I think that was 491 and it was a great run but it would not have qualified for the record of "exhibition high run". It would be high on the list of practice runs, of course. Perhaps the most impressive practice run is Cranfield's 420 on a 5x10.
Why has no one beat Mosconi's high run?
- Thread starter nineballsafety8
- Start date
hmmm... pretty sure Jordan wouldn't get out of bed for $100k, let alone shoot 5,000 free throws.
NYC cue dude
Banned
Exhibitions don't exist anymore. The standard now is "documented". Either filmed or witnessed by multiple people. Extraordinary high runs aren't "allowed" in any of the few 14.1 tournaments for two reasons 1) the event needs the table for the next match or 2) the player is needed for his next match. The "high run" events are fun, but are unlikely to ever produce a run in excess of 200, only because these event are considerd an aberration by the players. Perhaps if events like this occurred on a weekly basis, they'd be taken seriously. But events that occur once a year, or once every few years, isn't going to be considered the only "legitimate" time the record would have the possibility to be broken.
In 2006, Engert told me, in person, that the run was 492. Some places on the Internet show it correctly (if you google), others show it as 491.
I was thinking the same thing.
And if he decided to try and break the record, i am sure he could get plenty of side action.
i think its a mix of mosconi being a top elite player, coupled with him playing primarily playing straight pool his entire life. i dont think anybody else is going to break it unless they play a whole lot of straight pool throughout their career, and maybe an easier table would help. how many other high runs did mosconi make though? like what was the frequency of his 100+ ball runs? probably higher than most other pros at the time.
i kind of compare mosconi to a wilt chamberlain of basketball who scored 100 points in a single game. nobody has done it since, but people say that Wilt was able to score that 100 points because the competition was not as tough in the NBA back in those days. i mean its an incredible feat anyway you look at it. but i think there are many more factors to look at a players stats and career accomplishments to determine whos GOAT. there is definitely a valid argument to be made that mosconi was GOAT, and likewise for wilt.
i guess what im getting at is that there is always a new standard to considered GOAT from generation to generation. back then it was hoppe, greenleaf, mosconil, efren. in basketball it was wilt, russell, magic, jordan, kobe, and now lebron. who will be remembered as GOAT in the coming generations?- probably not mosconi, but efren just as lebron james will be considered GOAT by many young people. its what sticks in people's minds.
i kind of compare mosconi to a wilt chamberlain of basketball who scored 100 points in a single game. nobody has done it since, but people say that Wilt was able to score that 100 points because the competition was not as tough in the NBA back in those days. i mean its an incredible feat anyway you look at it. but i think there are many more factors to look at a players stats and career accomplishments to determine whos GOAT. there is definitely a valid argument to be made that mosconi was GOAT, and likewise for wilt.
i guess what im getting at is that there is always a new standard to considered GOAT from generation to generation. back then it was hoppe, greenleaf, mosconil, efren. in basketball it was wilt, russell, magic, jordan, kobe, and now lebron. who will be remembered as GOAT in the coming generations?- probably not mosconi, but efren just as lebron james will be considered GOAT by many young people. its what sticks in people's minds.
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By all reports, he ran 100 or more at most exhibitions. He was sometimes doing multiple exhibitions per day. Usually the runs were unfinished because he had other things to do, like drive to the next exhibition.
I heard that too, basically that he could run 100 "on demand"...
I was talking more about the American pool scene with regard to talent pool, although many players, Europeans and Asians included, still believe the best overall competition is here stateside. Appleton, Hohmann, Mika, Shaw, etc all reside in the States.
I don't yet consider Taiwan a cuesport power since they're primarily 9 and 10 ball specialists.
As for Europe, I believe their pool scene is similar to what the American pool scene was a few decades ago, sans the gambling (the Filipino pool scene is also very similar to what the old school pool scene was here). Europe seemed to carry the 14.1 banner after the game fell out of favor here and I think this has resulted in them being better all around players than American players in general. Even though I grew up on 9 ball and like it, I think its popularity as the tournament game might've been the worst thing to happen to American pool.
The reason I stated that the talent pool was deeper in the old days is because I believe the serious player-to-casual player ratio in those days was closer than it is now, even if we include European (Europe is actually stagnating a bit. Their best players of 10/15 years ago are still their best players) and Asian players (China hasn't really done much on the male side, and I don't see a champion explosion from them since Chinese 8 ball is now their cue sport of choice).
I also think carom/3 cushion falling out of favor here as a popular cue sport has also hurt our overall player skill.
I saw Grady Mathews do a number of exhibitions back in the mid to late 80's and he ran 100+ in every exhibition I saw. I think Mike Zuglan did too.
He was so good he ran a 100 an hour before he got to the room.
NYC cue dude
Banned
It was.........
I haven't read every post so if this was mentioned sorry: .. I think the most interesting part of Mosconi's record run was not ended because he missed a ball... He QUIT because he was tired.. The run could have been a lot higher... I believe everyone else's ended on a miss... That says a lot to me.
LOL. This is starting to sound like a "yo mama" competition.
Some author (can't remember who it was) said the balls seemed to go into the pockets out of respect for Mosconi... like they dare not miss a pocket because of who was hitting them.
When he came to "our" room he bet the owner double or nothing on his fee that he could run 100, 1 attempt. He might have hit 15 balls (slight warmup) then started. Think he ran 130. Grady got paid double.
Maybe not. There is a story from the time of the run that he missed the six in the side. I think Willie himself gave two different versions. I think he missed. Maybe he missed because he was tired. I don't think Willie's personality would have allowed him to quit.
yes I saw him state this on a video he was doing one time
Sounds like a straight pool version of the movie "Chinatown".
"I missed (smack)... I quit (smack)... I missed (smack)... I quit (smack)..."
"Tell me the truth!"
"I missed AND I quit." Lol
I heard versions where once or twice a well-pocketed ball came back out of the pocket due to bad pocket back design, and that he continued the run anyway. That happens all the time on my table, so little chance of somebody using it to break Willie's record, even though it is a pro-8 footer with 5" pockets.
I think too many of Willie admirers have their knickers in a knot over all this. I adore mythic heros, so I'd love to think the record is simply unbeatable, and that Willie was by far the greatest man to ever chalk a cue. But then, I once believed Superman could really fly. Let's say that there is no doubt that the man dominated his era like no other before or since, was a giant in the sport, and its greatest legend. Everything else regarding records and comparisons to players of other eras is just idle speculation.
And his autobiography says: "I finally missed a difficult cut shot, but by that time I was weary; it was almost a relief to have it come to an end."