Jimmy Fusco

Terry Ardeno

Terry Ardeno

I still love my wife
Silver Member
I had watched several Accu-Stats tapes of him, but I first watched Jimmy Fusco "live" at the Super Billiards Expo about 4 years ago. He was warming up and stroking bank after bank effortlessly and oh so smooth. After his match, I talked with him, got a photo together and left thinking this is one of the nicest guys I've met in pool. He later mailed me an autographed photo and he has since then been a permanaant fixture on my "Top 10 Favorite Players" list.

Does anyone have any interesting stories of this great player? He is an accomplished 14.1 player and plays very strong banks and 1 pocket also. In June 1993, he won the Sands Regency 9 Ball Championship in Reno, beating Kim Davenport in the finals. (Accu-Stats has that great match, by the way...) He is a classy guy as well.
 
A little interesting

Well, I can't remember if it was Mike Fusco or Jimmy Fusco. I'm tending to think it was Mike Fusco though. I
have only met one of them. Anyway, it was about 10 years ago, and I drove my minivan up to Chelmsford
(Country Club USA) with a couple friends, to watch a big tournament. Well, we met Mr. Fusco, and he was
a very nice guy. He was warming up for the tournament shooting some nine ball with us. Well, he was low
on cigarettes, and we gave him a few, so he could concentrate on warming up. After a while, a waitress
came by, and he asked her for a couple packs of cigarettes. She said that she didn't handle that, but they
had a machine. And the machine's bill acceptor was broken, and it only took coins. So he asked how much
they were, so he could get enough quarters for 2 packs. Well, she said five bucks, and my friend said "Holy Shit,
they're only $3.50 at the gas station down the street!". So Mr. Fusco says, "How close is it?". My friend tells
him, it's a little far to walk, and we decide to all take a ride there. Well, when I open the sliding door to my
minivan, Mr. Fusco didn't realize how low the roof was, and when he stepped up to step inside, he smacked his
head *really* hard on the edge of the roof. It didn't seem to phase him much though, and he was quite jolly the
whole time, even though there was quite a large red line on his forehead.

Part of the reason I can't remember which Fusco it was, is because another friend of mine knew the other
Fusco, who supposedly owned a pool room in Pennsylvania, and spoke very highly of him. So one was
Jimmy, the other was Mike.
 
Last edited:
Part of the reason I can't remember which Fusco it was, is because another friend of mine knew the other
Fusco, who supposedly owned a pool room in Pennsylvania

That would be Petey's place I do believe
 
whitey2 said:
Well, I can't remember if it was Mike Fusco or Jimmy Fusco. I'm tending to think it was Mike Fusco though. I
have only met one of them. Anyway, it was about 10 years ago, and I drove my minivan up to Chelmsford
(Country Club USA) with a couple friends, to watch a big tournament. Well, we met Mr. Fusco, and he was
a very nice guy. He was warming up for the tournament shooting some nine ball with us. Well, he was low
on cigarettes, and we gave him a few, so he could concentrate on warming up. After a while, a waitress
came by, and he asked her for a couple packs of cigarettes. She said that she didn't handle that, but they
had a machine. And the machine's bill acceptor was broken, and it only took coins. So he asked how much
they were, so he could get enough quarters for 2 packs. Well, she said five bucks, and my friend said "Holy Shit,
they're only $3.50 at the gas station down the street!". So Mr. Fusco says, "How close is it?". My friend tells
him, it's a little far to walk, and we decide to all take a ride there. Well, when I open the sliding door to my
minivan, Mr. Fusco didn't realize how low the roof was, and when he stepped up to step inside, he smacked his
head *really* hard on the edge of the roof. It didn't seem to phase him much though, and he was quite jolly the
whole time, even though there was quite a large red line on his forehead.

Part of the reason I can't remember which Fusco it was, is because another friend of mine knew the other
Fusco, who supposedly owned a pool room in Pennsylvania, and spoke very highly of him. So one was
Jimmy, the other was Mike.
Click to expand...
Jimmy Fusco has been up to Chelmsford, so that is probably who you met. The 'other' Fusco player is Pete, who is Jimmy's cousin, and does own a poolroom in the Philly area (or did, anyway).

Neither of them is related to the older Mike Fusco, that owned an earlier poolroom in Philly! ...at least as far as I know :)

Both Jimmy and Pete are/were good players.
 
str8poolbanger said:
Part of the reason I can't remember which Fusco it was, is because another friend of mine knew the other
Fusco, who supposedly owned a pool room in Pennsylvania

That would be Petey's place I do believe
Click to expand...


