One Pocket HOF The Fat Man

Island Drive

Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
I'm gonna do what it takes to get there with my interview tape of Fat/Evelyns life together, I videoed it 2-28-96 right after fats died.
This of course might be considered a Plug for the One Pocket HOF members but its just the opposite, fatttttssss 'explains' why I do what I do as I breath and why many of us play this great game.
My interview shows Evelyns side of this man/pool player and during this interivew I gained her friendship for this two hour dead pan video/audio....after that she invited me for dinner.
I cooked, she ALREADY had the frig just stocked, and I too did the dishes, it was grandma because I was still 47 and she was 'woman of wisdom' how could she not be.... This woman had JAM macho, & just 'because'....she was raised by the fat man at the tender age of 22 and spent over 40 yrs with em', Amazing woman if ya ask me. The "Queen" ain't got nothin' on her. :)
 
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I think what Bill means is that he's gonna go to the DCC, to the One Pocket HOF dinner, and share his video interview of Evelyn Wanderone (wife of Minnesota Fats), because Fatty is being inducted this year.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
See you there, Bill

Island Drive said:
I'm gonna do what it takes to get there and pretty much that means "steel will get soft" before I don't get there.
This of course might be considered a Plug for the One Pocket HOF members but its just the opposite, fatttttssss 'explains' why I do what I do as I breath.
What I will do is show Evelyns side of this man/pool player and through her eyes, gain her friendship for this two hour dead pan video/audio and after that she invited me for dinner. I cooked, she ALREADY had the frig just stocked, and I too did the dishes, it was grandma because I was still 47 and she was 'woman of wisdom' how could she not, This woman had JAM macho, & just 'because' she was raised by the fat man at the tender age of 22 and spent over 40 yrs with em', Amazing woman if ya ask me. The "Queen" ain't got nothin' on her. :)
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Bill, I campaigned like a wild man to insure Fatty's induction. Why I even had to fight so hard is still incomprehensible. Fatty and Onepocket is inseparable. For those who werent fortunate enough to gain his presence, I can only say that they really missed out on a phenomenom.

Beard
 
If I could be granted one wish in life, it would have been to see Fats and Mosconi in an epic one pocket match in some dingy pool hall (and a bottle of good hooch).

Kid
 
Island Drive said:
I'm gonna do what it takes to get there and pretty much that means "steel will get soft" before I don't get there.
This of course might be considered a Plug for the One Pocket HOF members but its just the opposite, fatttttssss 'explains' why I do what I do as I breath.
What I will do is show Evelyns side of this man/pool player and through her eyes, gain her friendship for this two hour dead pan video/audio and after that she invited me for dinner. I cooked, she ALREADY had the frig just stocked, and I too did the dishes, it was grandma because I was still 47 and she was 'woman of wisdom' how could she not, This woman had JAM macho, & just 'because' she was raised by the fat man at the tender age of 22 and spent over 40 yrs with em', Amazing woman if ya ask me. The "Queen" ain't got nothin' on her. :)
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Hey, I resemble that remark! :grin-square:
 
"Willie know nothing about one pocket -- he keeps running 8 and out!"

Scott Lee said:
MN Kid...Never would have happened. Mosconi did not play one-pocket.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Scott:

While Mosconi waved his hand dismissively at any 1hole matches, I'm pretty sure he finally DID engage Fatty in a 1hole match, and the inimitable Fatty made the epic remark to the effect that Willie "knows nothing about how to play 1hole -- he keeps going 8-and-out!"

Then again, with these two legends, that could all be "I caught a fish 'this' big" water cooler talk, too!

Anyone know if this story is true?

-Sean
 
Fats truly did champion the game of One Pocket. It was his own rule book that first introduced published rules of the game to the general public, in 1965. According to pool historian Mike Shamos, the BCA did not come around until two years later, in '67. And I suspect that Minnesota Fats on Pool got a great deal more public distribution than the BCA rule book ever has!

I believe Fats insisted that One Pocket be included in at least one of the Mosconi/Fats TV challenges -- maybe just the first one. I heard that Mosconi insisted that they play the nine ball and straight pool segments first, the idea being that if Willie won those two games, there would be no One Pocket necessary (as a tie breaker). That is probably what happened, too...
 
Willie played a little one hole...

sfleinen said:
Scott:

While Mosconi waved his hand dismissively at any 1hole matches, I'm pretty sure he finally DID engage Fatty in a 1hole match, and the inimitable Fatty made the epic remark to the effect that Willie "knows nothing about how to play 1hole -- he keeps going 8-and-out!"

Then again, with these two legends, that could all be "I caught a fish 'this' big" water cooler talk, too!

Anyone know if this story is true?

-Sean
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Fats insulted Wilie enough to get him to play one pocket in Philly, in the late 40s or early 50s. Willie won easily. Al Miller and Oakland Don DeCoy (who was rated 1 or 2 in 1pkt at that time) also got Mosconi down playing one hole in Mosconi's home court in Philly (probably Allinger's). The result was the same as with Fats, Don played badly and Willie won. However, a really obscure one pocket match took place between my own mentor, Gene Skinner and Mosconi. Skinner, who was also a world class 3 cushion player, wasnt intimidated by anybody, and was able to play his excellent game and thrashed Willie. I am aso pretty sure, but not postive, that Willie would only play one pocket on the 4 1/2 x 9 tables, even tho the 5 x 10s were still popular and many tourns. were still held on them.

