Frank Bitterman from LBCC, Albany OR 1977

9/26/2010 2:54:48 AM

Frank Bitterman from LBCC, Albany OR 1977

I am looking for a pool player named Frank Bitterman from LBCC in Albany Oregon in 1977.

Anyone hear of him or know of his whereabouts these days?

Rich Tanner

Pool Players

Frank Bitterman from LBCC, Albany OR 1977

Replies & Comments

sbn on 10/2/2012 3:06:41 PM
Dear Mr. Tanner:

If the Frank Bitterman you were seeking was a ferocious Nine Ball player and former barefoot track runner, then I know who you are talking about. My name is Scott Nilsson - I am Frank's nephew and live in Atlanta, GA.

I was gathering information online and Google showed me your post.

I am very sorry to share the news that Frank passed away this afternoon - Godspeed. I'm very sorry the circumstances didn't allow us to connect Frank to you while he was still with us. He would not have seen your post, as he didn't use a computer. Frank moved here to Atlanta, GA about 25 years ago, and was sharing a home with his girlfriend in Rockdale County, GA which east of Atlanta, near Conyers, GA.

I am gathering information on Frank to share with family and friends, and would love to share any remembrances you, or any of Frank's friends there would like to share, and I'll be happy to share what we gather with you. If you would like, I can also put you in touch with Frank's sister, Rosemary, and/or his brother, John. Not sure if you knew them as well.

I wish I had better news to share, but I thought you would want to know.

Wishing you a safe year.

Warmest regards,
Scott Nilsson

Atlanta, GA
(404) 261-4326

sammy_knowles on 10/3/2012 11:52:00 PM
I saw that you were looking for a Frank Bitterman from OR. I am 90% sure that the Frank he is looking for died in a fire in Conyers, GA on Tuesday. I was trying to email you but not sure of your info.

wsbtv.com/news/local/authorities-2-killed-rockdale-county-house-fire/242040647

sbn on 10/11/2012 10:07:21 PM
Here is his obituary:

FRANK JAMES BITTERMAN, II, 68, of Conyers, GA., perished Oct. 2, 2012, in a house fire. Born in Bremerton, he grew up in Norfolk, Va. and Corvallis, Oregon, where his parents, Frank and Mary Bitterman, had retired. At Corvallis High School, Frank was captain of the cross country track team, intimidating competitors and stunning the crowd by competing - and winning - barefooted. In his youth, he worked as a railroad gandy dancer, repairing steel track. During the Vietnam war, he served as a seaman in the U.S. Navy. He later worked as a painting contractor.

While studying metallurgy at Linn Benton Community College, Frank played an instrumental role in the addition of pool and billiards into the Oregon higher education curriculum. In the late 1970s, he was a finalist in the ACUI Collegiate 9-Ball Championships, ranking in the top tier of 9-Ball players in the United States. A Georgia resident for nearly three decades, Frank once held the Atlanta 9-Ball Championship title and trophy. A student of karate, a fisherman and an avid card player, Bitterman won numerous tournaments in Contract Bridge and Texas Hold 'Em Poker - and restored classic Chevrolet Camaros during his years in Atlanta.

Frank is survived by his sister, Rosemary Schriver, of Waynesboro, Va.; his brother, John Bitterman Barricks, of Costa Rica; and several nieces and nephews.

Rich Tanner on 6/1/2018 1:13:06 PM
Dear Mr. Scott Nilsson,

I found out Frank died a few years ago and I was devastated to the point that all I could do is find a web-site that had a memorial on it about Frank and after that, I didn't even search for his name again until today, June 1 2018.

As a kid, I learned a little about playing pool, but when I got to college at LBCC I found out about Frank' course in scientific methods to pool. I actually still have the binder of materials he handed out to his many students. I still use his material to help other people how to play better.

I recall visiting Frank' house one day, we were talking about all sorts of stuff and we were watching the movie "10" with Bo Derek on his TV. I think that was 1977.

Frank' class was a revelation to me in many ways and had a huge impact not only in how I play pool, but how I think about applied science, how to truly focus on a task screening out all distractions, patience, carefully examining any situation from all angles and many other skills I carried into my working life.

His class also carried into my personal life and what Frank taught me about pool provided me with a way to interact with people, especially women, in a way that was utterly innocent and yet still allowed me enough time and conversation with people to begin friendships and even relationships. The pool skills he taught me allowed me to show off a little without looking like I was showing off.

