Letters to the Editor
During the Spring of 1989 a man visited the Hampton Fraternal Order Police Lodge #26 to explain the workings of the APA. After some discussion amongst various FOP members, we decided it would behoove us to use this as a public relations tool to show we’re just like other poolplayers—drink a beer, eat some food and shoot a few fun games of pool. This idea to join the League transformed into many different opportunities to meet new people, make friends and play against amazing players.
We needed to come up with a name that would distinguish us from the other teams, something that really stands out. As police officers we carried billy sticks for our jobs so we thought it would be fitting, since we carry pool sticks to our games and play in the evenings, to be called the “Nightsticks” as a bit of a play on words. We’ve kept the name and think it suits our group as well now as it did 30 years ago.
Throughout our longstanding membership in the APA we’ve shot pool in a variety of interesting places—from dives to outstanding pool halls and from green felt to pink felt. No matter where we play, we always have a good time. We’ve even played on some of the worst nights where the weather was so bad that the power went out and we had to scatter to find camping lanterns to finish up our games in the dark.
Over the past 30 years, the Nightsticks have played in a lot of play-offs. Our best year was 2009 when we won a trip to Vegas. It was a great trip and we came home with lots of memories! We learned a lot too—defensive shots and tricks of the game. We all look forward to another trip to Vegas.
At one time the FOP Lodge #26 Nightsticks had four different teams playing in the APA. Now we are down to one. Of the eight team members today, three are from the original April 1989 Nightsticks team—Glenn Brown, Bob Weatherman and Doug Westfall! Several of our players over the years have passed on, and we’ve had to find others to fill their shoes, but the core of the team has never faltered.
Joining the APA 30 years ago has been an exciting adventure. Playing in weekly games, winning or losing, always makes you look forward to next week’s game. We’ve created many lasting friendships with APA members we’ve met along this expansive journey.
- Submitted by Justis Westfall, Virginia Peninsula APA member