October 23, 2024 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Mark O'Brian tells the story of "St. Louie Louie"...one of the best pool players to ever grace the scene.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is our American Stories. Up next a story from
Mark O'Brien who listens to us on KMOXAM in Saint Louis,
and this story is about one of his personal heroes.
Mark is the author of HAVEPOOLQ, We'll Travel, which outlines
this true character. Here's our own Monte Montgomery with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Whol is a sport with a rich history to it,
and today it's one of the most popular participation sports
in America and there are countless names which have gone
down as the best players of the game, including Saint
Louis Louis. Here's Mark O'Brien with Moore on this interest
and character.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I met Louis when I was fifteen, and that was
in nineteen seventy. It was at a small pool room
in Saint Louis. I had heard some stories about someone
named Saint Louis Louis. I heard him over and over again.
I never met him. I thought he would be a
guy about fifty or sixty years old. And one day
(01:16):
I'm in the pool room practicing and a guy about
twenty one walked in, and you would have thought a
celebrity walked in. All the old timers in the pool
room right about the same time, they said, it's Louie,
It's Louis, and everybody shook his hand, hugged him, blah
blah blah, and from that day on he became my hero.
(01:43):
Louis was one of the most charismatic people I've ever met.
I didn't have anything to do with pool. When Louis
was around, anybody, anywhere, at any time, all the eyes
were on Louis. He just had a way of making
you feel good, smile, laugh. He was like a magnet.
(02:04):
His skills were incredible and he has been called by
hundreds of people maybe the greatest shop maker in pool history.
Louis Roberts could cut a pool ball like nobody else could.
My gosh. His favorite game was nine ball, and that's
a rotation game one through nine. You have to hit
(02:27):
the lowest numbered ball first and if you make that,
you go on to the next ball, and then when
you finally get to the nine and you make it,
you win the game. And Louis, if if he had
an open shot, he would just run out. I mean,
he was a stone cold run out artist. He was amazing,
(02:49):
an amazing pool player. He was born Lewis Francis Roberts
in nineteen fifty here in Saint Louis, Missouri. A future
two times US Opened nine ball champion, Louis would actually
dominate the sport for over two decades. Louis's dad purchased
(03:11):
a brand new A. E. Schmidt pool table so the
six children could have fun while they were at home.
Louis had five siblings, two sisters and three brothers, but
they had difficulty getting Louis away from the table. As
an early teen, Louis became infatuated with pool and practiced
(03:33):
for several hours every day. By the time he was
fifteen or sixteen, no one in Saint Louis could beat
him playing a fall or nine ball, and Louis met
his first road partner, Paul Bulis, at Cleveland High School
when they were sophomores, and Paul luckily he owned a
car and him and Louis would travel to dozens of
(03:56):
area hotspots on the weekends and they won piles of money.
As Paul tells it, Louis was a young phenom and rarely,
if ever missed a shot, and Louis always had a
ton of energy and was also an accomplished athlete. In
high school, he was a star gymnast and a cross
(04:18):
country runner, and Louis had only two things on his
mind as a young team sport activities and pool. By
the time he was seventeen, Louis had a reputation of
being unbeatable on a pool table. Out of town, hustlers
started showing up in Saint Louis, and when they departed,
(04:38):
their bank robe had shrunk. One thing that separated Louis
from other pool players, gamblers and hustlers, Louis would often
refund a portion of his winnings because he hated to
see anyone go broke. One other thing, Louis was becoming
a dead ringer for Elvis Presley in the Luks department,
and he'd loved the attention. On occasion, Louis would walk
(05:04):
on his hands around the pool tables at the sports
Center in Saint Louis while reciting verbatim lines from his
favorite movie, Scarface. Louis's impression of al Pacino was spot on.
I witnessed feats like those dozens of times as I
was the co owner of the sports center along with
(05:25):
my partner Larry LaBarbara. Larry hired Louis as her house
pro in nineteen eighty eight. Louis left us with dozens
and dozens of great classic memories that will never be forgotten.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Louis did several trick shot exhibitions at the Sports Center,
and he scared us On more than one occasion. Louis
would set up a series of five difficult shots and
guarantee he would make them in six shots or less.
He then promised everyone in attendance a five dollars bill
(05:59):
if he is unsuccessful. Sometimes fifty people or more were
in the building and we were on the hook for
the payoff, me and my partner. Of course, it made
us very nervous, but we never paid out a dime.
Louis was a sensational trick shot artist. One of his
best shots it was called the Chattanooga Chuchoo. He would
(06:23):
lay three queues on the pool table and it would
make like a train track, and he would pocket four balls,
and then the cue ball would go around the table
and it would hop up in the air and come
down on this track, and then it would roll right
toward another pocket. The cue ball would to pocket another ball.
(06:48):
That usually got the biggest rise out of the audience.
