We all knew about the Fuscos cousins here in Baltimore for sometime,Jimmy and Pete,thay made several trips to baltimore in the 70s and 80s,most of the time matching up with local ledgen Cigar Tom Vanover,they had some great battles in the day,Tom did more then hold his own playing them 9ball,pete never did beat Tom,Jimmy and Tom was a much better game,but i remember Tom getting the best of Jimmy 1 nite at old bill n billies playing 9 ball,then Tom let Jimmy change the game to back pocket 9 ball,well it didnt take long for Tom to see he made a misstake and had no chance at that game,so how good was JIMMY FUSCO,i know he played that back pocket like he invented it!
Jimmy Fusco.
- Thread starter richiebalto
- Start date
I didn't see Jimmy play that many times, but here is my opinion based on what I saw.
Very solid all-around player. Finished second to Steve Mizerak in the 1983 PPPA World Straight Pool Championships. Very solid one pocket player, too, but needed a spot from the most elite, perhaps 9-7. Played all the games. Nice guy and a great scholar of the game.
Very solid all-around player. Finished second to Steve Mizerak in the 1983 PPPA World Straight Pool Championships. Very solid one pocket player, too, but needed a spot from the most elite, perhaps 9-7. Played all the games. Nice guy and a great scholar of the game.
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He was, but I'd guess that in the late 1970's, John Ervolino or Jersey Red could have given him 9-8 and Ronnie Allen could have given him 9-7.
Thats what I hear..Ill make my buddy from Philly get on here and tell yall..He has one story of Jimmy or Pete playing Efren and the shot He shows me is extremely hard to believe..But one time He called home and put him on the phone and He told the story the same way....ha ha
Jimmy" Philly Flash" Fusco
Besides e.reyes no one can give jimmy fusco 9-7 when he is playing his best. Jimmy hasn't played pool since September 2006. I've Seen him bust tony cohan even one pocket for $400 a game back in march of 2006 during valley forge tournament.
Besides e.reyes no one can give jimmy fusco 9-7 when he is playing his best. Jimmy hasn't played pool since September 2006. I've Seen him bust tony cohan even one pocket for $400 a game back in march of 2006 during valley forge tournament.
I believe that Efren also counts Fred Bentivegna (ie, Freddie the Beard) and Billy Incardona among his early influences as well, and likely others.
Actually, Ronnie Allen's speed in his prime was quite comparable to Efren's top speed, and that's the example I gave.
This here is super strong,in 2006 time frame Tony Chohan Would play anybody in the world even 1 pocket,i remember him stateing that,for Jimmy Fusco to jump up there and beat him(JIMMY had to be in his late 60s then)that is just amazing!
Jimmy Fusco was a great all-around player and a very underrated banker.
To see Jimmy really shine, check out the Sands Reno event from the early 90's (I forget the exact year) Jimmy wins in the finals in a best 2 out of 3 sets (races to 9) format. great stuff. I'm pretty sure Accu-Stats has it.
I give u my buddy from phillly..Ha ha He will gladly answer any Fusco questions..haa
Jimmy is good peeps, and his best game is one-hole, without a doubt. He kind of traveled under the radar, and he liked it like that. :grin-square:
I remember driving back from New York to Philly with Jimmy. You really get to know a person when you sit in a car with them on a road trip. We covered a lot of topics, and he was like a pool encyclopedia. At that time, he was more or less retired from competition full time, but one could recognize how much passion he had for the game.
Jimmy is one of the players on Grady's poster of the Legends of Pool.
I saw him in Vegas the IPT, and he was a comfort to me during a rough time. He took the time to sit down and chat. This man a total gentleman.
Most of my Jimmy photos are on my other computer in the garage, but here's one of Jimmy talking to Guido the Cue Mechanic at the Capital City Classic in Philly.
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![Guido%20and%20Jimmy[1].JPG](/data/attachments/151/151315-857d87e509545c4a8bbc44d9ec5cf03c.jpg?hash=hX2H5QlUXE)
Here's some DVDs you can get from Accu-Stats with Jimmy Fusco: Accu-Stats DVDs of Jimmy Fusco.
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Efren stayed in Philly for a long while. He had a strong steer, who shall remain unnamed, who was taking him around, showing him the spots, as I understand it. I'm sure he sparred with Pete and Jimmy while there.
Jimmy and Pete both came out of pool hibernation when the IPT came to the fore, as did many pool pros who had left the tournament trail. There was a spark of hope at that time that the IPT was going to be the change agent to make pool a legitimate career for professional players. Everybody had hope at that time, young players, old players, retired players, road players, et cetera.
Here's a cute shot of Pete, depicted on the left, taken at the 2005 Super Billiards Expo in Valley Forge, PA.
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![Pete%20Fusco%20and%20Keith%20at%2005%20SBE[1].JPG](/data/attachments/151/151317-7cefc59c592d1f68c2bacf67034ea0f1.jpg?hash=fO_FnFktH2)
I saw Keith with a Bud Light once, but he was just handing off to a friend.
One does not betray the King of Beers.