Mosconi Story 1952

Bob Jewett said:
One thing about the history of that game that they didn't mention in the film.... That year the championship was determined by a many-match round robin. By the time of the match with Ponzi, Mosconi had already locked up the championship by many games. That little detail makes the final shot believable.
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I don't know. Willie hated to lose. I can't imagine him being willing to lose a match even when he locked up the title. But either way, this is NOT how it was portrayed in the film clip. Once they demonstrate they are willing to stretch the truth a little the rest is pure speculation.
 
Tin Man said:
I don't know. Willie hated to lose. I can't imagine him being willing to lose a match even when he locked up the title. But either way, this is NOT how it was portrayed in the film clip. Once they demonstrate they are willing to stretch the truth a little the rest is pure speculation.
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There is another brief clip with only the tournament shots that shows it pretty much the same way. I'm willing to believe he actually shot the shot in that situation. He is on record as saying that he had been practicing 3-cushion billiards just prior and there are two re-enactments on film.

It is a pretty good proposition shot. Don't give more than three tries.
 
low500 said:
nothing bad or silly about you or anyone else loving that classic clip. Not a thing.
I thought it was pretty entertaining myself. Pete smith made a lot of those good specialties.
Mosconi was really a very good dancer though. He danced with my girlfriend to "in the still of the night" at the brunswick lanes on stewart avenue in atlanta after he did an exhibition there around 1962, i think it was. Very light on his feet.
Prior to that he crushed me shooting 8-ball. I broke and that was it for me. That guy didn't miss very often and his position play was marvelous.
He didn't do too well in gambling though, i heard, at least according to grady matthews, joe cosgrove, and ronnie allen. They said he choked a little. But then again, who really cares?
Stay happy.
:thumbup:
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thanks low....:)
 
Really enjoyed that. You can definitely see Willie use the slip stroke on a couple of occasions there. A fascinating piece of history and an insight into a different era where pool was written about on the sports pages of mainstream newspapers.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
 
Tin Man said:
I loved the clip.

Of course I assume they took some artistic liberties. I can buy the idea of a broomstick and potatoes to some extent. His high run ending because he was tired vs. a miss (another classic debate) is silly. But the pinnacle of absurdity is the claim that he won a world championship with a five rail kick because he had to hit that ball first. It makes zero sense and I have to throw out anything said but not witnessed from anyone who told such a tale.

No problem with the clip if you enjoy it for what it is: propaganda about a truly great champion designed to sell tickets and pool tables...
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I have absolutely no idea how that five-rail kick went in real life.

But going with the "artistic license" theory, certainly there is a spot a little further down the rail, and a hair more off the rail, that makes that shot much more believable as a real world attempt.

Lou Figueroa
 
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About Willie NOT being able to play for the Cheese!

He gave Nicky Vach the 5 & Break on a 5'x10' and heisted him!
 
lfigueroa said:
I have absolutely no idea how that five-rail kick went in real life.

But going with the "artistic license" theory, certainly there is a spot a little further down the rail, and a hair more off the rail, that makes that shot much more believable as a real world attempt.

Lou Figueroa
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I think I’m going to give that 5 rail kick a shot tonight. I’m with you though, the placement of the object ball so far up the rail sure makes that a very low percentage shot, even for someone as skilled as Mosconi. On a good day I might be able to pull that on off with 50 tries. Lol

Correction: make that 1 in 200, not 50. Lol
 
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Lawnboy77 said:
I think I’m going to give that 5 rail kick a shot tonight. I’m with you though, the placement of the object ball so far up the rail sure makes that a very low percentage shot, even for someone as skilled as Mosconi. On a good day I might be able to pull that on off with 50 tries. Lol

Correction: make that 1 in 200, not 50. Lol
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I'll take 10 tries if the cue ball can reach that spot on the cushion off the fifth rail. Both the side and the corner can be in the way of the shot. The shot is shown as the cue ball landing at 1.5 diamonds from the target pocket.
 
Bob Jewett said:
I'll take 10 tries if the cue ball can reach that spot on the cushion off the fifth rail. Both the side and the corner can be in the way of the shot. The shot is shown as the cue ball landing at 1.5 diamonds from the target pocket.
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I've tried and made that shot several times. As long as the object ball is a little off the rail it goes easier than it first appears.

Everyone does realize that the entire tournament scene is "staged". Don't you?
 
jimmyg said:
I've tried and made that shot several times. As long as the object ball is a little off the rail it goes easier than it first appears.

Everyone does realize that the entire tournament scene is "staged". Don't you?
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Oh yeah, I knew it was staged. I just thought it would be fun to try. I ended up making it in about 10 tries. Nearly made it on the first try. Just didn’t shoot quite hard enough. It’s kinda surprising that it pans out on my table just like it’s diagramed. A good amount of running English and it kinda grooves itself as it’s going around the table. I don’t have the best of rails right now so I was wondering if it was doable, or not on this old Anniversary.
 
pt109 said:
Youse guys saving it for your salads?
...give this man some greenies!

....has a slight slipstroke, just like they said.
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Done!

Low500 said:
Scott Lee said:
Seems like you always doubt the truth, even though countless experts and historians have verified Mosconi's life as a young starting player. For example, his dad LOCKED UP all the balls to prevent him from playing. Too bad you can't seem to get your version of pool history right! LOL
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Haha
Did you see the balls get locked up?
Is anyone alive who saw the balls get locked up?
If papa locked up the balls, why didn't papa also lock the door into the pool room itself?
"Potatoes on the pool table and an old wooden stick".....yea sure. So ridiculous.
You pool room guys are such suckers for BS. Like you and that Don Willis garbage about the "cueball ball rolling down the flight of stairs and hitting another ball out on the sidewalk"
By the way, I can throw a marble over a 20 story building...:that's better than Thompson.
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....
Hey Low,
Did you see........?? Ah, forget it. We'll get into NPR territory real fast.
Btw you should follow your own "stay happy" advice.
jimmyg said:
I've tried and made that shot several times. As long as the object ball is a little off the rail it goes easier than it first appears.

Everyone does realize that the entire tournament scene is "staged". Don't you?
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Staged???!!! Say it ain't so Sherlock.
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Someone said that AZ is gone to the dogs...It cant be!
 

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I tried that five railer today and I was getting very close after only a few tries and without really knowing where to hit on the first rail or how to hit the shot. I have no doubt someone of Willie's prodigious ability and knowledge would have better than a puncher's chance with a little luck.

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Lawnboy77 said:
... Was that table he was playing on in the last scene a Brunswick Challenger? I sure miss the Brunswick site not having the antique table reference library anymore.
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It's not without difficulty, but it looks like you can still find info on the old tables in "The Brunswick Library" here: https://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/.

For example, putting the word "Challenger" into the Keyword Search feature brought up a bunch of Brunswick stuff named Challenger, including this for a 1939 model table with that name: https://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/6F976922-5CCD-4815-A98E-528869068470

The one in the Mosconi video is different from that table.

You can also go through the Images portion of the library and try to spot any old table of interest, or put "Tables" in the Keyword Search and get a long list of old catalogs (with tables) and tables.
 
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