Jimmy Fusco.

JAM said:
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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I have a couple of Accu-stats matches with Jimmy, one he's playing in and the other he's commentating and I enjoyed watching him play and listening to his commentary very much.

The match he played in was the finals at the Sands Regency playing none other than Kim Davenport in his prime. Kim was dynamite playing at the Sands in Reno and he won the tournament more than once. Buddy Hall and Billy Incardona were the commentators and they both figured Kim would beat Jimmy for one reason was Kim's experience and for another Jimmy got to the finals just barely winning his last match where he was extremely nervous and missed some easy chances to get out, but he did survive and got to the finals. The match was outstanding and it was a long match which took 2 tapes to film it. Kim got out to a lead and Jimmy hung in there and the finish was very exciting with Kim absolutely dogging position to win and Jimmy made some outstanding kick shots and hung in there and beat Kim to win the Sands tournament.

The match Jimmy commentated was one of Grady's One Pocket Championships in Columbia, SC. The players were a 19 year old Shannon Daulton against the seasoned veteran Steve Mizerak who was in his prime and favored to beat Shannon. The race was to 5 and Steve jumped out to a 3 to 0 lead and it looked like Shannon was done, but he started firing in banks and getting out and he came back to beat Steve on the hill and it was one of the best One Pocket matches i've ever seen and just listening to Jimmy during that match was great. His knowledge and comments made the match even better than it was. I've never met Jimmy, but i'm hoping to run into him one day to tell him how much I enjoyed the 2 times I got to watch and listen to him on Accu-stats.

James
 
1 Pocket

I'll tell you how Jimmy Fusco played ,that he is in the ONE POCKET HALL OF FAME and always had a ton of heart to gamble. For the money he played jamed up and no one had to beat him in one pocket, except for Reyes.
 
sjm said:
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.
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I did not get to see Red play play but you really like Ervolino giving 9/8 to Fusco if they are both in there prime? There was a very short list that liked to get down playing Jimmy at onepocket I seen him dismantle some very very good players Fusco knows 1pocket
 
huckster said:
I did not get to see Red play play but you really like Ervolino giving 9/8 to Fusco if they are both in there prime? There was a very short list that liked to get down playing Jimmy at onepocket I seen him dismantle some very very good players Fusco knows 1pocket
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How about that back pocket 9ball that i mention at the beginning,i know it came down to alot of 1pocket skills,iam thinking JIMMY was tops at that game also!
 
richiebalto said:
How about that back pocket 9ball that i mention at the beginning,i know it came down to alot of 1pocket skills,iam thinking JIMMY was tops at that game also!
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I saw Jimmy play back pocket just once in 1997, and yes, I was very impressed.
 
huckster said:
I did not get to see Red play play but you really like Ervolino giving 9/8 to Fusco if they are both in there prime? There was a very short list that liked to get down playing Jimmy at onepocket I seen him dismantle some very very good players Fusco knows 1pocket
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No, I consider 9/8 to be even. I did not post that I liked Ervo in that game.

Don't forget, I prefaced my original post in this thread with the fact that I hadn't seen Jimmy play that many times (perhaps seven or eight), and that my assessment was based on what I saw, not what I heard.

I just guessed that I'd seen him play enough times to have a somewhat informed opinion, but those who so him far more often than I did are obviously better sources.
 
SCCues said:
I have a couple of Accu-stats matches with Jimmy, one he's playing in and the other he's commentating and I enjoyed watching him play and listening to his commentary very much.

The match he played in was the finals at the Sands Regency playing none other than Kim Davenport in his prime. Kim was dynamite playing at the Sands in Reno and he won the tournament more than once. Buddy Hall and Billy Incardona were the commentators and they both figured Kim would beat Jimmy for one reason was Kim's experience and for another Jimmy got to the finals just barely winning his last match where he was extremely nervous and missed some easy chances to get out, but he did survive and got to the finals. The match was outstanding and it was a long match which took 2 tapes to film it. Kim got out

The match Jimmy commentated was one of Grady's One Pocket Championships in Columbia, SC. The players were a 19 year old Shannon Daulton against the seasoned veteran Steve Mizerak who was in his prime and favored to beat Shannon. The race was to 5 and Steve jumped out to a 3 to 0 lead and it looked like Shannon was done, but he started firing in banks and getting out and he came back to beat Steve on the hill and it was one of the best One Pocket matches i've ever seen and just listening to Jimmy during that match was great. His knowledge and comments made the match even better than it was. I've never met Jimmy, but i'm hoping to run into him one day to tell him how much I enjoyed the 2 times I got to watch and listen to him on Accu-stats.

