Untold Stories: Weenie Beenie

Johnston City & The Jansco Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 8 Sep 2009 06:21:00 -0700

Here's another Johnston City video, this one featuring trick shots by Ronnie Allen, Champagne Eddy Kelly, Weenie Beenie and others. Jim McKay from Wide World of Sports hosts. The Johnston City jamborees began with the release of The Hustler, and lasted until 1972. They were organized by George and Paulie Jansco, who also created the Stardust Events in Las Vegas. The Johnston City events were clearly the most colorful pool tournaments of the 1960s, as they brought road players from all over. The closest thing to Johnston City these days are the annual Derby City events, which features plenty of action -- but on a much grander scale. You can read all about the Johnston City events in Hustler Days.

America's Best Ever Pool Player? You Decide

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Fri, 7 Aug 2009 06:42:00 -0700

Who is America's best ever pool player? The poll on the top right of the pool history blog lists some all-time favorites, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Archer. I've left Willie Hoppe off the list because he was known as one of the best-ever billiards players, as opposed to one of the best-ever pool players. Neither have I included one of my personal favorites, Efren "Bata" Reyes. As he's from the Philippines, I figured I'd save him for a future poll of the greatest international players. I've also tried to get a good mix of players from different eras. (Van Boening vs. Greenleaf?!) Vote early. Vote often. I'll leave the poll up for awhile. Also, if you have a write-in candidate, feel free to comment at the bottom of this post. I'll tally up the write-ins later, along with those listed on the ballot.

Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton and Norma Jean

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:10:00 -0700

Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton and Norma Jean
Originally uploaded by jakedyer.

Here's a picture of the great Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton and his wife, Norma Jean. Bill passed away passed on Feb. 18, 2006 at Grand Strand Regional Hospital near his home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was 77.

Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:08:00 -0700

Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton passed away on Feb. 18, 2006, at Grand Strand Regional Hospital near his home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was 77. Dick Yates relates this story about Weenie Beenie playing a guy named Al, who was known for making no-lose propositions.

"One day while working in Joe's pool room, Weenie and Al were shooting the game of one pocket and as usual Al tried to lock up Beenie in a sucker game. The rules for that particular game, Weenie had to make two balls in a side pocket while Al had to make eight balls in the lower two pockets. The game went in Al favor for quite a while. Then the stakes were raised quite a bit. At that point Weenie won six expensive games in a row. (Seems as tho Weenie knew a thing or two about locking up a sucker). During the seventh game, Al accused Weenie of cheating and demanded all his money back. Weenie told him where to go and Al came at him with a cue stick. Al, still with the cue in hand, chased Beenie from 7th & "D" streets, to "G" Street, "G" to 8th Street and back to 7th &"D streets. At that point Weenie jumped into his car and waved BYE-BYE to Al. Not only was Beenie a smarter and better pool shooter, he was also a faster runner than Al."

Memories of Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton, from his daughter

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:05:00 -0700

"My dad was a wonderful dad. He was the epitome of the American Dream. He did what we all aspire to. Born the 9th of 9 children, he was raised in a small farmhouse in Concord, NC. He rose from modest beginnings to become an American legend and has done more in his life than most of us will ever do. It is said he started pool at the old age of 23 and loved the game. He became accomplished enough to win a number of championships and did what he loved for a living. He was a master of all games and sports, particularly pool, golf and cards.

At our house, he was the Master of Ceremonies.

He challenged us with a new vocabulary word daily. He was the consummate entertainer. He loved to entertain all of us kids, and our children. He loved to tell jokes and anecdotes, showed us card tricks and magic tricks. He loved to baffle us. He would turn $1 dollar bills into $5s and $20s, and sometimes a $100 bill. Whenever we would visit from Seattle, my son Sean always asked me to bring a lot of $1 dollar bills so granddad could turn them into $100 bills.

Dad loved Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and then Biloxi, Miss. He loved to travel, but most importantly, he loved his family and friends, of which he had so many. That dad affected so many lives is amazing. He was everyone's friend, a gentleman, and a real Class Act.

He started several successful businesses, including the Weenie Beenie restaurants with our Uncle Carl, and the Jack and Jill Family cue clubs. He was a true entrepreneur. After I was born, he never worked a 9 to 5 job, which was an example to us to, as he said, â€œbeat our own pathâ€ in life.

