100 ball runs...

jay helfert said:
In the old days (like the 50's and 60's) every self respecting pool player learned to play Straight Pool. It was the first game they learned, not the last. And every pool mentor stressed learning to play 14.1 to his students.

When you learned 14.1, you learned how to pocket balls, control the Cue Ball and read the stack. About the only thing you didn't become proficient at was Banks, because they were to be avoided if at all possible.

So, yes the old time players were all very good Straight Pool players. They grew up with the game as their fundamentals. And all the top players could run 100's, or they weren't considered a top player.

Was it easy? Hell no! On a tough table, running 100 balls was and is a feat. Derby City is a good example of this. Many good players tried and only a few succeeded.

Even in the old days, very few runs over a 100 were made on tough equipment. It was an extremely rare feat on the old 5x10's. But a strong player could do it with frequency on a soft 9' table with 5" pockets.

A great player like Mosconi could almost guarantee a 100 ball run in every exhibition, because for the most part he was playing on 5" pockets. Put him on a table with 4.5" pockets and he would not make any guarantees, other than he would beat his opponent. And he did, with a better won-loss record than the Globetrotters.

While watching Mosconi in an exhibition in the 60's in L.A. I overheard someone say he didn't play that good because he never had to make a hard shot. What they failed to realize was that his position play was superb. No one controlled 'whitey' like Willie. The only ones close that I saw were Lassiter, who happened to be a great 14.1 player, and Caras and Crane who had great Cue Ball control also. Crane was also a super shotmaker and made everything he could see.

Unfortunately I didn't see much of Babe Cranfield. He was basically retired and working for Muzak. He didn't play exhibitions (or rarely) and hardly played any tourneys either. Everyone always talked about how great he was, but I couldn't say. Caras came out of retirement (years of strictly exhibitions) to win the U.S. Open 14.1 at age 57. He said he was motivated by people who said he couldn't play anymore.

As far as Mike Eufemia was concerned, he frequently ran two and three hundred balls in practice, but was noted mainly for choking in tournaments.
Just couldn't seem to do it when the heat was on. To my knowledge he never won a major tournament.

Mosconi only played one tournament after age 50 and that was in Burbank, CA in about 1966. Cicero Murphy beat him a match and he finished second to Balsis and then flipped out, going after promoter Arnie Satin. That was Mosconi's final Hoorah.

Sigel, Varner, Rempe, Hopkins and of course the Miz (possessor of the greatest stroke ever) were the last great 14.1 players I've seen. No one since has played as well, including Archer, Strickland, Reyes et al.

Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but I for one am extremely doubtful if Efren would have stood a chance against Mizerak or Sigel at 14.1 in their heyday. I know he flatly refused Mike Sigel in the 1980's, and I think Mike offered him 25 to 150. My best recollection is Efren wanted 40 or 50 balls. Efren just didn't have the background or years of experience.

Remember, just because a player can get up and run 100 balls in a 14.1 challenge like Bob Jewett just hosted, does not necessarily mean they are a great Straight Pool player. It is a whole lot different when someone is playing you safe and not leaving any shots. Try sitting on your butt for an hour or two and then getting up there and running 125 and out.

Only the truly great ones could do it and for my money the greatest of them all was Greenleaf. All the oldtimers (including Mosconi, Caras and Crane) worshiped the guy and spoke of him with reverence.
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Tap Tap Tap.......very well said. thanks for the history lesson and please keep them coming.......................mike
 
Tommy-D said:
> I read an article on Johnston City,maybe one written by George Fels,that said at one event there the late Weenie Beanie had the book open giving 10-1 odds with Harold Worst running the balls,but was allowed to coach him. Harold would be facing a tough shot,and Beanie would suggest a possible solution,and Harold not only made the shot but was asking exactly WHERE Beanie wanted the cue ball afterwards. They busted everyone that bet. In the post-match interview with Sigel after the 150-out on Zuglan,Beanie asked him how many he could have run if the balls would cooperate,and Sigel said "I could have run well,300,cause I could have easily doubled this right?" Has anyone come up with an answer as to why Varner,Sigel,or Zuglan didn't go to DCC and shoot at it,or did they? What about Rempe? The stories about Eufemia abound,and are reportedly 100% true,people that hung there hardcore said he ran a 200 every single night for over 10 years. Tommy D.
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the most probable reason for Zuglan not going was he was tied up getting his tour together and getting ready for the turning stone tournament. but the biggest reason i can think of for mike not being there is he hates the game of pool. mike's own words. believe it or not. and mike never practices between tournaments. he would rather promote than play pool.........mike
 
uwate said:
I remember reading something about Mosconi punching a Tournament director at the end of a tournament. Was this that event, or was Mosconi known to want to have fisticuffs whenever he lost?

Thanks for the great post Jay. You are a wealth of pool history and a real asset to AZB.
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I think what happened was Willie got called on a questionable foul, and lost the game because of it.....then after collecting his 2nd place check he sucker punched the ref/TD..........:eek:

Gerry
 
qstroker said:
Hi. I'm an infrequent poster here. My father is in his 70's and used to watch the greats play in NY. He saw Carras do an exhibition where he came out to the table, and after he got his cue out and screwed together, the announcer would say, "Mr. Carras will now run 100 balls." He'd break, run 100, take his cue apart, and leave...never said a word! (at least nothing that most of the crowd could hear).

Jim Rempe also ran 100 on his first try when making his video "How to Run 100 Balls."

Seems to me it was pretty effortless for the really good players.

dwhite[/QUOTEi hope you can get MORE stories from your dad and post one here like every few days.everybody here loves a good ole story.thanks for your Great post.hope to read u soon.:)
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terrific post, Jay
I learned the game in Detroit in the late 70's, in a room where 14.1 was still the game of choice. These were the last days of the National Billiard News Open, held annually in Livonia. Those you mentioned were always on hand- Rempe, Sigel, Hopkins, Mizerak, and Ray Martin. We'd watch the action all day long, with bleachers providing a great vantage point to watch several matches simultaneously.
Those were great days- it's a shame that 14.1 isn't a viable commercial product.
 
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