Post by relic on Jan 27, 2007 11:26:54 GMT -5
1961, Butch vs. Gene Jacobs at Quenton Lanes Brooklyn.
It was a Friday night, Paul and I went for burgers at Cousins on Coney Island Ave. We finished about 1 am and were about to go to Ave M when Paul suggested checking out Quenton Lanes across the street, it was a small old bowling alley with 12 lanes. I had never bowled there but said ya, why not. I walked in and asked the counterman if they ever had any action here, it so happens the owner Gene Jacobs was standing there and said yaw wanna bowl me kid, I said why not and he told me to pick the pair.
I didn’t know Gene, it turns out he was best of friends with Stoop who first started bowling there when he was a teenager and Gene backed him once he became real good, besides owning the bowling alley Gene also owned vending machines.
From what I found out later from Stoop, Gene was a pretty good bowler years ago but was now over the hill. As soon as I saw him through a few practice balls I knew this was a mismatch, I was at my best at that time. To make a long story short I beat him 8 straight for about $1500, big money way back then. He had cleaned out his pockets along with the register and asked to bowl on a marker, I politely said I never bowl on markers, I didn’t really know him and didn’t know if I’d get paid, plus when bowling on markers you never know when to end it. He said fine and insisted on taking us for breakfast across the street, a real gentlemen.
The next day when I went to Ave M and asked Stoop if Gene would have been good for the markers he said he already heard about the match, he also said I could’ve beat Gene for 10 grand because he was that much of a chaser and it would have been good as gold, that I would have been paid the next day.
He also said I blew my chance at the biggest score of my life because he called Gene and told him never to bowl me again that I was 25 pins better than him...
butch
It was a Friday night, Paul and I went for burgers at Cousins on Coney Island Ave. We finished about 1 am and were about to go to Ave M when Paul suggested checking out Quenton Lanes across the street, it was a small old bowling alley with 12 lanes. I had never bowled there but said ya, why not. I walked in and asked the counterman if they ever had any action here, it so happens the owner Gene Jacobs was standing there and said yaw wanna bowl me kid, I said why not and he told me to pick the pair.
I didn’t know Gene, it turns out he was best of friends with Stoop who first started bowling there when he was a teenager and Gene backed him once he became real good, besides owning the bowling alley Gene also owned vending machines.
From what I found out later from Stoop, Gene was a pretty good bowler years ago but was now over the hill. As soon as I saw him through a few practice balls I knew this was a mismatch, I was at my best at that time. To make a long story short I beat him 8 straight for about $1500, big money way back then. He had cleaned out his pockets along with the register and asked to bowl on a marker, I politely said I never bowl on markers, I didn’t really know him and didn’t know if I’d get paid, plus when bowling on markers you never know when to end it. He said fine and insisted on taking us for breakfast across the street, a real gentlemen.
The next day when I went to Ave M and asked Stoop if Gene would have been good for the markers he said he already heard about the match, he also said I could’ve beat Gene for 10 grand because he was that much of a chaser and it would have been good as gold, that I would have been paid the next day.
He also said I blew my chance at the biggest score of my life because he called Gene and told him never to bowl me again that I was 25 pins better than him...
butch