Growing up in Toledo, OH, David Jarczynski never had any books from which to learn to play pool. There was no reading material to consult and no videos to review. All that really existed was one little red book by Willie Mosconi. David learned by watching and playing others at places such as the Hot Dog Haven and Glass Bowl Lanes as well as watching the higher caliber action when it came in. At times, a friend’s father would sneak David and his buddies into different bars where play was taking place. They would sit there after hours and just watch. "I just remember that stuff and it just sticks in my mind" said David. He also told how "No one would tell you about the Diamond System and even talking to people who worked on cues and stuff", nobody would share the coveted information. "It was like a secret."

David and his friends got their start at playing pool in the basement of his parent’s home. The big event would take place Friday nights during his high school years. Guys and girls alike would all come over on Friday nights after the football games to play competitive pool through "all hours of the evening." At midnight, they would hear the all too familiar sound of his "parents coming across the floor" knowing full well that it was time for the girls to leave. Once the girls left, acey-deucey and pea pool commenced often going on into the wee hours of the morning. Afterward, they would all spend the night and awaken in the morning to breakfast for all, compliments of David’s mother.

After high school, David and his father bought a trailer business, "Sparky’s Rent A Trailer." Basically it was a "utility type like U-Haul." A little history was told of the previous owner from whom they purchased the business. He was a milkman "that ran with the milk by horse and his nickname was Sparky." When David entered the business, all the kids started calling him Sparky while everybody else would call him Jarz. Really only the people that have known him for a very long time know him as Jarz.

Soon after going into business together, Sparky and his father began running tournaments and playing against each other in league at such places as Jimbo’s and The Caboose Club. When he began league play at the age of twenty-one, he was on a team with the same group of guys that used to play in his basement on those late Friday nights during high school. The newly formed team, if you will, were winning against their fathers in the Tri-County League and just playing great pool. All the watching, all the practicing, all the hunger to come of age and finally be able to play in the bars was finally beginning to pay off as they became accomplished players.

In discussing the team, (actually, this could apply to any team) Sparky shared his thoughts: The chemistry makes the team. When he puts together a team, he does so by the mix of personalities, believing that once these are in place, the talent will follow. "It’s all about putting the puzzle together." Sparky likens this to his team when they were twenty-five years old: "We weren’t the best team at twenty-one years old, [but] four years down the road we had our picture on the [cover of] "Billiard News", 1980 Edition." At that time they were The Caboose Club and had won the Rochester, Minnesota tournament three years in succession. Shortly thereafter, they were asked to quit the Tri-County Pool League." Then the dynasty started in the Toledo Pool League," a 30 year old league! Their team was the team to beat. Sparky still has the coveted trophy that had never before been won three years consecutively by the same team! He shined also at the fact that his Open Division team beat four Master level teams at the Canton, OH VNEA State Tournament last year. This was sure to be a tough climb as anyone familiar with the level of play of the men’s master division can attest.

Looking forward to getting out of the trailer business-no more snowplowing, strenuous work, labor maintenance or headaches-his father "had a chance to buy an exclusive poolroom in Toledo called the ‘Esquire’." Inside were wonderfully carved, handsome pieces like six-legged snooker tables and eight-legged billiard tables. "Monster tables on the second floor" as Sparky described them. Much to his chagrin, his dream business was sure to be short-lived. Actually, in its thirty days of ownership, it never even opened to the public. One day soon after the purchase of the business, they learned that the building was of historical significance and the business must relocate. Sparky and his father tried in vain to find a location for their beloved room but with only 30 days to vacate, it was impossible. Unfortunately, all of the tables had to be sold and the business closed its doors.

Sparky will always have remnants of the Esquire however, because he did think to "grab up all the Willie Hoppes from the wall" before its doors were closed and the dream was gone. After moving to Columbus a short time thereafter, he "started going crazy over pool paraphernalia." He sought after Camel Points from his friends, thus enabling him to purchase as many pool-related products as possible. Most of this merchandise remains in its original packaging, unopened. In addition to collecting pool paraphernalia, he proceeded to collect yet another cherished item—the Columbus City Championship thus making him the only player we know to have won the City Championships from three different leagues in three different cities! More than forty cue sticks remain in storage that are more reminiscent of art pieces to Sparky, than cue sticks for shooting pool. These include his cherished Willie Hoppes, of course, McDermott, Joss, Meucci, Mottey, Schon, a collection of Sneaky Petes, and some cues which he is not even sure of the maker. These, he is sure, were completely handcrafted—no machines, no computers! Sparky hopes to one day pass these sticks onto his nephew. Sparky’s younger sister passed on some time ago and he would like her son to have the collection.

Sparky later began collecting the pool garb-those which many players recognize from Sparky sporting them at the regional tournaments. His girlfriend Denise is quite a talented seamstress, so much that she is capable of making wedding dresses as well as clothing for herself. On a dare one time near the holiday season, Sparky said "You can go ahead and make some clothes for me." She did. Now when they travel out of town together, part of their time is spent scouting about fabric stores in hopes of finding pool-related material. As time went on, Denise got "more and more into doing it and I got more and more into wearing it." Over the years she’s made over a dozen outfits for Sparky including shorts, the infamous bib shorts with a kelly green background and pool balls spotting it, jackets and hats. As other wannahaves can attest, Denise sews almost exclusively for Sparky. He spoke admirably of her ability to love something as much as he loves pool. At any rate Sparky says "If ya look good, you’re gonna play good." It must be a perfect fit because he not only plays well when "dressed" but also they have been together for ten years and own a home.

Living in Columbus has afforded Sparky the opportunity to involve himself with great players as well as great play. He recounted having taken Dee Adkins on his first out-of-state road trip, along with Will Sloan, to Milwaukee to play in the National Team Open. Almost the way a father might speak proudly of his sons, Sparky told how "Those kids were so hot they literally made the famous 9-Ball game stop—TWICE that weekend!" Another great player about which he spoke highly was Jack Hines. He recounted how Jack worked night and day on his game so diligently for three years that he probably spent more time at High Cue Billiards than did the owners. Steve McAnnich is another player that Sparky watched grow into pool playing. In fact, they were on the same team representing Ohio in a Miller Light Tournament in Las Vegas.

As a purist in his own right, Sparky has his own thoughts on what pool would encompass if he had his druthers. Progressive pool would be the game of the day-8, 9 and 10-Ball: the players would not be able to play safe and would get ball in hand whenever the opponent missed a shot. Another option for all leagues would be to play scratch pool-no handicaps, ever. Sparky believes that either way the game would be played would lead to more accurate pool playing because players would have to play hard and play well. As far as leagues are concerned, he believes that all of them should show financial statements at the end of the year because they are a type of business, "and league operators need to do this for the players rights." In addition, he also believes that first place teams need to make money or break even. Perhaps a more novel idea would be to have a weeklong Pool Players Exposition away from gambling. It would be a pool extravaganza where mini tournaments occur 24 hours a day-a place where true pool players would go and are paid and paid well.