Thanks for this,Jay.
Anyone know if Mosconi ever saw Efren play, and if so, .....
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I was at that HT tournament.. I may have some pics.. I'll check.
Shame about that video.. was that JJ ?
Thanks for giving creds to my OP.
On a somewhat related topic...I was a photobug in the 60's-70's and was in Frisco with my wife doing the tourist thing. I took her up to Palace billiards to show her where I hung out sometimes when I was in the Navy. I was surprised to see Denny Searcey there playing pink ball on the 12 footer. I had become a fanboy of his watching him play in the South Bay rooms. Anyway I took some pics of him, the only pics relating to pool I ever the took. Sorry to say they are long time lost.
holy shit look at that someone chiming in that actually has a f**king clue as to what their saying...
.............
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I have seen Willies son comment here before , I would think he would know,hopefully he will add to the conversation.
Also the thing about Willie liking Mizeraks game from Cornerman I believe, I am sure I was told that Willie gave Steve Mizerak lessons at pool , in exchange for Mizeraks father teaching Willies son baseball.
Would be nice to get that verified, or put to bed.
There is a 14.1 video of Efren vs CJ Wiley in 1995 , which I think was his first. Willie passed in 1993.
Since Willie didn't live on the West Coast, and Efren wasn't playing any 14.1 tourneys before the 1995 that I can find,I doubt Willie ever saw him play 14.1 jmo though.
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No, it was a guy from San Francisco that was a big Mosconi fan. He came down just to do the interview with Willie, and me asking the questions. He had good equipment and we set it up in a conference room at the motel near Hard Times. It all went well until later that same day when he told me he messed up the tape. I couldn't believe it. This guy was supposed to be a pro. When I told him we only had one shot at doing this he packed up and went home, never to be heard from again.
P.S. Chuck Markulis brought Willie out to L.A. and put him up in the motel, fed him and paid him well for the three days he was here. Chuck was a great benefactor of pool and he loved all the pool players, even the bad ones.
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A game to 50 points!
As Efren is the greatest cueist most of us have ever seen, it's safe to assume that had Efren dedicated his life to 14.1 as Willie did, he'd have been, at bare minimum, in the conversation with guys like Greenleaf, Mosconi, Crane, Sigel and Mizerak for greatest 14.1 player ever.
I've seen Efren play 14.1 a few times live, though, and while his efforts were very impressive given his limited experience in the game, his speed was probably such that he'd need 50 on the wire going to 150 against Willie in his prime. Actually, I think my money would still be on Mosconi with that 50 ball spot!
That's what makes Azb the place to beeee
I hate remarks that suggest someone is a racist
Democrats are bad about that kind of stuff,I thought
pool players were above this sort of reverse discrimination
I like Efren ,I like his personality,he seems like a great guy
but Willie Mosconi is in a class by himself in straight pool.
I think efren was the best one pocket player,the father of modern one pocket
he created a whole new style,popularized the game,
but he was no Mosconi in my opinion
Democrats are bad about that kind of stuff,I thought
pool players were above this sort of reverse discrimination
I like Efren ,I like his personality,he seems like a great guy
but Willie Mosconi is in a class by himself in straight pool.
I think efren was the best one pocket player,the father of modern one pocket
he created a whole new style,popularized the game,
but he was no Mosconi in my opinion
If Mosconi died in 93, then it would be impossible for him not to have seen or heard about a guy named Cesar or Efren. Mosconi is a dedicated master and I'm pretty sure he was aware of every single talent then.
Well, the Miz saw them both play.
I can't believe the Miz said " I've never been awed by anyone except by this man right here."
That was when Efren was putting a beat down on Jimmy Wetch at The Legends of 9-Ball.
I can't believe the Miz said " I've never been awed by anyone except by this man right here."
That was when Efren was putting a beat down on Jimmy Wetch at The Legends of 9-Ball.
Absolutely.
"The Beard" needed a better editor too!
Back in the mid 80's and early 90's, the owner of the pool room I managed would have Willie down twice a year for exhibitions.
Willie would usually fly in the day before the exhibition and the owner, I and Willie would go out for a nice dinner.
While we were eating one time, I asked Willie who he considered the greatest pool player of all time.
Without hesitation he said " You mean besides me?" with a little chuckle.
Then, he said "Seriously, the greatest player on the planet doesn't even play pocket billiards!"
"His name is Raymond Cuelemans and he's like 16 time world 3 cushion champion! That guy can do things with a cue ball I can only dream about!
Pretty nice endorsement from the man I considered to be the greatest that ever lived!
Stones
Willie would usually fly in the day before the exhibition and the owner, I and Willie would go out for a nice dinner.
While we were eating one time, I asked Willie who he considered the greatest pool player of all time.
Without hesitation he said " You mean besides me?" with a little chuckle.
Then, he said "Seriously, the greatest player on the planet doesn't even play pocket billiards!"
"His name is Raymond Cuelemans and he's like 16 time world 3 cushion champion! That guy can do things with a cue ball I can only dream about!
Pretty nice endorsement from the man I considered to be the greatest that ever lived!
Stones
What Willie would have thought before he got to that age where he couldn't play?
Well, it would have depended on how many balls Efren was able to run.
Simple as ^^^^^^^^^.
Everyone knows how Willie felt about 9 ball or ANY short rack type game. He thought it was a joke and was a game for less superior players.
Well, it would have depended on how many balls Efren was able to run.
Simple as ^^^^^^^^^.
Everyone knows how Willie felt about 9 ball or ANY short rack type game. He thought it was a joke and was a game for less superior players.
I believe Willie wrote in his autobiography that Cisero Murphy was probably the greatest player, but since he was black he was not invited to compete in the big tournaments until the mid 1960's, and Mosconi thought this was very unfair to Murphy and to the world of pocket billiards.