Dan Silver

Long time billiard player and billiard supporter -- Dan Silver -- passed away earlier this week.

I first met Dan in 1992. He was wearing only his socks. (When I say "only" I refer to his feet. Above his feet he was wearing the usual.) When I met him, it was at the 1992 Sang Lee Open.

A former basketball player (Hofstra), he was tall enough to flip the beads with his fingers (instead of his cue). He claimed this was not to intimidate people... but I know better.

On the sock front -- I think playing in his socks was a habit he developed when he was young and he realized the table was a lot shorter than he was. The shoe situation was a problem in "real" tournaments because of the dress code (tuxedo pants, vest, black shoes, etc...) and I forget how we managed to get around that (because he played in some of them) but....

Since Carom Cafe opened, he has been a regular at the weekly (Saturday) tournaments -- where there was no dress code.

He will be greatly missed.

A Memorial Service will be held this coming Sunday. The service will not start until 3pm BUT people are asked to gather at 2pm. The location is "Guttermans" on Long Island. Directions are at the link below. Look for the Gutterman's in Woodbury Long Island. (In case you have trouble navigating the website, just telephone 516-921-5757 for directions.)

http://www.guttermansinc.com

-David Levine