Dear Friends,

It is with sadness that we've learned of the passing of our friend Allen Montalbano.


I spoke to his mother who relayed that Allen passed away three days ago after an illness he had likely had for about a year. Allen was a long time friend and member of the pool league and past President. He joined the league in 1988 when he was 21 years old and has been a continuous member since then.



Allen was always looking out for the best interest of the league. To that end, he donated money, helped raise money, cooked food for events and helped with fundraisers. He maintained consistent teams and brought new players and venues into the league. Allen will be missed and there is an empty spot in the league with his passing.

There will be no official service held by his family. Our pool league family will recognize his life and contributions at some time in the near future.

With sadness we announce the passing of Ricky Bravo.  



According to his partner Paul Hughes of 43 years, Ricky passed on September 23 after an extended illness.  Ricky and Paul were members of the LA Pool League for many years.  Ricky played on numerous teams throughout his time with the league and to my recollection, some of the venues were:  Little Joy, Jr., Mr. Mike's, the Rawhide and the Oxwood Inn just name a limited few.  

Ricky was well liked by his team and members of the league.  He would most always bring food during league play, making sandwiches for folks or in a warmer full of tamales and other items.  Ricky and Paul were together for 43 years and you'd rarely see one without the other at league events or just around town.  

Ricky will be missed.  We extend our sincere condolences to Paul and Ricky's family and friends. 

Ronald Alan Rinker

•A Remembrance•

Born:  August 3,1950
Los Angeles, CA

Death: On or about November 14, 2020
Oceanside, California
Heart Attack

Coincidentally, Ron joined the LAPL after seeing our Member’s Registration Meeting advertisement in Frontiers Magazine. At that time he was unaware of the existence of our sister city leagues in Long Beach and San Diego. Ron was living in San Clemente and the 5:00 P.M. traffic up to Los Angeles on Tuesdays was a challenge.

I say “coincidentally” since we rarely ran a paid ad in Frontiers since it was well over our print budget. It was a quarter page size and appeared in just one issue during a two or three year period of time.

He attended that Fall Registration Meeting in search of a slot on any team that needed a single player. He was paired with the Gauntlet II team and played for many seasons with Victor Brooks as his Captain.

Eventually, Ron would also participate in the Sunday Fund Raising events held on Sundays and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

After a few seasons, he found that both Long Beach and San Diego had similar formats and demographics. I was surprised that he didn’t switch to a much closer location. I asked him why he continued to make the long drive from San Clemente on Tuesday nights. He replied that he had made many friends in our League and wanted to maintain those relationships.

Ron’s first trip to the West Coast Challenge as a player was when he qualified during the Spring 2002 season as a winner of the HI/LO event with Jeffrey Hersh. Jeffrey exercised his option to play in the Open Individuals instead and Ron was paired w/Phil Burns at WCC XLV (July12-14, 2002 held at the Rawhide Bar in Los Angeles)

Subsequently, Ron served on the LAPL Board of Governors during the Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 seasons.

FINALLY, he decided to take the course of least resistance and headed to the San Diego Pool League; much closer to home.

He distinguished himself as a player and a longtime member of the Board of the San Diego League. We would see him twice a year at the West Coast Challenge either as a player, member of the SDPL Board or a Judge.

Ron was a real gentleman and good sport. We can all learn from his example.

As a former member of the LAPL Board who served selflessly, we will miss his good humor and steadiness.

Michael Loyer, a member of the San Diego Pool League, has also posted a tribute to Ron on Facebook from the perspective of Ron’s service to the SDPL.

-jh