Willie Mosconi: The Greatest Ever

What was Willie Mosconi to the game of pocket billiards? What was Babe Ruth to baseball, Michael Jordan to basketball, Jim Brown to football, or Jack Nicklaus to golf? Willie Mosconi was all that to the game of pocket billiards, and then some. He enjoyed that exalted distinction fifty years ago, when I was a lad first getting into the game, and in all the intervening years, no one has come close to supplanting him.
His achievements are legend:

• From 1941 through 1956, a period of 15 years, he won the world championship 13 times.
• In 1954, in an exhibition on a 4 ft x 8 ft table, he ran an unprecedented 526 balls.
• In 1956, he disposed of opponent Cowboy Jimmy Moore in a single inning, by running 150 balls on a 4 1/2 x 9 table.
• And to verify that Willie excelled on all tables, he also holds the record for high tournament run on a 5 ft x 10 ft table at 127. That distinction he shares with Jimmy Caras.

Willie Mosconi was born in Philadelphia in 1913 in the second-floor apartment in a house at Eighth and Wharton Streets. He appeared destined for a stage career as a member of the Dancing Mosconis, a troupe that included several family members and began dancing lessons at his uncle's studio at Fourth and Arch Streets.

When he was 6, he discovered the pool table in the corner of his uncle's studio and, almost immediately, he displayed an affinity for the game.

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In fact, he showed so much promise that his uncle took him to a club in New York to show off his skills. A poster dating from this period touted Willie as an 11-year-old ''Boy Wonder."

His father, Joseph, however, was not impressed by his son's proficiency. The elder Mosconi, a former boxer, ran a gymnasium on the first floor of the family home. In the back were four or five pool tables. But, the only chance young Willie got at the tables was when his father, a Phillies fanatic, locked up on Fridays and dashed off to the Baker Bowl to watch a game.

"I'd sneak down and play pool and eat up his pies and candy," Willie said in a 1979 interview. "One day I ripped the cloth on a table, and boy, did he give me a licking that night. After that he locked up the balls when he went out. So I'd get bags of potatoes and take them down and use them as balls (and sink them with a broomstick). When he'd find the tables all dirty I'd get more spankings. But I got pretty good."
He later recalled that he gave the game up for a few years but after he dropped out of school to help support his parents he heard of a pool tournament offering a $75 1st prize and entered it. He won. "My parents and I lived for a month on that money," he remembered.

He rapidly outgrew the local tournament scene and started playing against world class opponents. He came to the attention of Brunswick Corporation, and was asked to join the staff and travel around the country to promote Brunswick's products.

In 1941, he won the first of his fourteen world championships. Yet, though well known among pool aficionados, he was hardly a household name. He suffered a stroke in 1956 and, thereafter, competed less in world class events. Then, in 1960, he was hired as a consultant for the movie "The Hustler." It was actually Willie who suggested Jackie Gleason play the roll of Minnesota Fats. Gleason was known as a fair pool player in his own right. Paul Newman, who played Fast Eddie Felson, had never played before, so Willie coached him. It was largely through his association with this movie that Willie gained widespread recognition as the all-time greatest pool player.


While "The Hustler" brought Willie to the fore and popularized the game of pocket billiards it also provided a launching pad for someone who was far less skilled in the game of pool, Rudolph Wanderone. Known previously as New York Fats and Baltimore Fats, depending on where he was located, Wanderone claimed the movie was about him and hence forth went by the name of Minnesota Fats. Even though Walter Tevis, the author of the novel upon which the movie was based, denied the claim, Wanderone was persistent in his declaration. Though he tried to uplift his own legend and denigrate Willie's, no one who really knew the game was duped, especially Willie.

"Hustler is just another word for thief, and Minnesota Fats is just another word for phony," Mr. Mosconi once said of his rival.

Wanderone wasn't qualified to carry Willie's socks and everyone knew it. A televised challenge match was arranged in 1978, Mr. Mosconi showing up in his tuxedo and the lip flapping Minnesota Fats in baggy pants and polo shirt. Willie destroyed the fat man. Still, the media loved Fats and to this day his name is associated with pool and, fittingly, a variety of lesser quality pool products.

Willie was a great technician and teacher. Books by Willie Mosconi are still sought after by collectors and aspiring pool players.

A Key To A Better Stroke

Let’s face it, I’m no Willie Mosconi, just like A-Rod’s no Yogi Berra, or Mickey Mantle, or Derek Jeter, or Gary Sheffield. A-Rod is a perennial post-season choke artist al a Dave Winfield. I know post season play is not supposed to influence MVP voting; still, I hope he doesn’t get it. Give the MVP to David Ortiz, another guy who can get the big hit when it counts. ‘Nuff said about baseball. Back to pool.

If you’ve read my previous entries, you have probably determined that I am more or less obsessed with pool vision and the importance of seeing the balls in relation to the pocket. Daily I bemoan the fact that I’ve lost that ability and regard it as the main reason I can’t recapture my form of 40 years ago. A recent streak of losses, however, has caused me to take a closer look at my stroke. I was immediately forced to admit that it was atrocious. However, while my efforts to improve my vision have only been mildly successful, there seemed no reason why I couldn’t build an effective stroke and thereby eliminate misses on easy shots.

When I first learned how to play, back when I was a kid, the only guide I had to proper stroking was Mosconi’s little red book. Consequently, my stroke was somewhat like his, at least it incorporated all the elements he talked about, some of which are contrary to current philosophies.

For example, a couple years ago I actually had to bring the little red book (Willie Mosconi on Pocket Billiards) to the pool room to prove a point. One of the resident experts insisted that at the moment of contact the forearm should be straight up and down at a 90 degree angle from the upper arm. When I told him that was contrary to what Mosconi had once espoused, he announced in front of the entire pool room that I didn’t know what I was talking about.

As a matter of honor, I went home, found the applicable passage and made it a point to bring the book to the pool hall next day. Of course, the local expert would not admit he had been wrong. It wouldn’t have been good for his image.

The paragraph I was referring to is on page 35 of the 1968 edition. It reads, “By comparing Fig. 23 (page 34) with Fig. 5 (page 19), you will note that the player is in the same relative position at the backward and forward points of his stroke. At the backward point of the stroke the hand points down to the floor at approximately a right angle. At the forward point of the stroke, the shoulder is in about the same position; the elbow has dropped slightly, and the wrist moves forward. The cue is held as level as possible.” Figure 23 shows Mosconi with his cue drawn back. Figure 5, which is often misinterpreted, is a depiction of his position after the stroke with the cue ball on its way.

As a young lad, I studied that book relentlessly. When I took my stance at the table, I could feel that I was in the same position Mosconi had been in in the various photos. And I had, if I do say so myself, one helluva stroke. It was perfect; and it never broke down. Whether I was on the rail or stretched the full length of the table, it was always true. And when I put stuff on the cue ball, it danced. Unfortunately, after a 38 year lay off, my stroke was gone.

I had no choice but to start from scratch, but my heart wasn’t really in it. So, what I settled for was a tentative poke that wasn’t consistent with my former way of stroking or with the new theories I have been exposed to. What the hell, I figured, since I couldn’t see the balls anyway, what difference did it make. Well, I was wrong.

Like I said, because I was missing too many easy shots I had to admit my stroke was the problem and I started working on it. The first thing I concentrated on was keeping my upper arm still while working my forearm with that desired pendulum action. I also focused on following through on every shot, noting in particular the location of my grip hand, near my right breast, at the conclusion of each shot. And, because I frequently caught myself tightening my grip during the shot, I worked on maintaining a light grip with the thumb and first three fingers.

I found that my stroke was straightest when the thumb was straight up and down, so I incorporated that into the mix. My stroke was coming along but it still wavered during the follow through, veering to the left or right. Then I started keying on the lead edge of my right hand and the bottom knuckle of index finger. When I stroke, I feel that part of my hand and knuckle gliding along the path and driving the cue through the cue ball. It works… for me. My stroke in 100% better than it was just a few weeks ago. How do I know? I’m playing better. I’m not missing those easy shots, and I’m getting better action on the cue ball. If you’re having trouble with your stroke, try keying on the knuckle and the leading edge of your grip hand.