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Thanks to my friend Frank P. for sharing this link via Here’s Park Slope blog.

Some sad news from the old-school bar front: Timboo’s, the ancient, classic dive bar on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 11th Street, has been leased, and will be closing at the end of the month. A tipster overheard an owner discussing the December 31st closure date, and longtime bartender Betty Collins confirmed that the bar indeed will soon have a new owner.

During the 1970’s I spent a lot of time in Timboo’s as a kid…yes I said, “as a kid”.

My father hung out there and my mother worked there.

On Saturday and sometimes Sunday mornings, ‘The Gooch’ (my father’s nickname) would take me down to the popular establishment on 5th avenue and 11th street while he conducted business and drank all day long. It was my weekend daycare.

I remember the pool table in the back where the Gooch would feed me quarters non-stop to keep me busy; I was hitting combo’s at the age of 9.  I’d often play alone but when I got bored, I’d practice trick shots. After shooting pool he would always make me clean my hands. I’d chalk up my cue so much that the blue powder would get all over my hands.

“You don’t wanna get that shit in your eyes,” he would remind me.

Shuffleboard and pinball were 2 other games available in the bar. I became the pinball wizard at the age of 10.

Thanks to Jimmy R. for sharing this link about Timboo’s from a blog called, ‘Park Slope Patch’.

Timboo’s has been a neighborhood standby to grab a cheap drink, play pool and catch a football game in a neighborhood increasingly obsessed with handcrafted cocktails. It was also one of the few places that opened at 8 a.m. on the weekdays!

The leather booth’s against the wood-paneled walls where my father would make me sit and watch the college football game on the TV high above the entrance to the men’s rest room while I nursed a coke with a ham and cheese sandwich from the local deli.

There was a cool jukebox in the front of the bar next to the cigarette machine. My favorite selections were “King Fu Fighting”, “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown”, “Shake Your Booty”, “Brandy” and “Rock the Boat”.

If there was a big-time game on the tube, someone would pull the plug on the jukebox so everyone could hear the announcers.

The women’s bathroom was in the back next to the kitchen.  The Gooch had me use it whenever I had to drop a deuce. “Put toilet paper around the bowl before you sit down.” He would tell me.

The banter amongst the patrons whether it was over sports, work or women were legendary.

Some of the regulars I recall who made the bar special were Miles and Phil McNiff, Roger, Stevie, Artie Miller, Snooper Davis, Artie Rice, Dee-Dee O’Brien, Big Red, Noona, Ray Grillo and one of my all-time favorites, Fat Tom.

Football sheets, the numbers, teasers, betting on the ponies…there was so much gambling going on down there it was a like a mini-Vegas.

One thing I miss from those days is filling out football sheets. The Gooch would allow me to pick 4 teams and he’d put a dollar down for me. If I hit 4 out of 4 I’d win $11. You’d tear the bottom piece off with your picks, name and dollar amount. You never wrote down your real name though. It was for amusement only. (Wink-Wink)

Fat Tom would buy handicap sheets from the newsstand on 9th street and study all the games. On occasion he’d ask me, ‘Stevie, who ya like today’?

While sitting comfortably in the booth I slugged unlimited glasses of coke while munching on a ham sandwich on Rye with mustard from the deli a few doors down.

One thing that sticks out in my mind is the bar’s phone number. There was a pay phone right by the front window and oftentimes I’d call down there to see if the Gooch was there. I must have called  788-9782 a million times as a kid.

Answering the phone was fun; It would ring and ring, no one would move. I’d look at the Gooch and he’d nod, giving me the OK to answer it. I’d run over and pick it up, “TIMBOO’S,” I’d say. Then the caller would ask for someone and I’d put my hand over the receiver and scream the name out.

If you hear anything about Timboo’s closing, please let me know. The bar and it’s characters will always have a special place in my heart.

Reespectfully,

Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com