When these guys say there has to be some incentive financially I have a tough time with that. If the record were to be broken it will happen when it happens. Breaking the record is akin to Cal Ripken breaking Lou Gehrig's record. The person who breaks the record will be immortalized forever in the annals of pooldom. Can you put a financial perspective on that? If any thing that would come after but then again let's not forget this is pool. Mosconi was on the Brunswick payroll and giving exhibitions I'm sure multiple times a week. He was also a fierce competitor and expected nothing less than perfection of himself for himself and the audience he was playing in front of. In my opinion that is the reason to try and break the record but then again I don't believe there will be any trying. It will happen when it happens. It will be the right person at the right time and for the right reason (and there will probably be no one to witness it and the video camera will probably break halfway thru the run lol).
Why not a 527 in straight pool??
- Thread starter tommyceilings
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I don't think Mosconi's record is considered "the high run record on an 8-footer," I think it's just considered the high run record. If someone had a documented run of 527 or more on a 9-footer I think most people would consider that the new high run record.
526
Willie mosconi ran 526 balls on a 8ft leather bag pockets,in springfield ohio giving a exabition. Which still stands today with many witnesses. In the record books.Reserch the table and balls and conditions,and redupicate it all and try to break it .Thats all I can say.He did it and no one has come close.15 time world champion. The run and chapionships alone speak for itself. Rich aka the skunk.
Willie mosconi ran 526 balls on a 8ft leather bag pockets,in springfield ohio giving a exabition. Which still stands today with many witnesses. In the record books.Reserch the table and balls and conditions,and redupicate it all and try to break it .Thats all I can say.He did it and no one has come close.15 time world champion. The run and chapionships alone speak for itself. Rich aka the skunk.
Here's what John Schmidt said on AzB four years ago about 14.1 and table size:
"for the record i think 14.1 on the bartable is easier than 9ft.
you can reach allbreakballs,combos and shots are a joke etc.
yes its more confined space but with the cueball control ive learned from 14.1 thats the last thing im worried about.
for the record the easiest table to play 14.1 is a 4x8 .ive played on them all and its the easiest no doubt. enough room to play but still easier on shotmaking,reaching,combos than 9ft."
you can reach allbreakballs,combos and shots are a joke etc.
yes its more confined space but with the cueball control ive learned from 14.1 thats the last thing im worried about.
for the record the easiest table to play 14.1 is a 4x8 .ive played on them all and its the easiest no doubt. enough room to play but still easier on shotmaking,reaching,combos than 9ft."
I think of some top people in the industry came together and put up some good money to the person who could break the record and capture it on video then it might happen sooner then we all think. If the prize were say $25,000 or something along those lines I think the record could be broken within 5 years. I do not know the value of the video since I have never really got into the straight pool market but could you sell 1,000 copies of this run?
Jay Helfert offered $10,000 to whomever could break the record and he would own the rights to the video, might be a good investment financially but maybe not. Either way the record being broken would really be something, the ultimate feather in a players cap. Do I think it would make the mainstream news, I doubt we would see it in the sports section.
Jay Helfert offered $10,000 to whomever could break the record and he would own the rights to the video, might be a good investment financially but maybe not. Either way the record being broken would really be something, the ultimate feather in a players cap. Do I think it would make the mainstream news, I doubt we would see it in the sports section.
Here is what I would do, I would set up an 8 foot table with 5.25" pockets and a video camera capable of recording for days. Then I would bust it on camera using nearly the same conditions Willie had.
Then when that's done I would work on beating it on other tables.
Yes ,it certainly is.
I played at Jimmy Catranos place on Queens blvd and he had two old 5 x 10,s in the back with tight pockets and i used to play on them a lot and if i ran 10 balls in a row, i felt like i accomplished something, lol.
Mosconi done a lot more than run 526 balls. He was 15 time World Champion, along with winning tons of other events. Lets say you or I run 527, we would still not be the pooldom in my opinion, only a person who run 527 balls. Now, try being a 15 time World Champion and running 527 balls, dominate the pool world for decades, become a household name, and then we can talk.
