FRAN CRIMI ----BLAST FROM THE PAST

[bbb]

mary kinneston posted this on her facebook page from a1980 willie mosconi exhibition in richmond hill NY
nice playing form fran
any memories of the event?

 

[FranCrimi]

mary kinneston posted this on her facebook page from a1980 willie mosconi exhibition in richmond hill NY
nice playing form fran
any memories of the event?
View attachment 592814

That was my home room and when the owner invited me to play Mosconi I nearly died. I was just doing what came naturally at that point and hadn't even started working on my fundamentals yet. The match was 150 points, and Willie whispered in my ear before the match the he was going to run 100 balls but would miss the 101st ball to give me a chance to shoot. That's exactly what he did and when he missed the 101st ball he made the ball jump in and out of the pocket so it looked like it was the fault of the pocket. It was the best miss I ever saw. Everyone blamed the pocket. I have pictures of Willie shooting as well. It was an unforgettable experience.

I asked him that day what the secret to the game was. He looked at me like I had three heads and said, "Secret? There's no secret. Just don't miss."

 

[GoldCrown]

Hi Fran. I took my first lesson with you at Corner Pocket around 2000. Was my introduction to working with instructors. Also saw you play at the first SBE(or maybe the 2nd) I hope you’re doing well

 

[bbb]

Thanks for sharing that story Fran
And thanks for all you do in helping players on this forum

 

[Patrick Johnson]

That was my home room and when the owner invited me to play Mosconi I nearly died. I was just doing what came naturally at that point and hadn't even started working on my fundamentals yet. The match was 150 points, and Willie whispered in my ear before the match the he was going to run 100 balls but would miss the 101st ball to give me a chance to shoot. That's exactly what he did and when he missed the 101st ball he made the ball jump in and out of the pocket so it looked like it was the fault of the pocket. It was the best miss I ever saw. Everyone blamed the pocket. I have pictures of Willie shooting as well. It was an unforgettable experience.

I asked him that day what the secret to the game was. He looked at me like I had three heads and said, "Secret? There's no secret. Just don't miss."

I never realized how tall you are, Fran.

MInd if I ask how tall that is...?

pj
chgo

 

[claymont]

That was my home room and when the owner invited me to play Mosconi I nearly died. I was just doing what came naturally at that point and hadn't even started working on my fundamentals yet. The match was 150 points, and Willie whispered in my ear before the match the he was going to run 100 balls but would miss the 101st ball to give me a chance to shoot. That's exactly what he did and when he missed the 101st ball he made the ball jump in and out of the pocket so it looked like it was the fault of the pocket. It was the best miss I ever saw. Everyone blamed the pocket. I have pictures of Willie shooting as well. It was an unforgettable experience.

I asked him that day what the secret to the game was. He looked at me like I had three heads and said, "Secret? There's no secret. Just don't miss."

So, what was the final score?

 

[FranCrimi]

So, what was the final score?

I think I got into the 20's but he ran the last 50 in one shot so I think I got to shoot twice.

 

[FranCrimi]

I never realized how tall you are, Fran.

MInd if I ask how tall that is...?

pj
chgo

I'm 5' 8." My parents were taller than me.

 

[BilliardsAbout]

That was my home room and when the owner invited me to play Mosconi I nearly died. I was just doing what came naturally at that point and hadn't even started working on my fundamentals yet. The match was 150 points, and Willie whispered in my ear before the match the he was going to run 100 balls but would miss the 101st ball to give me a chance to shoot. That's exactly what he did and when he missed the 101st ball he made the ball jump in and out of the pocket so it looked like it was the fault of the pocket. It was the best miss I ever saw. Everyone blamed the pocket. I have pictures of Willie shooting as well. It was an unforgettable experience.

I asked him that day what the secret to the game was. He looked at me like I had three heads and said, "Secret? There's no secret. Just don't miss."

WOW. Thanks for sharing this astonishing story! Amazing!

 

[The_JV]

The match was 150 points, and Willie whispered in my ear before the match the he was going to run 100 balls but would miss the 101st ball to give me a chance to shoot. That's exactly what he did and when he missed the 101st ball he made the ball jump in and out of the pocket so it looked like it was the fault of the pocket. It was the best miss I ever saw.

Pro players come and go, but this is the kind of thing legends do...

