Buddy Hall & The Mosconi Cup

271 people killed in flights last year, in the entire world
37,000+ people killed in car accidents last year in the U.S.......

Odds of dying in a plane: 1:11,000,000
Odds of dying in a car: 1:5000

How lucky do you feel now?

I think the accurate measure is actually deaths per thousand miles travel.

83% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
 
Come on, people who have phobias of whatever, are not going to all of a sudden relax if you explain the odds of actual danger to them.

Thanks for the info Jay, that certainly explains why Buddy was not in a Mosconi cup team. I'd imagine he would have been if any of the early ones were on US soil.
 
Hours of driving required to get a driver's license: 0

Hours of flying required to get a professional pilot's license: 1500

Number of times the average car is inspected per year: 0

Number of times the average commercial plane is inspected: Before every flight (cursory)

Percentage of people who can explain how their car works: 6% (estimate based on my interactions with people)

Percentage of pilots who can explain how their jet works: 100%
 
Hours of driving required to get a driver's license: 0

Hours of flying required to get a professional pilot's license: 1500

Number of times the average car is inspected per year: 0

Number of times the average commercial plane is inspected: Before every flight (cursory)

Percentage of people who can explain how their car works: 6% (estimate based on my interactions with people)

Percentage of pilots who can explain how their jet works: 100%

How many people are scared of mice? Will a mouse hiding under your refrigerator do you much harm?
How many people are scared of driving? Will a car accident do you much harm?
 
How many people are scared of mice? Will a mouse hiding under your refrigerator do you much harm?
How many people are scared of driving? Will a car accident do you much harm?

Hantavirus, plague, perhaps some people have some reason to fear mice.

I know plenty of people who have a healthy fear of driving. I have a healthy fear of other drivers, I don't trust many of them.
 
271 people killed in flights last year, in the entire world
37,000+ people killed in car accidents last year in the U.S.......

Odds of dying in a plane: 1:11,000,000
Odds of dying in a car: 1:5000

How lucky do you feel now?

If you’re a good driver and keep your car in good repair ...it’s safer to drive.
 
If you’re a good driver and keep your car in good repair ...it’s safer to drive.

Your driving doesn’t keep the rest of the people on the road from doing something stupid.

You can’t possibly think you can take 1:5000 odds and make them better than 1:11,000,000 simply by driving safe and maintaining a vehicle.
 
I think the accurate measure is actually deaths per thousand miles travel.

83% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Flying is still exponentially safer no matter which way you cut it.

In 2010, deaths per 10billion miles flown was .02

Deaths per 10billion miles driving was 150.

That makes flying 7,500 times safer than driving.
 
Last edited:
Flying is still exponentially safer no matter which way you cut it.

I think flying is safer if you’re reckless, prone to road rage, drive drunk or stoned....
....or pat attention to your phone.
I do none of that...got my million+ miles in...insurance companies love me.

..and I drive defensively.

I’ve only flown about 100,000 miles so I guess it’s not a real good comparison...
...but I feel my ass belongs to me in a vehicle...it doesn’t on a plane.
 
271 people killed in flights last year, in the entire world
37,000+ people killed in car accidents last year in the U.S.......

Odds of dying in a plane: 1:11,000,000
Odds of dying in a car: 1:5000

How lucky do you feel now?

Yeah, for me, being on the interstate, or the freeway is scary as hell. People drive like maniacs. Everyone seems to be in such a hurry. It only takes 1 little mistake, and you are in big trouble. I never learned to drive. Was too scared. The only way I will go anywhere is by bus (I feel safest on the Greyhound), or train. Or, by walking.
 
Not one of the famous musicians you listed was flying on a commercial airline. They all owned or chartered small planes or helicopters using questionable judgement. U.S. professional sports teams — MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL — have been flying on commercial airlines for decades. Have you ever heard of a team being wiped out by a plane crash?

Yeah, that is a very good point.

Aaliyah (a singer who I really loved) died in a plain crash, and it was from a very small private plain (I read). Never heard about any celebrities dying in a commercial airplane.
 
I saw Buddy Hall at a tournament about 20 years ago...I asked him...
..”Your name was in the last draw...but you didn’t show...what happened?”
...he said “I dogged it at the airport.”
...I said “So you don’t like flying still.”....he didn’t..

So I told him an old vaudville routine...

‘A guy is going to the west coast...his friend asks “How are you going?”
...he says “Train.”
..friend says “Take a plane...it’s so much faster.”
..guy says “Planes are too dangerous.”
..friend says “Are you kidding?...just last week, they had a train wreck...80 casualties.”
..guy says “That’s terrible...what happened?”
...friend says “A plane crashed on it.”

I love to hear Buddy laugh
 
He just told me he wasn't against flying. He has flown to China and Japan. He was never invited to play....
 
Well......then......is Pittsburgh John still going strong?

Pittsburg John is long gone....late 90s maybe...early 2000s.
...asked me to come down to Pittsburgh....I wasn’t playing much then...
...never got around to it....wish I had’ve....he said he was always tired.
 
Back
Top