Whenever he did an exhibition. Louis started winning or placing
very high in major US tournaments at age twenty two,
and he won the nineteen seventy four Orlando, Florida Open
nine Ball tournament. And that was versus a large group
(07:08):
of other seasoned professionals and road tested hustlers.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
And it wasn't just his skill that won him tournament
after tournament, it was also his wit.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
When your opponent approaches the table and gets down to
take a shot, he shouldn't say anything, and Louie never
did say anything. But while Louis was shooting, man, he
was so talkative. He just might do things to make
you nervous without you realizing it. One time some guy
came in. Louis did not know him. The guy asks
(07:45):
for a large handicap, and the guy ran the first
two racks, and Louis knew he was a little bit
of trouble, so he asked the guy. He goes, hey,
do you inhale or exhale? And the guys said, what
do you mean? He goes, well, you play real good.
I was just wondering, before you pull the trigger, do
(08:08):
you inhale or exhale? Well, the guy got so confused
he was struggling to breathe the rest of the match,
and he went on tilt and couldn't make a ball.
After that, Louis beat.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Him, and then there was Louie's debut into the film industry.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Well.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
A blockbuster movie hit the theaters in nineteen eighty six,
starring Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. The film was titled
A Color of Money. When the producers and the directors
were gathering a cast of pool playing teachers, Louis was
a no brainer to be chosen. Louis was a great
(08:50):
teacher of the game and he used to give private
lessons for a hefty fee, So Louis lasted a few
weeks on the payroll and a few other great players
gave hands on instruction to Paul Newman and Tom Cruise.
Louis claimed he would have been chosen for one of
the speaking parts in the movie, but they told him
(09:13):
he looked too much like Elvis. So he can be
seen in the movie three or four times, and his
name is actually announced at the big tournament, and Louis
was very proud of that mention. Louis also mentioned that
while Newman had average pool skills, Tom Cruise had never
(09:34):
played pool and was more difficult to teach, So naturally,
Louis became friends with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, and
Louis had a personal contact phone number for both of them,
which he kept in his little black book. On December
(09:57):
twenty second, nineteen ninety one, apparently took his own life.
His untimely death sent shockwaves throughout the billiard industry. Back
at our pool room, dozens of former and current players
stop by to pay homage and view the many pictures
of Louis that were displayed on the wall right next
(10:20):
to his favorite table pit table number one, Louie's Table.
Godspeed Louis, and rest in peace until we meet again
in pool heaven.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
And great job on that piece, Monte Montgomery doing the work.
Mark O'Brien, a listener bringing us the story of Saint
Louis Louis here on our American story
This is our American Stories. Up next a story from
Mark O'Brien who listens to us on KMOXAM in Saint Louis,
and this story is about one of his personal heroes.
Mark is the author of HAVEPOOLQ, We'll Travel, which outlines
this true character. Here's our own Monte Montgomery with the story.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Whol is a sport with a rich history to it,
and today it's one of the most popular participation sports
in America and there are countless names which have gone
down as the best players of the game, including Saint
Louis Louis. Here's Mark O'Brien with Moore on this interest
and character.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I met Louis when I was fifteen, and that was
in nineteen seventy. It was at a small pool room
in Saint Louis. I had heard some stories about someone
named Saint Louis Louis. I heard him over and over again.
I never met him. I thought he would be a
guy about fifty or sixty years old. And one day
(01:16):
I'm in the pool room practicing and a guy about
twenty one walked in, and you would have thought a
celebrity walked in. All the old timers in the pool
room right about the same time, they said, it's Louie,
It's Louis, and everybody shook his hand, hugged him, blah
blah blah, and from that day on he became my hero.
(01:43):
Louis was one of the most charismatic people I've ever met.
I didn't have anything to do with pool. When Louis
was around, anybody, anywhere, at any time, all the eyes
were on Louis. He just had a way of making
you feel good, smile, laugh. He was like a magnet.
(02:04):
His skills were incredible and he has been called by
hundreds of people maybe the greatest shop maker in pool history.
Louis Roberts could cut a pool ball like nobody else could.
My gosh. His favorite game was nine ball, and that's
a rotation game one through nine. You have to hit
(02:27):
the lowest numbered ball first and if you make that,
you go on to the next ball, and then when
you finally get to the nine and you make it,
you win the game. And Louis, if if he had
an open shot, he would just run out. I mean,
he was a stone cold run out artist. He was amazing,
(02:49):
an amazing pool player. He was born Lewis Francis Roberts
in nineteen fifty here in Saint Louis, Missouri. A future
two times US Opened nine ball champion, Louis would actually
dominate the sport for over two decades. Louis's dad purchased
(03:11):
a brand new A. E. Schmidt pool table so the
six children could have fun while they were at home.
Louis had five siblings, two sisters and three brothers, but
they had difficulty getting Louis away from the table. As
an early teen, Louis became infatuated with pool and practiced
(03:33):
for several hours every day. By the time he was
fifteen or sixteen, no one in Saint Louis could beat
him playing a fall or nine ball, and Louis met
his first road partner, Paul Bulis, at Cleveland High School
when they were sophomores, and Paul luckily he owned a
car and him and Louis would travel to dozens of
(03:56):
area hotspots on the weekends and they won piles of money.