My first date with my wife was over a pool table at a pool hall that Frank told me about here in the SF bay area called "California Billiards" on Steven Creek Blvd. We have spent a great many hours playing pool over the years since.

Frank was the person who introduced me to Meucci pool cues. He was selling them to order from the factory. I could only afford an MO-2, but I always wished I could have afforded the same model that Franks owned, an MO-7. It was beautiful and now that I have a bit more money, I've been trying for years to find one to buy and remember Frank by.

I had fully intended to continue his class at LBCC after I graduated, but my mother needed me to go out in the world and make a good living and send money home to support my baby brother and the real money in my occupation is here in Silicon Valley. I only got to talk with him a few times after that and when I came back to visit years later, LBCC said he was no longer teaching there and didn't have a way for me to contact him.

I never met any of Frank's family, but I would be happy to know they would be aware of how much Frank meant to people who took his classes.

Thanks for your post,
Rich Tanner
Mountain View, CA.

Digs Gardens on 12/27/2021 3:31:20 PM
Is anyone aware of a manuscript on the science of billiards or 9-ball published by Frank Bitterman?

I think I have a copy of the original and I am looking for someone who knows the whereabouts of the original or the publisher.

billiardsforum on 12/30/2021 1:07:20 PM
@Digs Gardens - can you share any further information about what specifically you are looking for?

If you can share an image of the book's page that lists the ISBN, year of publication, publisher, and author, etc. I can potentially help you with the research.

Digs Gardens on 12/30/2021 8:56:20 PM
Thank you for the offer to help.

As I read the thread above, I see that Mr. Bitterman handed out notebooks with his teaching notes to his students. I am now thinking that is what I have—another copy of his students' book, which is a big blue notebook with photocopies of 332 pages of his drawings.

It is not a published book from what I can tell. There is no ISBN, or publisher.

Thank you again.

Digs Gardens

Rich Tanner on 2/5/2022 6:24:35 PM
@Digs Gardens,

Hi. This is Rich Tanner from the question that started this thread and the long post above about Frank Bitterman.

It sounds like you have a much bigger set of Frank's teaching notes than I do, from the class I took from Frank at LBCC in 1976 to 1978. Is there any way I could get a copy of whatever you have by or about Frank?

Thanks for anything you can supply.

@Scott Nilsson,

If you have anything you can provide in terms of Frank Bitterman's teachings, please let me know. I am hoping to teach my teenage daughter in the Frank Bitterman methods.

And a little note, I finally managed to buy a Meucci MO-7 cue like Frank's off eBay, and it should be here Monday.

Digs Gardens on 2/5/2022 8:39:33 PM
@Rich Tanner,

I did make contact with Scott and was able to send the complete book to him. I did not make a copy.

Scott is a little difficult to reach, but if I can get in touch with him and he gives me the OK to can share his contact info with you, I will get back to you in this thread. From there we can make arrangements that are less public (or I'll ask Scott to log in to the forum).

Rich Tanner on 2/5/2022 9:14:41 PM
@Digs Gardens,

Thanks. Above in the thread is his phone number. If you have an email for him or have called him before, great, do try to contact him. I will wait to hear if you get him. If not, I can call him next week.

I wish I had contacted you first. I have a nice scanner and optical character reader system and could digitize the whole thing into a PDF file.

Digs Gardens on 2/5/2022 9:26:32 PM
@Rich Tanner,

I didn't copy the manual because I didn't ask for permission before sending it.

Go ahead and try his phone number. He says not to leave a message, but he does check them every few weeks or so. I forwarded your request to his email, which he also checks every few weeks.

You will have a nice chat with him, especially if you can tell him that you talked with Frank personally.

billiardsforum on 2/6/2022 6:02:54 AM
Glad to see you all are making progress in piecing together Frank's works.

If ever you compile something that might be useful to others, I would be more than happy to host it here for free.

I can also help with OCR, transcription, etc. as needed.

Digs Gardens on 2/6/2022 7:25:45 AM
Thank you. I agree.

I believe it is something that should be published and was on the verge or doing it, until I found his family; then I felt like it wasn't my prerogative.

I hope they do something like that.

Frank Bitterman from LBCC, Albany OR 1977

Title: Frank Bitterman from LBCC, Albany OR 1977
Author: Rich Tanner
Published: 9/26/2010 2:54:48 AM
Last Updated: 11/22/2016 1:35:25 PM
Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)