Bill Staton
William "Bill" Paul Staton (May 23, 1928, Concord, North Carolina, U.S. – February 28, 2006, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina),[1] an American professional pool player and restaurateur, nicknamed "Weenie Beenie". Born Bill Paul Staton he changed his name to William Paul Staton in the 1980s. He was the ninth and last child of Dexter Ellison Staton and Suda Bertha Moore Staton of the Brown-Norcott community of Concord, North Carolina.
In the early 1960s, Staton founded the Weenie Beenie hot dog stand chain[2] in northern Virginia, offering franks and beans, which is how Staton got the nickname. Business went well, and in 1968, with brother Carl Staton, they opened The Jack and Jill's Cue Club in Arlington, Virginia, one of the top-action pool rooms in the 1960s and 1970s, with 32 tables, a pro shop, a snack bar, and a tournament area that seated 180 with tiered seating. Jack and Jill's was a favorite stop for pool players on the East Coast, open 24 hours a day. A second Jack and Jill Club would later be opened.
Bill Staton attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.
Professional career
Professional Billiard Player, businessman: Staton was regarded by others in the billiard circuit as one of the classiest gentlemen on the tournament pool circuit. He started playing pool at 22 years of age. As his game developed, he used his pool earnings to support his business enterprises. When he became an accomplished pocket billiards player, Staton made several appearances on "Wide World of Sports" and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "The Merv Griffin Show" and was interviewed by David Frost. Bill Staton also appeared on the TV show "I've Got A Secret". His "secret" was the ability to sink a full rack of balls into the pockets. At the conclusion of the show on live TV he performed this trick shot of sinking all the balls in the pockets of the Pool Table with only one hit.[3] He performed trick shots in the Academy Award-winning film, The Color of Money, and is also credited with giving Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone his nickname.[4]
Some of Staton's titles include the World Championship One-pocket Tournament and the Stardust Open One-pocket Championship in Las Vegas, and he won the Virginia State Pool Championship five times, as well as other tournaments. In the 1960s he won the European Billiard Championship.[5]
An avid golfer, Staton played with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and so he moved to golfing haven Myrtle Beach after developing a love for the game.[6]
Staton was inducted into the One-pocket Hall of Fame in 2004.[7]
He died at his home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He was married for 52 years to Norma Jean Skagg (1930-2013) [8] Together they had three children.[9]
In his memory, the first annual Weenie Beenie Memorial Nine-ball Tournament was held June 22–24, 2007, at Q-Masters Billiards in Norfolk, Virginia. The winner of the nine-ball event was Filipino Dennis Orcollo.[10]
References
- ↑ Peurifoy, Robert C., Find A Grave web site, 2008
- ↑ Weenie Beenie hot dog stand photo by Jack Dyer, Flickr.com. Retrieved May 22, 2007
- ↑ Peurifoy, Robert C., personal interview, 1999
- ↑ "Our Back Pages: Stories, Scenes and Events from Arlington's Past" Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine., ArlingtonVA.us. Retrieved May 20, 2007
- ↑ Peurifoy, Robert C., personal family information
- ↑ "Staton Obituary", Onepocket.org. Retrieved May 22, 2007
- ↑ Bill Staton Hall of Fame, 2004, Onepocket.org. Retrieved May 22, 2007
- ↑ Peurifoy, Robert C., Personal family information, 2013
- ↑ "Staton Obituary" Archived August 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine., ArlingtonVirginiaUSA.com. Retrieved May 22, 2007
- ↑ "Weenie Beenie Memorial Nine-ball Tournament", Billiards Digest. Retrieved May 22, 2007
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