wait a minute.....
td873 said:
Playing on a Mosconi era 4X8 table is not really the same as playing on a 4X8 table now. Today's tables have faster/better cloth, better cushions, and better balls. Chalk is (arguably) better, and playing conditions would probably be better. Also, at the top levels where shotmaking is a non-issue, playing on a 9' table is probably easier due to less congestion. In my opinion, for a proper comparison you really need 2 apples.
And I agree with Jay that if the 526 record was so easy to break, somebody in 55+ years would have done it. Not only has no one done it officially, I don't remember hearing a rumor that someone did it unofficially. And straight pool was very popular for many years until recently...
-td
I keep hearing how everything is made better today than it was in the past.
I have to say hold on a minute here on that one.
Would you say that crown moldings, furniture, etc... are better made now than they were then????
Just because they have advanced materials does NOT mean that they are better now. I'm sure mud balls today that are left over from then aren't in anywhere NEAR as good a shape as they were back then.
Craftsmen took better care in making sure things were made well in the past than they do today.
textiles haven't improved much and if anything have degraded. Did they not have worsted wool back then? was everything nap? I don't know. Does nap cloth mean automatically that it was more difficult to play. the majority of 14.1 shots are relatively close shots, does the nap cloth make that more difficult??
In 14.1, long runs often require pin point position play. I think it would be easier to finesse position play on a slower nap cloth than faster cloth where the balls tend to keep on running.
I just don't know if this argument that it was harder back then holds water.
I do think that position play is tighter on a smaller table like a 4x8. so I don't know if it was any easier for Mosconi to make his run on a 4x8 especially when they were more used to making big runs on a 10x5 where there is more room to negotiate.
Big runs like mosconi's and John's are very difficult to achieve and require long run focus that make them VERY impressive.
belittling John's capabilities don't get us anywhere and deifying Willie's don't really get us anywhere either. These are good discussions but let's get emotions out of it and concentrate on pool.
I hope that John or Thomas or Thorsten are able to break the record. I don't think that it would belittle willie's achievement but would rather solidify it.
Jaden