Did Mosconi use his Balabushka at the exhibitions

[alstl]

Thanks for all the reply's fellow's , By any chance would anyone have any pic's they could upload of Willie using his famous Bushka. I would like to see some. I am a fan but his time was before me. It would be cool to see some pic's of him in action with that cue.

Is this the cue?

https://youtu.be/wvXkhdINjS4?t=196

https://youtu.be/wvXkhdINjS4?t=272

here it looks like the cue might have some rings on the wrap just below the titlist points. 4:44 of the video.
https://youtu.be/wvXkhdINjS4?t=282

Balabushka there with rings on the wrap just below the titlist points. Man with camera says they are Balabushka's and "here's a bunch of Willie Mosconi's. 2:12 of the video.
https://youtu.be/nH_KzGwEEaU?t=132

 

[PoolFan101]

Yes , That is the Cue . Willie is using it in his how to video , he also used it in his famous match against Fats on the Wide world of Sports great pool shootout . But it is not in the Glenn collection , the last video you posted, It has been said that a famous sport memorabilia collector bought it who was also a big Babe Ruth collector as well.

 

[Bob Jewett]

He had to play on Brunswick tables. Brunswick also paid him $50,000/year to wear a Brunswick jacket.

When I saw him play, which was very briefly at a sports and boat show, he was working for some other company. Ebonite? Maybe 1980?

 

[alstl]

Yes , That is the Cue . Willie is using it in his how to video , he also used it in his famous match against Fats on the Wide world of Sports great pool shootout . But it is not in the Glenn collection , the last video you posted, It has been said that a famous sport memorabilia collector bought it who was also a big Babe Ruth collector as well.

I wonder if the rings were put on the wrap by Mosconi. Maybe while adjusting for the ideal balance point although that looks a little too close to the butt for a balance point. Did Balabuska have room under the bumper to add weight?

I'd be interested to see them unscrew the bumper on that cue to see whether there it has been adjusted my Mosconi.

 

[HawaiianEye]

I wonder if the rings were put on the wrap by Mosconi. Maybe while adjusting for the ideal balance point although that looks a little too close to the butt for a balance point. Did Balabuska have room under the bumper to add weight?

I'd be interested to see them unscrew the bumper on that cue to see whether there it has been adjusted my Mosconi.

I don't know why Willie has those rings on his wrap, but I put a paper sticky ring on my Becue in about that exact same spot. That is where the front of my hand grips the cue when I have my cue in what I consider the correct balance point for me while keeping the same bridge length.

I can easily slide my hand down the cue and grab the correct spot without even thinking about it.

 

[mikemosconi]

He had to play on Brunswick tables. Brunswick also paid him $50,000/year to wear a Brunswick jacket.

I would be interested in your information source on the jacket. To my knowledge Willie was paid one annual sum by Brusnwick for appearances and one for expenses. I would be surprised if that payment include $50,000 JUST to wear a Brunswick Jacket at appearances in the 1950s and 1960s- we are talking $500,000 in todays dollars just for the jacket wearing portion of his Brunswick contract? I seriously doubt that- but would like to know more about it if you have some facts. The Yanks paid Mantle $100,000 yr in the mid 60s- I doubt Willie got $50,000 just to wear a jacket.

 

[mikemosconi]

When I saw him play, which was very briefly at a sports and boat show, he was working for some other company. Ebonite? Maybe 1980?

I believe that Ebonite was a trade name for some of the Brunswick recreational products such as Ebonite Bowling balls. Willie may have been used to promote their trade name products as well. This is only from memory and not stated as a fact.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I believe that Ebonite was a trade name for some of the Brunswick recreational products such as Ebonite Bowling balls. Willie may have been used to promote their trade name products as well. This is only from memory and not stated as a fact.

There was an earlier thread about Ebonite (2015). Here is a picture stolen from that thread (https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=257957)

 

[AtLarge]

From Willie's autobiography, here's a bit of information about his contracts with Brunswick.

1933 -- first contract, $600/month

1939 -- Willie canceled the contract: "fed up with the whole routine" and with "nothing much to show for it"

1946 -- he re-signed with Brunswick. "I don't remember how much I was to be paid ..."

1954 -- "I was earning more than $20,000 a year representing Brunswick."

1956 -- "I was still making a reasonably good living playing exhibitions for Brunswick ..."

 

[Bob Jewett]

From Willie's autobiography, here's a bit of information about his contracts with Brunswick.

1933 -- first contract, $600/month

1939 -- Willie canceled the contract: "fed up with the whole routine" and with "nothing much to show for it"

1946 -- he re-signed with Brunswick. "I don't remember how much I was to be paid ..."

1954 -- "I was earning more than $20,000 a year representing Brunswick."

1956 -- "I was still making a reasonably good living playing exhibitions for Brunswick ..."

In 1939 $600 a month was good money unless he had to pay all his own expenses. Figure about 20X to get to today's dollars.

For 1954, that would be about $190,000 today.

 

[WildWing]

When I saw him play, which was very briefly at a sports and boat show, he was working for some other company. Ebonite? Maybe 1980?