As Paul tells it, Louis was a young phenom and rarely,
if ever missed a shot, and Louis always had a
ton of energy and was also an accomplished athlete. In
high school, he was a star gymnast and a cross
(04:18):
country runner, and Louis had only two things on his
mind as a young team sport activities and pool. By
the time he was seventeen, Louis had a reputation of
being unbeatable on a pool table. Out of town, hustlers
started showing up in Saint Louis, and when they departed,
(04:38):
their bank robe had shrunk. One thing that separated Louis
from other pool players, gamblers and hustlers, Louis would often
refund a portion of his winnings because he hated to
see anyone go broke. One other thing, Louis was becoming
a dead ringer for Elvis Presley in the Luks department,
and he'd loved the attention. On occasion, Louis would walk
(05:04):
on his hands around the pool tables at the sports
Center in Saint Louis while reciting verbatim lines from his
favorite movie, Scarface. Louis's impression of al Pacino was spot on.
I witnessed feats like those dozens of times as I
was the co owner of the sports center along with
(05:25):
my partner Larry LaBarbara. Larry hired Louis as her house
pro in nineteen eighty eight. Louis left us with dozens
and dozens of great classic memories that will never be forgotten.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Now.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
Louis did several trick shot exhibitions at the Sports Center,
and he scared us On more than one occasion. Louis
would set up a series of five difficult shots and
guarantee he would make them in six shots or less.
He then promised everyone in attendance a five dollars bill
(05:59):
if he is unsuccessful. Sometimes fifty people or more were
in the building and we were on the hook for
the payoff, me and my partner. Of course, it made
us very nervous, but we never paid out a dime.
Louis was a sensational trick shot artist. One of his
best shots it was called the Chattanooga Chuchoo. He would
(06:23):
lay three queues on the pool table and it would
make like a train track, and he would pocket four balls,
and then the cue ball would go around the table
and it would hop up in the air and come
down on this track, and then it would roll right
toward another pocket. The cue ball would to pocket another ball.
(06:48):
That usually got the biggest rise out of the audience.
Whenever he did an exhibition. Louis started winning or placing
very high in major US tournaments at age twenty two,
and he won the nineteen seventy four Orlando, Florida Open
nine Ball tournament. And that was versus a large group
(07:08):
of other seasoned professionals and road tested hustlers.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
And it wasn't just his skill that won him tournament
after tournament, it was also his wit.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
When your opponent approaches the table and gets down to
take a shot, he shouldn't say anything, and Louie never
did say anything. But while Louis was shooting, man, he
was so talkative. He just might do things to make
you nervous without you realizing it. One time some guy
came in. Louis did not know him. The guy asks
(07:45):
for a large handicap, and the guy ran the first
two racks, and Louis knew he was a little bit
of trouble, so he asked the guy. He goes, hey,
do you inhale or exhale? And the guys said, what
do you mean? He goes, well, you play real good.
I was just wondering, before you pull the trigger, do
(08:08):
you inhale or exhale? Well, the guy got so confused
he was struggling to breathe the rest of the match,
and he went on tilt and couldn't make a ball.
After that, Louis beat.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Him, and then there was Louie's debut into the film industry.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Well.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
A blockbuster movie hit the theaters in nineteen eighty six,
starring Tom Cruise and Paul Newman. The film was titled
A Color of Money. When the producers and the directors
were gathering a cast of pool playing teachers, Louis was
a no brainer to be chosen. Louis was a great
(08:50):
teacher of the game and he used to give private
lessons for a hefty fee, So Louis lasted a few
weeks on the payroll and a few other great players
gave hands on instruction to Paul Newman and Tom Cruise.
Louis claimed he would have been chosen for one of
the speaking parts in the movie, but they told him
(09:13):
he looked too much like Elvis. So he can be
seen in the movie three or four times, and his
name is actually announced at the big tournament, and Louis
was very proud of that mention. Louis also mentioned that
while Newman had average pool skills, Tom Cruise had never
(09:34):
played pool and was more difficult to teach, So naturally,
Louis became friends with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, and
Louis had a personal contact phone number for both of them,
which he kept in his little black book. On December
(09:57):
twenty second, nineteen ninety one, apparently took his own life.
His untimely death sent shockwaves throughout the billiard industry. Back
at our pool room, dozens of former and current players
stop by to pay homage and view the many pictures
of Louis that were displayed on the wall right next
(10:20):
to his favorite table pit table number one, Louie's Table.
Godspeed Louis, and rest in peace until we meet again
in pool heaven.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
And great job on that piece, Monte Montgomery doing the work.
Mark O'Brien, a listener bringing us the story of Saint
Louis Louis here on our American story
Host
Lee Habeeb
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