James
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I echo all of the above. I liked him as a commentator which made for a great Booth, as Cardone was in there too. Fantastic match. Great stuff.
Sent from my phone. Lucky you, you get the abbreviated version. :D
 
huckster said:
I did not get to see Red play play but you really like Ervolino giving 9/8 to Fusco if they are both in there prime? There was a very short list that liked to get down playing Jimmy at onepocket I seen him dismantle some very very good players Fusco knows 1pocket
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IMO, when Ervolino was at his best - late 60's to early 70's, I can see him giving 9/8 to almost anyone. The only exceptions would have been Ronnie Allen, Jersey Red, Ed Kelly and maybe Artie Bodendorfer.
 
Nice to see this thread about Jimmy. A better guy you will never meet! He is a very proud man too, not one to be shunned or lightly regarded. He was the big underdog in Reno, coming out of retirement to win what was one of the toughest tournaments at the time.

Jimmy was an "old school" all around player, excelling at ALL games. He played high speed Straight Pool (a prerequisite for stardom at pool), great 9-Ball (no one gave him weight!), was a top flight One Pocket player (maybe Ronnie could give him 8-7, 10-8 and Jersey Red or Ed Kelly maybe 9-8...and not in philly either!), and don't ask me how but he was a super Bank Pool player too. The best banker I ever saw out of the East Coast gang, yesterday or today.

He played Chicago and Kentucky speed Banks if you know what I mean. Sigel was probably the only East Coaster who could play him even. I would put Jimmy even with Varner and Buddy at Banks. Maybe a slight favorite, that's all!

Like I said, no nicer or more sincere man ever held a cue, PERIOD! I will always love Jimmy Fusco.:smiling-heart:

P.S. One last remark, when most of the top players were siding with Don Mackey and boycotting my L.A. Open in 1993, Jimmy called me and said Mackey asked him not to come also. He said that he told Mackey that I was his friend and he had not planned on coming to Los Angeles, but now he was going to. And he did! That is the kind of man Jimmy was, a real man!

One last Fusco story. After Keith beat the world at the B.C. Open back in 1985 and picked up 25K (I backed him), he took his share of the dough and went to Philly, where he tried to give Jimmy the eight ball. Make a long story short, I had to send Keith "get home" money. :)

P.P.S. If you ever read Shots, Moves & Strategies. you saw the story about me defeating Jimmy at the last Stardust tourney in 1972. It was a One Pocket match and I pulled off a miracle shot that won a game and Jimmy was so surprised that he let me win after that. I could play a little back then too, contrary to what everyone thinks. To be fair, a month or so later, Jimmy shows up in L.A. and I run into him at the old Marina Billiards. He asks me to play and I decline naturally. Then he offers me 8-7 and I have to go. Another short story, Jimmy bar-b-ques me for a couple of hundred at forty a game. I was no match for him. But what a class act, he was just as gracious in victory as he had been in defeat. That's Jimmy!
 
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jay helfert said:
...... I could play a little back then too, contrary to what everyone thinks. ......
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Not me, I don`t under estimate u. I tested u when we played ( at your home and fatboy`s home ). To test you, I intentionally left the cue ball many times in awckward angles and yet you never missed banking those balls. You should match up with Freddy B from chicago in a game of Banks. Next time I play u I know where to leave the cue ball.

This time I don`t have an argument with you with regards Don M.:cool:
 
The Philly Flash!

Living in the Philly burbs and working at the cue corner, I got to sit and talk to Jimmy, and Petey many times. Jimmy is one of the coolest guys to hang with! He never let me feel like a banger newby, tho I was. To give you guys a feel for his speed....Jimmy was setting up banks and 1P layouts on table 1. The guys watching him were Allen Hopkins, Sigel, Jack Calovito, Rempe etc....it was funny to watch those top pros asking Jimmy how he was hitting some of those shots.

