The Legendary Pearl to Take On 14.1 Attempts

arnaldo

arnaldo

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A factually excellent and concise overview of Mosconi's path to his domination of the game from his teenage years onward, and a dip into his very early attraction (and amusing inventiveness) for the game as a pre-teen. Written for encyclopedic purposes by Jim Campbell:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mosconi-william-joseph-willie

Don't miss this great memorializing encapsulation.

Arnaldo ~ Lifelong Willie-groupie. There must be a Deity who creates supernally-gifted people like this man. Watching him play was always a near-spiritual experience for me and my tri-state home-room buddies during and after my pleasureably misspent youth years.
 
jay helfert

jay helfert

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lfigueroa said:
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
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I saw Willie play on quite a few occasions; exhibitions, the Legends of Pool, matches with Fats and a couple of other times. He was well spoken, presented himself like the champion he was and went about his business like a professional. BUT, he did not suffer fools kindly! He was quick to show anger (yes he could be bad tempered) at any change in plans at the last minute or any extra requests that he did not already agree too. And when the gig was over he was ready to leave. He did not like hanging around to gab with fans, sign autographs or pose for photos.

My big regret with Willie was a long interview I did with him (one on one) during one of his visits to the Los Angeles in the early 90's. We were doing a "Willie Mosconi Open" at Hard Times and he was the guest of honor. Chuck Markulis had paid him $5,000 to come out and do exhibitions each day for three days. Early one morning he met me in the lobby area of the motel we were both staying at. We say down and had a long discussion about his childhood, growing up in Philly and how he became a pool player. He talked about some of his most important matches and who he had to play. Willie really opened up to me and I was thrilled to have all this on tape. The guy who shot/taped the whole thing came in from San Franscisco just for this purpose. All went well until.........later that day the video guy came to me at Hard Times and told me the battery had run out on his camera and he only had a few minutes of the interview recorded. He wanted me to do it again. Needless to say I was floored by this and angered as well, since the guy should have charged his camera battery before we started. There was no second interview (Willie would have never sat for a second interview if I told him what happened) and my wonderful talk with Willie Mosconi was lost in a cloud that evaporated into thin air.
 
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Slapdaddy

New member
Seaspook said:
He will be in town (Alexandria VA) at the end of the month for the run attempt . For $100 you get a photo, signed ball and play one game.
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Total waste of money to play with cry baby Earl, and his weird prosthetics that he uses. He's one of the most annoying people on Earth, and whines about everything. Only player to complain about getting "straight in".....
 
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Slapdaddy

New member
eg9327 said:
480 is nothing. I actually ran 28 once.
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The record runs, were done on 8' tables with BIG pockets, look it up....very deceiving record attempts, not on a REAL regulation size table with regular pockets....hard to keep pace and motivation run hundreds of balls for NO trophy, Medal, or even cash for doing so.
 
A

AtLarge

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Slapdaddy said:
The record runs, were done on 8' tables with BIG pockets, look it up....
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Other than Mosconi's 526, what record runs on 8-footers are you talking about? All of the other real high runs that are talked about (by Mosconi, Cranfield, Eufemia, Engert, Schmidt) were on 9-footers. or 10-footers (Crane, Mosconi, Lassiter).
 
Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

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AtLarge said:
Other than Mosconi's 526, what record runs on 8-footers are you talking about? All of the other real high runs that are talked about (by Mosconi, Cranfield, Eufemia, Engert, Schmidt) were on 9-footers. or 10-footers (Crane, Mosconi, Lassiter).
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Cranfield had a 400+ on a 10-footer, if I recall the rumor correctly.
 
arnaldo

arnaldo

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Slapdaddy said:
Total waste of money to play with cry baby Earl, and his weird prosthetics that he uses. He's one of the most annoying people on Earth, and whines about everything. Only player to complain about getting "straight in".....
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His dazzling Nine-ball skills made his reputation. Anyone who knows that game is fully aware that there's plenty of reason to reproach yourself for leaving yourself dead straight-in on an OB and with no angle to readily get on the next higher-numbered OB -- often with no reasonable safety as a solution.

Possibly you've unwittingly revealed that you've never played in any significant nine-ball (or ten-ball) events or -- wagered matches -- and are innocent of knowledge about the game's nuances.

Arnaldo
 
sjm

sjm

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measureman said:
That's just sick if true, but with Cranfield it could be.
I've played on a 10 foot table and they are harder then you think.
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I've heard this rumor about Cranfield, too, although I don't know whether the run was ever validated. The number I heard about was a practice run of 420 on the ten-footer.
 
C

ChrisinNC

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sjm said:
I've heard this rumor about Cranfield, too, although I don't know whether the run was ever validated. The number I heard about was a practice run of 420 on the ten-footer.
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Yes, impressive to say the least. I’m curious if anyone knows what his age was when he did that? Now in my mid 60s, I’m having trouble running 14 on our 10-footer anymore.
 
nick serdula

nick serdula

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Crane, Cranfield and Dick Hunzicker were all shown what was required by the same man. Sid. Sidney Cole. Crane or Cranfield wouldn't play Dick for anything. I witnessed that myself. I seriously believe they could run balls until they wanted to stop.
Dick told me one day straight pool easy game. Do you know the one rule of straight pool Nick?
Don't miss.
The old players were very stern by nature. Babe was a hot head. If he missed he put Earl to shame maybe at times. I say that knowing he threw a cue ball at his mother's head when he missed for talking on his shot. It would have killed her if he hit her. Dick watched him do it. I have the think that might have been the last time he played Dick!
Willie was the friendliest.
Dick was the killer. Very stern. They were from a harder generation. If Dick was a fighter pilot, there is no telling the amazing things he would have shown the world.
They played like this on slow cloth.
So, when I hear about these high runs today I am wondering if Earls high run was also on slow cloth. Mind blown!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Nick :)
 
Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

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sjm said:
I've heard this rumor about Cranfield, too, although I don't know whether the run was ever validated. The number I heard about was a practice run of 420 on the ten-footer.
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With a lot of reported high runs, it's unclear how formal the setting was. Among other problems, at least the location and date should go with the number.
 
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skogstokig

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Slapdaddy said:
The record runs, were done on 8' tables with BIG pockets, look it up....very deceiving record attempts, not on a REAL regulation size table with regular pockets....hard to keep pace and motivation run hundreds of balls for NO trophy, Medal, or even cash for doing so.
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actually 8 ft tables are regulation size tables, although never used in WPA events for obvious reasons.

probably the only time on here that i defend a table smaller than 9ft 🤔
 
realkingcobra

realkingcobra

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skogstokig said:
actually 8 ft tables are regulation size tables, although never used in WPA events for obvious reasons.

probably the only time on here that i defend a table smaller than 9ft 🤔
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8fts have been around a lot longer than the WPA has by well over a 100 years.

On March 3, 1990, the World Pool-Billiard Association was sanctioned by the general assembly as the international governing body for pool. The acronym WPA was selected so it would not conflict with the existing Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA). Membership in the WPA has grown since its inception
 
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