Beard
 
Freddie, the story Fats used to tell was that he went into Willie's dad's poolroom in New Jersey long before Willie was a world champion. Fats wanted to play One Pocket or Banks and Willie only wanted to play Straight Pool. Fats somehow convinced him (remember he was Triple Smart Fats) to play "Bank Every Other Ball" Straight Pool. In other words, you would run the balls by shooting one ball straight in and banking the next ball.

Fats crucified Willie who cleaned out his dad's cash register and got in a lot of trouble for it. Thus began their long dislike for each other. Fats out smarted Willie.

By the way, do you remember the story Fats used to tell at his exhibitions about "Willie the Wop"? It was a thinly veiled insult about Mosconi. After they started playing TV matches in the 70's, he quit telling that story. Some day I'll tell the whole story on here. It was a classic.
 
jrt30004 said:
i've read this three times and still can't figure out what the hell it means.
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Was having a little to much fun that night and glad to others coming to my rescue to "splain" what I said.
When fatty was a young boy hanging around with his dad on the streets of NY, there would form large groups of men betting or whatever on the street corner. Evelyn told me about a time there was a woman standing with the men (not acceptable back then), and during this era fats was probably 8 yrs old, fats dad didn't think it was proper for a 'lady' to be doing this so he had Fats pee on her leg to get her to leave.
 
Really didn't realize how competent "Fats" was at one pocket till I travelled from Vegas to Reno and back with Ronnie Allen. Asked him that very question. Ronnie told me he gave "Fats" 8 - 7 and he didn't like it. Because it was Ronnie after one or two (wait, make that three or four), I always doubted the story. Now I realize "Fats" is not the cartoon caricature he's portrayed as or thought of:o. Thanks for the post Freddie!

Lyn
 
Willie the WOP and the One-eyed Doc

jay helfert said:
Freddie, the story Fats used to tell was that he went into Willie's dad's poolroom in New Jersey long before Willie was a world champion. Fats wanted to play One Pocket or Banks and Willie only wanted to play Straight Pool. Fats somehow convinced him (remember he was Triple Smart Fats) to play "Bank Every Other Ball" Straight Pool. In other words, you would run the balls by shooting one ball straight in and banking the next ball.

Fats crucified Willie who cleaned out his dad's cash register and got in a lot of trouble for it. Thus began their long dislike for each other. Fats out smarted Willie.

By the way, do you remember the story Fats used to tell at his exhibitions about "Willie the Wop"? It was a thinly veiled insult about Mosconi. After they started playing TV matches in the 70's, he quit telling that story. Some day I'll tell the whole story on here. It was a classic.
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Of course, Jay. That was a fabulous story. The other character was the One-eyed Doc. Fats demeaned Willie pretty good in the story, calling him a usual broke, I figured he was firing at Mosconi, but I never figured out who the One-Eyed Doc was. He was probably fictional.

Beard
 
freddy the beard said:
Of course, Jay. That was a fabulous story. The other character was the One-eyed Doc. Fats demeaned Willie pretty good in the story, calling him a usual broke, I figured he was firing at Mosconi, but I never figured out who the One-Eyed Doc was. He was probably fictional.

Beard
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Freddy, do you remember the Jimmy the Greek that traveled with fats? He was traveling with Rudolph when he first met Evelyn in DuQuoin, he's not the real Jimmy the Greek but the pool player. Evelyn also told me about the time fats was at Bensingers just before they met. She said at one time it might of had tables on more than one floor (don't know if she'd ever been there), but she said fats told her he booked 156 matches and picked 152 winners.
 
cardiac kid said:
Really didn't realize how competent "Fats" was at one pocket till I travelled from Vegas to Reno and back with Ronnie Allen. Asked him that very question. Ronnie told me he gave "Fats" 8 - 7 and he didn't like it. Because it was Ronnie after one or two (wait, make that three or four), I always doubted the story. Now I realize "Fats" is not the cartoon caricature he's portrayed as or thought of:o. Thanks for the post Freddie!

Lyn
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And Eddie Taylor on Fats from my interview with Taylor in 2004 or maybe 2005 -- keep in mind Taylor was at the very top of the food chain in Johnston City, and by then Fats would have been in his 50's:
"1P: Did Fats have a decent One Pocket game back in those early years?
ET: Fats had a very good game of One Pocket, but he wasn’t really considered tops. I was with Hubert Cokes one day in Johnston City, and he said ‘Why don’t you play Fats some?’ I had money in my pocket, but I said, ‘Fats wants 9 to 7; I can’t give him that.’ But Cokes wanted to stake me to play him $200 a game. I said, ‘I’ve got a pocketful, but I don’t want to play for yours if I wouldn’t play for my own, and I don’t like the game.’ But he just kept on, so I said okay, and we played. So the first game he banked something, and he ran seven and out. The next game I ran nine and out. The next game he ran seven and out again. So I quit and said ‘You’ve got 10 to 8 if you want it, Fats.’ But he didn’t want it."​

My complete interview with Taylor is here:
http://www.onepocket.org/EddieTaylorInterview.htm
 
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