but would hook Bugs so he could not make Rod's. Dirty 8-ball in 70s Chicago
Lewis 'Junior/Lefty' Goff, Florida border town, all-night club, 70s, 1-pocket
Lou 'Machine Gun' Butera, Los Angeles, 70s *
Louie 'St. Louie-Louie' Roberts, across border, Orange, TX, 70s, 8-ball & with a spot in 9-ball
Louis 'Little Hand' Bramlett, Texas 60s, 8-ball & 1-pocket
Luther 'Wimpy' Lassiter, Jack & Jills, VA, late 60s *
Marcel Camp, Miami, 60s, 8-ball & 1-pocket
Mark Haddad, UT 2005 after Rod retired, Mark had Rod stuck 26 games at $500/game, Rod doubled the bet & won 8 in a row, they quit
Mark Jarvis 'Chip' Chicago, on the road in the South, 70s-80s
Mark 'Mark Tadd' Tademy, SLC, 80s after Rod retired, Rod use to give him a ball in 1-pocket; he learned cheap
Mark Wilson, 70s Wisconsin & Vegas. Nice guy but he more or less watched *
Marshall 'Squirrel' Carpenter, Las Vegas, 70s, 1-pocket, Rod hopped the rack, banked them in & ran out over & over
Michael 'Geese' Gerace, DC, 60s, proposition shots, Oregon, 70s, 1-pocket
Mike 'Tennessee Tarzan' Massey, TN & LA, 70s, we visited some but never played for money *
Mike Sigel, Little Rock/Denver,70s, 8-ball for a nickel? Rod said 'sure.' Mike comes back, wants odds *
Nick Varner, nice gentleman, Owensboro, KY, 70s *
Norman Hitchcock, Dallas, Okla City & Longdale, Okla, 70s, 9-ball & 8-ball
Norman Howard 'Jockey' In Michigan City IN, Jockey put a msg on the windshield of Rod's car, 'Bet more was here.' 70s, Detroit
Pete 'Cheyenne Pete' Trujillo, Denver/Cheyenne, 70s, 8-ball but Rod lost playing golf on a snooker table
Peter 'Rabbit' Linhard, Las Vegas, 70s, 1-pocket; Rod improved a lot since they first met the 'Rabbit'
Pittsburgh Mike, Pennsylvania & Okla City, 70s
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Railroad John, Atlanta & Fayetteville, NC, 8-ball & last-pocket 8-ball
Ray Martin declined to play Rod when asked in Jack & Jills in Alexandria VA abt 1970, the year Wimpy poured water on his cue in the finals. *
Rich 'The Hat' Geiler, Salem, Seattle, 70s, 8-ball, had Rod 14-9; Rod kicked his ball in & ran 6 racks to win
Richard Riggie beat by Rod, 8-ball 1965 Baltimore on a 4x8 bar table spotting Rich 1 ball (1st ball off is no spot but Riggie was over-confident)
Richie Ambrose ran pro tourney in 80s Little Rock when he declined to play Rod; neither would Mike Sigel after talking to other road warriors *
Richie Florence died too young; he played all games well & beat Rod 1-pocket on a big table @ his tournament in 80s Sacramento
Robert Dancer 'Detroit Bob' Detroit, Phoenix, Las Vegas, late 60s, late 70s, 8-ball & 1-pocket
Robert 'Cotton' LeBlanc, 70s, Detroit, Arkansas, Las Vegas
Rod Curry 'Surfer Rod' 1964 to 1983: Rod hustled pool from bar-to-bar, town-to-town & played them all. He put his qtr up & they challenged him
Ronnie Allen 75-83 CO+ for the $$, Rod masse-draw cue ball into a circle toward table head back to the foot end to break out the 8-ball & win
Rudolf 'Minnesota Fats' Wonderone, Miami, outside Houston & Denver * along with Danny Jones, Cornbread & Grady M
Sam Blumenthal, Jacksonville, 60s, 9-ball: lost with the 5 & the snap on big table; won even on bar table
Sammy Jones declined to play Rod in the 70s San Angelo TX; good action with others though *
Samuel Trivett, Weenie Beenie's place in Alexander, VA, 60s, 1-pocket on a big table
San Diego Dave, 70s, ColoSprgs, 1-pocket, Rod won 2G's & as he was leaving, Dave came out, kicked at the snow & fell down.
Scott 'the Shot' Smith, Good friends from Denver to Colo Springs, 70s, 8-ball but Scott preferred 9-ball
Scott Kitto, Iowa/Vegas, since 70s but in the 80s, Scott accidentally hit Dominguez in the head with the cue ball & he had to go to the hospital.
Sebastion 'Chino' Franko, Los Angeles & Denver, 70s, 8-ball; a hustler & a warrior
Stan 'Canadian Stan' good in 9-ball & in 1-pocket, Canada, WA, Vegas, ID, UT
Steve Cook, Tampa, 79 or 80, 8-ball/1-pocket; he beat Rod for a wk, a ball skidded & Rod came back big
Steve Mizerack, Las Vegas/Port Angeles, WA, 70’s. Steve declined several times, once in front of his pal John Madden. *
Steve Oaks, Kokomo, Indiana, 70s, 8-ball
Terry Bell, Littlerock 70’s/Colorado Sprgs 80’s, 8-ball, he never called a bet, even on a big table *
Toby Sweet, Reno, 1st saw Toby in 1993 at Grady's Tourney in Reno. He played Bucktooth 1-handed
Tommy Baker is a local champion who might match up with Rod once every 5 years, if he can find a backer.
Tommy 'Staten Island' Halliday was beat in a bar playing 8-ball in New Jersey in 1965.
Tommy Spencer lost to Rod in 8-ball & Omaha John playing 9-ball in 2 separate dates in 70s Chicago when they 1st partnered up.
Tony 'Fargo' Ferguson: a champ at bank-pool player & 9-ball but he lost every time in the 70s-80s Tulsa playing 8-ball, 1-pocket & pitching qtrs
Tony Howard 'One-eyed Tony' lost every game (Rod ran 8 wracks in a row) in Okla City, 70s, 8-ball
Utley 'UJ' Puckett, Fort Worth, 60s, 8-ball/1-pocket, he steered Rod into his friend, & said, 'I just want half' also Wimpy & Jimmy Moore
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Wade Crane 'Billy Johnson' great in 9-ball, beat Greg Stevens, staked by police officials in 70s Birmingham. Would not play Rod 8-ball though
Warren Castanza Monk Reno dealer who plays 9-ball but Rod beat him in 8-ball in 70s Vegas. Real nice guy who fainted after big 79 win
Walter 'Woppie' Getty, Dallas & Oklahoma, late 60s & 70s, bumper pool & 8-ball
Walter Glass lost to Rod a couple of times, 70s, playing 8-ball @ Fayetteville NC & exciting straight pool matches on the bar table in Vegas
William Bell 'Dollar Bill' Jackson, Miss 70s-80s; in with Bill Stack against Rod playing 8-ball & proposition shots.
Willie Mosconi, Omaha, Neb 70s * 1st pool book read by Rod was Willie's in 1963 while in the U.S. Navy stationed at Orange TX
Willie Munson, Milwaukee, 70s, 8-ball, he relieved George Brunt & kept Rod in action
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Back to Top Edited Date: 03-19-13 15:27 Auto Date: 03-19-13 14:36 Rod's Home