And then there’s this one of Lassiter’s many ways of shooting
- Thread starter L.S. Dennis
- Start date
middleofnowhere
Registered
I love it that Mr. Lassiter is being given a little notice here. It is so easy to forget people. I was just looking him up and discovered his birthday was just last week on Nov.3
www.findagrave.com
Luther “Wimpy” Lassiter (1918-1988) - Find a Grave...
Billiards Player. He was considered to be the finest 9-ball player ever. Born Luther Clement Lassiter, Jr., he earned his nickname 'Wimpy' as a child because of all the wieners and orange crush he could pack away at the local pool hall in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. By the age of 17 he was...
www.findagrave.com
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Crane always looked like he just heard the doctor putting on the rubber glove.
I was lucky enough to sit 10 feet away and watch Crane run 141 balls in the early 60's in Elizabeth N.J. at a tournament.
And I still remember his hardest shot during the run.
It was a puppy dog cross side bank he could have made with his eyes closed.
And I still remember his hardest shot during the run.
It was a puppy dog cross side bank he could have made with his eyes closed.
Hot damn, that right there is funny! lolCrane always looked like he just heard the doctor putting on the rubber glove.
To this day he is the only player I ever saw use that bridge shooting with their opposite hand.
Yea, the video of his 150 run on Balsis, I think most of us here could make any of those 150 shots consistently, but he was the one who got each rack open and then and positioned the cue ball perfectly 150 times in a row! He made it look so easy on the table, despite the look on his face.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I'm seriously thinking about using this. When I shoot left handed, my back hand performs alright, but no matter how much practice I do, I can't get my right hand to form a proper bridge. Even an open bridge is just stupidly difficult for my right hand.
Actually on ball number 141, the first shot after his last break shot, Crane lost the cue ball and almost scratched in the side pocket. He had to make a pretty tough backward cut on the 15 ball on his next shot.
Not bad- one tester out of 150
Yeah, we've all watched that moment a dozen times, with us schadenfreudedly smiling each time to see Irv lose his usual icy composure on that near-scratch, and then pausing to calm his atypical emotion -- and wipe his instantly, heavily-sweated brow.
Same near-scratch in the identical side pocket rattled Mike Sigel as he was about to close out his magnificent 150-and-out in the 1992 NYC US Open 14.1 . . . I was in the audience as an equal part of the collective gasp that arose from that suspensefully teasing slooow dribble toward the pocket.
Arnaldo
When I first started playing pool, "Wimpy" Lassiter was the reigning 9 ball legend, at least among the players I knew. The only time I ever say him in person was one night in 1968 when he was giving a trick shot exhibition on opening night at a short-lived pool room at 14th & H Sts in DC, right above a nightclub. They probably drew more people that night than for the rest of that pool room's entire run.
Anyway, after giving his exhibition, Wimpy asked if there was anyone who wanted to play him a game of 9 ball. The first person who took him up on it was a veteran Washington shortstop named Dickie Fletcher, who always wore his Otis Elevator uniform whenever he came to play. Solid player whom few wanted to mess with.
Lassiter sported Fletcher the break, and then just sat there and watched a perfect break and run. After sinking the 9 ball, Dickie just grinned and screwed up his cue, saying "I'm quitting while I'm ahead". I only wish I'd been able to see Wimpy in one of his famous gambling matches, but that was before my time.
Anyway, after giving his exhibition, Wimpy asked if there was anyone who wanted to play him a game of 9 ball. The first person who took him up on it was a veteran Washington shortstop named Dickie Fletcher, who always wore his Otis Elevator uniform whenever he came to play. Solid player whom few wanted to mess with.
Lassiter sported Fletcher the break, and then just sat there and watched a perfect break and run. After sinking the 9 ball, Dickie just grinned and screwed up his cue, saying "I'm quitting while I'm ahead". I only wish I'd been able to see Wimpy in one of his famous gambling matches, but that was before my time.
I use it.
It's more stable and easy then you think.
MurrayNevada
Well-known member
I tried it with a few racks last night and it improves on the way I used to attempt it with making a traditional bridge with my right hand. Old dog learns new trick!
The page below if from Lassiter's 1965 book "Billiards for Everyone". I use the bridge sometimes myself. It works fairly well.
I feel the same way...a fist bridge works best for me...but I still stink, I tried playing wrong hand for three months...I gave up.
I broke my wrist years ago, had a cast for over 6 months. The only way I could play was switching hands. By the time the cast finally came off I could shoot pretty good.
Some of it stuck and I can still shoot pretty good off handed, the bridge isn’t a problem.
Some of it stuck and I can still shoot pretty good off handed, the bridge isn’t a problem.
I taught myself to shoot lefty when I got sick of trying to use a mechanical bridge.
I have gotten fairly proficient over the years.