Don willis?

[Pushout]

Don Willis is definitely one of the true legends of the game!!

 

[Scott Lee]

George...The table tennis stories are true. Don't know if they were world champions, but they were "high-level" players. You have to remember that Willis was a "hustler", and the ping pong matches were gaff bets (meaning he would get a HUGE spot). Don would sit in a chair, with his chest up against the pingpong table, and pretend to 'fall over' as he was going for return shots. I'm certain that he wasn't champion level, but he DID get the cash, on almost everything he did! :grin-square:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

...and that's the only time I EVER heard of his losing at pool. His rep for table tennis, however, is overstated. He bragged of beating "two world champions" back-to-back - but my college roommate is one of the founders (and a member) of that sport's Hall of Fame, and knows the two players in question very well. Each man has stated definitively, "We were never in Canton, and never played any pool hustler." He COULDN'T have beaten them, because it takes a tournament player to beat one (in other words, there are no "undercover" players); that's what's required if you're ever going to learn how to handle spin. All the rest, about horseshoes, cards, running backwards, etc., is apparently true. GF

 

[Terry Ardeno]

Don Willis's grandson is "Huckster" who posts here at AZB. Also, do a search here at AZB and you'll find lots of good stories and additional links.

Another pool legend who is gone but not forgotten.