Willie Mosconi

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Willie Mosconi

William Joseph Mosconi aka "Mr. Pocket Billiards" ( June 27, 1913–September 12, 1993 ), an American billiards player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is considered by most who knew him to be one of the best players in the history of the game. Between the years of 1941 and 1957, he won the BCA World Championship of pool an amazing fifteen times. He is often regarded as pool's greatest ambassador and is usually the first name that comes to mind when recalling the greats of the game. Mosconi pioneered and regularly employed numerous trickshots, set innumerable records, and helped to popularize the game of billiards as a national recreation activity.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the billiards game most often played in competition was called straight pool, or 14.1 continuous, a form of pocket billiards considered by most top players to be more difficult than today's championship pool game 9-ball. Willie Mosconi still holds the high run record of 526 consecutive balls (See below for more details).

1 Young Mosconi
2 Tournaments & Exhibitions
3 Wife & Children
4 The Author
5 526 High Run
6 The Hustler (1961)
7 TV & Film
8 The Mosconi Legacy
9 References

[edit] Young Mosconi

Willie's father Joseph Mosconi owned a pool hall that the family lived above. Joseph Mosconi was strongly opposed to Willie playing pocket billiards, preferring he become a Vaudeville performer. He tried to keep his young son away from the game by hiding the billiard balls, but Willie improvised by practicing with small potatoes from his mother's kitchen and an old broomstick^[1].

Mosconi was a child prodigy and his father soon realized that his son's talent could help earn money for their growing family. His father began advertising challenge matches, and though Willie had to stand on a box in order to reach the table, he beat experienced players many years his senior.

In 1919 an exhibition match was arranged between six year old Willie and the reigning World Champion, Ralph Greenleaf. The hall was packed, and though Greenleaf won that match, Willie played well enough to draw considerable attention and launch his career in professional billiards.

[edit] Tournaments & Exhibitions

In 1924, at the tender age of eleven, Willie was the juvenile straight pool champion and was regularly holding trick shot exhibitions.[1] By the early 1930's Willie needed to take a brief hiatus from the game, but returned a couple years later in the hopes of earning some money.

Upon his return, Mosconi entered one local tournament after another and according to his autobiography, "Willie's Game"^[2], he won them all. After a short while Willie was making a living as a professional billiards player. Willie claimed he never hustled anyone, beating everyone straight.

In 1933, Mosconi competed in the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) World Championship tournament, having taken second in the divisionals. Mosconi took fifth place, but his career and reputation were really taking off. His performance garnered the attention of the president of Brunswick Corporation who immediately hired the young phenom.

That same year Mosconi embarked on a hectic cross-country exhibition tour promoting Brunswick products. Mosconi was joined by his idol and then World Champion Ralph Greenleaf, who was at the top of his game. In the end the scoreline read 57 wins for Greenleaf and an astonishing 50 wins for the 20 year old Mosconi.

From 1940 to 1941 a league was sponsored by billiard halls with 8 players, and a full round robin took place. Mosconi was sponsored by a hall in New York called McGirr's. 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. He continued to dominate pool into the mid 1950s in a manner few have equalled, however he was beaten by Richard Roberts.

In 1944, Willie enlisted in the US army, having already spent several years working within the defense industry. When World War II ended, he returned to a successful tournament career and renewed his affiliation with Brunswick Corporation.

After suffering a stroke in 1956, Willie slowed down on his tournament appearances in order to recover. He later returned to the game at nearly 100%, once again winning the BCA World Championship, (1957).

Willie permanently retired from tournament play in 1966 but remained active in promoting the game. He consulted and appeared in several movies dealing with billiards, made game show appearances and wrote many articles on billiards.

[edit] Wife & Children

Shortly before winning his first world championship in 1941, Willie married his first wife Ann Harrison. Shortly thereafter the first of his three children was born, William Jr, followed soon after by a daughter, Candace. That marriage ended in divorce. Willie remarried in 1953 to Flora Marchini, their daughter Gloria was born in 1954. Flora remained married to Willie until his death in 1993.

