Willie Mosconi's Original Balabushka at Auction

Bill Mosconi

Mr Hoppe said:
"Son Bill Mosconi of Philadelphia says the family no longer has room to store all of his father's keepsakes."

Yeah, a cue is very cumbersome to store... I.e., I need the money.
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Well Charlie Ursitti, Willie's friend and manager, asked me to meet with Bill Mosconi last fall to discuss the disposition of Mosconi's estate items. I met with him near Allentown, PA. Mosconi's cues are in pristine condition for their age and amount of play. There are also other items that not only take up room but must be cared for. It is not necessarily the space that makes an item difficult to keep. There are security issues. Even as a relatively trusted insider, I did not meet Bill at his home. But if the cues are any indication, the rest of the items must be fantastic as well. They would be the pinnacle of any collector's holdings. Bill Mosconi is a class individual. He got some of the cues out of his car trunk so I saw his car and no, he is not a guy who is desperate for money as you seem to have implied. And I believe he is moving to a new home so now is probably an optimal time to take action in this matter. Everyone has family members who could use extra in these times and if Bill uses the proceeds to help those he loves then I applaud him for doing so ~ because he is neither needy nor old and he seems to have loved and admired his father. If you bid high on anything in the estate, you will be a winner no matter what you pay. I wish Bill and his family all the best.
 
“(He would say), the only way you could make a living is if you’re a champion. You can’t lose.”

Ain't that the truth. It was the truth 70/80 years ago, and it's still a truth now.
 
hunger strike said:
Well Charlie Ursitti, Willie's friend and manager, asked me to meet with Bill Mosconi last fall to discuss the disposition of Mosconi's estate items. I met with him near Allentown, PA. Mosconi's cues are in pristine condition for their age and amount of play. There are also other items that not only take up room but must be cared for. It is not necessarily the space that makes an item difficult to keep. There are security issues. Even as a relatively trusted insider, I did not meet Bill at his home. But if the cues are any indication, the rest of the items must be fantastic as well. They would be the pinnacle of any collector's holdings. Bill Mosconi is a class individual. He got some of the cues out of his car trunk so I saw his car and no, he is not a guy who is desperate for money as you seem to have implied. And I believe he is moving to a new home so now is probably an optimal time to take action in this matter. Everyone has family members who could use extra in these times and if Bill uses the proceeds to help those he loves then I applaud him for doing so ~ because he is neither needy nor old and he seems to have loved and admired his father. If you bid high on anything in the estate, you will be a winner no matter what you pay. I wish Bill and his family all the best.
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CLASSY and INFORMATIVE post!

Thanks,
JoeyA
 
I didn't see a link for the auction. It would be nice to obtain an item or two that belonged to the great Willie Mosconi.

At least with the auction you don't have to be concerned about obtaining stolen property. ;-)
 
alstl said:
I wonder if the cue in this video is the one being auctioned.

http://vimeo.com/4957545
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That clip is great. Remember the line in the Hustler where Eddie says, "He moves like a dancer"? That described Mosconi. Even at his age in this clip you can still see it. He handled his cue like a conductors baton as he moved around the table. Even a non player could not help but be mesmerized just watching him pocket balls. I don't think there really is anybody like him today that can raise the game to an art form as he did. Sure there are great players but something is different; Mosconi commanded the room.
 
JoeyA said:
I didn't see a link for the auction. It would be nice to obtain an item or two that belonged to the great Willie Mosconi.

At least with the auction you don't have to be concerned about obtaining stolen property. ;-)
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http://www.huntauctions.com/

click on Mosconi then follow the links. There are a lot of affordable items. His stuff starts at the end of 201 group then just continue. There must be more the a 100 items.
 
I saw Willie play in the late fifties ( I was 6-7 ), the sixties, and the late eighties.

I know there are Mosconi detractors out there - he could be gruff and short tempered with people
but, he was always nice to me and would easily discuss his equipment at length...

Regardless of age, when Willie was at the table he had: Grace, Style and Class !
 
post

Tom@poolmag.com said:
When I interviewed Willie for a story I asked him about the 526. He told me it was on an eight-foot table, that he got tired and missed an orange ball but couldn't remember if it was solid or stripe, and was sure it was a shot to a corner pocket.

