Yes, Mosconi played a half table game -- he was totally unafraid of shooting shots to the sides and far corner pockets. He'd get the CB just below the spot and run off 14 balls, barely moving the CB around.
As to gambling, if you read R.A Dryer's most excellent, "The Hustler & The Champ" about the rivalry between Mosconi and Fats, he documents numerous times Mosconi would clean out road players passing through town, to include Minnesota Fats. He didn't travel and hustle but he was unafraid to play for the cash. However, when he signed on with Brunswick, they wanted a squeaky clean image for the game and Mosconi tried to put his gambling days into the background.
I believe the terms for World Championships were different way back, and some years they would be decided by challenge matches stretched out over several weeks and cities. Consider that this was in the day when 14.1 was *the* game, front page NYTimes stuff, and there were wall-to-wall straight pool mechanics in every city like Philly and NYC. Mosconi dominated them all.
For his exhibitions, Mosconi brought his own set of balls. Due to his contract with Brunswick he was compelled to play on their tables and as long as it was a Brunswick he'd play on it. I don't believe he cared about the pocket size.
Did he sometimes throw a piece of chalk? Bad mouth an opponent? Be a dick? Sitting in the chair, chew his tongue until it bled? Yes. But he was a genius, a savant, and saw what the game could be and suffered anything but perfection poorly.
Lou Figueroa
