Irving Crane 150 and out

One of the great performances ever under pressure. I wonder if he realized how legendary it would become.

worriedbeef said:

just stumbled on a fabulous youtube video - or set of videos.

Irving Crane runs 150 and out back in the day. it's a great watch - i love the urgency and smartness in the players mannerisms then, the way they walk around the table. and the commentary is great, really takes you back in time and you felt the tension of the moment, and what an occasion it was. and pool certainly was quite big in those days as well, judging by the size of the crowd.

the clip of the last ten balls or so is linked on the main www.internationalpooltour.com web page which is how i discovered it, but here are all the clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k06-M12lQWE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOSbZaQADc8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlxOU6a0dwM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4aldfgdQAU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udCgvbO34nY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bg_TjRYhxI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WCZ06zOjgM&feature=related

Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be loverly?

alstl said:

One of the great performances ever under pressure. I wonder if he realized how legendary it would become.

Click to expand...

Imagine all the great matches in the past that had NO video coverage! Think of all that we've missed out on since the days of Greenleaf!

worriedbeef said:

just stumbled on a fabulous youtube video - or set of videos.

Irving Crane runs 150 and out back in the day. it's a great watch - i love the urgency and smartness in the players mannerisms then, the way they walk around the table. and the commentary is great, really takes you back in time and you felt the tension of the moment, and what an occasion it was. and pool certainly was quite big in those days as well, judging by the size of the crowd.

the clip of the last ten balls or so is linked on the main www.internationalpooltour.com web page which is how i discovered it, but here are all the clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k06-M12lQWE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOSbZaQADc8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlxOU6a0dwM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4aldfgdQAU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udCgvbO34nY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bg_TjRYhxI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WCZ06zOjgM&feature=related

Click to expand...

Thanks for the links..Crane was a great player...Many people forgot about him..

alstl said:

One of the great performances ever under pressure. I wonder if he realized how legendary it would become.

Click to expand...

Would love to own that cue! I wonder if is the Balabushka on the cover of the BB?

This match was on Stage6 in it's entirety before they shutdown. I'm not the biggest fan of straight pool but I kept going back to watch it. What a great run! I am now an Irving Crane fan and I wish there was more footage like this available.

Thanks for sharing that WB!! Great match!!!! Some incredible shooting!!!!!!

That looks like it may have been at the Elks Lodge in Los Angeles, so my room mate tells me. We both enjoyed watching it! Thanks for sharing this incredibly cool piece of pool history!

JAM

EDITED: It was at the SHERMAN HOUSE in Chicago, I just learned!

Wow, U.S. Open sponsored by BCA with 26 participants in total! LOL!

WATCH THIS VIDEO!!! It's worth taking an hour or so out of your day! Then tell me if the "old time" players were as good as the present day players.

I grew up watching Balsis, Crane, Lassiter and Worst. Mosconi and Caras were primarily exhibition players by then (although Caras came back to win one more U.S. Open the following year - 1967).

Check out the opening shot of this remarkable run. A trick shot worthy of "The Hustler". It exemplifies the knowledge that Crane had. If you pay attention you will see one of the great pool minds at work. His cue ball control/speed is masterful, his shot making superb. Yes, the pockets may have been four and three quarters, but notice everything is going in the center, not sliding off the rails.

Watch how well he handles the bridge, how he understands the pack and the proper way to break the balls. When he needs to, he can bunt balls open just like Efren, or he can whack the balls hard if required. I believe he only had to change his break shot one time. Notice the cue ball control on his break shots, and how well he executes combinations.

Notice also the safety battle at the beginning of the match, in particular the two rail kick that Crane uses to bury the cue ball in the back of the pack. Notice how much time he takes to shoot, only hesitating for a few difficult shots. Notice how solid he is at the table, nothing moving except his arm. Watch how he handles the few situations where he is tied up, particularly after the break shot.

The table is a Gold Crown I, and it just plays perfect with no roll offs anywhere. And the referee Bob Sterling is superb as well. He was a 100 ball runner himself. "Whispering" Joe Wilson is the commentator, one of the best of his era. Crane was 53, at the tail end of a great career and Balsis was 45, still in his prime.

Thank God for this glimpse of one of the greatest pool players of all time. This is why I am not so quick to anoint today's champions as the greatest players ever. No offense to John Schmidt, Thorsten Hohmann or Thomas Engert (all terrific players), but Irving Crane was a better Straight Pool player than any of them, IMHO. He was truly a MASTERFUL pool player!

jay helfert said:

...The table is a Gold Crown I, and it just plays perfect with no roll offs anywhere. And the referee Bob Sterling is superb as well. he was a 100 ball runner himself. "Whispering" Joe Wilson is the commentator, one of the best of his era. Crane was 53, at the tail end of a great career and Balsis was 45, still in his prime.

