Harold Worst

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I have read posts here and on onepocket.org , over the years where people say Harold Worst was a pocket billiard champion and a 3 cushion champion.
The BCA rulebooks the last time i looked , only recognised 3 people for ever holding titles in both , Alfredo De Oro Thomas Hueston and Johnny Layton, I know he played both straight pool and 9 ball at the highest level, and I thought he had won at least 1 tournament at each, is there some reason he is not recognised in the books?
Or am I mistaken and he never won any sanctioned events?
 

Mr. Bond

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I have read posts here and on onepocket.org , over the years where people say Harold Worst was a pocket billiard champion and a 3 cushion champion.
The BCA rulebooks the last time i looked , only recognised 3 people for ever holding titles in both , Alfredo De Oro Thomas Hueston and Johnny Layton, I know he played both straight pool and 9 ball at the highest level, and I thought he had won at least 1 tournament at each, is there some reason he is not recognised in the books?
Or am I mistaken and he never won any sanctioned events?

I suspect it has to do with Worst winning " unsanctioned " pocket events at Johnston City and Stardust.
 

book collector

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Interesting figure, Harold Worst. An interesting read.

http://www.thehypertexts.com/Harold Worst Pool Billiards the Best.htm

Thanks for the link , I have seen it before but did not catch the fact that he only entered the 2, pocket billiard tournaments.
On a side note , Mosconi played high level 3 cushion billiards pretty early in his life, he just didn't spend much time at it, because Hoppe was so good.
He figured it was better to spend the time at his best games.
 

Mr. Bond

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Thanks for the link , I have seen it before but did not catch the fact that he only entered the 2, pocket billiard tournaments.
On a side note , Mosconi played high level 3 cushion billiards pretty early in his life, he just didn't spend much time at it, because Hoppe was so good.
He figured it was better to spend the time at his best games.

Apparently Greenleaf gave it a go as well ( 3cush) and even tried snooker for a spell.
Still trying to find more about Greenleaf playing snooker....fascinating prospect
 

Bob Jewett

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I just stumbled onto this video of a Harold Worst v. Boston Shorty nine ball match. Unfortunately, Worst is only shown shooting two balls: a hanging nine ball that Shorty has dogged and the nine ball on the break. I searched and couldn't find any other videos of Worst. Do you know of any others?
 

book collector

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I just saw that the other day myself .
I met Harold's nephew in Phoenix but unfortunately he did not have much info on him either.
I gave him some copies of pictures of Harold, that I had.
I feel sorry for Shorty, every video I have seen of him, shows him dogging the game ball.
 

Mr. Bond

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seems like I recall some footage of Harold in one of the video archives of a university on the west coast....I forget which one, but one of those schools has an amazing collection of early television broadcasts.....much footage of Greenleaf, Hoppe, Mosconi, Caras etc


You guys might like this:
[Harold Worst was involved]


Chicago - Navy Pier
1950 Feb 10-19 Championship Pocket Billiards, 3 Cushion, and a rare Snooker exhibition/tournament, featuring Bennie Allen.

(watch for spelling errors from OCR)


Chicago Tribune Feb 9, 1950
Card Snooker Title Tourney

BY CHARLES BARTLETT

Snooker?. What's that?"

Chicago billiard fans unfamiliar with this English style of the pockets side of the game will learn during 'the national and world tournaments opening tomorrow as a major competitive' phase of the Chicago Outdoors show on Navy pier:

The snooker game, an innova- tion in this year s show, which, as usual, will include competition in three cushions and regulation pockets, is sort of an orphan in these parts, altho quite popular in the United States cities near the Canadia border, and in the south- west. Kansas City is another town popular for this baffling version of the game.

National Championship Carded

Since George Chenier of Canada and Joe Davis of England, recog- nized as the current masters of the sport, now are overseas, there will be no world title at stake, but a championship will be decided among a field of four, in- cluding Bennie Allen and Walter Franklin of Kansas City, Don Tozer of Decatur, Ill., and Vern Peterson of Rockford, Ill.

