John Schmidt's 626 was recognized by the BCA as a record. I have watched the run multiple times on the original video, and I saw no foul. I was looking for fouls.
John Schmidt runs 820
- Thread starter iusedtoberich
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What is it about Schmidt's 626 that you object to, Jay?
How he racked and cleaned the balls. The same things others objected too. Not to mention the hundreds of tries, under perfect conditions, it took him to do it. Mosconi had exactly one crack at a record every day, and each day under different conditions. No comparison in my book. Not even close!
IMO its a bogus record! Let Schmidt or anyone else travel from city to city and shoot an exhibition match each day for a couple of months. I'd like to bet high no one would come close to Mosconi's 526.
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100% Correct Jay!
I'll introduce again, my phone interview with Charlie Ursitti, one of Willie's Best friends!
Pay attention to what Charlie says Willie did in Vegas on a practice table!
My Charlie Ursitti 2016 phone interview on Willie Mosconi.
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willie did not like to lose or even get behind.
i played him around 1964 or so i guess. they were opening brunswick pool rooms faster than ben franklin could become a father;
so i got picked by the room owner to play him. as said he comes in a half hour early after sleeping a nap in his car hits a few balls and says let it begin.
we play to 100. he gives me a shot as he was supposed to let his player get a turn or so. well i ran twenty some odd balls nice and slow as i was in wonderland. he says kind of nasty, to me, hey kid you trying to show me up or something.( best i remember).
that got me to miss pretty quickly,
he walked up and said something like sit down you wont be getting up again. i didnt. watched the 100 go by. most all shots on the lower half of the table.
he didnt play rotation?. i saw him dump out a tray and run them all in order then walk away.
i played him around 1964 or so i guess. they were opening brunswick pool rooms faster than ben franklin could become a father;
so i got picked by the room owner to play him. as said he comes in a half hour early after sleeping a nap in his car hits a few balls and says let it begin.
we play to 100. he gives me a shot as he was supposed to let his player get a turn or so. well i ran twenty some odd balls nice and slow as i was in wonderland. he says kind of nasty, to me, hey kid you trying to show me up or something.( best i remember).
that got me to miss pretty quickly,
he walked up and said something like sit down you wont be getting up again. i didnt. watched the 100 go by. most all shots on the lower half of the table.
he didnt play rotation?. i saw him dump out a tray and run them all in order then walk away.
Willie had a reputation of being a bit ugly with anyone who showed any chance of winning. Fantastic player and an incredible work ethic, he sometimes did two exhibitions a day. Few that knew him well described him as a nice guy, and meant it!
In an era before the internet and when pool might be on TV a few times a year I admired his skill and in truth almost no men other than him and Fats were known to the general public. Fats was usually well below Willie and few remember that Fats actually won one of the all arounds between him and Willie that was on network TV.
We will never know and Fats was reportedly a good bit better than his TV performances. Judging by them I thought I would have had an excellent chance of beating him if we played mum pool or I got to wrap half a roll of duct tape around his mouth before we started!
Fats was so busy performing on TV that his skill level was largely hidden especially after they got through editing so my opinion might have been a bit optimistic!
Hu
he was an old man then hu. he could bank balls a good as anyone alive in those days and multiple rail banks in the side.
and younger days in new york city he played championship speed.
i learned a lot about keeping your customer from him. and winning all the money was the key not beating him.
even when old he played good when he had too.
he used to play even with u.j. and he played jam up. although usually did not show it. they were good friends.
i was glad to be his partner and friend for a time.
and younger days in new york city he played championship speed.
i learned a lot about keeping your customer from him. and winning all the money was the key not beating him.
even when old he played good when he had too.
he used to play even with u.j. and he played jam up. although usually did not show it. they were good friends.
i was glad to be his partner and friend for a time.
Age was catching up with him in a lot of the TV stuff. I had seen him earlier too though. Fats was an excellent banker for as long as he played when he got "on". I didn't bank too poorly myself with a high run of six balls multiple times in regulation play on a snooker table.
A few other claims to fame that I don't mention without proof. I never played tournaments when I was playing seriously so far from trying to be known I was doing my best not to be. I always used my first name very rarely giving my last. My picture in my avatar might hint at why I often picked up nicknames based on appearance!
The last I knew there is a match between UJ and Fats still on youtube. It is obvious that they were friends having fun although both were trying to win. Might have been the match with heavy rain on a tin roof with nothing to deaden the sound too.
Hu
True that. In his prime (well before TV) he was a jam up player and a great hustler. I knew him well!
do they have to wear a suit and tie also, and eat the same diner food and instant coffee that a brunswick traveling showman would?
Not to mention he rarely continued the run after winning the match, as I understand it.
Mosconi did have multiple exhibition runs over 300, so this wasn't the only time he continued. I suspect his 309 was a sort of competition with Irving Crane. The particular political pool situation at the time of the 526 run may have been motivation for him in Springfield. It's in his autobiography.
for the sake of argument, screw the modern day challengers of mosconi's record;
were there any other contemporary player paid by brunswick (or other manufacturers) to travel around and even have the chance to meet these golden requirements for a legit straight pool record? ever in history?
whether it is bogus or not, it is still impressive for anybody to run over 600 balls- requires tremendous skill and concentration
Jimmy Caras
anyone else?
I think Babe Cranfield toured with Willie Hoppe as a pool/carom combo, but Hoppe would have been the star. Cranfield reportedly had a 420 in an exhibition on a 5x10, but probably not on that tour.
Irving Crane may have been touring for Brunswick when he ran his 309. From Wikipedia:
In February 1939, at age 26, Crane ran 150 balls and out against his opponent in an exhibition straight pool match on a difficult 5' by 10' table in Layton, Utah. While this was impressive in and of itself, at the crowd's urging, he continued his run, ultimately pocketing 309 consecutive setting an official record at the time.[8][10][11]
Many years ago I rode the elevator to the second floor of the Sears and Roebuck store where the sporting goods were. When the doors opened there was a man in a suit on a pool table, alone, no crowd. Not Willie, Not Fats or any larger man either. I remember him to be of average height or a bit more and fairly thin or thin. I think he was representing Brunswick.
He told me his name but I didn't know it and have long ago forgotten what it was. This was about 1970-72. He was putting on an exhibition or two that afternoon but I wasn't interested enough to wait around hours.
This was in Baton Rouge and the name of the store might have became just Sears already. Everybody still called it Sears and Roebuck and I don't remember what the sign said.
Hu
so a very select few, most of whom travelled less than mosconi for brunswick.