"Wimpy" Luther Lassiter's Stroke

mosconiac

mosconiac

Job+Wife+Child=No Stroke
Silver Member
For those that have not seen the classic stroke of one of the legends of our game, please puruse the following videos. Sorry for the poor quality, but the point is made none the less.

Clip 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3qCvGJNHZI
Clip 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qbLrZGZ-vk

The things I noted about his stroke are: 1) the "pistol" grip, 2) the loose wrist, 3) the very forward grip (seems to be common in that era), 4) the short/compact practice strokes, & 5) he never misses a shot. ;)
 
Lots of reading...

Mosconiac,
Too add to your thread, here's a link to another thread re: Luther's stroke mechanics that has many of our forum members adding their thoughts. There's a "kink" towards the end that sort of upsets the equilibrian of the thread, but over-all, there were lots of good info by the members here.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=76576
 
Of course the grip was closer to the balance point, as was Mosconi's, Crane's, Ray Martin's etc. They also stood more erect, and dropped their elbow/upper arm on the final stroke ! Take from that what you will. They all had slightly different styles as the players of today have. These players mentioned had above average natural ability, so they overcame anything that held them back.

It's my personal theory that the current BCA Pro Instructors maximize your chances to improve with the formula they teach. As has been said ad nauseum, when as many of the variables as possible are removed, you increase your likelihood of success. The repeatable stroke is the average players best chance for rapid improvement. If I currently employ the typical style of today's shooters, can you imagine where I'd be in a month if I started trying to emulate Wimpy ? That being said, most players that are 50+ today only had Willie Mosconi's little book to go by. Maybe we choked up on the grip too much, because Mosconi was 5"6" and thought that everyone should use his style. What did we know ? Not too much compared to Willie. Many players of the day still managed to run 100 balls or 3 or more racks of 8/9 ball, but I think the players of today are better on average AND more numerous. YMMV...Tom
 
anyone have any longer vids of him, like whole games, perhaps back when he was in his prime?
 
ESPN Classic will be airing some of his matches this week and next around 10 in the morning.They will have some Crane matches,as well as Masconi vs Fat:eek: s
 
like all of us I would love to see that whole video about 10 times today if possible.


also I did notice the butt of his cue was high, it wasnt as level as most champions, did anyone else notice that?


I wish TAR was around back in the 50's to now, Chad would be kinda old ;) , but we sure would have alot of great video for the last 60 years. :)
 
"level cue"

What a "level cue" is has evolved considerably. The old advocates of a level cue routinely had the rear of the cue elevated three inches or more and considered that level. As we have moved our stance lower to the table the cue has became far closer to level.

Hu






Fatboy said:
like all of us I would love to see that whole video about 10 times today if possible.


also I did notice the butt of his cue was high, it wasnt as level as most champions, did anyone else notice that?


I wish TAR was around back in the 50's to now, Chad would be kinda old ;) , but we sure would have alot of great video for the last 60 years. :)
Click to expand...
 
ShootingArts said:
What a "level cue" is has evolved considerably. The old advocates of a level cue routinely had the rear of the cue elevated three inches or more and considered that level. As we have moved our stance lower to the table the cue has became far closer to level.

Hu
Click to expand...


One thing I have noticed with the little I have played since the last 2 operations is I cant get down low on the cue-there goes my pro snooker career/ :( . But on the other hand I'm up above the cue now like Lassiter so perhaps I'll be playing his speed by the next Derby-I like it, SVB better watch out.........:eek: yeah right.


on a serious note I have played very little because of pain but have noticed one thing 58" cues arnt working very good any more, I busted out a 59" cue thats a bit heavy for me but since I'm up higher it seems to be more comfortable, I'm gonna have to work with 59" & 60" cues nowdays I think, I'm just too far back on the 58" cues. I might have the last implant in my back removed, if so the I'mm go back to a 58" pole. Years ago I did play for 2 years with a 60" SW I still have it but wow its heavy, funny how a players taste in cues changes over time.
 
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I go back n forth from upright to "snooker"....both work to some extent. I think a "little of both" is the right thing depending on the shot.

Don't forget most of the old guys played 14.1 so you really didn't need to have the chin on the cue to see the shots. I actually have a tough time with short shots and my chin on the cue. Also the guys back in the 40's/50's grew up watching many 3C Billiards players, who predominately stood more upright, so maybe that found it's way into pocket billiards in the early days.

The cloth also has something to do with it IMO. Slower cloth demanded a stronger stroke, and for me being upright helps on shots that you have to slug. The shorter bridge length that they used also makes you want move your hand forward on the grip for balance.
 
McChen said:
anyone have any longer vids of him, like whole games, perhaps back when he was in his prime?
Click to expand...
Fatboy said:
like all of us I would love to see that whole video about 10 times today if possible.
Click to expand...
I can't point you to vids from his prime, but he seemed to play pretty sporty in those Legends events, which I purchased in their entirety from KRBSAILING right here on AZB. You might check with him.
 
I like a sixty inch light cue

I have played with cue weights and lengths all over the place. Weights from 12-24 ounces and even about 30 ounces just to see what it was like. I have played with a 62 inch stick but I find that I like a sixty inch stick best. The one I am shooting with now is 17 ounces and I plan to build a still ligher one soon. The most frustrating stick I ever shot pool with was a 12 ounce sixty inch snooker stick. Once I finally got it to work it was also the finest finesse stick I ever shot with.

My stance is a little higher too. I think that there are as many advantages as disadvantages and I still get super low for the occasional shot but mostly I stay high.

Hu



Fatboy said:
One thing I have noticed with the little I have played since the last 2 operations is I cant get down low on the cue-there goes my pro snooker career/ :( . But on the other hand I'm up above the cue now like Lassiter so perhaps I'll be playing his speed by the next Derby-I like it, SVB better watch out.........:eek: yeah right.


on a serious note I have played very little because of pain but have noticed one thing 58" cues arnt working very good any more, I busted out a 59" cue thats a bit heavy for me but since I'm up higher it seems to be more comfortable, I'm gonna have to work with 59" & 60" cues nowdays I think, I'm just too far back on the 58" cues. I might have the last implant in my back removed, if so the I'mm go back to a 58" pole. Years ago I did play for 2 years with a 60" SW I still have it but wow its heavy, funny how a players taste in cues changes over time.
Click to expand...
 
Mosconi

was not 5'6", he was more like 5'9" - From someone, 5'7", that played Mosconi in an exhibition match in San Diego back in '68.
 
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