526

On a related note: my only gripe with some of the contemporary runs is that there is a lot of ball polishing going on during some of the runs and in the middle of at least one big run, the CB was repeatedly removed from the table to be cleaned *by the player.* For me (just talkin' about me) that lessens the integrity of the run. I feel that the balls should only be cleaned before the start of a run and if the CB must have some chalk removed from it it should be by an impartial party and certainly not by the player. Not saying anything funny is going on, but I do think the player himself moving the CB is not right. But that's just me.

Lou Figueroa

There's not one thing wrong with that kind of thinkin'!!!

Maniac (thinks along these same lines)
 
Would you dedicate 1 year of your life (40 hours a week) trying to beat the record for 1 million dollars?

I certainly would as long as I got paid for "trying" for the year.

Cuebuddy> recently started playing straight pool and just starting to get to the second rack:o
 
if i beat 526 like 20 people on here would even notice and it would pay zero so why bother,no biggie it is what it is.

I believe there is a cash bonus offered for breaking the record, but I do not know who, where, or how much. Thanks for participating here John.

On the original subject: If Efren wanted to run 526 it would have been done already, end of discussion. This is not to belittle John or any other player but Efren performed magic for the cash for a period of 7-8 years. If there was a million dollar bonus, naive or not, I believe Efren would have ran it in the first month to make sure no one beat him to it.
 
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There are a few higher practice runs that never got proven, babe cranfield claimed 768, mike eufemia and tom parker over 600, maybe some others.

No way to prove it, either they're telling the truth or a handful fantastic players are so desperate for attention they made it up.

John, when casual fans talk about pool they know pretty much two names... jeanette lee and willie mosconi. Even non-players can hear "526 without missing" and be impressed.

If you beat mosconi's record it would not only be a ripple in the pool world, you might make a few major newspapers and even the TV news. It's the only pool record anyone really cares about even if the game isn't popular anymore.

Whether that translates into cash I dunno. Just keep that camera rolling when you practice.

Not to be argumentative - but, among adults, more people recognise
'Minnesota Fats' than all other pool players combined.

I gotta sign up with John on this one - outside the bubble of hard core
pool enthusiast, virtually no one would care - as far as money - I doub't
it would put much in your pocket.

POP QUIZ - exactly how much money did Mosconi get for running 526?

Dale
 
POP QUIZ - exactly how much money did Mosconi get for running 526?

Dale

Just his customary fee from Brunswick for being under contract to them to do exhibitions.

Am I right?

Maniac (never "tested" well back in high school :o)
 
I remember the story but can't remember the name... was it Charlie Ursitti?

Lou Figueroa

Bingo - but come on Lou - I'm tryin' to teach the maniac that there
is this new fangled thing called the Internet that can be damn handy
sometimes.

Dale
 
Just his customary fee from Brunswick for being under contract to them to do exhibitions.

Am I right?

Maniac (never "tested" well back in high school :o)

Partial credit - it could be argued he didn't get one red cent, considering
he would have received exactly the same if he had run 52.6 balls.

Dale(but who's counting)
 
Just a sidelight on Mosconi's run of 526. At the DCC this yearI ran into a man who is in his late '80's. I had seen him play excellent pool over fifty years ago. Since I was growing up in the Midwest, I had not seen much competent straight pool, until I saw this man play, and he was way beyond competent. My reaction was, "So that's what this game looks like when it's played right!"

Anyway, this gentleman had a job that took him on the road regularly. He found himself one evening in Springfield, Ohio, and saw that Mosconi was going to play an exhibition. He knew Mosconi and had seen him play many times. He decided to go to a movie first that he wanted to see and check out the poolroom and say hello to Mosconi later on. And that is why he did not see Mosconi run the 526. I hope he enjoyed the movie.

Martin "Hamilton Marty" Roti(SP?) told me that story about 15 years ago.
He also described the shot Willie missed, and how he wound up with such
a tuff shot. This was of course shown to him by spectators after the fact.

If you've seen Marty play you have observed as smooth a slipstroke as
ever slid a ball in.

He was a top shortstop in his prime, he also knew George Rood and was
a contemporary of Clem Metz. Proabably knows more Clem adventures than
anyone left alive. With the possible exception of a certain elderly
left handed Italian American.

Dale
 
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Not to be argumentative - but, among adults, more people recognise
'Minnesota Fats' than all other pool players combined.

I gotta sign up with John on this one - outside the bubble of hard core
pool enthusiast, virtually no one would care - as far as money - I doub't
it would put much in your pocket.

POP QUIZ - exactly how much money did Mosconi get for running 526?

Dale

Notoriety or should I say more notoriety. If Willie had not of set this record there is a good chance we would not be here now discussing this:p.

Cuebuddy would find it difficult to buy groceries with notoriety;)
 
IMO there are a handful of players today that could beat 526 and certainly John is one of them. But if pride in the accomplishment and being the guy that beat Mosconi's record -- probably the most hallowed record in pool -- isn't enough motivation then you don't deserve to break the record.

On a related note: my only gripe with some of the contemporary runs is that there is a lot of ball polishing going on during some of the runs and in the middle of at least one big run, the CB was repeatedly removed from the table to be cleaned *by the player.* For me (just talkin' about me) that lessens the integrity of the run. I feel that the balls should only be cleaned before the start of a run and if the CB must have some chalk removed from it it should be by an impartial party and certainly not by the player. Not saying anything funny is going on, but I do think the player himself moving the CB is not right. But that's just me.

