Ballard's Billiards

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My father was a multi-talented man and a dreamer who spent several of his early professional years as road manager for his brother and his band (Hank Ballard and the Midnighters) as they toured and performed.  He never pursued a career as a musician himself, although he had a beautiful voice.  However, he did play the piano and played and sang for us often - especially during the Christmas season.  Growing up, I was convinced his version of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" was better than the original. 

My sisters and I lived with our mother and maternal grandparents in Cleveland Ohio while he was on the road. He came home as often as he could and when my brother was born, he felt it was time to be home all the time. He took a job at Babcock and Wilcox in Akron, Ohio and bought a house there and that is where we grew up.  I know it came as a sacrifice to him to leave the world of entertainment and take a factory job to support his growing family. However, he did just that and he and our mother provided us with a stable home and a good life. He was successful on his job, becoming one of the first two Black supervisors at the company.   However he had a desire to own two things on his own - a pool room and a restaurant. 

In 1976 he was able to bring the first of his dreams to fruition when he opened Ballard's Billiards -  a family friendly pool hall he called a recreation center. The  hall had five championship size pool tables, a Pac-Man arcade game machine, a jukebox, and a couple of tables where regulars played dominoes.  Snacks and sodas were sold behind the counter. It quickly became a favorite spot for local pool players and others who just enjoyed hanging out, listening to and laughing at the lively (often expletive-filled) banter that went on from opening until closing.

My father had a bout of illness shortly after opening and because my mother also worked I had to step in as manager for about a year.  Although in my early 20's, I was rather naive and the guys  who came in and out of the place seemed to get a kick out of seeing my initial discomfort with their language. However, over time, my discomfort gave way to total amusement.  Those guys became family. The names of some have faded over time. However, there are some whose lives were intertwined with ours throughout the rest of their lives.

This piece is dedicated to my father, my brother Casey (who was a regular and considered a genius at the domino table) and the other colorful characters at Ballard's Billiards - Leonard "Boston" Burros, Alexander "Bud" Perkins, Jerry Baker and many others. Along with my father and brother, most of them have gone on Glory.  Sometimes I imagine they are somewhere laughing together.