[edit] The Author

Willie authored an autobiography titled Willie's Game.^[2]

Willie and a ghost writer authored an instructional book on pocket billiards entitled Willie Mosconi on Pocket Billiards^[3]'. In the book he offers advice on fundamentals, includes photographs and diagrams on shotmaking and provides straight pool stategies. The book was originally published by Crown Publishers Inc. of New York (1948) and had a second printing (1959). A second ghost-written book (which on some finer points contradicts On Pocket Billiards) was also published under his name.

[edit] 526 High Run

Willie set the world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition on March 19th, 1954 . To this day the record has not been toppled and many speculate it may never be bested. The record was set on a 4 x 8 foot Brunswick pool table at the East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. A handwritten and notarized affidavit^[4] with the signatures of more than 35 eye witnesses exists as proof of this feat.

[edit] The Hustler (1961)

Willie was the technical advisor on the 1961 movie The Hustler^[5], starring Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason and Piper Laurie. Willie's job was to teach Newman how to walk, talk and shoot like a real pool hustler. Newman had never even picked up a pool cue prior to filming, but you'd never know it thanks to Willie's expert instruction. According to Mosconi, Gleason already knew his way around a billiard table^[6] and some have suggested that it was Mosconi himself who recommended Gleason for the role of the original "Minnesota Fats".

Willie also had a cameo role as a "stakes holder" during the first match-up between the film's characters "Fast Eddie" Felson and "Minnesota Fats". Actor Jackie Gleason, (Fats), can be heard saying "Take the money Willie," when the match is commenced. At various points in the film, a keen eye can spot Mosconi in the audience watching the match go down.

The documentary short "The Hustler: The Inside Story", featured on The Hustler Special Edition DVD revealed that whenever the camera cut to Fast Eddie's hands it was really Mosconi taking the shot. (However, IMDb claims that the only shot Mosconi took was the masse shot during Fast Eddie's rematch with Fats).^[7] The movie may have played a major part in the boom in the popularity of pool.

[edit] TV & Film

1937 - "Super Cue Men"^[8], a short feature starring Willie Mosconi, Jimmy Caras and Joi Lansing.

1945 - Columbia World of Sports: "Champion of the Cue",^[9] an eight-minute "sports reel" in which Mosconi demonstrates his cueing expertise in slow motion.

1953 - Columbia World of Sports: "Billiard and Bowling Champs",^[10] another short documentary starring Willie Mosconi and Willie Hoppe, once again in slow motion.

1950-57 - Mosconi appeared on Toast of the Town later known as The Ed Sullivan Show on three occasions: April 23rd, 1950^[11], January 6th 1952^[12], and July 14th, 1957^[13].

Sept. 25th, 1961 - Theatrical release of The Hustler, a film which Mosconi acted as technical advisor and had a small cameo role.

Feb. 5th, 1962 - Mosconi was a contestant on the television game show I've Got a Secret.^[14].

Sept. 2nd, 1962 - Mosconi was a contestant on the television game show What's my line?.^[15].

Feb. 25th, 1978 - "The Great Pool Shoot-Out", a $15,000 match between Rudolph "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone and Mosconi at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Mosconi won the nine-ball competition in three sets, 5-2, 5-3 and 5-2. Aired on ABC's Wide World of Sports^[16] with commentator Howard Cosell and referee Charles Ursitti.

May 9th, 1980 - Willie played a sportscaster in the film The Baltimore Bullet^[17] starring James Coburn and Omar Sharif.

Aug. 10th, 1991 - Willie played his last challenge match, against Jimmy Caras at the Valley Billiards Hall of Fame tribute dinner show. The event was hosted by the Birkbeck Twins at the Williamson Restaurant in Horsham, Pennsylvania. Both players were stopped every couple of racks for interviews.

Throughout the seventies and eighties Willie made several television appearances competing in challenge matches with other legends such as Jimmy Caras, Luther Lassiter, Irving Crane, Joe Balsis and "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone. Many of these shows aired on the ABC and the fledgling ESPN network.

[edit] The Mosconi Legacy

In 1968, at the age of 55, Willie Mosconi was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.^[18]

In 1994, The Mosconi Cup, an annual pool competition between American and European players, was founded in Willie's honor. The event has been held in December of every year since then and is more popular than ever. The Mosconi Cup is considered the Ryder Cup of the billiard world, and players strive to become a member of their respective countries' teams.

Willie Mosconi passed away at the age of 80 on September 12th, 1993 in New Jersey, USA.