Seniors' pool tournament honors attorney's father The Woodbridge Senior Billiards Club holds third annual tournament BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer WOODBRIDGE - Josephine "Jo" Montelione of the Woodbridge Senior Billiards Club used the entire length of the 9-foot pool table and nailed each shot as she won first place in the intermediate round of the third annual James P. Nolan 8 Ball Tournament. "I just stayed calm," she said after she beat Ed Aleskie in two rounds. "I enjoyed it." For three years, the Woodbridge Senior Billiards Club has held a tournament in honor of Township Attorney James P. Nolan Jr.'s father, who passed away at the age of 60 in 1993. The club gathers at Nolan's Colonia home and plays on the 9-foot pool table that was built in 1911. "My father bought the table in 1965 at a pool hall," said Nolan. "I'm not sure which pool hall he bought it from, but I believe he bought it at the time when pool halls were dying out." The game of billiards has been in the Nolan family for generations. "My great-grandfather, who I only knew as Pop Milano, owned a pool hall where Pino's and Mai Tai is today," said Nolan. "I actually have a picture in my office that sits on my desk at town hall overlooking the exact same spot where my great-grandfather's pool hall was. My father was a big pool player; he actually built the woodwork for the room, which used to be a two-car garage, that the pool table sits in now. He converted the garage for the purpose to play pool. He just loved the game, as well as me and my family." The club, which consists of 54 members ages 60 and older, holds tournaments leading up to the Nolan tournament. Members wore their red billiards shirt. "The tournament has three tiers - novice, intermediate, and advanced," said Pat Trombetta, who is the club's president. "Our club, which myself, Frank St. Marie, and Chester Kinal formed four years ago, started with only a few members. Since then, it has grown to 54 members and we have 18 people on the waiting list. The reason for the waiting list is that we don't have enough pool tables to practice on." The club, which consists of 42 men and 12 women, practices at the Woodbridge Community Center, where they have three tables that were donated. "We play towns like South Plainfield, South Amboy, Plainfield, Old Bridge, Piscataway, and South Brunswick," said Trombetta. "It's all for fun, but there is a little competition." At times, the tournament was intense with the quiet atmosphere. The advanced round, which featured Bob Haag and Enzo Martino, went into a rubber match, with each player having two games apiece. Martino was winning two games to one in the best-of-five match when Haag hit the 8 ball on the break. The match was automatically a rubber match. Haag won the advanced round at the end. The novice round featured Judy Kazimir and Barbara Kolodziey, with Kolodziey the winner. "The games were intriguing," said Kolodziey. "I don't like to win that way [with Kazimir scratching both times], but it was enjoyable." Nolan, who also purchases the trophies for all the players during the tournament, hopes to refurbish the 96-year-old pool table in the spring. "Over the years, I have done basic repairs on the table," said Nolan. "But I recently received an estimate on refurbishing the table, which was $7,500. I expect to do that in the spring."