Thanks for sharing

 

[measureman]

I played Willie an exhibition match in 1964 and he never said he was going to miss to give me a chance.
I guess I wasn't as pretty as you Fran.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

I played Willie an exhibition match in 1964 and he never said he was going to miss to give me a chance.

So much for my theory - I figured he said it to every opponent just in case.

pj
chgo

 

[Dan White]

That was my home room and when the owner invited me to play Mosconi I nearly died. I was just doing what came naturally at that point and hadn't even started working on my fundamentals yet. The match was 150 points, and Willie whispered in my ear before the match the he was going to run 100 balls but would miss the 101st ball to give me a chance to shoot. That's exactly what he did and when he missed the 101st ball he made the ball jump in and out of the pocket so it looked like it was the fault of the pocket. It was the best miss I ever saw. Everyone blamed the pocket. I have pictures of Willie shooting as well. It was an unforgettable experience.

I asked him that day what the secret to the game was. He looked at me like I had three heads and said, "Secret? There's no secret. Just don't miss."

I recall my father telling me one time that he was watching Mosconi at an exhibition and he fired a ball in so hard it popped back out. He said it looked intentional but I was skeptical. Thanks for settling an old mystery for me! Of course, "Don't miss" was his standard answer to that question.

 

[FranCrimi]

I recall my father telling me one time that he was watching Mosconi at an exhibition and he fired a ball in so hard it popped back out. He said it looked intentional but I was skeptical. Thanks for settling an old mystery for me! Of course, "Don't miss" was his standard answer to that question.

Ha! That's funny about the pocket. I know he came in early that day and inspected the table and put the dents in the cloth for the butterfly trick shot. He probably worked out which pocket to shoot that shot in as well.

 

[Tennesseejoe]

That was my home room and when the owner invited me to play Mosconi I nearly died. I was just doing what came naturally at that point and hadn't even started working on my fundamentals yet. The match was 150 points, and Willie whispered in my ear before the match the he was going to run 100 balls but would miss the 101st ball to give me a chance to shoot. That's exactly what he did and when he missed the 101st ball he made the ball jump in and out of the pocket so it looked like it was the fault of the pocket. It was the best miss I ever saw. Everyone blamed the pocket. I have pictures of Willie shooting as well. It was an unforgettable experience.

I asked him that day what the secret to the game was. He looked at me like I had three heads and said, "Secret? There's no secret. Just don't miss."

Thanks for sharing...I wonder how he missed it?

 

[FranCrimi]

Thanks for sharing...I wonder how he missed it?

He slammed the shot with a lot of force. That's all I know.

 

[BC21]

He slammed the shot with a lot of force. That's all I know.

I remember watching a pro match several years ago, can't remember the players, but one player drilled an 8-ball into a corner and bounced back out. Eyes widened and mouths dropped open, then his opponent stepped up and the exact same thing happened again! These shots were not on purpose, but it's not hard to believe that a player like Mosconi figured out how to do it whenever he wanted. The ball would probably have to slightly leave the table and catch the back top portion of the iron/leather of the pocket. Doesn't seem like it would too difficult to do it on purpose, but doing with any consistency would be pretty impressive.

 

[FranCrimi]

I remember watching a pro match several years ago, can't remember the players, but one player drilled an 8-ball into a corner and bounced back out. Eyes widened and mouths dropped open, then his opponent stepped up and the exact same thing happened again! These shots were not on purpose, but it's not hard to believe that a player like Mosconi figured out how to do it whenever he wanted. The ball would probably have to slightly leave the table and catch the back top portion of the iron/leather of the pocket. Doesn't seem like it would too difficult to do it on purpose, but doing with any consistency would be pretty impressive.

For sure. Running a hundred on demand in front of a room full of people expecting you to impress them is also pretty impressive. He really was an impressive man. No question about it.

 

[Cameron Smith]

For sure. Running a hundred on demand in front of a room full of people expecting you to impress them is also pretty impressive. He really was an impressive man. No question about it.

And also doing it within the confines of a 150 point game. That’s incredible to me. It’s not like he had unlimited tries. If he ran 51 and missed, he can’t get a 100 ball run unless he starts taking intentional scratches.

 

[FranCrimi]

And also doing it within the confines of a 150 point game. That’s incredible to me. It’s not like he had unlimited tries. If he ran 51 and missed, he can’t get a 100 ball run unless he starts taking intentional scratches.

Great point. There was no starting over.