Dad and Mom had three children and encouraged each of us to follow our dreams and our hearts, to be our best, and to contribute to the world. He raised me as the first born boy, giving me, and Vik and Scott, every opportunity for a broad and varied education and life experience; to travel, to explore, to aspire to do anything, and everything, which was unusual for the 50s. He was a visionary.

Dad instilled in me and my brother and sister our values. He was our inspiration and role model. He always rooted for the underdog. He loved people and animals, including his menagerie of cats, raccoons, all named "Rocky", birds, hummingbirds, butterflies, a red fox, and even the possums that he fed nightly in Myrtle Beach.

He was a true free spirit and his values and beliefs and traditions live on

in us.

He taught us to be the best we can be,

and to live life with

Integrity, Honesty, Morality, Diligence and Perseverance,

Courage and Strength, Compassion, a Sense of Humor, Spontaneity

And, most importantly, Love and Respect.

He was the most worldly and widely respected man I ever knew. Despite his accomplishments, he was always humble; very proud of Mom and us. When we kids were around, there was not a day that he didn't tell Mom he loved her.

That is the character of my father. We are truly blessed.

Dad, Thank you for guiding us in life, and for your love, support and devotion. You will be remembered and loved by us all, always.

This is not the end; it is a new and rejoiceful beginning."

Rainmakers: Weenie Beenie talks about Cleo Vaughn

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:03:00 -0700

"Earl Shriver, Squirrel (Marshall Carpenter), Daddy Warbucks – they were all out in Arkansas. Minnesota Fats was there too. It was 1960. And I beat every one of them. I did. Some of them gave me spots, like they used to give me, but I had improved a bit. This was Blytheville, Arkansas.

"What attracted them was this guy. Everybody went out there to play him. He was a bookmaker, and he had a lot of money, and he spread it around. He was a winner. I started playing him. He was the one who attracted people there. Daddy Warbucks, Hubert Cokes. Squirrel was there. And Earl Shriver was there. They all congregated there. There was action galore.

"I like to say I made over a million dollars. (That’s because) I won $27,000, and I went home and wanted to invest it. I told my lawyer that I won this money, and I wanted to invest it. He said, ‘Bill, you have to declare that on income tax.’ So, I declared it on my income tax, and then built a little hotdog stand. It was 12 foot wide and 20 foot long. It’s still located in Alexandria, Virginia. The way I figure I made $1 million is from the rent I’ve been collecting all these years"

Rainmakers: Weenie Beenie talks more about Cleo Vaughn

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:00:00 -0700

"I walked into this little poolroom in downtown Blytheville. There were four tables there – four by eight tables.

"I said something like, ‘is there somebody in here that has any money.’ And Cleo Vaughn said, ‘I bet you there are at least four guys in here with $10,000 in their pocket.’ Remember: this was a small, ratty poolroom in this little town. I came in the next day with $10,000 and I said ‘I want to make it five people with $10,000!'

"(Cleo) heard ... about guys beating me. “I beat beanie” or “I gave him 8 to 5.” He was getting a picture of how I played, and it was a bad picture. And anyway, I started playing. One time I played him (Cleo) for 56 consecutive hours.

"We played 56 consecutive hours, and I beat him pretty good. I was on a high. Pool made me high. I didn’t’ take drugs or anything. I said: ‘Who’s next?' after 56 consecutive hours.

"We were in a tough place. The action was so high, the chief of police said ‘you got to take this somewhere else.’ The kids were coming in after school, and the money was exchanging hands.

"There was a little place at the edge of town, out behind the gas station. The building was out behind gas station: it was a car port. They had a pool table and a card table. ... So we started playing there. It was around-the-clock action. That was where I played for 56 consecutive hours. I won good money.

"I stayed for 30 days. I was married and had three kids, so I had to get home.

"It happened every year, during the race season. There was a race track, and the players came, and it was west Memphis. And they came during that time. Hot Springs was where the racing was. It was in February, or early March. They had the racing season, and it attracted a lot of people.

"I heard about it a number of years before I ever went there. There was a lot of action at that time. It was wide open.

"That was the first time out there. … I won a little off Cokes, and a little of Fats, and most of from Cleo Vaughn. ... He died in Mobile, Alabama."

1 Comments:

gwyn staton (gweenie beenie) said...

It would be interesting to get everyone's stories about Cleo as there are a lot! My dad had quite a few!

Weenie Beenie and wife Norma

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:58:00 -0700

Weenie Beenie and wife Norma
Originally uploaded by jakedyer.

