Household Names and "The Hustler"

Pre-Flag Master

Pre-Flag Master

Cue Ball Man
Silver Member
This is my first foray into the Pool History forum - please forgive me if these questions have been asked before. I posted the below in the main forum.

Is my guess that Willie Mosconi, Irving Crane, and the like were known by the public at large - whether they were pool fans or not - at one time?

Is there a consensus, or at least some others, who hold the same opinion that the film "The Hustler" did more harm than good for American pool in the long run?

thanks
Fatz


Pre-Flag Master said:
I sometimes think that movie [The Hustler] did more harm than good for pool in the long run.

In the 40's and 50's - and correct me if I'm wrong - Willie Mosconi and Irving Crane were household names. I'm not a golfer or a golf fan, but I know who Tiger Woods is. It seems that billiards used to be that way too. Now if you ask the average Joe on the street who Efren Reyes or Johnny Archer is, they wouldn't know.

The movie came out in 1961. Seems that since then pool has experienced the long and gradual decline that it has because people began to associate pool with the seedy concept of hustling and all that that world entails. This is an American facet. Pool is doing great in other parts of the world.

Just a theory.
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itsfroze

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Then JB Cases posted this:

Well except for that HUGE boom after 1987 when the Color of Money came out that lasted for about 13 years. Everyone in the business was making money then as far as I could tell.


Because your statement is not accurate. There was a big boom for pool after "The Hustler" came out, and there was another big boom after another movie about hustling, "The Color of Money", came out.
I lived in NYC then and tons of new rooms opened up after TCM came out and pool thrived for many years after that.

It would be great for pool if another decent pool movie came out about hustling or not, but people like to hear and see things that aren't part of their everyday lives, as the two booms after the earlier mentioned movies about hustling proved.
 
Pre-Flag Master

Pre-Flag Master

Cue Ball Man
Silver Member
itsfroze said:
Then JB Cases posted this:

Well except for that HUGE boom after 1987 when the Color of Money came out that lasted for about 13 years. Everyone in the business was making money then as far as I could tell.


Because your statement is not accurate. There was a big boom for pool after "The Hustler" came out, and there was another big boom after another movie about hustling, "The Color of Money", came out.
I lived in NYC then and tons of new rooms opened up after TCM came out and pool thrived for many years after that.

It would be great for pool if another decent pool movie came out about hustling or not, but people like to hear and see things that aren't part of their everyday lives, as the two booms after the earlier mentioned movies about hustling proved.
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But have these movies hurt pool in the *long run*. The booms that occurred after the movies were relatively short compared to the overall history of the game. I've wondered about this because pool is doing well in other countries. I don't think the seedy hustler image is attached to pool in those other countries.

Maybe what pool needs is a movie that take a flawed pool player character and has him overcome his behavior to become a hero of some type.

Fatz
 
book collector

book collector

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pre-Flag Master said:
This is my first foray into the Pool History forum - please forgive me if these questions have been asked before. I posted the below in the main forum.

Is my guess that Willie Mosconi, Irving Crane, and the like were known by the public at large - whether they were pool fans or not - at one time?

Is there a consensus, or at least some others, who hold the same opinion that the film "The Hustler" did more harm than good for American pool in the long run?

thanks
Fatz
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Mosconi , yes. Crane no.
They only knew of Mosconi because he traveled all over for so many years.
Fats name was and is more well known by non players than anyone.
 
rexus31

rexus31

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think a bio-pic on the life of Willie Mosconi would be very interesting and well received being as most everyone has heard the name before. I'm not familiar with his life away from the table so I'm not sure what it would offer in terms of legitimizing pool to the general public.
 
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