Irving Crane 150 and out

gulfportdoc said:
Right you are, Ether-ette! Crane was 59 when he won his last World Pocket Billiards Championship in 1972, and he was 65 when he won the World Series of Billiards in 1978 (14.1 & 9-ball). That means I technically still have two years to win a biggie...:cool:

Doc
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That is as impressive as his 150 and out, beating all the young guns at the age of 65. I'll bet when the organizers invited the old timers to play along with the youngsters they never thought that Crane was going to win the event.
 
the heart of champions

What is really remarkable is that Balsis came back and ran 150 and out on Crane within a year or two after this match. If I recall, it was the world championship as well.
 
Fabulous run! Mr. Crane had all the shots in the book. Great video to learn some 14.1.
I've read somewhere that he also ran over 300 on a 10 foot table...:eek:

Looking at that crowd I wonder how did 9ball ever overtook 14.1...:confused:
 
i just bought this match on dvd recently from e-bay. i have owned 3 different vhs copies, kept lending it out for people to see and never getting it back. my fault for not remembering who i gave it to the last time.

i'm keeping this one for good,i can watch it a hundred times and still enjoy it.
 
Looking at that crowd I wonder how did 9ball ever overtook 14.1...
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thinking about it it probably had a bit to do with the players too.

not a lot maybe, but definitely a bit.

seeing crane there was wonderul to watch. he was quick round the table and had a good rhythm, and it was exciting to watch him run rack after rack and build momentum.

now contrast that with someone like souquet or hohmann or example, you don't get that sort of rhythmical play. not to criticise those named players at all but the rise of the more methodical player certainly hurt straight pool's entertainment value i think.
 
I've got the dvd and I watch it once in a while. He makes so many great shots that this four railer to get on the key ball almost gets overlooked. Before he hits it he lays his cue along the line that the cue ball will take off the fourth rail, then hits it with perfect speed and takes exactly 8 seconds to hit the next shot and leave himself a good breakout shot.

4:30 of this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bg_TjRYhxI&feature=related


CueTable Help

 
jay helfert:
Check out the opening shot of this remarkable run. A trick shot worthy of "The Hustler". It exemplifies the knowledge that Crane had. If you pay attention you will see one of the great pool minds at work. His cue ball control/speed is masterful, his shot making superb.
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Doc:
I've watched that shot 50 times, and I still can't figure out what the layout was! I wish someone could diagram it. I've seen similar shots in trick shot-type exhibitions, but the one Crane made eludes me to this day.
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As near as I can tell he shoots something like this 5-9-7-11-2 combo:

CueTable Help


pj
chgo
 
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i watched the whole match and it was awesome, so classic, I like it very much, thanks for posting and rep for you my friend.
 
Look at the stills...you decide

The first is before the CB had come to a stop but OBs all had stopped. Second is a close up of the first.

CRANE 1.jpg

CRANE zoom.jpg


Third, fourth and fifth are in sequence.


CRANE 52.jpg

CRANE 83a.jpg

CRANE 74a.jpg
 
where?

Jay,

All I want to know is where did Mr. Crane find a spliced shaft and laminated tip back then? Surely he couldn't have made those shots on deep cloth and into slow rails with an old sugar maple shaft and one piece leather tip. Or could he?

I really got a chuckle out of the force follow shot. I use a big one once in a blue moon and the usual reaction is "whuthahellwasthat?" Rare to see a really strong force follow shot anymore in anything but trick shooting.

Most people compare the legend's play on TV to today's play of this generation. Many of the legends were well past their prime before they were ever taped.

Hu


jay helfert said:
WATCH THIS VIDEO!!! It's worth taking an hour or so out of your day! Then tell me if the "old time" players were as good as the present day players.

I grew up watching Balsis, Crane, Lassiter and Worst. Mosconi and Caras were primarily exhibition players by then (although Caras came back to win one more U.S. Open the following year - 1967).