Lou Figueroa
they clean qball in snooker so why different in pool. how do we know mosconi didnt clean qball.
in snooker they pay 100,000 for a maximum run and qball gets cleaned thruout run.so it has integrity with me.
just a thought. i cant afford a ref to clean qball for me but i figure camera is good enough . i do deserve to break record but pride doesnt pay the bills.
also mosconi used to rest palm on object balls to make a solid bridge.
i have had a few guys tell me that they watched him in person.
that being said 526 is still awesome.does the run lose integrity with u lou.
 
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John, I would gladly pay to see you run balls. You are as nice of a guy as I have ever met in the pool world and I have worlds of respect for you and your game. I am sure you dont remember meeting me but I met you at the Emerald open in Fort Walton around 2005 I think. You are very aproachable and down to earth and that is what is going to help bring pool back to where it should be.
 
hi

John, I would gladly pay to see you run balls. You are as nice of a guy as I have ever met in the pool world and I have worlds of respect for you and your game. I am sure you dont remember meeting me but I met you at the Emerald open in Fort Walton around 2005 I think. You are very aproachable and down to earth and that is what is going to help bring pool back to where it should be.

thanks eddie, i do come unglued sometimes but it takes provocation for sure. oh well thanks for kind words. later eddie
 
they clean qball in snooker so why different in pool. how do we know mosconi didnt clean qball.
in snooker they pay 100,000 for a maximum run and qball gets cleaned thruout run.so it has integrity with me.
just a thought. i cant afford a ref to clean qball for me but i figure camera is good enough . i do deserve to break record but pride doesnt pay the bills.
also mosconi used to rest palm on object balls to make a solid bridge.
i have had a few guys tell me that they watched him in person.
that being said 526 is still awesome.does the run lose integrity with u lou.

"also mosconi used to rest palm on object balls to make a solid bridge."

This one really strains the old credibility - who said this and when?

FWIW - many players from the gambling camp hated Mosconi, and with
good reason, he had no respect for them. But they collectively have
told many a lie about him. For years people swore he missed halfway thru,
he missed twice, a ball popped back up out of the pocket and he kept on
shooting. Of course, for years he claimed he didn't miss at all, just quit
because he was tired. So maybe it's a push.


It is hard to imagine, with his attitude toward the game, he would ever
touch a ball during a game - trick shot, maybe, but still not likely.

Or maybe when he was 80...

Dale(who saw the long masse in person - several times)
 
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their is a group who could do it but heres how i feel about high runs.
lets say i ran 525 5 times but mosconi ran 526 once,whos better.see what i mean. i try to not think because my high run is slightly higher or lower then somebody else that im better or worse then them.
theres a group of players that i really respect their games especially the ones who play great onehole 14.1 and rotation.thats much harder then being great at one game.

Do you think head to head competition is the only way to tell?

Does there have to be money involved? Does it have to be your own
money?

.................................................................................................
"i try to not think because my high run is slightly higher or lower then somebody else that im better or worse then them."
..............................................................................

This is an xlent point. Any run of hundreds of balls(250 seems to be the
point that separates the men from the boys) is a tremendous accomplishment -
only a handfull have hit the high 300s and above.

IMHO - we tend to care WAAAAYYYYYY to much about 526.
Not that it isn't plenty impressive, but I've always thought 15
World Championships and crushing all takers for nearly a generation
was much more impressive.

Dale
 
they clean qball in snooker so why different in pool. how do we know mosconi didnt clean qball.
in snooker they pay 100,000 for a maximum run and qball gets cleaned thruout run.so it has integrity with me.
just a thought. i cant afford a ref to clean qball for me but i figure camera is good enough . i do deserve to break record but pride doesnt pay the bills.
also mosconi used to rest palm on object balls to make a solid bridge.
i have had a few guys tell me that they watched him in person.
that being said 526 is still awesome.does the run lose integrity with u lou.


John, I have no issue with the CB being cleaned at any game, but it should not be removed and replaced onto the table by the player. I understand not having a ref, but if it's a record attempt, or a run being marketed as a high run, the player should never touch the CB, IMO.

As to Mosconi resting his hand on an OB, I *highly* doubt it. First off, I saw him run 100 four or five times. Never saw it. Second, Mosconi was a world champion many times over and very comfortable with tournament rules. He was completely aware and comfortable with all ball fouls. Third, Mosconi came up in an era of far greater respect for the game than exists today -- the aficionados of the day would have crucified him for doing that.

Lou Figueroa
 
Do you think head to head competition is the only way to tell?

Does there have to be money involved? Does it have to be your own
money?

.................................................................................................
"i try to not think because my high run is slightly higher or lower then somebody else that im better or worse then them."
..............................................................................

This is an xlent point. Any run of hundreds of balls(250 seems to be the
point that separates the men from the boys) is a tremendous accomplishment -
only a handfull have hit the high 300s and above.

IMHO - we tend to care WAAAAYYYYYY to much about 526.
Not that it isn't plenty impressive, but I've always thought 15
World Championships and crushing all takers for nearly a generation
was much more impressive.

Dale


And let's not forget that long past his prime and on the exhibition circuit he could still walk into any pool room in the country, take two warm-up racks, play an opponent, and within just a few if not one inning, run 100. He didn't do it on a familiar table with perfect conditions, he did it in a different room every night, and dealt with the vagaries of the table and the distractions of the room and the crowd.

Lou Figueroa
 
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