Where is the 626?
- Thread starter markjames
- Start date
As usual, there is a lot lost in translation due to this typing vs talking.
You only think you disagree with me. Everything you said in this post is accurate IMO as well.
But, the people that would pack the stands would be "pool fans".
Remember Lou, were not talking about golf, various types of pro and college sports where people do the following:
Pay good money for seats, travel to get there, wait long periods of time to get seated, then...lol....they get seated and have to ask the person next to them how them game is played as to the rules...lol.
Nobody does that for pool these days at all and that was not common in Willies time either unless were talking crowds of 50ish and in that case, its no different than 5.
Im with you though. I wish pool, specifically 14.1 was the primary game in the Olympics from now on, or at least, people start carrying themselves the way they use to around the tables.
Either way, Willie, just like many others such as John are great 14.1 players. Sure, Willie and lots of others would eat most everyone's lunch today if it was tournament play and not ball in paw.
Jeff
Things were a little different then don’t you think.. I’m only 47 but I don’t think the internet and social media existed then.
When and by who...
Dont' be surprised if WildWing says he broke it himself once.
I never said people would watch or buy it like crazy.
What I did say addressed maximizing whatever mileage he can get out of it with proper marketing. But thanks for your deference anyway, lol.
Lou Figueroa
Jeff, like Lou I was there during Mosconi's era of exhibitions (even played him one). He was a living icon in sports, his name well known to the masses (not just pool fans!) and people would come to see him play because of that fame. Typically there was no charge to watch one of his exhibitions, but it was still a good promotion for any poolroom in which he made an appearance. They would sell drinks and food and perhaps gain some new clientele. Willie would pack the place wherever he appeared, plain and simple. People would come to see HIM, not just to see someone run 100 balls.
I hope this helps set the record straight. Thanks
LOL now that's funny 626 all of a sudden makes pool interesting and more watchable I'd venture to say it actually hurts the game for 2 reasons,
1 only a very very small percentage will watch it start to finish there is a reason why every sport tries to find a way to shorten the game to keep it interesting , that's why we now have 9 ball
2 ' it's hard to convince the general public pool is a difficult game when someone can pocket balls for hours with out missing ,
It's a great novelty feat I highly doubt it gets crazy numbers sales unless there almost giving it a way
1
I believe that when Mosconi was "King" it was a different era. Pool was at one time "American Baseball". So imagine how many would have come to anything were Babe Ruth was going to be and get a signed autograph. Willie was Pools Babe Ruth. And I think that makes it more likely that no matter what people do in pool it will in this day and age never be looked at in such high esteem(sadly).
I do hope I'm way wrong here though...
I do hope I'm way wrong here though...
Funny I was about to bring baseball into the conversation. A sport that is rooted in 150 years or so of tradition may fall by the wayside because people feel the games are too long. That's the day and age we live in.
What Willie did in his day and age was incomparable to anything that could happen in pool today. Relatively speaking, almost no-one cares about pool, that was not the case when Willie was touring. Plain and simple.
I don't think many, if any, non pool fans will spend a dime on Jon's video. It's a shame but it's the truth. If it were free on the internet I still don't think many would watch outside of us select few. Maybe some passing interest might have people watch a rack or two but that's it. To be honest it would takes me more than one sitting to get through it, and I live for this stuff.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
What Willie did in his day and age was incomparable to anything that could happen in pool today. Relatively speaking, almost no-one cares about pool, that was not the case when Willie was touring. Plain and simple.
I don't think many, if any, non pool fans will spend a dime on Jon's video. It's a shame but it's the truth. If it were free on the internet I still don't think many would watch outside of us select few. Maybe some passing interest might have people watch a rack or two but that's it. To be honest it would takes me more than one sitting to get through it, and I live for this stuff.
Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk
Actually, I think Greenleaf was pool's Babe Ruth. Pool was more popular in Greenleaf's day than in Mosconi's, and Greenleaf made more money than Ruth.
When Greenleaf died The New York Times wrote, ""What Babe Ruth did for baseball, Dempsey did for fighting, Tilden did for tennis...Greenleaf did for pocket billiards."
I understand and once again, we are on the same page.
Maybe I should brush up on my writing skills. Everything you and Lou have said, I have been in agreement with.
Im not much on this internet stuff. Well, I was never much on letter writing either.
Im, as I always was, am more of a "face to face" kinda guy. To much gets lost in letters on a screen and is taken the wrong way when written by someone that was ment to work with numbers.
I guess the only one thing I can say that doesn't get misunderstood is:
Im a pool fan. More specifically a 14.1 NUT.
Thanks Jay,
Jeff
Hey Lou and Jay.......^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is what I was trying to say in my previous posts.
Thanks Pete!
Jeff
What's the story with the Mosconi vs fats match with cosell on commentary that aired on tv? Is it true it drew more people to tv sets that year than some world series games and other major sports events?
Might be true, but remember that the Fats/Mosconi Challenge was featured part of ABC's Wide World of Sports, which had a huge following. Time magazine named it one of the 100 best TV shows (not just sports) of all time.