Check out the opening shot of this remarkable run. A trick shot worthy of "The Hustler". It exemplifies the knowledge that Crane had. If you pay attention you will see one of the great pool minds at work. His cue ball control/speed is masterful, his shot making superb. Yes, the pockets may have been four and three quarters, but notice everything is going in the center, not sliding off the rails.

Watch how well he handles the bridge, how he understands the pack and the proper way to break the balls. When he needs to, he can bunt balls open just like Efren, or he can whack the balls hard if required. I believe he only had to change his break shot one time. Notice the cue ball control on his break shots, and how well he executes combinations.

Notice also the safety battle at the beginning of the match, in particular the two rail kick that Crane uses to bury the cue ball in the back of the pack. Notice how much time he takes to shoot, only hesitating for a few difficult shots. Notice how solid he is at the table, nothing moving except his arm. Watch how he handles the few situations where he is tied up, particularly after the break shot.

The table is a Gold Crown I, and it just plays perfect with no roll offs anywhere. And the referee Bob Sterling is superb as well. He was a 100 ball runner himself. "Whispering" Joe Wilson is the commentator, one of the best of his era. Crane was 53, at the tail end of a great career and Balsis was 45, still in his prime.

Thank God for this glimpse of one of the greatest pool players of all time. This is why I am not so quick to anoint today's champions as the greatest players ever. No offense to John Schmidt, Thorsten Hohmann or Thomas Engert (all terrific players), but Irving Crane was a better Straight Pool player than any of them, IMHO. He was truly a MASTERFUL pool player!
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While we are talking about old players you guys check out this site www.newdeco.com then click on billiard photos...I have purchased from them and they are nice to deal with...Enjoy:)
 
ShootingArts said:
Jay,

All I want to know is where did Mr. Crane find a spliced shaft and laminated tip back then? Surely he couldn't have made those shots on deep cloth and into slow rails with an old sugar maple shaft and one piece leather tip. Or could he?

I really got a chuckle out of the force follow shot. I use a big one once in a blue moon and the usual reaction is "whuthahellwasthat?" Rare to see a really strong force follow shot anymore in anything but trick shooting.

Most people compare the legend's play on TV to today's play of this generation. Many of the legends were well past their prime before they were ever taped.

Hu
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That's a one piece shaft. There was very good shaft wood available back then, mostly all Canadian maple. We had Champion tips that were laminated. They were great tips made from water buffalo hide.

In those days, all the top players had big strokes. They had to because of the slow cloth. No one today can stroke the ball quite like Cornbread or The Miz. They had SUPER powerful strokes! Okay, maybe Massey and Nevil, but Mike's "old school" anyway, and Nevil is a freak.
 
I may post the match in its entirety on the desert classic tour website, just because it really is worth a view. I'm not sure if I'd be breaking any copywrite in doing so though, so we'll see. That first shot of the run that everyone here keeps talking about was just an incredible way to start a 150-ball run. It looked like a trick shot. Granted, the ball was dead, but that was no easy one to read. It was no "obvious" dead one.
 
sde said:
The first is before the CB had come to a stop but OBs all had stopped. Second is a close up of the first.




Third, fourth and fifth are in sequence.
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SDE, those are great frames you posted!! The grainy quality of the old film makes it real difficult to itemize the balls, but it looks to me as though it was a five ball combination. The first ball hit with the CB must have been the solid (probably the 5 ball) to the right of the far stripe. The next ball hit was frozen to another above it, which must have allowed the transfer of force to the right, around the ring to the frozen ball which then rolled back into the same corner from which he started.

The meat of Patrick's diagram looks pretty close. I'll have to try to set this shot up at the poolroom. After seeing that shot for the first time years ago, I remember trying to set up anything like it. I never could do it. These diagrams and frame copies will give me some ammo for a fresh attempt.

What amazes me is that Crane not only saw the possibility of this rare shot, but that he then had the courage to blast away at it, knowing that if he missed, Balsis would have put some deep hurt on him! All this in front of an audience, AND on national TV!!

Doc
 
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