Ebonite is right. It may be hard to find a picture of it, but around that time, 1980 or so, Willie endorsed a cue from Ebonite. It was in some of the billiard magazines at the time, plain four point with plain buttsleeve. For some reason, something tells me it was a subsidiary of AMF, but I can't say for sure.

All the best,
WW

 

[AtLarge]

Ebonite is right. It may be hard to find a picture of it, but around that time, 1980 or so, Willie endorsed a cue from Ebonite. It was in some of the billiard magazines at the time, plain four point with plain buttsleeve. For some reason, something tells me it was a subsidiary of AMF, but I can't say for sure.

All the best,
WW

More from Willie's autobiography:

1983 -- "I was seventy years old, semiretired, and I was making more money than I ever had in my life. In addition to my TV earnings, I was then serving as head of the Billiard Pro Advisory staff for Ajay/Ebonite, a division of the Fuqua Sporting Goods company, and all told I was making over six figures and enjoying every minute of it."

 

[Dan White]

I would be interested in your information source on the jacket. To my knowledge Willie was paid one annual sum by Brusnwick for appearances and one for expenses. I would be surprised if that payment include $50,000 JUST to wear a Brunswick Jacket at appearances in the 1950s and 1960s- we are talking $500,000 in todays dollars just for the jacket wearing portion of his Brunswick contract? I seriously doubt that- but would like to know more about it if you have some facts. The Yanks paid Mantle $100,000 yr in the mid 60s- I doubt Willie got $50,000 just to wear a jacket.

My father was in a position to hire Mosconi to do an hour long interiew. It was going to be a program called something like "An Hour with the Master." Other episodes would feature guys like Arnold Palmer. I believe my father posted about this in some detail years ago but I can't find that information at the moment. The project got lost in red tape and never came off. This all would have been right around 1970 plus or minus.

Anyway, Mosconi invited my father to several of his exhibitions and they would meet for coffee and discuss the project. One of the things he told my father was that Brunswick paid him $50,000/year to "wear this jacket." Now, possibly "wear this jacket" was a euphemism for his contract to represent Brunswick at exhibitions, including wearing the jacket. All I know is what he said.

 

[alstl]

In 1939 $600 a month was good money unless he had to pay all his own expenses. Figure about 20X to get to today's dollars.

For 1954, that would be about $190,000 today.

My Grandpa told me during the depression in the 30's he was digging fire hydrants for $2 dollars a day and glad to have the job. $600 a month rich man's money. A lot of people couldn't find any work at all.

Cardinal HOF pitcher Dizzy Dean won 30 games in 1934 and made $7,500. Most he ever made in a season was 1937 - $25,500. He played a game here in Columbia Mo one year after the Cardinal season ended barnstorming against a local team. Got paid $50 dollars to pitch. HOF pitcher in his prime forced to do that just to make money.

Imagine a pool player today making more than one of the best baseball players? Never happen. Great example of how big the game of pool was back then compared to now.

 

[garczar]

Ebonite is right. It may be hard to find a picture of it, but around that time, 1980 or so, Willie endorsed a cue from Ebonite. It was in some of the billiard magazines at the time, plain four point with plain buttsleeve. For some reason, something tells me it was a subsidiary of AMF, but I can't say for sure.

All the best,
WW

Ebonite was a stand-alone co. iirc. AMF had their own ball line.

 

[alstl]

I don't know why Willie has those rings on his wrap, but I put a paper sticky ring on my Becue in about that exact same spot. That is where the front of my hand grips the cue when I have my cue in what I consider the correct balance point for me while keeping the same bridge length.

I can easily slide my hand down the cue and grab the correct spot without even thinking about it.

As much of a perfectionist as Mosconi was I suspect those rings were there for a reason and I wouldn't be surprised if he put a washer or something under the bumper to adjust the balance point.

I played in a tournament once against a guy who told me he used to own the Schon I was playing with. He said remove the bumper and you will see a washer. Got home, removed the bumper, there was a washer. I beat him with his former cue but he came thru the loser side to win the tournament.

 

[alscheller]

I saw Mosconi twice in exhibitions in Baltimore. He ran 110 balls in the first one, and 200 balls in the second. After running 200 balls, he never missed, but said he was tired and just sat down.

 

[OneArmBandit]

I didn't read through all the replies, but I got the chance to see him in the early to mid 70's and he was promoting Viking cues as I recall. It's from my feeble mind and I was a young teenager at the time. But somehow it stuck in my mind. I didn't see any reference to him selling Viking products, so I thought I'd post. I think it was at Montgomery Wards, sure it was a dept store setting and not a pool room.

 

[PoolFan101]

I don't know why Willie has those rings on his wrap, but I put a paper sticky ring on my Becue in about that exact same spot. That is where the front of my hand grips the cue when I have my cue in what I consider the correct balance point for me while keeping the same bridge length.

I can easily slide my hand down the cue and grab the correct spot without even thinking about it.

I figured the cue came that way from George , I assumed he added the rings to make the cue unique. I would also assume that Willie had no afterthought to adding rings or anything to his Balabushka.

 

[garczar]

Those rings may just be reminders of how far up to hold the cue. Who knows. Kinda tough to ask Willie or George. Well, maybe Harriman in full tin-hat mode might be able to.