Yes Jimmy played awsome 14.1, as good as any....and in this part of the country, that means something. Back pocket, or even last pocket 9ball.....forget about it, keep your $$$ in your pocket. 1 Pocket?......CRAZY good, like everyone else has said. Yea, I heard the Efren stories back in the day when they were all living with Spanish Mike.

Then there was bank pool. I remember watching Jimmy at south philly billiards bank balls like a madman!......like Brumback good....no lie, and I think it was his favorite game from what I gathered watching him practice.

I know I can get some awsome Jimmy stories from my buddy.
check this out>>> http://articles.philly.com/1986-08-14/sports/26063276_1_fusco-pool-halls-top-stars

G.
 
Gerry said:
The Philly Flash!

Living in the Philly burbs and working at the cue corner, I got to sit and talk to Jimmy, and Petey many times. Jimmy is one of the coolest guys to hang with! He never let me feel like a banger newby, tho I was. To give you guys a feel for his speed....Jimmy was setting up banks and 1P layouts on table 1. The guys watching him were Allen Hopkins, Sigel, Jack Calovito, Rempe etc....it was funny to watch those top pros asking Jimmy how he was hitting some of those shots.

Yes Jimmy played awsome 14.1, as good as any....and in this part of the country, that means something. Back pocket, or even last pocket 9ball.....forget about it, keep your $$$ in your pocket. 1 Pocket?......CRAZY good, like everyone else has said. Yea, I heard the Efren stories back in the day when they were all living with Spanish Mike.

Then there was bank pool. I remember watching Jimmy at south philly billiards bank balls like a madman!......like Brumback good....no lie, and I think it was his favorite game from what I gathered watching him practice.

I know I can get some awsome Jimmy stories from my buddy.
check this out>>> http://articles.philly.com/1986-08-14/sports/26063276_1_fusco-pool-halls-top-stars

G.
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Very nice story about Jimmy,thank you for sharing!
 
Gerry said:
Then there was bank pool. I remember watching Jimmy at south philly billiards bank balls like a madman!......like Brumback good....no lie, and I think it was his favorite game from what I gathered watching him practice.G.
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I went to South Philly Billiards on a couple of occasions. Ah, those were the days.
 
sjm said:
I believe that fall of the IPT marked the end of Jimmy's competitive career.
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The last i seen JIMMY play was in a 10 ball tournament in atlantic city,nj at the trump marina,i dont know for sure that date,but it was around 8 years or so,it just so happen that JIMMY was playing fine and when we left,Jimmy was still in the winners bracket,i think he came in like 24th or maybe 17th,but that was with all the best players in the world and JIMMY was well in his 60s then,JIMMY had alot of fans in his cornner at that tournament.
 
sjm said:
I believe that fall of the IPT marked the end of Jimmy's competitive career.
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Yeah my buddy says after he got stiffed or what not from the IPT he hung it up the same day..Shame..I hear he was even par with Red maybe a tad under Ronnie in his primes and was super underrated in banks....

Matter of fact to quote my friend..he says Jimmy Said"When I was in my prime there was 2 ppl I didnt wanna play..1 being Ronnie Allen playing one pocket and 2 being Bugs playin bank pool..But I really dont think they wanted to play me either" ha ha I guess ppl will never know ones true speed....
 
Put_upor_shutup said:
Yeah my buddy says after he got stiffed or what not from the IPT he hung it up the same day..Shame......
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Sure was. Hated to see Jiimmy and some other members of the old guard going out on such a sour note.
 
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ive known the fuscos clan for the better part of 15 years. and i have to say jimmy is top notch gentlemen in any aspect! he always has time to talk , his passion of the sport pours out of him onto the table. he'll talk shop with rail bangers and top tier on the same level. his playing ability is something i am unable to wrap my head around! Jimmy is getting up there in age, but if im not mistake he suffers from arthritis or a different ailment that hinders his ability to play. not much else is needed to say that hasnt already been said by multiple people in any previous post of this thread. just top notch all around.

p.s the photo in my avatar/handle is a shot on "petes table" as his poolroom in phila suburbs
 
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