Pete Fusco's Family Recreational Center

83 Bustleton Pike

Feasterville, PA USA

215-953-1813
 
Terry Ardeno said:
I had watched several Accu-Stats tapes of him, but I first watched Jimmy Fusco "live" at the Super Billiards Expo about 4 years ago. He was warming up and stroking bank after bank effortlessly and oh so smooth. After his match, I talked with him, got a photo together and left thinking this is one of the nicest guys I've met in pool. He later mailed me an autographed photo and he has since then been a permanaant fixture on my "Top 10 Favorite Players" list.

Does anyone have any interesting stories of this great player? He is an accomplished 14.1 player and plays very strong banks and 1 pocket also. In June 1993, he won the Sands Regency 9 Ball Championship in Reno, beating Kim Davenport in the finals. (Accu-Stats has that great match, by the way...) He is a classy guy as well.
Click to expand...

Jimmy is one of the real good guys in Pool, and always has been. Plays great and is a gentleman to boot. Sometimes forgotten when we talk about the great all around players of his generation, like Hopkins, Varner, Rempe, Sigel and Mizerak. But he is right there with the above five. He may have been a hair under them in 14.1 but made up for it by being a hair better in Banks. Only Varner and Sigel would have a chance playing Banks with Jimmy in his prime.

And Jimmy could gamble with any of them too. He was never afraid to take down a score. Jimmy was more of a Buddy Hall type player. Great at all the gambling games: 9-Ball, One Pocket and Banks.
 
One of a few

Jimmy Fusco is one of the few players I credit with knowing the "concept" of one pocket. I love the way he plays that game.

the Beard
 
Black-Balled said:
IIRC, J. Fusco was also a winner of one of the Johnston City 1p tourneys.
Click to expand...

Black-Balled,

Sorry to say that he didn't win at Johnston City or at the Stardust tournaments, although he had high finishes as well as being one of the youngers guys there. I think what you're refering to is he won big gambling there.
 
"Concept" of one pocket

freddy the beard said:
Jimmy Fusco is one of the few players I credit with knowing the "concept" of one pocket. I love the way he plays that game.

the Beard
Click to expand...
Freddy,
Please enlighten the rest of us with your definition of the "concept".
Thank you very much.
Wayne Agnew
 
An earlier thread

wagnew said:
Freddy,
Please enlighten the rest of us with your definition of the "concept".
Thank you very much.
Wayne Agnew
Click to expand...

Wayne we did a whole thread on this subject a few months ago. Since I was unwilling to confess my theory of the concept over the internet. it caused many hard feelings. Sorry, but I really dont want to go there again. It has too much downside.

the Beard
 
Terry Ardeno said:
Pete Fusco's Family Recreational Center

83 Bustleton Pike

Feasterville, PA USA

215-953-1813
Click to expand...


Is this old, or very new information?



I used to visit Fusco's almost daily, when I lived at Lansdale, near Philadelphia. This was from July 06 to Oct 06.

I'm sorry I cannot remember the street address, but I'm 100% sure it wasn't that.

The town was Trevose.


Fusco's was (is?) a very nice place. He had just moved there (that's why I assume your info has gotten old).

There was something like 24 Brunswick GC III tables (1 of them GC IV), about a dozen or two bar boxes, one IPT Diamond with IPT cloth and balls + room for this 'black light' pool which I didn't visit, and some table tennis also.
Pizza slices and Philly Cheese Steaks available, very good air-con and nice music on the air.

Very classy place, IMHO. Actually, nicest I visited in States.


Karen Corr and Julie Kelly were playing there (I believe still does), also Jimmy and Pete occasionally.

At thursdays there were some kind of weekly tournament with 'chips', which system I never really understood. Players were given chips and you played race to 1 or something, and either lost or won more chips..


I hope someday I'll have a chance to visit that place again.



And yes, Jimmy and Pete were both very knowledgeable and respectable guys, on and off the table.
 
Pete's room is called "The Spot." I didn't think the town was Trevose, I want to say it was Bensalem (it was pretty close to Street Road). Probably one of the nicest and most spacious rooms I've ever seen.

A few years back, the Green Room in Maple Shade, NJ, had a weekly open 9-ball tournament, single elimination, race to 7. Jimmy and Petey both showed up, ended up on opposite sides of the bracket, and surprise, met in the final. Later in the set (maybe 5-4 Petey, something like that) Jimmy leaves himself like this on the 9:

http://CueTable.com/P/?@4IJdj3PAcb4Seyy@

Petey saw Jimmy address the CB as if he were going to bank it 4 rails, and said, "Jimmy, I'm not giving this to you if you miss," or something to that effect. Jimmy replied, "Whaddya mean????? It's a HANGER!!!!" He got back down over the ball, took a couple practice strokes, and fired the 4-railer in like the hanger it is.....for him.
 
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