Mike Eufemia

[Cameron Smith]

I was not there and I do not know the person who wrote the letter to the editor. I suppose 200 is not impossible or maybe the writer meant there were 200 seats.

In order for any run to have been considered a record, it would have had to be a scheduled and announced exhibition. Usually an exhibition has multiple people who stay for the whole thing.

I have heard "no one for the whole run" about Cranfield's practice run but I don't recall hearing it about the Eufemia claimed run.

Thank you. I just always assumed those exhibitions were in front of 30-40 and was curious what was typical back when 14.1 exhibitions were common.

In terms of whether anyone watched the whole thing, I may have got my wires crossed with some of the stuff that’s been written about it here in the past. In fact until John ran the 626 and all this chatter about previous runs started, I was under impression both this and Cranfields run were practice runs.

Anyhow, thanks for the info.

 

[skibum]

Does anyone remember Mike Eufemia's billiard store in Long Island City?

 

[Bob Jewett]

I've been scanning more National Billiard News magazines. Here is another related article...

 

[kling&allen]

It's interesting that 6 years earlier NBN was referring to Willie's 526 as the record (or at least running ads making the claim)

 

[Bob Jewett]

It's interesting that 6 years earlier NBN was referring to Willie's 526 as the record (or at least running ads making the claim)

View attachment 621475

It's clear that the publicist who made the ad had no clue (Ted Drake, Feb. 1965?). As pointed out in another thread, Mosconi's first championship win was in 1941 and his last in 1956, so by the time of the item, he had been retired for 9 years. Also, there's the problem of getting the length of the run wrong. And I doubt that his opponent, Earl J. Bruney, was napping.

The BCA never recognized Eufemia's claim to an exhibition high run of 625. I've been told there wasn't enough documentation. Reading the account above doesn't make it sound like an announced, formal exhibition. It seems to me that it was likely a simple practice matchup that turned into what everyone in the room was watching. There's an important difference between those, or at least there was to the BCA.

 

[BayGene]

Thanks for bringing "Ziggy" into the consciousness of younger forum members. I've written about him extensively in this forum in the past and lobbied for him to be included in the Straight Pool Hall of Fame.
Three quick shots:
Like Joe Ancis, the greatest comic who ever was (according to Rodney Dangerfield, Buddy Hackett, and Lenny Bruce), Eufemia just couldn't "do it in front of people." His tournament record was completely uneventful, to say the least.
I'm a collector of Rich family cues. Among these is a Saul Rich Michael Eufemia model. The signature is wood-burned, not printed on the forearm.
Logan Billiards was on the second floor above the Norwood Avenue El station. There was a running joke about waiting for an incoming train to jar a hung ball off a pocket shelf. It was also quite a sketchy room, I recall. You had more to worry about than hanging balls in pockets.

 

[cueman]

I think one year I saw Babe Cranfields 768 in the Guiness book. But a few years later Willies 526 was back in there.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I think one year I saw Babe Cranfields 768 in the Guiness book. But a few years later Willies 526 was back in there.

Guinness makes an amusing book, not an official record. I doubt that they ask any sport governing organization about most of the amusing pseudo-facts they list. Their book is made to facilitate the drinking of beer. Just look at their current records for cue sports.

 

[book collector]

I have watched the people that Guiness sends to validate world record claims, and they have seemed to be extremely knowlwedgeable and thorough in their reports. None of them were at billiards but I have no reason to think they would do any record differently.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I have watched the people that Guiness sends to validate world record claims, and they have seemed to be extremely knowledgeable and thorough in their reports. None of them were at billiards but I have no reason to think they would do any record differently.

Here are the first listed records for billiards on the Guinness website. I think they show that Guinness is in no way trying to infringe on any sports organization that keeps the real records of the sport. They collect amusing trivia. Note that at least one of the following is wrong and has been for years.

Guinness World Records
billiards
1 to 20 of 108 results found for "billiards"

Largest billiards (no pockets) tournament
The largest billiards tournament (no pockets) is 1,170 participants, achieved by Turkish Billiards…

Oldest competitive billiards player
The oldest competitive billiards player is Jim Turton (UK) (b. 2 Jan 1909) from Arnold, Notts, UK.…

Titles All forms (Billiards)
Most titles William F. Hoppe (USA) (1887-1959) won 51 billiards championships in all forms spanning…

Longest billiard ball shot

World Billiards Champion Oldest
Champion Fred Davis (b. 14 Feb 1913) won (and retained) the world professional billiards title in…

Highest jump pot of a billiard ball
The highest jump pot of a billiard ball is 78.74 cm, and was achieved by Theo Mihellis (USA) in…

World Championships, Youngest winner, Billiards
The youngest winner of the world professional title is Mike Russell (b. 3 Jun 1969), aged 20yr…

Fastest time to score a century in billiards
Walter Lindrum's official record is 100 in 46.0sec set in Sydney, Australia in 1941.

Longest duration to spin a billiard ball
The longest duration to spin a billiard ball is 42.20 seconds, achieved by Florian Kohler (France),…

Longest marathon playing three cushion billiards (singles)
Arie Hermans and Jeff Fijneman (both Netherlands) played three cushion billiards against each other…

Most points scored at bar billiards in one minute
Keith Sheard (UK) scored 1,500 points in a minute on Record Breakers (BBC, UK) on 23 September 1986.

Highest one handed jump pot of a billiard ball
The highest one handed jump pot of a billiard ball is 50.8 cm and was achieved by Florian Kohler…

Most billiard balls held in one hand
The most billiard balls held in one hand is 16 and was achieved by Rocco Mercurio (Italy), in Villa…

Most people playing billiards (single venue)
(no current record holder listed)

Most billiard balls held in the hand (palm down)
The most billiard balls held in the hand (palm down) is 8 and was achieved by Rocco Mercurio (Italy)…

Speed potting Men (Pool), five US tables
The fastest time to clear five US pool tables (speed potting) is 5 min 27.51 sec and was achieved by