Willie Mosconi, the best pocket billiards (pool) player of the 20th Bill Mosconi, 69, of Philadelphia, attributes his father's success to his fierce competitiveness, stellar vision and soft stroke. Silver Member. Greenleaf died in 1950, and in his New York Times obituary, the paper declared: What Babe Ruth did for baseball, Dempsey did for fighting, Tilden did for tennisGreenleaf did for pocket billiards.. Men (or in some cases boys) whod learned how to master the game started out at local pool halls to make some extra cash and wound up touring the country. AZBilliards.com EPPA inc. 1998-2023 All Rights Reserved. Even in 2015, Philadelphias zoning code classifies pool halls with multiple tables in the same category as adult bookstores and adult movie theaters and precludes their location within 500 feet of a residential property, unlike bars with one pool table that can be almost anywhere. That table was not a Brunswick, so Willie was required to play on one of the Brunswick 8 foot tables. He was the first director of the Citys Office of Housing and Community Development and executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia from 2002 to 2013. } 4(JR!$AkRf[(t Bw!hz#0 )l`/8p.7p|O~ Mosconi wrote Winning Pocket Billiards (1965) and an autobiography, Willies Game (1993). Between 1941 and 1957 he won fifteen consecutive championships. Hunt says it is difficult to estimate the value of the auction lot, but he believes it will attract collectors from several generations. ! Local Philadelphians also frequented Longos, including George Kelly (a relative of Grace Kelly and a champion billiards player), mob boss Angel Bruno, and police sergeant (later police commissioner and mayor of Philadelphia) Frank Rizzo. Mosconi married his second wife, Flora Marchini, in 1953. BILLIARDS LEGEND WILLIE MOSCONI DIES; The stick, with mother-of-pearl inlays, gets its name from the Russian-born craftsman George Balabushka, considered by some the Stradivarius of cuemakers. The movie played a major part in the boom in the popularity of pool. Fats particularly liked one-pocket, the gambler's specialty that had been invented at Oklahoma City's Huckins Hotel during the '20s. Willie's father Joseph Mosconi owned a pool hall that the family lived above. Mosconi competed successfully on 4 1/2 9 and 5 x 10 ft tables. For his efforts, he was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame Class of 1980. According to Mosconi, Gleason already knew his way around a billiard table and Mosconi recommended Gleason for the role of the original "Minnesota Fats". The BCA isnt the only hall of fame for pool players. Parallel to the evolution of billiards in exclusive mens clubs and professional championships was the continuation of billiards as a popular workingmans game. But he was clearly the father of American billiards," Hunt said. "With baseball, there are so many iconic names. Between the years of 1941 and 1957, he won the World Straight Pool Championship an unmatched fifteen times. ', Many Bills fans stumped by identity of social media influencer who announced third-round pick, Bills' draft grades from Buffalo News writers show hits and misses, Ex-Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, on the payroll through 2027-28, comes out of retirement to play in Germany, Departure of 5 UB women's basketball commits raises eyebrows among coaches, analysts, Mark Gaughan: Buffalo Bills' winners and losers after 2023 NFL draft, Alan Pergament: JP starts on WECK Monday after all; Jennifer Stanonis rejoins WGRZ-TV, Former waitress sentenced to 2 to 5 years in prison in $50,000 lottery scheme, Bills trade up in first round, select Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid at No. She primarily competed in mens tournaments due to a lack of womens events and was doing so at the age of 9. POOL Shortly thereafter the first of his three children was born, William, Jr., who attended St. Josephs Prep in Philadelphia and graduated with the class of 1959. Copyrights 2023 RKG Snooker, All Rights Reserved. Carom billiards was still the form of the game initially played by Ralph Greenleaf (1899-1950), considered to be the third-best all-time billiards player and its first real celebrity. At many times, he held these titles simultaneously. The movie The Hustler came out, and Fats claimed the movie was about him (despite the author denying this). A straight pool run of 526 consecutive balls (more than 37 consecutive racks cleared on an 8ft. - December 2nd to 5th, 2013 will see the 20th edition of the Mosconi Cup take place in Las Vegas. His most famous record was made during an exhibition in Springfield, OH, on March 19, 1954. All the national champions played at Longos. To this day, he still has four world records that have never been broken by another American. 1961 would change that. Played on a table with six pockets and either nine or fifteen balls, billiards is referred to as pocket billiards and is popularly known as pool in the United States. Id wind up staying up all night playing pool in my dorm. At age eleven, he became the World juvenile champion and continued to tour the country for many years. Hoppe was also part of the 1966 inaugural class of the BCA Hall of Fame. You can't lose.". They had one of those tables that you had to pay a quarter to release all the balls. /N 3 Greenleaf dominated the game from 1919 to 1937, winning 20 championships. Willie Mosconi [2023 Update]: Life, Career & Net Worth - Celeb Greenleaf married a vaudeville star, Princess Nai Tai, who often appeared with him at his exhibition performances, contributing to his celebrity. Shortly before winning his first World Straight Pool Championship in 1941, Mosconi married Ann Harrison, his first wife. In his career, Mosconi wrote several books on playing pool, including: He also appeared in the 1961 movie The Hustler and was a technical advisor on the film. FAMpeople is your site which contains biographies of famous people of the past and present. Born in South Philadelphia, Davis learned to play billiards at the Christian Street YMCA, the first black YMCA in Philadelphia. He dominated this series, and ran 125 balls from the break five times when only two other players in history had ever done the same. By age 6, his skills were so exceptional that Ralph Greenleaf, the reigning 14/1 World Champion, accepted to play a challenge match which he won by the close margin of 50 to 46! MI #~__ Q$.R$sg%f,a6GTLEQ!