I think that, at least to an extent, the incentive thing is bunk. I believe there are players out there that would give their left nut to be the guy to break Mosconi's record, but they just haven't been able to do it. And if pride, love of the game, and your own competitive spirt isn't enough motivation you don't deserve to break the record, IMO.
Having said all that I also believe it's just a matter of time before the record gets broken and that is a good thing, meant to be broken and all that. And our discussions here, that keep memory of Mosconi and his record alive, are bringing that day closer.
Lou Figueroa
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Well then, if it's so much easier, he should have broken the 526 by now on a bar table, no?
Lou Figueroa
While very nice runs, he didn't exactly threaten any records, now did he, lol
Lou Figueroa
Just an example. I am pretty sure he hasn't spent much time playing on a barbox. You had earlier said it would be tougher on a barbox due to congestion and other things. I agree with his other statements about not having difficult shots and for a guy who can run 400 on a 9 footer his cueball control is a non-issue. Maybe some of the top guys will have the incentive at some point to play non-stop on an 8 footer to try to take down the record. Who knows.
Well then what John Schmidt said is bunk I guess.
"If the financial incentive were there to break Mosconi's run, I would try it."
But this whole misconception people have that tables back then were easy is a crock. I started playing at around 8 or so (very early 80s), and remember pool halls back then with tables from the very olden days (actually the pool rooms themselves seemed to have been stuck in the 50s-60s, their heyday). They were horrid condition wise. I would take a modern Diamond anyday over some of those tables. I guess it is human nature to feel the past was somehow easier on them than it is you?
Well, I agree and disagree.
Ball pocketing and CB control are there, no doubt. But controlling what happens on a break shot is part uncontrolled and part a deeper understanding of the stack. And that's the rub when it comes to playing on a more confined space.
Lou Figueroa
As I said, "at least to an extent." Personally, I think Mr. 400 would love to be Mr. 527
Lou Figueroa
As I said, "at least to an extent." Personally, I think Mr. 400 would love to be Mr. 527
Lou Figueroa
Oh sure, many would love to. But the guys do have to make a living. And making a living will always prevail over taking time to beat a record with no incentive.
This is wrong my kind sir. I don't know if anyone else responded to it yet but you can't just add up the 2% from each rack and assume it equals after a certain number of racks.
The way that 2% should be looked at is still 2% PER rack. The percentage doesn't steadily grow with every new rack.
It will be exciting but I think he's correct that few will care. Casual players and non-players don't know what straight pool is and cannot really understand the significance. They don't know what "527 in straight pool" means. "Does that mean he just threw balls on the table, shot 'em in, and then repeated, until he finally missed after 527?" ...."is that 527 straight in shots?"... "straight pool, meaning, like, regular pool? 8 ball? He didn't miss for like 65 racks?"
It's just not exciting to set a record in a game hardly anyone plays (and yes, I know some guys will jump up and say NOW WAIT A MINUTE... but even 14.1 fanatics have to admit that it's less than 1% of what gets played every day).
It's also less practical than being able to run, say, a 20-pack of 8/9/10b. Nobody races to 500 in straight pool. Though I heard of players going to 1,000 over the course of multiple days, once upon a time.
Agree. And if it's broken on a 7 footer, it's just as amazing.
Oops, you're right, I understand how it works but I wrote it incorrectly. I should have said "over the course of 34 racks" not "after 34 racks"... and of course if you get a disaster at rack #20 you don't keep shooting.
So, before you pick up the cue, the odds of reaching rack #34 without your run ending is like 50/50 even if you play perfect and the 2% number is accurate.
However after you've successfully run 33 racks, then the 34th has a 2% chance of disaster just like any other.
The math I used to arrive at the 50% figure is .98 to the 34th power, which is 0.5031.
Yes I have many times. I use to play on a beautiful antique Brunswick at Chalkers Billiard Club in SF. Man what a beauty!!!
The only difference I saw was using the rails for position and also the speed of the cueball to land on the next ball. Once I got that under control I was fine. Let me ask you a question Measure man.... Have YOU ever played on a 5x10 or a 6x12 snooker table??
Originally Posted by measureman
Have you ever played on a 5x10? I have and it's real tough.
Thats my original post.