SOLD 2300+ HHR solids - one of a kind "Cowboy" Wolford set (1 Viewer)

[GreekRedEye]

NOTE: Not a dibs sale for the main set. I want to make sure this goes to someone who will respect the original chips and not remove labels.

Lot 1 - Samples - CANCELED

Spoiler: CANCELED

Price: $30 + shipping per set
Qty Available: 5 sets
Description: sample of 3 original/authentic chips in white, red, orange

Lot 2 - Historic Cash Set
Price: $1900 + shipping
Option: About 2 barrels of reds and 2 barrels of blue are not milled. I can mill them for an additional $100.
Description: This set is one of a kind. The heart of the set are originals owned by Byron "Cowboy" Wolford. Byron was a mover and shaker in the early days of organized Texas Hold'em. He played with some of the greatest and was a WSOP bracelet winner. For more information on his life, read the following links (or buy his book!).
https://www.cardplayer.com/cardplay...-tribute-to-a-rodeo-champion-and-poker-legend
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2003/may/15/colorful-poker-player-wolford-dies/
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.co...ford-chronicles-his-life-2001nov18-story.html

What is included:

• Framed photo of Byron and originals of the chips (from Jim Blanchard's personal collection)
• Over 2300 HHR right solid chips per the breakdown in the table below.

COLOR	Proposed Denom	Qty Originals	Qty Labeled Addons	Qty Milled Addons	Extras and Remarks
Blue	5c or $500	0	0	83 143	3 shades of dark blue. Can easily put together 2 barrels of consistent blues for $500s.
Yellow	25c	0	47	68	good color and condition match
White	$1	290	130	70	good condition match. Slight color variation
Red	$5	90	35	231 269	Color is similar but condition varies greatly across chips.
Green	$25	0	182	0	Additional 68 unmilled available (different shade and condition)
Black	$100	0	193	0	Additional 15 unmilled available (different condition, same shade)
Orange	limit workhorse	783	0	0	All originals
Light Blue Orange spots	limit value chip	0	0	20	Need to remove existing labels

 

[GreekRedEye]

Note, if you take on this set, there is still a bit of work to do:

• Label the milled chips. I believe @Gear has the graphics since he made the labels for the add-ons. I also created graphic files I can share.
• Mill the 2 red and 2 blue barrels if you want them (or I can do the milling for an additional $100).
• Clean or not clean - your decision. One rack of the oranges have been cleaned, but none of the other originals have been cleaned.

 

[GreekRedEye]

The two barrels of reds and blues milled. So all chips shown in this picture are either originals or milled add ons.

Best usage for the blues (in my opinion) is two barrels of $500.

 

[GreekRedEye]

bump

 

[FordPickup92]

Well organized sale ad, and great piece of history. Glws

 

[GreekRedEye]

Well organized sale ad, and great piece of history. Glws

Thanks. It really is a unique and special set. I go back and forth on whether to keep it. Thought I might split it...still might if all pieces go to folks who will appreciate it.

Excerpt from this article:

Byron “Cowboy” Wolford sat at the table at the 1984 World Series of Poker, facing Jesse and Jack Keller, when he bet $15,000. Jesse called the bet. Wolford - everybody calls him Cowboy because of his trademark hat and rodeo past - threw another $40,000 into the pot. Jesse called. Finally, Wolford pushed $110,000 into the center of the table. Jesse studied the situation for about five minutes. Woldford looked toward his wife, Evelyn, and their son, smiled and winked. Jesse folded.

Wolford showed his cards. He had nothing. Some have called it the greatest bluff in the history of the World Series of Poker, and he went on to finish second in the tournament that year.

 

[si3v3]

Cowboy Wolford was a poker friend of my dad's and be made this for my dad to give to me when I was a teenager. I'm 54 now

 

[GreekRedEye]

Cowboy Wolford was a poker friend of my dad's and be made this for my dad to give to me when I was a teenager. I'm 54 nowView attachment 1304883

That's amazing! What a cool and unique card guard!