Here's another of the happy couple, during their 50th Anniversary wedding celebration.

Weenie Beenie Gets Inducted into the Onepocket.org Hall of Fame

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:56:00 -0700

Weenie Beenie was inducted into the Onepocket.org Hall of Fame in 2004. To read about the event, or hear an audio clip of the "Weenie Beenie Song," go to Onepocket.org

Weenie Beenie hotdog stand

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:53:00 -0700

William McVeigh, who sent in the photo of the Weenie Beenie hotdog stand, writes:

"The yellow phone pages list only one Weenie Beenie in N. VA, and that is the one in the fotos, at 2680 S. Shirlington Rd., Arlington, VA. I remember seeing others in years past, but I don't see them now so they must have disappeared. ...
It is significant that this stand is a mere 100 yards down the street from Champion Billiards, the only decent pool room in Arlington County, founded about 15 years ago.
But I never happened to see the Bean play there. ..."

Weenie Beenie

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:51:00 -0700

Weenie Beenie
Originally uploaded by jakedyer.

This is the last remaining Weenie Beenie hotdog stand from a chain of several, at one time owned by Washington, D.C. pool hustler Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton. The seed money for the purchase of the very first hotdog stand was raised during a gambling trip to Cleo Vaughn's Arkansas poolroom during the winter of 1960.

This is what Staton said about that trip: "I like to say I made over a million dollars. (That’s because) I won $27,000, and I went home and wanted to invest it. I told my lawyer that I won this money, and I wanted to invest it. He said, ‘Bill, you have to declare that on income tax.’ So, I declared it on my income tax, and then built a little hotdog stand. It was 12 foot wide and 20 foot long. It’s still located in Alexandria, Virginia. The way I figure I made $1 million is from the rent I’ve been collecting all these years."

This picture was sent in by pool fan William McVeigh, who divides his time between Washington DC and Quepos, Costa Rica.

Weenie Beenie's obituary

noreply@blogger.com (R.A. Dyer) — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:48:00 -0700

Here's Bill Staton's obituary, provided by his daughter Gwyn Staton.

William (Bill) Staton, 77, long time resident of Myrtle Beach, died Saturday, February 18, 2006 at Grand Strand Regional Hospital. Born in Concord, NC to the late Bertha and Dexter Staton. Bill, also known as "Weenie Beenie", was a world renowned pool player, winning tournaments including the World's Championship One Pocket tournament, the Virginia State Pool Championship five times, and numerous other tournaments. He won the Stardust Open One Pocket Champion in Las Vegas, and played all the World's Greats in pool. Bill was an inaugural member of the One Pocket Hall of Fame. His full interview given last year is available at OnePocket.Org.

He started Jack & Jill Cue Clubs, family oriented pool establishments. He was ahead of his time. One of them operated 24 hours a day in Arlington, Va. for 14 years until Weenie retired to Myrtle Beach, SC in 1981. At the Jack & Jill, he started the U.S. Open Pool Tournament, and hosted numerous well attended pool and billiard tournaments over the years.

He was a sports commentator for ABC Wide World of Sports, ESPN and AMF. He traveled extensively and loved attending pool and sporting events around the world. Most recently he commentated for the Japan Open.

He performed the trick shots in several well known movies including "The Color of Money", and gave "Minnesota Fats" his name.

With an artful repertoire of trick shots, he made many guest appearances on TV shows such as The Tonight Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The David Frost Show and Steve Allen's "I've Got a Secret." His secret was he could sink all the balls on the table with one shot. That was quite a feat in the early 1960s.

He traveled with the USO and the AMF Staff of Champions giving pool exhibitions to our armed forces and audiences throughout the world.

He earned his nickname "Weenie Beenie" from the chain of hot dog stands he and his brother started in Northern Virginia, which still operate over 50 years later.

Weenie Beenie was an avid golfer and played with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicholas. He moved to Myrtle Beach after falling in love with the "Golf Capital of the World."

He is survived by his beloved wife of 52 years, Norma Jean Staton; their three children: Gwyn Staton of Seattle, WA, Victoria Ishee of Atlanta, GA, and Scott Staton of Richmond, VA; four grandchildren; and four sisters: Mildred Stiller of Greensboro, NC, Margaret Brown and Hazel Peurifoy of Concord, NC and Margie Coakley of Temperance, MI.