19 year old Willie Mosconi

[L.S. Dennis]

Here's Willie at 19, a shot seldom seen,

 

[markjames]

he looks the same

 

[mikemosconi]

You can see the laser focus in his eyes- something all champions possess naturally. You combine that with a great ability via one's stroke to move the cue ball at will and you have the ground work of greatness. Add to that the mental discipline to perform under any situation and you have the whole package!

 

[garczar]

You can see the laser focus in his eyes- something all champions possess naturally. You combine that with a great ability via one's stroke to move the cue ball at will and you have the ground work of greatness. Add to that the mental discipline to perform under any situation and you have the whole package!

Starting at 5yrs old doesn't hurt either. A golf parallel would be Tiger. Both were already on the big stage by the time they got to their teens.

 

[L.S. Dennis]

As I understand the Mosconi story, he was a prodigy very early in his life playing Ruth McGinnis and doing stuff that his father arranged before the age of 10 or so. Then as I understand it he didn't play seriously again and enter his first tournament (which he won) until the age of 19. This old foto may be from that very first tournament.