Joe Weinreich, originally from Sharon, Pa., moved to Lakeland, Fla., to escape the cold winters. Now he says, with a twinkle in his eye, he’s dealing with the hot summers. Joe started playing in the APA in 2010 after his nephew, Eddie Stanger, came to town and they played pool together.
While he was playing pool with his nephew, Ed mentioned that he played APA and how Joe should play to get out of the “old folks home” (his words) he lives in. Did we mention that Joe is 88 years old? Joe jumped right in and joined three teams, playing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the Polk County APA. Joe filled out the registration form and in the nickname field put “Old Joe.”
In the last three years, he’s played on 18 Singles Boards, winning two (one in 8-Ball and one in 9-Ball), went to Vegas in 2012 for the 8-Ball Doubles Championship and won a Vegas trip to play in MiniMania at the National Team Championships in 2013. Joe is a skill level 3 in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball.
“When most people are sitting in the easy chair watching TV, Joe is still going strong,” said Robin Dunnam, Polk County APA League Operator. “He’s picking up another night of pool this session, along with playing in the doubles league, making his nights out to five times per week. Joe proves you’re never too old to start something new and in the APA Everyone Can Play!”
Joe admits he’s had a few “lapses” in his pool career. In his very first APA match, Joe was playing Sylvia (Sparky) Wheeldon (how many of you can remember your first opponent?). Sparky broke and made a stripe then missed. Joe’s Team Captain told him he had stripes and Joe proceeded to the table and shot the 3-ball! Sparky ended up winning.
Joe also said that while in Vegas in 2013 playing in the Minis (he played in 13 Minis, cashing in three of them) he lost a match due to one of those “lapses.” He saw a woman with her pool bag slung over her shoulder and a cast on her leg. As he was walking around he realized that in APA “Everyone REALLY can play.”