Before Palm Springs was home to big time actors turning their homes into vacation rentals, it was home to some huge stars who held some amazing parties. And, from time to time, things could get a little crazy.
Take for instance this story from Joe Pepitone, the one-time first baseman of The New York Yankees. Pepitone, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, talked about playing an insane game of billiards with Frank Sinatra in Palm Springs:
The first time I hung out with Frank at his house in Palm Springs, we were playing pool and he messed up my shot right as I was about to win the game. I was like, “What the fuck is this?” He said, “It’s my table, my game and we’re playing dirty pool!” He had two fireplaces down there with these big logs, and I swear to god they must have weighed fifty pounds each. So right as he was about to make his shot, I took one of these logs and I put it between his ball and the cue ball. I said, “If you’re God like they say you are, let’s see you make that fucking shot!” [Laughs] Jilly Rizzo’s eyes totally bugged out, and everybody’s like, “What the fuck are you doing?” But Frank just started laughing. He said, “You’re a sick motherfucker! You know, you’re crazy!” He’d come to some of the games when I was with the Cubs, and every time he was there I’d hit home runs!
Holy shit!
Wait, Frank had two fireplaces in the same room… in Palm Springs?
I guess you have to when you are playing dirty pool with major league all stars. Pepitone did not say if Frank took or made the shot – but you know he did because he was goddamn Frank Sinatra!
The entire interview, promoting the reissue of Pepitone’s autobiography Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud, is a really good read. Check it out here.