Thank God for this glimpse of one of the greatest pool players of all time. That is why I am not so quick to anoint today's champions as the greatest players ever. No offense to John Schmidt, Thorsten Hohmann or Thomas Engert, but Irving Crane was a better Straight Pool player than any of them.
He was truly a MASTER!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the GREAT background info. Those are the exact things that I was wondering about, too, especially who the commentators were and the equipment.

I really enjoyed watching that. Did you see the audience, how enthusiastic they all were, clapping and cheering? WOW!

Crane was in his fifties and still played jam up (no pun intended). AND he was two years older than my horse is today!

JAM

JAM said:

Thanks for the GREAT background info. Those are the exact things that I was wondering about, too, especially who the commentators were and the equipment.

I really enjoyed watching that. Did you see the audience, how enthusiastic they all were, clapping and cheering? WOW!

Crane was in his fifties and still played jam up (no pun intended). AND he was two years older than my horse is today!

JAM

Click to expand...

This tournament was in Chicago, and only Diliberto and Lou Butera among living players were there. Just before Rempe and Varner's era. Mizerak may have played in this one too. He was all of 22 in 1966.

I love the way the audience cheered when Crane reached 100. They used to do that in the old days. And what an ovation he got at the end, plus a warm acknowledgment from Joe Balsis, who was another class act. Crane barely cracked a smile, he was a stoic.

By the way, Crane continued to play great pool (and so did Balsis) until about age 60. Both of them competed in major 9-Ball tourneys in the 1970's, and did well. Balsis played at Caesar's Tahoe in 1982 and 1983 (he was over 60) and still was a force to be reckoned with. Just ask Allen Hopkins who played him, on his way to finishing second.

Thanks for posting this. Great stuff.

WOW! All I can say is wow. Watching that actually brought tears to my eyes. That kind of play is total mastery and it's just a beautiful thing to behold.

I especially like watching Mr. Crane and I really like the tightly closed short bridge he uses which leaves minimal room for error. Even as sure of his stroke as a player like he must be he knows that mistakes happen and a tightly closed and short bridge minimizes the room for error to occur.

The commentator is great! Maybe the best I've heard.

Thanks for posting these links.. it made my morning and I'll watch them many times in the future.

The shot of the match was early on when He was below the nest by the right corner pocket. Without any clear shot, He called the 2 ball straight back to the pocket he was shooting over. Masterful. Shooting away from the pocket he made the ball in was a thing of beauty.

worriedbeef said:

...and the commentary is great, really takes you back in time and you felt the tension of the moment, and what an occasion it was.

Click to expand...

The commentary by Joe Wilson ought to be required study by all American pool commentators. Perhaps then we'd get some interesting, exciting commentary. Setting aside Grady, Billy, Buddy, etc. --who are excellent player/commentators-- American pool commentary has decayed into bland, PC pap. The Brits do a far better job in their presentations.

Doc

jay helfert said:

Check out the opening shot of this remarkable run. A trick shot worthy of "The Hustler". It exemplifies the knowledge that Crane had. If you pay attention you will see one of the great pool minds at work. His cue ball control/speed is masterful, his shot making superb.

Click to expand...

I've watched that shot 50 times, and I still can't figure out what the layout was! I wish someone could diagram it. I've seen similar shots in trick shot-type exhibitions, but the one Crane made eludes me to this day.

Doc

This match is called Clash of the Titans and I purchased it about a year ago on VHS. George Michaels, who plays in my local room here in Northern CA, told me that he was there in the audience as well that day. Crane's opening wrap-around shot out the pack to end the beginning safety battle is amazing. He also makes a four ball combination after coming up with no easy shot after one of his breaks. The players really needed a stroke back then, as they were playing on the napped wool cloth. The balls did not come apart nearly as easily as they do on the modern simonis 860 used today. Great video to watch over and over. There is a lot one can learn from this one.

JAM said:

WOW!

Crane was in his fifties and still played jam up (no pun intended). AND he was two years older than my horse is today!

JAM

Click to expand...

Right you are, Ether-ette! Crane was 59 when he won his last World Pocket Billiards Championship in 1972, and he was 65 when he won the World Series of Billiards in 1978 (14.1 & 9-ball). That means I technically still have two years to win a biggie...

Doc

hangemhigh said:

Would love to own that cue! I wonder if is the Balabushka on the cover of the BB?

Click to expand...

We had a thread a while back about that and somebody confirmed that it was that Bushka. There are a couple points in the video where you get a good look at the butt and it does look like that cue. I imagine it would cost a pretty penny if it was for sale.