Harold Worst

medallio

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm enjoying the Don Willis thread so much that I'd like to hear more about Worst other than the little I've found online.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
HAROLD WORST IS MY VOTE FOR THE GREATEST POOL/CAROM PLAYER EVER
jmho
icbw
 

Low500

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
HAROLD WORST IS MY VOTE FOR THE GREATEST POOL/CAROM PLAYER EVER
jmho
icbw
YES..................
Now you're talking about a real pool player....who drilled 'em all. And he bet his own money.
Furthermore, there won't be any BS tales from pool room detectives spooked out on cheap muscatel, about some 'red hot' shooting any cue balls "out of the window upstairs and the ball rolling down the street in the gutter to hit an object ball previously placed there".
Worst was a mainline hitter..he just had a gift for this game. I saw him at Johnston City the year before the IRS busted the place, I think it was. Not sure about the year.
It was a shame that he passed away so young.
A very good posting and most enjoyable. Thank you.
:thumbup:
 

J SCHWARZ

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think it was Willie Mosconi who told me about Worst making a billiard out of a plain at two thousand feet onto a moving train while it was raining.
 

sixpack

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
YES..................
Now you're talking about a real pool player....who drilled 'em all. And he bet his own money.
Furthermore, there won't be any BS tales from pool room detectives spooked out on cheap muscatel, about some 'red hot' shooting any cue balls "out of the window upstairs and the ball rolling down the street in the gutter to hit an object ball previously placed there".
Worst was a mainline hitter..he just had a gift for this game. I saw him at Johnston City the year before the IRS busted the place, I think it was. Not sure about the year.
It was a shame that he passed away so young.
A very good posting and most enjoyable. Thank you.
:thumbup:

How much did Don Willis take you for? :)
 

Ekojasiloop

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Grady said he used to practice straight pool everyday until he ran 300. I think that was the number.
 

Neil

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Harold used to practice/play a lot with a man named George Ellis here in Grand Rapids, Mi. One day they were putting on an exhibition match at a cue club downtown. Race to 200 playing 14.1

Well, today seemed to be George's day, as he jumped out to a 150 to nothing lead with a 150 ball run. George, finally seeing an opportunity to get back some of what he had lost to Harold over the years, asked Harold if he wanted to bet $50 on the match. ( 50 was a LOT back then.)

To George's surprise, Harold took the bet. Harold then got up and ran 200 and out.

Yes, Harold could play a little.
 

raistlinsdragon

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How much did Don Willis take you for? :)

Ronnie Allen gave an interview and talked a lot about Worst. Said he BBQ Willis 11-5 and 11-6. Allen also called him the best player he had ever seen. But hey, what would Allen know about pool players. :)
 

J SCHWARZ

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
medallio if you like reading about guys like Don Willis and Harold Worst and other hustlers/players of that era you should check out Freddy the Beard's Encyclopedia of Pool hustlers. Its almost 400 pages and a great read. He aired a lot of stuff about the greats of the game. R.A. Dyers book is great too but mostly centers around Fats, Lassiter, and Jersey Red. In Freddys book he mentions that Worst showed up in Tampa at the All Around in 64' when he was still pretty much unknown and beat Cowboy Jimmy Moore, Marshall Carpentrt, Eddie Taylor, and Danny Jones gambling 9-ball. He had never even played by the rules they made him play by. He mentioned Weenie Beenie later wanted to stake Lassiter for 5k playing him 9ball but lassiter flat out refused. Lassiter was considered the world champion nineball player at that time too. Worst beat Willis playing 9ball so Lassiter didn't want to risk losing while he was considered the champ. Eddie Taylor who was considered the the champ of one pocket at the time ducked him playing one pocket. Anyways its a good book and worth the read.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
I've commented many times on here about Harold Worst. IMO he is the greatest player I ever saw in my lifetime. Harold was a Man's Man! He carried himself with dignity at all times and spoke softly and carried a big stick. He had a presence about him that was hard to define and was respected by ALL the players, hustlers and tournament pros alike. He was similar to Shane in that he could win the tournament and then get out there and gamble with all comers. Bet what you want!

I saw Harold overcome gaff games and get the money. Quite simply he did what needed to be done on a pool table, making shots and playing position, over and over again until the match was over. There was no big fanfare to his game or his style. He just went about it methodically and shot your nuts off in the process. Kind of like the way Hoppe played Three Cushions.

Harold was prepared to play any player at any game, be it pool, snooker or billiards. He had no equal in that respect. He was a precursor to Efren, in that if he wanted to learn a new game (like One Pocket), give him a month and he was a world beater. He was preparing himself to take on Ronnie at One Pocket when the Big C got him. He had already challenged Lassiter to a $10,000 9-Ball match and was rebuffed.

I never saw another man quite like Worst in all the years I've followed this game.

P.S. Harold was powerful built for a man probably under 6' tall (maybe he was 5'11"). I would guess his weight at well over 200 pounds. His stance was the most solid I've ever seen along with the great Ceulemans.
It was sad to see Harold in Vegas at his last tournament in 1967. He was frail and looked weak, but he never complained or said anything to anyone. He went ahead and won the tournament anyway (what a testament to his greatness) and was dead less than six months later. I was in shock when I heard that news.
 
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sixpack

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ronnie Allen gave an interview and talked a lot about Worst. Said he BBQ Willis 11-5 and 11-6. Allen also called him the best player he had ever seen. But hey, what would Allen know about pool players. :)

Sow Low500 is Harold Worst?

j/k :) I was commenting on how negative Low500 is about Willis.
 

Mr. Bond

Orbis Non Sufficit
Gold Member
Silver Member
I have a whole unopened box of these for sale in case anyone is interested.

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