List of Living 200+ Runners

Steve Lipsky said:

Thank you Stu. List is updated and there is a small 'remembrances' section added.

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sjm said:

Frank's name was McGown, not McGowan. He is a lesser known superstar of 14.1.

Here's an excerpt form his obit:

Frank W. McGown was a former New York state champion who, during the course of his career, beat Wimpy Lassiter, Onofrio Lauri, Harold Worst, Mike Euphemia and Lou Butera. He was a regularly top finisher in world competition, and once ran 150 and out against Joe "Meatman" Balsis.

I saw Frank play on a few occasions in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Known as much for his slow play as his excellence, he was a great technician at the table. I believe that Frank was one of Jean Balukas' early influences in the 1960's when he was a business partner of Al Balukas (Jean's dad) in their Brooklyn poolroom.

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poolmouse said:

I thought Mike "Motor Mouth" Seigel was the first to run 150 and out in a world championship?

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sjm said:

Frank's name was McGown, not McGowan. He is a lesser known superstar of 14.1.

Here's an excerpt form his obit:

Frank W. McGown was a former New York state champion who, during the course of his career, beat Wimpy Lassiter, Onofrio Lauri, Harold Worst, Mike Euphemia and Lou Butera. He was a regularly top finisher in world competition, and once ran 150 and out against Joe "Meatman" Balsis.

I saw Frank play on a few occasions in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Known as much for his slow play as his excellence, he was a great technician at the table. I believe that Frank was one of Jean Balukas' early influences in the 1960's when he was a business partner of Al Balukas (Jean's dad) in their Brooklyn poolroom.

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measureman said:

Irving Crane did it against Joe Balsis 1966.It's on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k06-M12lQWE

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poolmouse said:

I thought Mike "Motor Mouth" Seigel was the first to run 150 and out in a world championship?

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lfigueroa said:

Back in the late 70's I was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, just outside of Great Falls, MT. One year The Corner Pocket up there decided to bring in Frank McGown, former 14.1 champ, for an exhibition. Joannie, the manager, asked if I'd be willing to be the sitting duck and play him 125 points of straight pool, before McGown shot some trick shots. I said sure.

Well, I don't know what I was thinking. But I had seen Mosconi do his exhibition several times before. And I kinda suspected that McGown would follow the usual routine for these affairs and show up in a suit, or a coat and tie. So, for reasons that are still unclear to me today, I decided that the appropriate thing for me to do in this situation was to also wear a suit. The only problem was that, at the time, I only owned one suit. It was a perfectly fine suit: a three-piece; in light gray; white shirt; bright red tie. Think Bond. James Bond.

So it's time for the exhibition. There's a room full of people around one table and McGown comes in, and I don't know, he takes one look at me -- three-piece suit; in light gray; white shirt; bright red tie -- and he kinda goes catatonic or something. I guess it would be like going out duck hunting and the first duck you see flies by in a tux.

Well, somehow I get the first shot. Clearly, I've thrown Frank off his game.

I start to run the balls. I get into the second rack. And then the third. Frank goes to the bathroom. I get into the fourth rack, have run 48, and the balls are *wide open* and then comes the shot that I still remember today: a little baby two ball combination on the rail behind the rack that, as Danny McGoorty would have said, a drunk Girl Scout could've made if you held her up to the table long enough.

And I took it for granted and I hung up the ball.

I was told afterwards, by a friend who went into the bathroom at that point, that McGown was in there washing his hands. When my buddy told him that I had just missed, McGown went, "He missed?!" And McGown comes flying out and quickly proceeds to make a dish of shredded duck ala Lou, with an 80-something run and then a 50-something.

And that's it. 30 years later I still remember that match and that little baby two ball combo on the rail behind the rack.

Frank sort of took a liking to me and invited me to play him in a 9ball exhibition in Missoula a few months later. Frank was slow and methodical and not flashy at all but he got the job done.

Lou Figueroa

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lfigueroa said:

Back in the late 70's I was stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base, just outside of Great Falls, MT. One year The Corner Pocket up there decided to bring in Frank McGown, former 14.1 champ, for an exhibition. Joannie, the manager, asked if I'd be willing to be the sitting duck and play him 125 points of straight pool, before McGown shot some trick shots. I said sure.

Well, I don't know what I was thinking. But I had seen Mosconi do his exhibition several times before. And I kinda suspected that McGown would follow the usual routine for these affairs and show up in a suit, or a coat and tie. So, for reasons that are still unclear to me today, I decided that the appropriate thing for me to do in this situation was to also wear a suit. The only problem was that, at the time, I only owned one suit. It was a perfectly fine suit: a three-piece; in light gray; white shirt; bright red tie. Think Bond. James Bond.

So it's time for the exhibition. There's a room full of people around one table and McGown comes in, and I don't know, he takes one look at me -- three-piece suit; in light gray; white shirt; bright red tie -- and he kinda goes catatonic or something. I guess it would be like going out duck hunting and the first duck you see flies by in a tux.

Well, somehow I get the first shot. Clearly, I've thrown Frank off his game.

I start to run the balls. I get into the second rack. And then the third. Frank goes to the bathroom. I get into the fourth rack, have run 48, and the balls are *wide open* and then comes the shot that I still remember today: a little baby two ball combination on the rail behind the rack that, as Danny McGoorty would have said, a drunk Girl Scout could've made if you held her up to the table long enough.

And I took it for granted and I hung up the ball.

I was told afterwards, by a friend who went into the bathroom at that point, that McGown was in there washing his hands. When my buddy told him that I had just missed, McGown went, "He missed?!" And McGown comes flying out and quickly proceeds to make a dish of shredded duck ala Lou, with an 80-something run and then a 50-something.

And that's it. 30 years later I still remember that match and that little baby two ball combo on the rail behind the rack.

Frank sort of took a liking to me and invited me to play him in a 9ball exhibition in Missoula a few months later. Frank was slow and methodical and not flashy at all but he got the job done.

Lou Figueroa

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alphadog said:

Thks for the great story. There aren't enough of them in this forum.

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sjm said:

but he had some Nick Varner in him and was one of the guys whose game was worth studying.

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sjm said:

In their practices at Steinway Billiards on Sunday, 8/18, Shane Van Boening ran 211 and Jayson Shaw ran 276.

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plague said:

Ivo Aarts ran 210 last week

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