Minnesota Fats Stroke & Cue tip size?

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Donne Fant

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I’m interested in knowing if anyone out there ever noticed what flawlessly, smooth stroke Minnesota Fats had. And how much stuff he put on the ball without any seeming effort. Was wondering if anyone out there ever saw his cue and or knows what size tip it was and what Hardness it was?. He might not have won a lot of games on TV. But you can’t take the fact away that he had an amazing stroke.
 
he had a balabuska and a rambo. about 12.75 to 13 i guess. ive seen them. those days there were only a couple tips used. elkmasters, champion and buffalo. pretty much as i know.
he like most top players, didnt care about such mundane things as their tip or shaft diameter too much as long as it was close to what didnt wiggle in their bridge hand.
it should still be that way.

he was an old man by the time most saw or heard about him, and he still played, above, short stop speed until the end of his gambling.
 
I saw an interview with his wife and she said he would walk around with a tip in his mouth for a long time. I don’t know if that was hours or days.
 
yes for those that dont know your saliva is a meat tenderizer. most tips are meat based so when they start getting hard using saliva on them and letting them sit overnight works wonders with them glazing or being to hard.
 
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he was certainly a character and a very charitable one. broke players always got walking money and animals were given help when needed.
even strangers at times.
as i posted before he and i cut up a big score together from the biggest whale ever and rudy said hey ---- that was the largest win i ever had.
and he did eat like the stories said.

and those that say he wasnt a top player he was the best bank pool player until eddie taylor came known. in the 1960's
 
Donne Fant said:
I’m interested in knowing if anyone out there ever noticed what flawlessly, smooth stroke Minnesota Fats had. And how much stuff he put on the ball without any seeming effort. Was wondering if anyone out there ever saw his cue and or knows what size tip it was and what Hardness it was?. He might not have won a lot of games on TV. But you can’t take the fact away that he had an amazing stroke.
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If you haven't seen it yet, they recently uncovered a movie, I think made by Fats and he plays in it. It's called "The Player" and is on youtube. It's kind of cheesy at times but it's not all that bad for a pool movie, plus you get to see him shoot some.
 
boogieman said:
If you haven't seen it yet, they recently uncovered a movie, I think made by Fats and he plays in it. It's called "The Player" and is on youtube. It's kind of cheesy at times but it's not all that bad for a pool movie, plus you get to see him shoot some.
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It's more than kind of cheesy, and it's really bad, but still worth watching just for the nostalgia!
 
As I recall Fats never got down. I used to shoot that way in the beginning so I could see the cuts properly. The stroke itself is more suited to beginners as well. It's a natural, fully extended stroke that avoids the physical stresses of "good pool technique".
I recall long banks, cuts, AND combinations were more reliable when shot standing up. I think it's because the sight and shoot of it is nearly a single entity. IOW looks right, feels right, pull trigger.

The downsides for me were; fine tuning was entirely a function of thumb position, and cue ball control was at 2 bit resolution.
 
i dont know how he shot when younger but he had a bad back. but mosconi raised it up too when he got older.

pool players get bad backs from getting down over and over. something to think about how it is going to be later in life.
 
It's amazing what the range of skill level people have about Fats . Some people think he was a rail banger and others think he was a champion level player but never played tournaments.
I don't think I will weigh in on that but as far as his stroke, I would guess Erich Hagenlacher had something to do with a lot - of that, even though I believe Fats was already a really good player when they met.
 
The week before his met his future/only wife he was in Chicago Booking matches at Bensingers.
He booked every match only losing a handful. Then he headed south towards the horse racing to bet with the rich people, went off road and needed body work and that's how he met Ev... working the tables at a local restaurant in S. IL where he had the best fried chicken of his life.
 
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Donne Fant said:
I saw an interview with his wife and she said he would walk around with a tip in his mouth for a long time. I don’t know if that was hours or days.
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Tales change on down the line. I thought he carried them around in his pants pockets to get natural oils on them. Who knows, probably didn't do either of those. 😗
 
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in any event he did more for pools growth and recognition than any other single person in history.

although most pro players put him down as they were jealous he won the cash and had a pocketful most times while they were looking for a stake horse and rent money.
 
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maha said:
in any event he did more for pools growth and recognition than any other single person in history.

although most pro players put him down as they were jealous he won the cash and had a pocketful most times while they were looking for a stake horse and rent money.
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I think you could back up and say Walter Tevis (and/or whoever was responsible for getting "The Hustler" produced) gets the credit since they were largely responsible for the huge interest in pool in the 1960s and gave Fats a brand he could use.
 
thats true, but tevis was a one trick pony movie. fats was a lifelong ambassador of pool and its virtues.

two different but both deserve credit

the movie did give the greatest short term boost ever for sure. and got growth started rapidly.

and fats wisely used that fame to promote things for pool and himself for long after.
 
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