I don't think Mosconi was a bad guy, nor do I think he truly came to hate the game so much as he hated the things that he felt took away prestige from the game. He was a purist. It seems to me that he was just being true to his own character and style.
An old timer told me about having gone to see Mosconi at an exhibition in a pool hall in the Town of West New York, NJ. He said that all the men and boys dressed up in suits and ties. He and his dad presented their tickets and took their place on the bleacher seats. He told me it was an early Autumn day but it had gotten hot and stuffy in the poolroom. Mosconi made his appearance in his usual suit and tie, according to my friend he never loosened the suit jacket or tie and looked quite cool and comfortable. Well..a little while later someone opened one of the back windows slightly to hopefully make life easier for the spectators. Shortly after that Willie ordered the window shut because he said he felt a draft. The window was promptly shut and Willie continued with his exhibition.
I remember reading about how Mosconi taught Newman how to play for The Hustler. Willie set up the shots that ended up in the film, and took at least some of the shots.
Newman put a pool table in his dining room and played with Mosconi and practiced in disguise at a girls high school. By the time filming began, Newman was a decent player, and took many of his own shots.
Jackie Gleason, was a good player even before he played Fats in The Hustler. Toots Shor, set up a match between Mosconi and Gleason, without revealing Mosconi's identity. Mosconi was supposed to be a businessman or something and used an assumed name. Mosconi won of course. Gleason made out OK too, because Mosconi recommended him to director Robert Rossen for the part of Fats.
Say what you want but Willie Mosconi was the man. He did more for the sport by the good things he did than anyone since him, did he have his faults, oh hell yeah, who doesn't?
Let's recall just a few of his accomplishments, high run of 526 in exhibition play, set in Springfield, OH, in 1954; a high grand average of 18.34 in a world tournament in Chicago in 1950, and a best game in which he sank 150 balls in a row in one inning (a perfect game) against a disbelieving Jimmy Moore in Kinston, N.C., in 1956.
This is an excerpt from his obituary in The New York Times:
As he grew older and honed his skills, Mr. Mosconi was able to combine his great talents with movie-star good looks and tasteful attire. He was able to almost single-handedly establish billiards as a reputable pastime in the minds of the general public.
His efforts to disassociate billiards from the images of smoky basements, bars and parlors crawling with drunks and hustlers was the reason for his feuds over the years with his chief nemesis, Minnesota Fats, a quick-witted, flashy hustler whose real name is Rudolf Wanderone and who always taunted Mr. Mosconi but continually denied invitations to compete against him.
"My husband hated Minnesota Fats because he felt that he was always hurting the image of the game instead of helping it," said Flora Mosconi. "Willie thought so highly of the game that he never referred to it as 'pool.' He insisted on calling it billiards."
The Obituary:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFD9163BF93BA2575AC0A965958260