The Mount Rushmore of Pool - who would you put on?

I told you to stop posting that retarded frontier gibberish. Don't you know who the f$&# I am? People half whisper my name, mostly in staunch reverence, but partly in fear that I'll eat their children and take away the Easter bunny. Beleeeee Dat!!!!
 
What ?

First, who say,s Mosconi could only play one game? Harold Worst all around ability is unmatched! And to have a true champion like Shane ,a gentleman on the natch no drugs no alcohol Wow .And ignorant ******* on here knocking him.

1.Harold Worst
2Nick Varner
3Dallas West
4 Efron Reyes
Coming soon Shane V.
 
I realize that this question is an analogy for which 4 people represented pool the best or who are the best 4 pool players. But half of the pool players listed in this thread would never make it onto an actual Mt. Rushmore of Pool if it were constructed today due to the fact that National Monuments almost never honor people that are still living. The same rule applies to the naming of US Ships, although George H.W. Bush was the exception because his son happened to be the president at the time. Construction on the real Mt. Rushmore started in 1927. The last Mt Rushmore president to live (Teddy Roosevelt) died in 1919.

Therefore, I don't know if pool will be ready for a Mt. Rushmore for the next 20-30 years because Efren has to be on it.
 
Mosconi played eons ago, not many people alive can speak to his ability nor compare and contrast against those after him
 
Mike Sigel getting little respect in this thread. Some may not realize that the great Earl Strickland has commented "The best player I've ever seen is Mike Sigel."
 
I realize that this question is an analogy for which 4 people represented pool the best or who are the best 4 pool players. But half of the pool players listed in this thread would never make it onto an actual Mt. Rushmore of Pool if it were constructed today due to the fact that National Monuments almost never honor people that are still living. The same rule applies to the naming of US Ships, although George H.W. Bush was the exception because his son happened to be the president at the time. Construction on the real Mt. Rushmore started in 1927. The last Mt Rushmore president to live (Teddy Roosevelt) died in 1919.

Therefore, I don't know if pool will be ready for a Mt. Rushmore for the next 20-30 years because Efren has to be on it.

I agree ...don't want to see any living player on the Mount.

Michael Phelan....the father of American billiards....and a billiard polymath...look him up.

Frank Taberski....he won ten titles in a row and was given permanent possession of the
trophy....slow, Irving Crane- like game, but they couldn't beat him.

Willie Mosconi.....all I'll say is 526

Willie Hoppe.....yeah, I know it's pool we're talking, but this man had an enormous influence
on the whole American billiard scene.....a great ambassador and billiard's first millionaire.

I got some bookends......

Harold Worst.....died before his time.....but beat everybody at every thing.

Cicero Murphy.....won a world title at his first attempt, breaking the color bar forever.
 
The Industry mountain would feature Michael Phelan, Thomas Foley, John Brunswick and John Wesley Hyatt.

The player mountain would feature Jacob Schaefer, Willie Hoppe, Ralph Greenleaf and Alfredo De'Oro.

The ladies mountain would feature Katherine Haywood, May Kaarlus, Dorothy Wise and Jean Balukas.


Everyone else hasn't been dead long enough, and Mosconi gets his own mountain:grin:

It'll be parked right next to Jeanette Mountains.
 
Mike Sigel getting little respect in this thread. Some may not realize that the great Earl Strickland has commented "The best player I've ever seen is Mike Sigel."

Efren has said the same thing, that the toughest player he ever faced was Mike Sigel.
 
I was waiting for the result of the US Open to create this thread because I now have my four names.

Mount Rushmore of Pool:

Willie Mosconi
Efren Reyes
Earl Strickland
Shane Van Boening


You can only select 4 names as the top 4 names of all time in the world of pocket billiards.

After this US Open, I'm electing Shane to my top 4 - his three in a row run for a total of 4 US Opens is unprecedented. I have to put him up there.

What are your top 4 names in the sports history?
Reyes--- Has passed the test of time playing all games, including Rotation, and balkline. Straight pool is the only game that would be questionable, however, the only straight pool tournament he entered (to my recollection) he won.

Varner Playing straight pool..9ball..one pocket. How can you not recognize the accomplishments this great player has amassed in all three games. And like Reyes, Nick has also passed the test of time

Lassiter I can personally attest to the greatness of this man as an all around player, with the exception of one pocket. This is where the question of ..The greatest all time in pocket billiards is not a true measuring stick on who's the greatest players of all time. There are too many players that played several games great, but didn't play all the games. Lassiter didn't play one pocket.

Sigel Another champion that played all games great, especially 9ball and straight pool. One pocket was his weakest game because he never really played much of it, similar to Lassiter.


There are many more players that deserve to be on the Mount if you exclude one of the three games from their resume. Players the likes of Hall..VanBoening..Strickland..Mosconi...Taylor...Worst....

I think the fairest question on who would be the greatest player in the history of pocket billiards would be. Taking all pocket games into consideration as a substitute for any one game of the three most played games.. which are 9ball..one pocket..straight pool Who then would be the greatest player.

Example.. Taylor-One Pocket-9ball..bank pool
Reyes-One Pocket-9ball-rotation
VanBoening 9ball-One Pocket-8ball

I believe that would be a truer measuring stick on who is/are the greatest players of all time.

Bill Incardona
 
Buddy Hall would go years without anyone stepping up to play him some. He was also the only one to beat Efren when he beat all the other American players when he made his arrival here.. Buddy is one of the best players to ever play the game! In their prime, Allen. Mike, Earl, Varner, Wiley, Howard, Rempe, wanted no part of gambling against Buddy!
 
My first two picks would be -

Harold Worst
Jay Swanson

Gotta think about the next two



bill
 
I'd have a nearby hill with only the visage of Utley J. Puckett carved on it, looking toward the visitor area instead of off into space like the more famous guys on the big mountain nearby.

He would have his white hair billowing out from under his big cowboy hat, and be smiling his big crooked "I-used-to-be-the-champion-of-Arkansas" smile.

Puckett was not the best player of that era long gone, but to me he was special, having frequented the pool room where I hung out in the 70's. His personality claimed the room the moment he arrived. Glad to see him come and sorry to see him go, what more could you ask of anyone?
 
The ladies mountain would feature Katherine Haywood, May Kaarlus, Dorothy Wise and Jean Balukas.

Ruth McGinnis, runner of over 130 balls, who toured with Greenleaf, was quite possibly Jean Balukas' equal as a player.
 
My choices

Efren Best ever all around player .
Shane Will follow Efren from what I see
Allison Best gal player I know of
Jeanette A real ambassador for our sport

Every one has their own idea and criteria for who belongs on their mountain. If putting a ball in the pocket was all that counted for me I would probably have different heads on the mountain.
 
Worst has to be on there period....no one has ever replicated his dominance in all forms of the game.
 
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