To begin with, snooker Is per- haps the fastest growing game in American billiards today. Played in most cases on a five 10 foot table, the balls are smaller than the conventional pocket billiard spheres, and the pockets are not only much smaller as well but have rounded edges which render it tremendously difficult to score if the pocket is even touched by the object ball. There are six pockets, situated just as on an ordinary pocket table.

Red Ball Worth One

The game is played with a cue ball and 21 object balls, 15 of which are red and bear no num- bers whatsoever. Each of the red balls has a value of one point. The other six balls, their colors and point values, are: yellow, two; green, four; blue, five; pink, six; and black, seven.

The players begin the game with 15 red balls racked in a triangle located at the same spot as the usual rack of balls in a pocket bil- liard game. The seven ball is be- tween the rack and the end cush- ion, the six ball just in front of tle6 triangle s apex facing the player who breaks. The five ball is in the very center of the table, while the three, four, and two re- spectively are located at the head spot, in a line across the table and about a foot apart.

Game of Maneuvers

After a player breaks the red ball triangle, and does not score a red ball in so doing, his oppo- nent attempts to pocket a red ball. If successful, he receives one point and leaves the red ball in the pocket. Ile must then attempt to pocket a numbered ball, which pays points comparable with its value. If the player makes the shot, the numbered ball is re- spotted. After every miss, tile in- coming player must shoot a red ball, this continuing until all tIle red balls are off tIle table. As soon as all red balls are pocketed, the numbered balls are played in their respective order.

Essentially a game of - vers rather than scoring of object balls, especially after all the red balls are off the table, the game becomes progressively more excit- ing as the number of balls on the table continues to diminish. With only three or four object balls re- maining on the table, the trailing player usually endeavors to "snooker " his opponent, [that is, leave, him ii a position where it would be difficult to hit the object ball in play], rather than attempt to pocket the ball himself,

Foul; 7 Point Penalty

All fouls call for a penalty of seven points. This applies to scratching, [cue ball going into pocket], hitting the wrong object ball, cue ball jumping table, play- ing with both feet off the floor, etc.


1950 Feb. 10
Cue Experts to Start Play

THEYLL BE RIGHT ON CUE AT NAVY PIER

Joe Chamaco, familiarly known as the Mexican Jumping Bean, will be a crowd favorite during national and world pockets and three cushion billiard tourneys which will open tonight on Navy pier in conjunction with the Outdoors Show.

Another outstanding competitor set for billiards meet is Andy Ponzi, the Philadelphia veteran.

BY CHARLES BARTLETT

The annual combined world and national billiards championships

in three cush- i o n s, pockets, and snooker reach the deci- sive stage this evening, w h e n

tnC top of the sport will start a nine day stand as a major feature of the Chicago Out- doors show on Navy pier.

Willie Hoppe

At 7:30 o clock, four matches will be played simultaneously in the pier amphitheater. The first three cushion contest will match John Fitzpatrick, the lean Angele- no who has been a regular in big time competition, and Harold Rooff, the New Yorker who beat out such stars as Arthur Rubin and George Kelly to win the east- ern qualifying trial for the na- tional show.

Crane, Lauri to Play

At the same hour, a pair of pockets matches will transpire. In one, Irving Crane of Binghamton, N. Y., former world titleholder, will face Al Coslowsky of Phil- adelphia, while the other will bring together bald Onofrio Lauri of Brooklyn and young Joe Canton of Watervliet, N.

Snooker, ma-, g its bow in the national show, will have as its first duel, an argument between Bennie Allen, the Kansas City veteran who formerly held the world pock- ets crown, and Vern Peterson, the Rockford, Ill., sharpshooter who was seeded into the event. Since the game s leading players, Joe Davis of England and George Che- nier of Canada, are now overseas, the snooker competition will be confined to a national phase.

Snooker embraces the funda- mentals of other billiard games. It enjoys extreme popularity in England and is a favorite small town pastime. The balls employed and the pockets are smaller, tho the table is larger than in pocket billiards. A player must drop one of 15 red balls before shooting for a counter. The counter balls range in value from two to seven. The contrasting sizes of table, balls, and pockets put a premium on ac- curacy and position.

Hoppe In Exhibition

Altho all of the other matches tonight will count in the national side of each meet, chief interest doubtless will be centered on table No. 3 at 8 p. in., when the peerless Willie Hoppe, defending the world three cushion championship, will play an exhibition against the baby of the show, Harold Worst of Grand Rapids, Mich., hailed by Hoppe himself as one of the most promising youngsters ever to wield a cue.

Jimmy Caras of Wilmington, Del., winner of the world s pockets championship in last year s tour- nament, will not defend his crown.

The program will continue at 9 p. m. with another series of four matches. The pockets de- bates will match Andrew Ponzi, the Philadelphia tailor who is a former world champion, and Joe Cosgrove of Atlanta, first south- erner to make the national grade, on one table, and Willis Coving- ton of Milwaukee and Buddy Wal- lace of Cleveland, two newcomers, on another.

Chamaco, McGoorty Matched

Joe Chamaco of Mexico City, national victor last year and run- ner-up to Hoppe for the world title, will meet Dan McGoorty, former Chicagoan who now resides in Los Angeles. The snooker fans will watch Don Tozer of Decatur, Ill., trade shots with Walter Franklin, the angular Missourian.

Competitors in the three fields met in the Stevens hotel yester- day noon for a rules discussion with officials of the Billiard Con- gress of America.



The OCR sucks so try this instead:

1950 Feb 13 Harold Worst Aint The Worst:

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1950/02/13/page/49/article/young-worst-tops-chamaco-in-3-cushions

1950 Feb 18 More About Harold

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/...should-get-better-but-harold-is-not-sure#text


1950 Feb 20 CHAMACO TOPPLES HOPPE
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/...should-get-better-but-harold-is-not-sure#text
 

Mr. Bond

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I believe this event might have been Ponzi's last big tourney. He died April 12 1950, at 47 yrs old.

Greenleaf had died in March
 
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Mr. Bond

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Construction of the Navy Pier was finished in 1916 - its now 100 yrs old.

Here is a postcard of it from 1950
postcard-chicago-navy-pier-beautiful-aerial-view-with-park-c1950.jpg
 

Mr. Bond

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Ironically I just got an email from a gentlemen on Tuesday who's father played in this very event at the Navy Pier.

He was a pocket billiard player, but got knocked out of the event by the 3rd day and didn't make the final four.
 

Mike Porter

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I just came across this thread and thought people would be interested in this.
 

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book collector

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I just came across this thread and thought people would be interested in this.

I have seen several versions of this apparatus, the first I know of,was Charles Westerns Pointer.
It was included in his book The Practical Art Of Billiards 1911.
It's a very nice piece of memorabilia, very time consuming but it sure is fun to find a unique piece.
 
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book collector

AzB Silver Member
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I just stumbled onto this video of a Harold Worst v. Boston Shorty nine ball match. Unfortunately, Worst is only shown shooting two balls: a hanging nine ball that Shorty has dogged and the nine ball on the break. I searched and couldn't find any other videos of Worst. Do you know of any others?

Sorry, I have heard rumors of a couple but never seen anything.
 

Mr. Bond

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I just stumbled onto this video of a Harold Worst v. Boston Shorty nine ball match. Unfortunately, Worst is only shown shooting two balls: a hanging nine ball that Shorty has dogged and the nine ball on the break. I searched and couldn't find any other videos of Worst. Do you know of any others?

The Johnston City tapes include what you described, but there is more to it, and an interview with Harold.

Have you seen those?
 
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