Willie Mosconi was a household name before his run, to pool players and non-pool players alike. I, personally, don't see his run as being among his greatest achievements and I seriously doubt that (if DVDs had been around back then) a DVD of his run would have been a big seller in his or any other era, but name recognition might have made it possible. Perhaps a slogan "watch the greatest pool player ever on his greatest ever day" might have enticed a few non-enthusiasts. Guess we'll never know.
The straight pool era is 35 years in the rear view mirror now. Neither the game of 14.1 nor John Schmidt's name are well known. Not John's fault. He made the grade with his historic run, but did so in a game rarely played anymore.
I'd really like to be wrong here, and hope that John makes a wad of money from this. Time will tell. I agree that the serious diehard fans should be patient, and if that's the only market John hopes to reach, the delay isn't doing any real damage, but the boost he got in name recognition when his run was reported in the NY Times is wearing off a little every day.
Mosconi never had the problem of fading name recognition in his day. Not only was he incredibly well known, but he toured the country year round doing exhibitions in America's poolrooms. He was like a rock band that toured the country to make sure their music was always on people's minds.
Comparing Schmidt to Mosconi is apples and oranges. Two truly phenomenal players with little in common.