As to his cues, all the details of which cues he owned, which he used when, and for what, are in a story in the March P&B, written by long time Mosconi family friend Charles Ursitti, and vetted by Bill Mosconi.

Enjoy,
Tom
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-
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thanks for joining' stick around...you will be appreciated
-
rob.
 
jay helfert said:
Lou that was one great story, well told! You have a gift for telling stories.

P.S. I have similar memories of Mosconi, and I even have the dubious honor of being one of his victims. And yes, it's true, he would promise and ALWAYS deliver a 100 ball run. He hit me with 131 and out!
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Tough loss, Jay. I heard you were up 149-19 at the time. :grin-square:
 
if anyone's thinking of placing a bid, you'd better go ahead and register. I don't know how long it takes to verify before they send you a confirmation email, but it would suck to miss out because of registration at the last minute.
 
BluesTele said:
I saw Willie play in the late fifties ( I was 6-7 ), the sixties, and the late eighties.

I know there are Mosconi detractors out there - he could be gruff and short tempered with people
but, he was always nice to me and would easily discuss his equipment at length...

Regardless of age, when Willie was at the table he had: Grace, Style and Class !
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off the table though many people say he had none
 
Lou you suprised me with that story, very good. I would like to take a stab at the cue ball I could probably make a tidy run with it myself. Let me know when you are going to let the cue ball out.

About the Bushka, Willie did some college tours back in the 60's and he played with a local Indy guy . That was Mac Ashby at IU he was the best player there (some guy named Varner was the best at Purdue around that time). Well anyway Mosconi took some time with Mac and helped him get set up to buy a Balabushka told him it was the cue to have. I expect that means Willie was playing with one at that time. I will ask Mac for more details the next time I see him. I have heard various stories on Mosconi's attitude but Mac has nothing but praise for him said Mosoconi was very personable. I think this was around 1968 or so. Mac had that Balabushka for years and finally sold it 10 years ago or more ago.
 
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Just saw Mac last night, he said when Mosconi helped him order his Balbushka Willie was still playing with his Rambo. This was late 60's.
 
elvicash said:
Just saw Mac last night, he said when Mosconi helped him order his Balbushka Willie was still playing with his Rambo. This was late 60's.
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Thanks, Dana. It stands to reason - he had been the best player in the universe with the Rambow, so why change?

I remember a column in BD by Mike Shamos some years ago. Mike had visited the Mosconi home while Willie was still alive. He was shown a closet that contained cues Willie had been given over the years, all of them unused and some still in the shipping containers. I remember Mike lusting over what the closet contained but Willie couldn't care less about them. At some point I suppose he took the Bushka out of the closet. Maybe the Rambow broke? Rambow died in 1967 at age 86 or 87 so a new Rambow was not a possibility.
 
Mac Ashby's bushka

elvicash said:
About the Bushka, Willie did some college tours back in the 60's and he played with a local Indy guy . That was Mac Ashby at IU he was the best player there (some guy named Varner was the best at Purdue around that time). Well anyway Mosconi took some time with Mac and helped him get set up to buy a Balabushka told him it was the cue to have. I expect that means Willie was playing with one at that time. I will ask Mac for more details the next time I see him. I have heard various stories on Mosconi's attitude but Mac has nothing but praise for him said Mosoconi was very personable. I think this was around 1968 or so. Mac had that Balabushka for years and finally sold it 10 years ago or more ago.
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I bought and owned that cue - got it from Mac (through a third party) and had it for several years. I acquired it around 1990. i can verify that since I still have the records. It was a very nice original cue.

Mark Griffin
 
Tom@poolmag.com said:
When I interviewed Willie for a story I asked him about the 526. He told me it was on an eight-foot table, that he got tired and missed an orange ball but couldn't remember if it was solid or stripe, and was sure it was a shot to a corner pocket.

As to his cues, all the details of which cues he owned, which he used when, and for what, are in a story in the March P&B, written by long time Mosconi family friend Charles Ursitti, and vetted by Bill Mosconi.

Enjoy,
Tom
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Tom - is there any way you could post that article? I know you have an archive on the P&B site but the 2011 articles aren't there.

P.S. I've now subscribed to your e-zine so I won't miss good articles like this in the future.
 
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