2 vintage clips of Mosconi -- one demonstrating 14.1 pattern play & breakshots; the other showing him at age 36 doing trick shots.

[ernie]

First, a fuzzy, occasionally jumpy 7-minute 1980 video that
nevertheless amply demonstrates Mosconi’s firm and ultra-confident
delivery stroke that’s also capable of great subtlety (note the cute
nip/slide-draw he executes at 3:40 that has to avoid the break ball
he’s setting up on by a scant millimeter):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRKw56oAA-E&feature=related

And here’s a film clip of Willie at age 36 showing his powerful and
accurate stroke, doing several trick shots (including some that jump
the 6-foot gap between two 5 x 10 tables). Jimmy Caras is also seen
on this 6-minute clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnAXGj9KlJE&feature=related

Ernie

[Hank]

What the hell kind of stroke was that at the 6:15 point? LOL

Hank

[ernie]

>
> What the hell kind of stroke was that at the 6:15 point?
>

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mosconi's infrequently used version of a punch/stun stroke. When
used, it generally allowed him -- for pocketing accuracy -- to apply
minimally off-center english (high-right in this case) and with
(atypical for Mosconi) a dropped elbow and plenty of just the right
amount of upper arm movement to ensure just enough follow through on a
firm punch stroke that would allow that relatively slow travel you see
to the position spot he intended.

His firm stun/punch delivery in the case of this 6:15 point shot
actually over-killed the intended travel by a few inches. Btw, look
at the great cue ball action at the 6:50 point when, with his *normal*
short, firm, silky-smooth and quite wristy stroke he effortlessly
spins the cue ball back off the rail with low-right way up table with
plenty of cue ball velocity.

The oldtimers whose tournament play was exclusively generally short-
travel 14.1 could do more with minimally off-center english than is
used or desired today. Maximally off-center english is now
commonplace. Today's higher tech shafts, "grabby" laminated tips,
lively balls, and most especially the predominance (over 14.1) of 8-
and 9-ball and their associated multi-rail cue ball travel demands,
noticably encourage and allow for plenty of well-off-center stroking.

Ernie

[Hank]

I can't argue with success. I've seen some pretty unusual, but
successful, attempts at shot making.

Hank

[John Black]

In article <f926cd97-e303-4c70-ae44-
0f462e...@t8g2000yqg.googlegroups.com>, ernesto-s...@usa.net
says...

>
> First, a fuzzy, occasionally jumpy 7-minute 1980 video that

> nevertheless amply demonstrates Mosconi?s firm and ultra-confident
> delivery stroke that?s also capable of great subtlety (note the cute

> nip/slide-draw he executes at 3:40 that has to avoid the break ball

> he?s setting up on by a scant millimeter):
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRKw56oAA-E&feature=related
>
> And here?s a film clip of Willie at age 36 showing his powerful and

> accurate stroke, doing several trick shots (including some that jump
> the 6-foot gap between two 5 x 10 tables). Jimmy Caras is also seen
> on this 6-minute clip:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnAXGj9KlJE&feature=related

These are awesome Ernie, thanks! I wish we had a lot more like this
where he was explaining as he played.

John Black

[John Black]

In article <f926cd97-e303-4c70-ae44-
0f462e...@t8g2000yqg.googlegroups.com>, ernesto-s...@usa.net
says...

> First, a fuzzy, occasionally jumpy 7-minute 1980 video that

> nevertheless amply demonstrates Mosconi?s firm and ultra-confident
> delivery stroke that?s also capable of great subtlety (note the cute

> nip/slide-draw he executes at 3:40 that has to avoid the break ball

> he?s setting up on by a scant millimeter):
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRKw56oAA-E&feature=related

Ooo, just finished the first clip. I sent my last post in the middle.
When asked about his 526 ball run, he said he didn't miss at the end. He
just quit because he got tired. That's not what I heard about it. I
heard he missed a he blamed a kid for making noise at the wrong time?

John Black

[John Black]

In article <f926cd97-e303-4c70-ae44-
0f462e...@t8g2000yqg.googlegroups.com>, ernesto-s...@usa.net
says...

> And here?s a film clip of Willie at age 36 showing his powerful and

> accurate stroke, doing several trick shots (including some that jump
> the 6-foot gap between two 5 x 10 tables). Jimmy Caras is also seen
> on this 6-minute clip:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnAXGj9KlJE&feature=related

Wow, this one is amazing too. I'm not much for trick shots but I think
these guys would wipe the floor with today's trick shot artists who seem
to be limited to a single table for the most part...

John Black

[ernie]

John,

Re the 526-ball run, Charlie Ursitti, the well-known ref and pool
events promoter (and a close friend of Willie), supports Mosconi’s
version that he was indeed tired, but said Willie did actually miss
the session-ending shot, without comment on the reason for the miss.
It was on a Brunswick 4 x 8 with wide (5 ¼ inch) pockets in
Springfield, Ohio in 1954. The venue had a 4 1/2 x 9 with tighter
pockets, but it wasn't a Brunswick. As a Brunswick travelling rep at
the time, Willie was contractually constrained to playing on their
tables only.