 

[si3v3]

That's amazing! What a cool and unique card guard!

Yeah cowboy Wolford was a big name and a nice guy from what I know of him. The chip is a defunct $100 binions from California I think

 

[merkong]

Huge HHR and poker history fan. Interested in a split if the possibility arises.

5 racks racks: 2 of one shade, 3 of a second shade.

Watching.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Yeah cowboy Wolford was a big name and a nice guy from what I know of him. The chip is a defunct $100 binions from California I think

I did not know anything about him till @BamaT8ter first listed this set. I bought his book (leafed through it) and read a little about him. Although Wolford spent most of his life in Texas, he retired in Southern California and he was a host at the Ocean's Eleven Casino in Oceanside.

Huge HHR and poker history fan. Interested in a split if the possibility arises.

5 racks racks: 2 of one shade, 3 of a second shade.

Watching.

A usable split might be to break off the limit from the NL. And we could break the NL into two as well (a 25c/50c and a $1/$2).

I would keep a set in the event of a split.

 

[GreekRedEye]

I have cancelled the Lot 1 samples listing. No interest in them so far and if this thing does get split, those extras may prove useful.

 

[Terrys394]

Cowboy was a real gentleman and a really cool guy. He would always be dressed up in his overalls and cowboy hat. I met him at the WSOP and I just wanted to say hello and we ended up talking for about 15 minutes. A few years dealer I became a dealer around 2001 at Oceans 11 in Southern California and he I saw him there and he remembered me. Another dealer said he lived there or used to live there but at one time he was a regular at O-11. I ended up winning a copy of his book that is in the picture there. I still have it it's a great read. He died shortly after that but I was lucky to meet him. He was soft spoken, intelligent, and a lot of fun to listen to. Not many famous professional players like him around today.

 

[GreekRedEye]

"I'm usually real polite to poker players, you know, but this one guy just kept going on and on ... Finally I said to him, 'Like my daddy told me years ago, I'd rather hear a sucker holler than a pretty gal sing.' "
- Byron "Cowboy" Wolford

 

[GreekRedEye]

Growing up on a 155-acre farm in Tyler, Texas, Wolford practiced roping every day. After he read about soldiers who were trained to assemble machine guns blindfolded, Wolford decided to try the technique himself with calf-roping, which he said was how he got so fast at it.

After turning pro, Wolford learned he could win $500 or $600 at a rodeo and just as much at poker. He began carrying two sets of clothes; Levis, tennis shoes and a cowboy hat for roping, and slacks, silk shirts, a sports coat and alligator boots for poker afterward.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.co...ford-chronicles-his-life-2001nov18-story.html

 

[GreekRedEye]

I labeled 2 barrels of blues as $500. I am currently working on labeling the unlabeled reds as $5.

 

[GreekRedEye]

This is the last bump before I split the set.

Two years later, Wolford was at Madison Square Garden again and he set the record for calf-roping, 11.01 seconds.

Wolford became a full-time poker player in 1960 after ropers started dismounting off the right side, shaving time off how long it took to take down a calf. At 30, Wolford figured he was too old to change his style. “I thought I had a better chance of beating eight poker players instead of 125 ropers,” he said.

Reflecting on both careers, Wolford writes in his book: “I’ve never met a cowboy who played poker as good as me and I’ve never seen a poker player who could rope calves as good as I could.” Texas hold ‘em became Wolford’s favorite game because, he said, it has a lot of action. “I’ve looked at 2 1/2 million poker hands in my life, and I could have played each hand differently,” he said.
Source: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.co...ford-chronicles-his-life-2001nov18-story.html

 

[GreekRedEye]

I found a partner in crime to split this set. Folks interested in the welfare of this set can rest assured it is staying intact with people who value it, with a NL and Limit set with me and a NL set with another person who appreciates it. I am closing this thread as SOLD.

@si3v3 @Terrys394 - seems both of you had a connection to Wolford. If either of you are interested in a NL or Limit set, I may be able to make that happen. Send me a PM.