Willie the Wop was a barely concealed, nasty reference to Mosconi. The story was, Willie the Wop and The One-Eyed Doc, for Willie's last money. Fats would even go so far as to say the story took place in Philadelphia. Willie had his last money up playing straight pool, and Doc was shooting at the game ball. Doc tells Willie he will bank it rather than shoot it straight in if Willie would humiliate himself, and do a series of shameful commands that the Doc would impose on him. Willie reluctantly complies, and Doc banks the last ball and misses it. Now Willie is running out, and when he gets to the hanger game ball he gives the Doc an option. If the Doc will take out his glass eye and spin in on the table, and then shoot it into a pocket, Willie would bank the last ball instead of shooting the hanger straight on in. The now embarassed Doc takes his glass eye out, spins it on the table and shoots it into the corner. Willie gets down on the game ball, but instead of banking it, he shoots it straight into the pocket, turns to the Doc and says, "Not that eye, Doc, the other one!"
the Beard
I've got 2 new trick banks up on my blog,
www.bankingwiththebeard.blogspot.com/ Do you think you can make 'em? I don't think so.