(Some people have conflated the child-caused-distraction version from
Jimmy Reid’s website account of that excuse for missing which actually
did occur -- to the audience's extreme disgust -- during a sponsored
exhibition run of somewhat over 200 balls in a different city.)

Here are plenty more video clips of Mosconi playing a variety of pool
games in his later years:

http://www.videosurf.com/willie-mosconi-190265

and you might want to own a copy of the below fairly rare DVD quoted
at a pretty fair price:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willie-Mosconis-World-Pocket-Billiards-DVD-FREE-FAST-next-day-shipping-/130599916586
---------------------------------------------------------

Also see the below interesting mini-biographical news reporter's
interview with Willie (you may have to increase your screen
magnification or save to Word and magnify that document):

http://i51.tinypic.com/2j4stxg.jpg

Ernie

[Mark0]

When I met Willie in 1983 he was asked what his hardest shot was to keep
the run alive and asked hoe the run ended. His story then was he was
tired, broke down his cue, and said,"let them beat THAT boys." As for his
most difficult shot, he claimed never to have had one, that he kept the
ball near the middle of the table and just 'connected the dots.' He said
a few other things but the one I remember most was that "(UJ Puckett) was
everything that was wrong with pool." Guess he didn't have much regard
for hustlers.

I was privileged to have played him a game of nine-ball ($10 -- money to
goes to charity) and got lucky and won my game with a table length bank
using the rake (damn slick new cloth gave me fits). My friend Scott took
my picture after the win with his sister's SLR. He didn't quite get the
focus right. http://www.mccauleyweb.com/willienme.htm No that's not Fats
in the background.

--> Mark0 <-- beat Mosconi EVERY time we played :-)


Get: Secrets to a Perfect Pool Table Recovering Job
http://www.mccauleyweb.com/secrets.htm
$15 for RSB-ers

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill
the world with fools." -Herbert Spencer

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

_______________________________________________________________________ 

[Hank]

On Dec 28, 9:15 am, "Mark0" <markmccau...@charter.net> wrote:

>
> When I met Willie in 1983 he was asked what his hardest shot was to keep
> the run alive and asked hoe the run ended.  His story then was he was
> tired, broke down his cue, and said,"let them beat THAT boys."  As for his
> most difficult shot, he claimed never to have had one, that he kept the
> ball near the middle of the table and just 'connected the dots.'  He said
> a few other things but the one I remember most was that "(UJ Puckett) was
> everything that was wrong with pool."  Guess he didn't have much regard
> for hustlers.
>
> I was privileged to have played him a game of nine-ball ($10 -- money to
> goes to charity) and got lucky and won my game with a table length bank
> using the rake (damn slick new cloth gave me fits).  My friend Scott took
> my picture after the win with his sister's SLR.  He didn't quite get the
> focus right.  http://www.mccauleyweb.com/willienme.htm No that's not Fats
> in the background.
>
> --> Mark0 <-- beat Mosconi EVERY time we played  :-)

Great story! You should feel priviledged.

Hank

[John Black]

In article <6204bf8f-497f-421c-b239-
e247a5...@v14g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>, ernesto-s...@usa.net
says...

>
> John,
>
> Re the 526-ball run, Charlie Ursitti, the well-known ref and pool

> events promoter (and a close friend of Willie), supports Mosconi?s

> version that he was indeed tired, but said Willie did actually miss
> the session-ending shot, without comment on the reason for the miss.

> It was on a Brunswick 4 x 8 with wide (5 ? inch) pockets in

> Springfield, Ohio in 1954. The venue had a 4 1/2 x 9 with tighter
> pockets, but it wasn't a Brunswick. As a Brunswick travelling rep at
> the time, Willie was contractually constrained to playing on their
> tables only.
>
> (Some people have conflated the child-caused-distraction version from

> Jimmy Reid?s website account of that excuse for missing which actually

> did occur -- to the audience's extreme disgust -- during a sponsored
> exhibition run of somewhat over 200 balls in a different city.)
>
> Here are plenty more video clips of Mosconi playing a variety of pool
> games in his later years:
>
> http://www.videosurf.com/willie-mosconi-190265
>
> and you might want to own a copy of the below fairly rare DVD quoted
> at a pretty fair price:
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willie-Mosconis-World-Pocket-Billiards-DVD-FREE-FAST-next-day-shipping-/130599916586
> ---------------------------------------------------------
>
> Also see the below interesting mini-biographical news reporter's
> interview with Willie (you may have to increase your screen
> magnification or save to Word and magnify that document):
>
> http://i51.tinypic.com/2j4stxg.jpg

Ernie, thanks for these. I liked the article. Mosconi sounds very
confident that he owned guys like Greenleaf ("You belong to me"),
Lassiter ("he never beat me a game in his life") and Fats ("The guy can't
play at all. He never beat anybody"). Too funny!

John Black