So your telling me you put Willie's cue ball in front of "Willie's Game"?
The Legendary Pearl to Take On 14.1 Attempts
- Thread starter lfigueroa
- Start date
I was 17 at the time and driving to the room I was fine.
Then I walked in and there was a large crowd and then there was Willie a God of pool to a 17 year old.
He had silver hair perfectly combed,a fresh shave and a nice suit and tie and that's when the nerves kick in.
This is exactly what I heard as well. Dr Cue met Mosconi's son at one of Tom's shows and Mosconi's son verified that to Tom, who told me when we were talking about Mosconi.
Starting work "around" three hours past the crack of noon ("perhaps") with no commitment to how long he stays. Great work if you can get it I guess.
I'm younger than Early and my best time for playing pool is in the morning (old eyes tire fast). For his best performance, he should spend a few weeks getting his sleep patterns straightened out and then start those high runs well-rested and with fresh eyes. The older we get, the more important these things become.
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Earl keeps normal hours
On the subject of Mosconi being a jerk, he was probably no more a jerk than any other athlete who sat at the pinnacle of his sport.
The four times I saw him he was always a perfect gentleman. But I have heard many stories that he could get prickly if he felt the venue and/or audience did not do him and the game due credit. I think one has to remember that he was a product of a different era. He came up through the Great Depression and played pool to put food on the table and later make a good life for his wife and kids. Those circumstances meant he was always out for blood and in fact there are accounts that he would chew his tongue until it bled when he was confined to the chair while his opponent shot.
Also consider that his paradigm for the game was pool played in grand ballrooms, players in tuxedoes, the audience in coats and ties and at rapt attention, and the results of his matches front page news across the country. He crisscrossed the country for numerous years never knowing what conditions he would encounter yet knowing he’d have to walk in and satisfied an audience attending his exhibition with the expectation they would see a 100 ball run executed by the greatest straight pool player who ever lived.
Was Mosconi a prima donna? Sure. Did he deserve to be? You bet.
Lou Figueroa
The four times I saw him he was always a perfect gentleman. But I have heard many stories that he could get prickly if he felt the venue and/or audience did not do him and the game due credit. I think one has to remember that he was a product of a different era. He came up through the Great Depression and played pool to put food on the table and later make a good life for his wife and kids. Those circumstances meant he was always out for blood and in fact there are accounts that he would chew his tongue until it bled when he was confined to the chair while his opponent shot.
Also consider that his paradigm for the game was pool played in grand ballrooms, players in tuxedoes, the audience in coats and ties and at rapt attention, and the results of his matches front page news across the country. He crisscrossed the country for numerous years never knowing what conditions he would encounter yet knowing he’d have to walk in and satisfied an audience attending his exhibition with the expectation they would see a 100 ball run executed by the greatest straight pool player who ever lived.
Was Mosconi a prima donna? Sure. Did he deserve to be? You bet.
Lou Figueroa
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jaywheel
Registered
I disagree with that last part. Being really good, even the best at something, doesn't give you the right to be a jerk, may you be Michael Jordan, Messi or Tiger Woods.
To paraphrase Gene Simmons talking about bands not playing their most popular song in concert or turning their back to their audience while playing: Oh so you're an artist? Paint my house bitch.
To paraphrase Gene Simmons talking about bands not playing their most popular song in concert or turning their back to their audience while playing: Oh so you're an artist? Paint my house bitch.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
I highly doubt Willie's match results were often front page news outside of local rags. Also, tuxedos were never the normal attire.
You lose credibility when you exaggerate everything.
I heard his attitude wasn't from being a prima donna as it was - he simply didn't like shooting pool to make money. He always wanted to be a dancer, as did his father, but clearly that didn't happen.
Not saying he wasn't a prima donna, I just heard the attitude was there for other reasons but, I only know what I can read in books.
I don't believe I or anyone else said being the best gave you the right to be a jerk.
Lou Figueroa
I suppose my mistake was thinking that those interested in the subject would know something about the history of the game --- my bad.
So, on the subject of tuxes, yes, they were the standard attire for pool players back in the day for national championships.
On the issue of front page coverage, at the time I was speaking of, national championships were usually held in a major city on the East Coast. The tournaments were front page news in the NYTimes, Boston Globe, or Philadelphia Inquirer. However, sometimes the championships would be played in blocks with portions of the match played across the country in cities like NY, Philly, Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, and San Francisco. And when that would happen it was front page news on the newspapers of those cities. Hence my comment about his match results being news across the country.
Oh, and here's a bit of additional history you're probably unaware of: Ralph Greenleaf was a vaudeville star who played that circuit doing a trick shot show with a mirror hung over the table so the audience could see the shots:
An Interview with Greenleaf's Widow, the Princess Nai Tai Tai - Pool History
Vaudeville star Amelia Parker and celebrated billiard champion Ralph Greenleaf met in Philadelphia, and it is there — in the City of Brotherly Love, that Amelia put down deep roots until the end of her days.
poolhistory.com
Please note the passage about newspaper headline coverage, even about their vacation.
Lou Figueroa
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I'm not so sure he wanted to be a dancer.
Yes, he was part of a dancing team early in life but I didn't recall ever reading that that was what he really wanted to do in life. What I have read is that playing pool came so easily and naturally to him that he was somewhat bored with the game. But as I've previously said the game provided him a lucrative income. I think I once read that Mosconi said words to the effect: a monkey could play this game.
But in addition I don't think he cared for how the game went from 14.1 to 9ball.
Lou Figueroa
Do you know if it was his father that wanted him to be a dancer? I read it somewhere, I'll poke through the last couple of books I read about pool and see if I can find it.
I think it was his father's efforts to keep him out of the pool hall -- and to have him join a family Vaudeville troupe, the Dancing Mosconi's.
Except it turned out that the rehearsal studio had a pool table in the back. The rest is history.
Lou Figueroa
Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Have a Merry Christmas
Same to you -- happy holidays, ho, ho, ho and all that.
Lou Figueroa