/B)EogEA?l kJ^- \?l{ P&d\EAt{6~/fJq2bFn6g0O"yD|TyED0Ok-\~[`|4P,w\A8vD$+)%@P4 0L ` ,\@2R 4f These provided places where single men from Philadelphias Irish and Italian immigrant communities could congregate for both social and recreational purposes. Billiards was very popular during the Civil War period. One of the notable black Philadelphia billiards players was Edward Chick Davis (1907-2006). As balkline became less popular, he switched to 3-cushion pool. He made a brief return to competition in the middle of the sixties, and announced his official retirement in 1966. Willie Mosconi Bio | Books & Net Worth /Length 12 0 R I won some games here and there, but Im not in the same universe as some of the greatest of the game. In addition to hosting annual member tournaments, interclub tournaments, and exhibition matches, the Union League hosted the national championship in 1913. Mosconi holds the all-time documented record for balls continuously pocketed without a miss526, achieved in an exhibition match in Springfield, Ohio, in 1954. Further support for championships to popularize the game came from the Brunswick & Balke Co. of Chicago, which began manufacturing billiards tables in 1845. Cochran won two balkline worlds titles in 1927 and 1934. However, as with other minority communities, the primary places for Philadelphias black residents to play billiards were taverns and saloons. 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His efforts to fight hustlers and pool's seamy image led to years of feuding with Minnesota Fats, who taunted Mosconi but turned down repeated invitations to compete against him. Mosconi began playing at a very young age at his fathers billiards parlor in South Philadelphia. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). For Mr. Mosconi, it was more than Willie defeats "Minnesota." Mosconi, who also had two daughters, ran a pool hall in North Philadelphia but raised his children in the New Jersey suburbs and stressed education at home. They come from all walks of life. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1989, Shamos, Michael Ian. During the filming of "The Hustler" in 1961, which starred Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman as pool players who seek matches for money, Mr. Mosconi served as technical director and made cameo appearances. Billiards Digest ranked Greenleaf as the greatest player of the 20th century. Mosconi set the world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition in Springfield, Ohio on March 1920, 1954. Mosconis job was to teach Newman how to walk, talk, and shoot like a real pool hustler. Gamblingsites.org does not promote or endorse any form of wagering or gambling to users under the age of 18. Now this is called carom billiards and is still popular in Europe and Asia, although much less so in the United States. He appeared in televised grudge matches against his rival, Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone Jr. Todays standard for tables may be considered more difficult to play on than this exhibition table in the sense that longer shots are required (todays standard tables are 9 x 4 1/2 ft) with 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 inch pockets, but todays tables may be considered easier to play on in the sense that there is more room for the balls to spread, creating unfettered shots. WebWilliam Joseph Mosconi (/ m s k o n i /; June 27, 1913 September 17, 1993), generally known as Willie Mosconi, was an American professional pool (pocket One floor had a special glass-enclosed area for top players so they could be seen performing without being bothered. Willie Mosconi - Interesting stories about famous people, Mosconi was a straight pool player that between 1941 and 1957 won 15 straight pool world championships. Crane was self-taught, and by the age of 14, he had mastered the sport. The son of a billiards parlour owner, Mosconi showed a precocious talent for the game. Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Follow The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Instagram, Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You Back, Changing times for Philly's billiards scene (PhillyVoice.com), Top Pool Halls in Philadelphia (CBS Philly), Hands on History: Billiards (History.com), Allinger's was 'fabulous' when pool was king in Philly (Philadelphia Inquirer, April 8, 2016). There was sufficient interest in billiards in Philadelphia by 1858 for the city to be the location of the first informal American billiards championship. An exhaustive list with descriptions would be about ten times longer than this post. Mosconi's was owned by Willie Mosconi, the South Philadelphian who not only became one of the world's top players but, as that 1961 film's technical adviser, Newman had never even picked up a pool cue prior to filming, but his relative inexperience was undetectable due to Mosconis expert instruction. Willie Mosconi walks into the Billiards and I was the youngest player in Philadelphia, and we had the greatest players there. A number of players that never played in tournaments havent been inducted. He won the 3-cushion world championships in 1933, 1935, 1936, and finally in 1944. Black players had no opportunity to compete in national championships or against the top players of the day. Willie Mosconi Mosconi pioneered and regularly employed numerous trick shots, set many records, and helped to popularize pool as a national recreation activity. Kids do that stuff in games. It is a purely informational website that does not accept wagers of any kind. But within the world bounded by the green felt tables and brightly colored balls of pocket billiards, Mosconi was much more than a celebrity. The first mens club in Philadelphia to offer billiards to its members appears to have been the Philadelphia Club, which added a billiards room to its new facility at Thirteenth and Walnut Streets in 1849. Under the sponsorship of Brunswick, Mosconi toured the country promoting what he always called pocket billiards. His father Joseph owned a pool hall, located in the same building as the family's apartment. "But for Willie Mosconi, billiards was strictly a business.". While still a youngster in the early 1920s, he was being paid $75 or $100 for appearances around town. Played between November 1940 and May 1941, the 8-man league required to have 32 matches played between each of the participants. He retired in 1946 because of arthritis. Mosconi found himself at the Strand Theatre near Times Square, waiting to begin an 8 p.m. straight-pool match with 13-time world champ Ralph Greenleaf.
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