Balabushka or Szamboti 57" cues

Ken_4fun

Ken_4fun

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Guys -

I have (2) Szamboti cues one is 57" and one is 58". I have read that he made about some of various lengths.

What George did I really dont know. What was most of his cue lengths?

Today it seems very rare to be anything but a 58" cue.

Thoughts?

Ken
 
Weren't cues shorter back in the day during Mosconi and Caras' ?
Pretty sure 57 inches was common to use, even on 5x10 tables.
Something about shorter cue giving you more control or something like that.
I heard this directly from Jimmy Caras maybe 25 years ago.

So if that's true, i would imagine cuemakers who transitioned from that era to the beginning of the modern one, probably made cues is old school lengths, before switching to modern lengths.
 
SUPERSTAR said:
Weren't cues shorter back in the day during Mosconi and Caras' ?
Pretty sure 57 inches was common to use, even on 5x10 tables.
Something about shorter cue giving you more control or something like that.
I heard this directly from Jimmy Caras maybe 25 years ago.

So if that's true, i would imagine cuemakers who transitioned from that era to the beginning of the modern one, probably made cues is old school lengths, before switching to modern lengths.
Click to expand...

Tell that to Earl and Shane lol
Jason<-------also uses a 10" extension(on my pool cue):grin:
 
Ken_4fun said:
Guys -

I have (2) Szamboti cues one is 57" and one is 58". I have read that he made about some of various lengths.

What George did I really dont know. What was most of his cue lengths?

Today it seems very rare to be anything but a 58" cue.

Thoughts?

Ken
Click to expand...

Ken,
BEST INFO I THINK WOULD BE MARK KULLUNGIAN, or Joe @ Classic Cues...
"Those guys I believe, have had MORE SZAMS AND BUSHKA CUES than any one else,
currently...
" Too bad John Wright passed,
He WAS THE MAN"
WITH CUES IN HIS DAY
 
I thought the bushka's were all 57, unless special. I don't have my blue books in front of me, but I recall something in the bio's for George stating 57 was the norm...:confused::scratchhead:


I hate short cues. Give me a javelin.


Edit: second thought, maybe it was the Spains that were 57...?
 
Most cues were 57 inches back then but increased to 58. Willie Mosconi experimented and found that 54 inch cue was best for him but unsure if he played competitively like that. It was more of an experiment.
 
Believe George's standard was 57 1/2 inches, though no doubt some variation exists.

All the best,
WW
 
He custom made to the players' specs but most were typically 57-58, iirc. Ask Mark K. No one on planet earth knows more about George's cues than Mark.
 
A common for George was 57.5 but he made both. In the 60's, 57" was standard moving to 58 around 70 and later. This i not to say all, simply the norm. Many guys always liked different lengths'. I moved to 58 in early 70's. Gus made all but personally payed with 58.5. I think Pete Tascarella may have George's records and would be the best authority. Obviously Barry for Gus.
 
For several years, I owned one of Gus’ cues that was 59.5” evenly split. At the time, two friends also owned Gus Szamboti cues at the same length. I’ve been told by someone who knew Gus that 59.5” was the longest cue he would make. But I have seen Gus cues for sale by reputable people who claimed to have cues that were longer than that. Mine was made late in his career.

Gus made great pool cues.
 
Sealegs50 said:
For several years, I owned one of Gus’ cues that was 59.5” evenly split. At the time, two friends also owned Gus Szamboti cues at the same length. I’ve been told by someone who knew Gus that 59.5” was the longest cue he would make. But I have seen Gus cues for sale by reputable people who claimed to have cues that were longer than that. Mine was made late in his career.

Gus made great pool cues.
Click to expand...

60" evenly split....

 
I like to play with 59" cues so it always catches my eye when cues are that length. I seem to notice a good number of Gus cues are 59", especially for the era of shorter cues.
 
Me too

WildWing said:
Believe George's standard was 57 1/2 inches, though no doubt some variation exists.

All the best,
WW
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It is a point of contention though. Some were split and some were not. He started with a 28 1/2 inch butt I thought. The longer shaft out played the split and turned out to be a great advantage for everything but straight.
Soon after the 58 inch Cue came in to favor.
With the 29 inch shaft!
No way he was that good!
How much of this is for true? I would like to know myself. I shoould ask Dean!
Good luck,
Nick :)
 
As I said above, George's standard was 57 1/2 inches. If a reference is needed, please refer to Victor Stein and Paul Rubino's Billiard Encyclopedia. My edition is the first. On page 323:

"By 1967 it was taking up to six months to get a fancy Balabushka and four months for a simpler one. The cues were always 57 1/2 " long, unless otherwise specified."

I think Stein's and Rubino's research are as good as anyone's.

All the best,
WW
 
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