Thought I'd share (Fats being Fats)
- Thread starter gpeezy
- Start date
Thanks for sharing
Thats is cool clip.Thanks for sharing!Fats was truely an original.
Thats is cool clip.Thanks for sharing!Fats was truely an original.
Comparitively speaking, Fats was the Muhammad Ali of pool
What a great video! Fats was definitely one of a kind, that's for sure. And, the man could definitely play, too -- especially banks. I'd watched Fattie *nail* some banks -- absolutely slam 'em -- without a moment's hesitation, with the object ball thwacking the center of the back of the pocket. I never understood how Fattie could play with that fully-upright stance, until I tried it. I found that I could see bank shots better this way; I now shoot banks more or less fully upright, and place my chin on the cue for normal/non-bank shots.
As for Fat's eyes, that is one of the coolest things about him -- he looks you dead in the eye when he's talking to you. Sure, he may add his trademarked verbal flourishing to things, but he does so with a subtle change in his facial expression, leaving you with the feeling that you've been "flourished" but wanting more!
Fats was definitely one of pool's all-time characters, that's for sure (and probably an understatement as well). The pool world definitely misses him!
-Sean
What a great video! Fats was definitely one of a kind, that's for sure. And, the man could definitely play, too -- especially banks. I'd watched Fattie *nail* some banks -- absolutely slam 'em -- without a moment's hesitation, with the object ball thwacking the center of the back of the pocket. I never understood how Fattie could play with that fully-upright stance, until I tried it. I found that I could see bank shots better this way; I now shoot banks more or less fully upright, and place my chin on the cue for normal/non-bank shots.
As for Fat's eyes, that is one of the coolest things about him -- he looks you dead in the eye when he's talking to you. Sure, he may add his trademarked verbal flourishing to things, but he does so with a subtle change in his facial expression, leaving you with the feeling that you've been "flourished" but wanting more!
Fats was definitely one of pool's all-time characters, that's for sure (and probably an understatement as well). The pool world definitely misses him!
-Sean
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First time seeing this, thanks for the link! :thumbup:
He claimed he never hustled and I guess by his definition he didn't. What he did do was sink balls just like you saw in the video. Casual, standing nearly straight up, fingertip bridge, and taking zero time. The game is too easy. No need to figure anything out. I've seen this ten thousand times. And of course the gab which never stopped even when he was losing. If none of that worked he'd just pour money on the problem.
Most importantly he accurately assessed his game. No delusions. He only talked like he was delirious.
A real challenge for most anybody at banks and 1 pocket. Supposedly his best game was 3 Cushion but no money in that game. Particularly anywhere around Dowell Illinois.
Most importantly he accurately assessed his game. No delusions. He only talked like he was delirious.
A real challenge for most anybody at banks and 1 pocket. Supposedly his best game was 3 Cushion but no money in that game. Particularly anywhere around Dowell Illinois.
Thanks for posting that video. In the video Fats is being interviewed and stating how he is better than Mosconi because Willie only plays straight pool, they cutaway to a shot of Mosconi and he looks steamed.
According to what I read in R. A Dyer's book "The Hustler and the Champ; Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, and the Rivalry that Defined Pool, Fats loved ribbing Mosconi.
According to what I read in R. A Dyer's book "The Hustler and the Champ; Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, and the Rivalry that Defined Pool, Fats loved ribbing Mosconi.
Thanks for that gpeezy. Johnnyt
I first watched that clip on a beat up VHS tape in about '87 if memory serves...watched it 100 times since then...NEVER gets old....
Fatty was the goods...and him and Mosconi worked the rivalry for every bit there was to work...
I was here.... http://www.poolmag.com/store/index.cfm/fuseaction/feature.display/feature_id/169/index.cfm ...the Berbeck Twins put in on in Horsham, PA
I was 15 years old, just breaking into the game...I sat next to Mosconi's daughter, she was about 50 at the time, Ray Martin was over my right shoulder...Jimmy Fusco was woofing in the back...the folks that really didn't know much about the game kept asking Willie about Fats...If memory serves he called him a "blow hard"..or something like that and said he was only a big showman... but to this day I remember seeing the respect he had for Mr. Wanderone in every comment he made.
I've read and replied in posts talking about who would win matching up old players against todays....It always come down to...we'll never know.
I can say with a great deal of confidence...No one will ever be a better spokesperson for the game than Minnesota Fats.
Fatty was the goods...and him and Mosconi worked the rivalry for every bit there was to work...
I was here.... http://www.poolmag.com/store/index.cfm/fuseaction/feature.display/feature_id/169/index.cfm ...the Berbeck Twins put in on in Horsham, PA
I was 15 years old, just breaking into the game...I sat next to Mosconi's daughter, she was about 50 at the time, Ray Martin was over my right shoulder...Jimmy Fusco was woofing in the back...the folks that really didn't know much about the game kept asking Willie about Fats...If memory serves he called him a "blow hard"..or something like that and said he was only a big showman... but to this day I remember seeing the respect he had for Mr. Wanderone in every comment he made.