WWOS, which ran for 45 years and which I watched most weeks, drew great ratings every week in its Saturday afternoon timeslot, and the idea that it would sometimes outdraw major sporting events is not far-fetched at all.
Fats and Mosconi piggybacked a legendary show and thereby gained access to its built-in, huge, audience. Had it been a standalone project on a different network, its ratings would have been far less.
In short, this is a bit of a tricky matter.
The following exists as an attachment somewhere on AZB but I couldn't track it down, so here is a copy. I don't have a date on the publication in NBN. I don't know who provided the spelling correction for Rood's name. Also, it was exactly 37 signatures on the affidavit.
From an article in National Billiard News
by Dick Hatfield
Willie Mosconi, in Springfield, Ohio, March 1954, ran 526 balls in a row for a world record that still stands today. His challenger was Earl "Jake" Bruney, an accomplished hometown pool shark.
The site of the action was East High Billiards, 111 ½ East High in the heart of downtown Springfield, on the second floor above Reco Sporting Goods. "East High" was a first class pool hall run by a first class gentleman named Bob Haas. The only criticizable thing Bob ever did was allow underage guys like me into his establishment. I was 16 - you were supposed to be 18 or older.
The first time I saw Mosconi, I thought he looked like a movie star: impeccably dressed in a tailor-made suit, blue cashmere topcoat, black fedora, and polished black shoes. He was a big hit with everybody, very personable, made small talk with the regulars, and occasionally fed a handful of nickels in the pinball machines. He was a regular guy.
Bruney safe-broke the balls at 8:00pm that March 18th, Mosconi shot second. They safe-shot back and forth a few times, and then Jake found his way clear to pocket the only three balls he'd make that night. After that, Willie took command of that 4X8 Brunswick for the next four and a half hours. At 12:50am, he missed the 527th shot - a six-ball in the corner. It tottered at the pocket, but wouldn't fall.
A number of Springfielders witnessed this record-breaking performance, including A.Y. "Lefty" Thomas, who made a sketch of the missed shot. Lefty will also authenticate this narrative. About fifty of the witnesses signed an affidavit verifying the high run.
Although at least three claim to have bought the legendary table that Willie and Jake shot on that night, it's actually owned by George Rude? (Rood), who subsequently part-owned the East High. Later in the 1950s, George played Willie several times in exhibition matches at East High. On a couple of those occasions I took tickets and sold Mosconi's books.
by Dick Hatfield
Willie Mosconi, in Springfield, Ohio, March 1954, ran 526 balls in a row for a world record that still stands today. His challenger was Earl "Jake" Bruney, an accomplished hometown pool shark.
The site of the action was East High Billiards, 111 ½ East High in the heart of downtown Springfield, on the second floor above Reco Sporting Goods. "East High" was a first class pool hall run by a first class gentleman named Bob Haas. The only criticizable thing Bob ever did was allow underage guys like me into his establishment. I was 16 - you were supposed to be 18 or older.
The first time I saw Mosconi, I thought he looked like a movie star: impeccably dressed in a tailor-made suit, blue cashmere topcoat, black fedora, and polished black shoes. He was a big hit with everybody, very personable, made small talk with the regulars, and occasionally fed a handful of nickels in the pinball machines. He was a regular guy.
Bruney safe-broke the balls at 8:00pm that March 18th, Mosconi shot second. They safe-shot back and forth a few times, and then Jake found his way clear to pocket the only three balls he'd make that night. After that, Willie took command of that 4X8 Brunswick for the next four and a half hours. At 12:50am, he missed the 527th shot - a six-ball in the corner. It tottered at the pocket, but wouldn't fall.
A number of Springfielders witnessed this record-breaking performance, including A.Y. "Lefty" Thomas, who made a sketch of the missed shot. Lefty will also authenticate this narrative. About fifty of the witnesses signed an affidavit verifying the high run.
Although at least three claim to have bought the legendary table that Willie and Jake shot on that night, it's actually owned by George Rude? (Rood), who subsequently part-owned the East High. Later in the 1950s, George played Willie several times in exhibition matches at East High. On a couple of those occasions I took tickets and sold Mosconi's books.
Nice. I’d like to see that sketch
Maybe someone could look through the old issues of NBN. The article must have been before July 2001 since that it when it was first copied to a now-defunct website. I don't know if the NBN article had the sketch or not.
Somewhere amongst all the pool detritus my brain has collected over the years I seem to vaguely recall seeing the diagram.
I think it was an extreme cutback to the right corner pocket. The balls weren't that far away from each other but it was a tough cut.
Lou Figueroa
wouldn't bet a nickel
that description is accurate
I think it was an extreme cutback to the right corner pocket. The balls weren't that far away from each other but it was a tough cut.
Lou Figueroa
wouldn't bet a nickel
that description is accurate
Well, that's not at all the story I heard.
I heard the ball teetered at the pocket.