Luther Lassiter and Don Willis.....

Jack Cooney....

In the hills of the Bluegrass state, a man by the name of Jack Cooney had been romancing pool halls and gamblers for about 2 to 3 months. At the time, there was at least 3 hot towns in the state with serious action, mostly funded by bookmakers. Jack laid it down as he always did, exclaiming he had just moved to the area, and was dressed in his usual attire, which gave the immediate impression to anybody that he had some cash. The town was Hopkinsville, and Mr. Cooney had one thing in mind, business as usual. He was a one man show, and did not depend on anybody but himself with his charisma to entice the local score to playing a game of 1 pocket. Kentucky, being the farm community it was, had plenty of money that was going to be circulated in the Autumn time of every year. Francisco Jack, being as savvy as he was, formulated a plot to take off the whole state in just a short period of time. Jack beat the town out of $45,000, and told other "smart money" gamblers visiting, that he was disappointed because it was his weakest score in the state in the 3 months he had been there. :eek:
 
Wimpy about Willis

Nostroke said:
I overheard Buddy Hall say Lassiter was the best ever and pointed out how he had one like 10 events at Johnston City and the next best was 3 by Shorty. Lassiter was definitely "The Man" for quite a while.

And im pretty sure Mosconi once said if he had to pick one guy to shoot a shot that his life depended on, it would be Don Willis. If it was Don Watson, my apologies, i get those two mxed up.
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It was Wimpy that said that about Don Willis. You can bet on it.

the Beard
 
Wrong

Nostroke said:
Im 90% sure that i read that it was Mosconi who said that of Willis ( its Willis and Watson i mix up) but I believe you. What you say makes sense. So many quotes on the internet are attributed to the wrong person especially the "I cant give you the 8, I've never seen you shoot" among others. I stand corrected.



Edit-After scouring the internet, Im now about .3% sure i saw that quote attributed to Mosconi.:sorry:
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Sorry, you are 100% wrong. Wimpy said it often. I heard it right out of Lassiters mouth.

the Beard
 
Two all time greats - Lassiter and Willis. I was fortunate to spend time around both of them. I could talk about Wimpy for weeks but suffice to say that he was the KING of his era. No one would take him on at 9-Ball for 25 years! Not playing even anyway. And this was in an era of many great all around players. He was a proud, but quiet and introverted man. He would never approach anyone to talk to them. You had to approach him. He definitely liked to gamble and would play dominoes, pinochle, tonk, hearts or spades if anyone wanted a game. He was always ready for a pool game too, with few takers. EVERYONE knew who he was wherever he went.

All the time I knew him (he was in his 40's and 50's), he always complained about his health. Something was always bothering him. He took handfuls of vitamins every day. None of that seemed to bother his pool game though. He would walk around the table making faces and grimacing in discomfort, sometimes holding onto the sides of the table as he moved around it. He appeared to be struggling with every shot and every rack. Meanwhile he never missed a ball and played perfect position shot after shot. If somehow the cue ball went two or three inches too far, he would make a disgusted face and tap the table with his cue where he wanted it to go. Like Mosconi, he expected nothing less than perfection on every shot.

I never heard him say a harsh word to anyone and he NEVER used profanity! Even when he disagreed he spoke like a gentleman. ALWAYS wore a sport coat and matching pants with a clean white shirt. Rarely saw him with a tie. If he had to wear one he loosened it around his collar. He was always tugging at his collar to loosen his shirt and tie. Just a few of my memories of Mr. Lassiter. NO ONE called him Luther or Wimpy, except a friend or peer like Willis or Mr. Cokes. Back then us younger guys always called the older players MISTER.
 
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Don Willis was the king of the roadmen before Jack Cooney came along. Like Jack, most pool players didn't know what he looked like. He never showed his face around a tournament for years. He also always wore a sport jacket and dress slacks with a white shirt. Never a tie though! Like Scott said, Willis had many skills he excelled at. And I mean EXCELLED! He beat national champions at table tennis and horseshoe. And running backwards, no world class track star had a chance against him!

He was a very smart and shrewd guy, who made a nice living beating sports (handicapping) when he got older. These were guys who never had a job but lived good all their life. Unlike Lassiter, Willis was a hustler. He stayed under the radar and liked to sneak in and out of town, after he took off a score. He would play off the wall, and a crooked house cue didn't bother him a bit. This was a guy who hustled ping pong with a coke bottle or drinking glass. Don was short and squat, and looked like anything but an athlete. I remember seeing him beat a ring game in Dayton, pay his time and leave immediately. He didn't hang around talking to people. He was all business. After he left, the players stood around scratching their heads and wondering what just happened and who was that guy.

Another guy who never raised his voice, but was a little more confrontational than Lassiter. Don would get in your face when making a game or if he didn't like something. He was no pushover for anyone. He might even throw in a swear word or two if the occasion called for it. When I knew them, Willis and Lassiter had a falling out and no longer traveled or hung together. Their heyday on the road was in the 50's.
 
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I would have loved to see these pool greats in action. 9 ball was a different game back in the LL and DW era. No one would ever know how these pool legend greats would have stood up to todays pool standards i.e jump cues, Texas express rules, playing against Efren Reyes :eek: ...lol.
 
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