I've read and replied in posts talking about who would win matching up old players against todays....It always come down to...we'll never know.
I can say with a great deal of confidence...No one will ever be a better spokesperson for the game than Minnesota Fats.
My Man! Still the greatest! He once went head to head with Muhammad Ali on the Carson show and out talked him. I loved Fats. Hanging out with him was always a trip. People flocked to him like lemmings. And they wouldn't leave his side. They couldn't get enough of his conversation. He was a triple sharp guy that had a way of boiling things down to the simplest explanation possible. And he usually was right on the money. People would ask him about anything and he always came up with a good answer.
P.S. Right after Fats makes that first bank shot on the eight ball, that's a young Jimmy Reid smiling for the cameras. Jimmy loved Fats too.
P.S. Right after Fats makes that first bank shot on the eight ball, that's a young Jimmy Reid smiling for the cameras. Jimmy loved Fats too.
My mother hired FATS to do an exhibition for her company when he was living in Nashville. She mentioned that her husband was a fan of his and he called my dad and they talked for quite a while on the phone. My dad was like a little kid meeting Mickey Mantle or something. He loved it. FATS told my dad that my mother was the "classiest lady in Nashville" and they ate that up. FATS is a legend.
Fatty was also a ladies man
Fatty was a fabled ladies man. He had a girl friend in New York called Double Smart Lucy. His last wife, Evelyn, was once Miss Illinois. In his last days I seen him in Nashville in a wheelchair -- that was being tended to by 3 young girls. He was barely coherent at the time.
the Beard
Fatty was a fabled ladies man. He had a girl friend in New York called Double Smart Lucy. His last wife, Evelyn, was once Miss Illinois. In his last days I seen him in Nashville in a wheelchair -- that was being tended to by 3 young girls. He was barely coherent at the time.
the Beard
I can't imagine anyone being a better chirper than Fats. He's just so quick with the comments, retorts, comebacks, etc. On top of that, his comments have such a passive aggressiveness to them. He'd prob had a way of calling you a nit while you loved him to death.
The closest chirper to Fats, in my opinion, was Keith. Beard/Jay--- who were the best chirpers in your opinion?
This was a great video--- thanks a lot.
The closest chirper to Fats, in my opinion, was Keith. Beard/Jay--- who were the best chirpers in your opinion?
This was a great video--- thanks a lot.
Thanks for posting that, I never get tired of listening to Fats.
From an earlier thread regarding that video clip, Fats was bragging to Omaha Fats that he had played pool with Zsa Zsa Gabor and Omaha said "I don't know who he is but I'm sure you had the nuts".
From an earlier thread regarding that video clip, Fats was bragging to Omaha Fats that he had played pool with Zsa Zsa Gabor and Omaha said "I don't know who he is but I'm sure you had the nuts".
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Dirty low down Red
Charles Low Down Dirty Red Jones, was very good. He never shut up.
Here's a good Fatty story, I think it's from my first book:
"Fats was such a fabulous personality that where ever he showed up he could lug the whole joint along with him, wherever he wanted to go. Everybody, myself included would follow him blindly, listening wide-eyed to whatever would pop out of his mouth. George Jansco would beg Fats to lug the crowd somewheres near the bar where he could sell a few drinks. Fats would bark and demean all hustlers, from Wimpy on down, and nobody dared to challenge him. He went so far as to tell a story of playing Wimpy in Norfolk VA, and beating him so bad that Wimpy crapped in his pants, and his backer had to take him next door to the Army/Navy store and buy him a new outfit so he could keep playing.
He then forced Wimpy to admit that the story was gospel right in front of the crowd. Unbelievably, Wimpy vouched for the story, desperately hoping Fats would get off of him and on to somebody else. "
Beard
Charles Low Down Dirty Red Jones, was very good. He never shut up.
Here's a good Fatty story, I think it's from my first book:
"Fats was such a fabulous personality that where ever he showed up he could lug the whole joint along with him, wherever he wanted to go. Everybody, myself included would follow him blindly, listening wide-eyed to whatever would pop out of his mouth. George Jansco would beg Fats to lug the crowd somewheres near the bar where he could sell a few drinks. Fats would bark and demean all hustlers, from Wimpy on down, and nobody dared to challenge him. He went so far as to tell a story of playing Wimpy in Norfolk VA, and beating him so bad that Wimpy crapped in his pants, and his backer had to take him next door to the Army/Navy store and buy him a new outfit so he could keep playing.
He then forced Wimpy to admit that the story was gospel right in front of the crowd. Unbelievably, Wimpy vouched for the story, desperately hoping Fats would get off of him and on to somebody else. "
Beard