"Wee Willie" for Mosconi -- probably one Brunswick worked to suppress.
Pool Nicknames that Don't Rhyme
- Thread starter u12armresl
- Start date
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
'Bata' is Reyes' Filipino nickname, in the pool world of nicknames 'The Magician' is Efren's without question.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
I've never heard that one, interesting. I don't blame Brunswick and Willie to the kabash on that one!
Iwishiwasrich
Active member
^^^^Oh yeah the "Lion" Alex Pagulyan.
Iwishiwasrich
Active member
Cornbread red
Lion is in his name and rhymes.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
If Efren didn't already have the name, Melling would deserve it.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
agreed!
A little long forgotten tidbit about Willie and his arch enemy Fats. During Fat's exhibitions in the 1960's and well into the 1970's he would tell a long story about a great player called Willie the Wop, and how he went down to defeat in a long past World Championship. He needed one ball and had a short straight-in on the side pocket. He spent a long time studying the shot, finally got down on it and proceeded to miscue!
All the players knew Fats was maligning Mosconi with this story but they laughed along with everyone else. The way Fats told the story was funny, even with it being so demeaning to Mosconi.
Prior to agreeing to play the televised shoot out with Fats, Mosconi made him agree to no longer tell this story in his exhibitions. I never heard him tell it again. They made quite a bit of money together and that brought peace between them. Willie even began to laugh at Fat's joking around during matches. He saw Fats as a good meal ticket and got his revenge by beating him in every match they played, proving his superiority.
Last edited:
some vocational ones (imo these are even lazier than rhyming nicks):
mieszko "the butcher" fortunski. used to work as a butcher
ali "the captain" carter. snooker player, used to be a pilot
david "the angry farmer" gilbert. snooker, used to be a farmworker
mieszko "the butcher" fortunski. used to work as a butcher
ali "the captain" carter. snooker player, used to be a pilot
david "the angry farmer" gilbert. snooker, used to be a farmworker
agree. but people are unimaginative. "the prince of pool" was larry liscotti, then corey deuel, and now i heard it used on a third player in a recent pro event. can't remember who it was
Pool Hand Luke
Well-known member
Everyone in England knows it's also Melling. I watched a video of him playing English 8 ball yesterday and the shirt he was wearing said Magician on the back. The announcer called him "the Magician" after a 3 rail kick in traffic that made the last red before he sank the 8 for the win.
To your point: maybe Magic Man or something along those lines would be a better alternative.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
Or maybe something like 'marvelous' would be the most appropriate.
Rhyming or not, "Bluegrass Badass" is my favorite...
Wasn't there a guy "Detroit Whitey" or something like that?
middleofnowhere
Registered
Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone
...also less know as "Triple Smart"
Sometimes growing up is not all it is cracked up to be. The ora of the legends and the game sometimes diminishes over time with the gain of knowledge and experience. I believe that the advancement of technology hasn't really enhanced the quality of our lives. Don't get me wrong, I love tech, but at what cost have we paid. The mystery of the game is not as allusive as it was in the past. It is a science now. For example in a different area, Evel Knievel jumped heavy bikes with little knowledge and a whole lot of balls. Today, the physics are understood to the smallest detail. The jumps they do today would never even been considered in the past. Pool is similar in the fact that we know the physics and have super slow motion cameras. It is a science now. Easy to execute? Absolutely not!
middleofnowhere
Registered
I never liked the nicknames that were contrived by tournament directors and also when Pool got on TV it seemed like everybody had to have some hokey nickname.
In the real pool world most of the nicknames usually related to some physical thing or where the person was from. Such as Boston shorty or New York blackie, Brooklyn Jimmy, One eyed Tony, Well you wouldn't call him that when he was around.
I was at a tournament and Tony was in the finales and the TD without thinking introduced him as One eyed Tony, then he corrected himself.
In the real pool world most of the nicknames usually related to some physical thing or where the person was from. Such as Boston shorty or New York blackie, Brooklyn Jimmy, One eyed Tony, Well you wouldn't call him that when he was around.
I was at a tournament and Tony was in the finales and the TD without thinking introduced him as One eyed Tony, then he corrected himself.
Last edited: