William Joseph Mosconi (June 27, 1913 September 17, 1993), generally known as Willie Mosconi, was an American professional pool (pocket billiards) player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Billiards was brought to America by both the English and Spaniards. The marriage ended in divorce. HADDON HEIGHTS, N.J. Willie Mosconi, acknowledged as one of the greatest pocket billiards players ever, died Thursday in his home here following a heart attack. The customarily well-dressed Mosconi easily defeated the talkative, disheveled Minnesota Fats with rapid-fire, accurate shooting. ?_l) Under the sponsorship of Brunswick, Mosconi toured the country promoting what he always called pocket billiards. This was 14/1, played over 6 days in 150-point matches. The 12 Greatest Sharks in the Game: The Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame. The movie played a major part in the boom in the popularity of pool. Longos Society Hill Billiards, which opened at Fifth and South Streets in 1932, was as prominent a billiards venue as Allingers. He was both a pool and carom billiards player. In his autobiography, Rudolf Wanderone Jr. (1913-96), popularly known as Minnesota Fats, lists many pool halls around City Hall where he played and, in a deposition for a lawsuit in the 1940s, Ralph Greenleaf listed nine places in Philadelphia where he regularly played or gave exhibitions. William Joseph Mosconi ( June 27, 1913  September 17, 1993), generally known as Willie Mosconi, was an American professional pool (pocket billiards) player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His first World title came years later when in 1941, at age 27, he won the World Championship League Play. Known as the Philadelphia Flash, Jimmy Fusco is considered to be one of the great one-pocket billiards players. The combination of the popularity generated by the movie The Hustler and the introduction of coin-operated tables in the 1960s created a temporary boom in public interest. For most of the 20th century, his name was essentially synonymous with pool in North America he was nicknamed "Mr. Pocket Billiards" and he was among the first Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame inductees. Upon leaving Norfolk, Fats returned to Illinois and lived in semi-retirement. He died in 1975. Sep 2, 2005 #2 scorpionjohnny said: In order from the best to worst: Straight Pool: Willie Mosconi Mike Sigel Steve Mizerak Ralph Greenleaf Irving Crane Honorable Mention: Nick Varner Buford T. McButts . WebBorn in Philadelphia in 1913, Willie Mosconi learned his game at the pool hall owned by his father, Joseph Mosconi, a former prizefighter. Davis is commemorated as a billiards player and businessman by a mural in the 1400 block of South Street. He was devoted to his wife, and certainly to his kids. 'Black Widow' Jeanette Lee one year after Stage 4 cancer di Other well-known downtown billiard parlors were Frankie Masons at Seventeenth and South Streets, one owned by world champion Jimmy Caras on Chestnut Street, Harry Robbins at Fifteenth and Market Streets, and the Fox, at Sixteenth and Market Streets. Willie Mosconi's World Championships City Games: The Evolution of American Urban Society and the Rise of Sports. At age eleven, he became the World juvenile champion and continued to tour the country for many years. 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 1961 would change that. The BCA Hall of Fame has 72 inductees as of the 2018 induction. Between the years of 1941 and 1957, he won the World Straight Pool Championship an unmatched fifteen times. The championship form of the game became straight pool, and the dominant straight pool player was Willie Mosconi (1913-93) of Philadelphia, considered to be the second-best pool player of all time and the best straight pool player. He was inducted posthumously into the BCA Hall of Fame in 1967 (one of the few non-Americans to receive the honor). Willie Mosconi Crown Publ. To this day the record has not been toppled and many speculate it may never be bested. BILLIARDS LEGEND WILLIE MOSCONI DIES; STRESSED SKILLS OVER HUSTLE. She died in 1995. The texts, images and visual representations on any part of AZBilliards.com may not be republished, retransmitted, reproduced, downloaded or otherwise used, except for personal, non-commercial use. Billiards Digest ranked Greenleaf as the greatest player of the 20th century. The various trademarks presented on this website are held by their respective owners. Billiards was popular because it provided an opportunity to show skill, to be with friends, and to earn a little money through gambling. That would happen to me in college. Updates? 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. That table was not a Brunswick, so Willie was required to play on one of the Brunswick 8 foot tables. 5 0 obj A straight pool run of 526 consecutive balls (more than 37 consecutive racks cleared on an 8ft. Allinger's was 'fabulous' when pool was king in Philly He appeared in televised grudge matches against his rival, Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone Jr. His father was a former boxer and He started getting endorsements. Tournaments and exhibitions The Hustler & The Champ: Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, and the Rivalry that Defined Pool. Using the definition of billiards parlor Longo would have used, there were virtually none remaining in the city in 2015. Mosconis job was to teach Newman how to walk, talk, and shoot like a real pool hustler. Between May 1941 and April 1956, Mosconi would hold various World trophies 19 times. Between the years of 1941 and 1957, he won the World Straight Pool Championship nineteen times. He was the technical advisor for the film The Hustler (1961), with Jackie Gleason and Paul Newman (and was said to have made Newmans trick shots), which increased the popularity of billiards in the United States. June 27th, 1913 - exactly 100 years ago,William Joseph Mosconiwas born in Philadelphia. 1946 June 27th, 1913 - exactly 100 years ago, William Joseph Mosconi was born in Philadelphia. Sometimes wed play best out of 25. Written By : Ravindra Kumar Gupta, Ronnie The Rocket Reaching the Comet! These ten players will have the honor of celebrating 20 years of Mosconi Cup, and 100 years of the legend's birth. By the 1930s there were over 200 billiards parlors in the city. It's not clear but some of the challenge matches in the 1950s may have been on 10-foot tables. Mosconi was one of the first living persons to be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame in 1968. His In an interview in 1974, Phil Longo lamented the decline of billiards over the course of his life, noting that of the 200 billiard parlors that existed in Philadelphia in the 1930s, only 70 remained. Willie Mosconi | American billiards player | Britannica Considered by the industry as the greatest balkline player of all time, Schaefer was the son of fellow BCA Hall of Fame inductee Jake Schaefer Sr. One floor had a special glass-enclosed area for top players so they could be seen performing without being bothered. Regular games are usually played to 100, championship games to 125, but they could be played to any number. By the mid 1800s, the more-affluent members of Philadelphia society were playing billiards in exclusive mens clubs while working-class men played billiards in taverns and saloons. 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. Many of the people on this list that were known for straight pool are included in the 14.1 Hall of Fame, including Irving Crane, Luther Lassiter, Willie Mosconi, Ralph Greenleaf, Alfredo de Oro, and Steve Mizerak. "With baseball, there are so many iconic names. Crane was noted for his cautious playing style. An exhaustive list with descriptions would be about ten times longer than this post. In 1968, the BCA welcomed Willie Mosconi in their Hall of Fame, at 55 years old. 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. He was also part of the last challenge match. One of his adventures saw him win $15,000 in a single week ($230,000 in todays money). The match was broadcast by ESPN. According to Mosconi, Gleason already knew his way around a billiard table and Mosconi recommended Gleason for the role of the original "Minnesota Fats". Flora remained married to Willie until his death in 1993. Mosconi began playing So this is the start of multiple celebrations in what could be called the "Mosconi year": Greenleaf dominated the game from 1919 to 1937, winning 20 championships. In 1954, Mosconi set a world record that still stands to this day. The Philadelphia Club, shown here in 1916, is the oldest city club in the United States and one of the oldest traditional gentleman clubs. With the death last year of Mosconi's widow, the family is selling his beloved pool cue, a personal pool table and other memorabilia at a weekend auction in Chicago. O! 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. In carom billiards, players score counts (points) by hitting the cue ball off the opponents ball and the called ball(s) in the same shot. The more elite members of society withdrew from public billiards parlors and either created billiards rooms in their own homes or enjoyed the game at exclusive mens clubs. 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. Considered to be the Stradivarius of cuemakers, Balabushkas cues were used by billiards legends including Willie Mosconi Stevens cutom cue was the envy of everyone at his pool hall Minnesota Fats, who took his pool-playing name from the 1961 movie "The Hustler" starring Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats and Paul Newman, was a gambler who made a living by disguising his skills to lure the unwary into a high-stakes contest. He was 93. He couldn't let that go by," the son said. ' for 24 hours is shown" '+ He began playing professionally in 1931 or 1932 in order to help support his family during the Great Depression. Willie Mosconi back in his day, a pool player, and a native American of Philadelphia was legendary. Instead, the pint-sized pool prodigy was competing against the sport's heavyweights by age 6. The actor proved it in Augusta in 1975 while visiting the city to attend the Masters Tournament with friend and legendary pool player Willie Mosconi. xwXSsN`$!l{@ $@TR)XZ( RZD|y L0V@(#q `= nnWXX0+; R1{Ol (Lx\/V'LKP0RX~@9k(8u?yBOr y But young Willie was not welcome inside the room: his father wanted him to become a dancer or an actor. Courtesy of The Abraham Lincoln Foundation of The Union League of Philadelphia, In 1881, the Union League constructed an annex to its original building solely for the purpose of increasing the number of billiards tables available to members. Mosconi wrote Winning Pocket Billiards (1965) and an autobiography, Willies Game (1993). /Length 12 0 R He was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 posthumously. Billiards was initially limited to a game with three balls because ivory balls were expensive to produce. King Louis XI of France had a billiards table made in 1470. Philadelphia 76ers Premier League UFC. In the main championship, he only placed 5th, with a high run of 65 balls. The movie The Hustler came out, and Fats claimed the movie was about him (despite the author denying this). Mr. Mosconi is survived by his wife, Flora; two daughters, Gloria Dickson and Candace Fritch; a son, William, and five grandchildren. Along with his work on "The Hustler," Mosconi was featured in a 1948 documentary called "The Willie Mosconi Story." Because of this, she declared herself the womens world champion. Last edited: Sep 2, 2005. The Professional Billiards Tour ProBilliardsTour.com Copyright 2012-2021 Stories People All rights reserved. Site design by GRIN tech, Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Returns to Raxx in West Hempstead This Weekend, Briseno goes undefeated to capture his first Cuetec DFW 9-Ball Tour title in three years, Tips and Tricks for Making Accurate Predictions When Betting on Billiard Games, Harrell and Cannon split top prizes on PremierBilliards.coms Q City 9-Ball Tour, Toro goes undefeated to win GSPT at new venue, Whiskey Hideaway on Staten Island, An Open Letter from the Black Widow to Her Fans, Jeanette Lees Medical Condition Update: Official Statement, Sixth Annual Scotty Townsend Memorial in the Books. "(He would say), the only way you could make a living is if you're a champion. Mosconi and Minnesota Fats, whose real name was Rudolf Wanderone, represented different wings of their game. The Philadelphia Chapter was founded in 1990 and in 2015 boasted 1,500 members playing on over 175 teams in bars throughout the Philadelphia area, testifying to the continuing attraction of billiards in the twenty-first century.