In 1963 Willie Mosconi was touring for Brunswick and he happened to be at Bensingers pool hall on Randolph St. downtown Chicago. He asked for a volunteer from the crowd to play a game to 50 pts. I jumped up and down to get his attention to pick me. He did. I ran 3 balls before scratching and he asked if I had ever been beaten 50 to 2 before he proceeded to run 50 balls. Watching him play at the table I learned a lot just through osmosis. It was the greatest event in my life and I will never forget it.
I saw Willie give a exhibition at a pool hall in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1968. He walks out up to pool table. Makes the break then runs 100 balls of straight pool. 100 balls. I was in disbelief. I still can’t believe what I saw. The skill to run a 100 balls of straight pool is of the charts. I have never forgot it.
In the 1960's my father was a sales rep for Brunswick. He opened a lot of Brunswick bowling alleys throughout the midwest. He often sold Brunswick pool tables to the new bowling alleys. If the bowling alley purchased a significant amount of tables they would set up an exhibition with Willie Mosconi, so dad got to witness Willie's expertise many times.
I had a brush with THE GREAT Willie Mosconi at Gaylanes Bowling and Pool hall in Sioux City Ia. It was 1968 I was 14 , Willie was in town on an exhibition tour, and asked for volunteers, I was picked by Willie to assist with The Machine Gun Shot. It was Great ! Dan Murphy
Willie came to Montana State in the ‘70s. Several of us thought we were pretty hot at 14.1 as we played it every day. He made a 14.1 break shot I had never seen before several times. He would make the object ball and the cue ball would jump into the middle of the rack spreading them out from where the cue ball landed. I was gob smacked - it took me a long time to learn how to do that. Then I quit playing pool for forty years while life intervened. Now I’m back at my obsession in the Philippines. I put Willie Mosconi and Efren Bata Reyes in the same category. Willie was like a machine, but he could play all the games better than anyone (as does Efren). Cue ball control and making every shot look easy is their hall marks. Both of them also personify the gentlemanly side of the game.
Well spoken. They're both two of the GOATs. Don't forget to watch pool being played today, and check out Shane Van Boening, Jayson Shaw, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz just to name a few. They're all destined to be legends the way they're playing at the moment.
Mosconi is a like a machine the way he is so precise with his cue stroke. Efren is a magician the way he can make a shot happen from anywhere on the table even off a 2 rail kick masse combo shot.
Back in 2004, I was just hearing about Willie Mosconi and did a search on Google: "Willie Mosconi, the greatest pool player of all time." Google made a suggestion, "Did you mean: Efren Reyes, the greatest pool player of all time?"
He and my dad were good friends. He didn't like kids, but he really loved me. I was so blessed to play him on a constant bases, along with Buddy Hall and others old time professionals. Luther, Buddy were always teaching me everytime I played them. I learned all games and strategies from them. RIP all you ald greats
@zanethindI promise you there is no shortage of people who don't like their own kids. Not saying it's true, but it's not like it's far fetched either.
I'm 74 years-old and still have my own cue stick. I was NEVER in Willie Mosconi's class by a long shot, but I picked up a few $$ in my day and never came out on the short end. Made most of my money during my two-year hitch with the army in 1968-1970, off poor slobs who thought they were great pool players. My game was and still is, 8-ball. It helped a lot that my dad set up a pool table in our home (to my mother's chagrin!) when I was 13 years-old. We had family and friends over almost every night for 'tournaments'. In our first final it was me pitted against my dad. He scratched on his 8 ball shot, and I won...and BOY was I hooked on the game! It has always amazed me that so few people know how to play angles and where to hit the object ball. Round ball to round ball is pretty tricky. To be a great pool player you have to know how to put 'english' (spin) on the ball, not to just make your called shot, but to have the cue ball line up your next shot. The game of pool is one of the most relaxing (for me) games you can play. I always hit the cue ball very gingerly as Mr. Mosconi adiveses (unless some extra force was needed) with the cue stick, and many of my shots would just get to the pocket and barely fall in, like a putt in golf. I remember beating this young hot shot one day when he was smiling and trash talking because he thought he had left me with no shot on the 8 ball. I jumped his ball with the cue ball and pocketed the 8. He threw his stick down in anger. I guess he had lost his last dollar. LOL!! BTW, I am a lefty shooter. Don't see many of us around.
I'm kind of impressed with the fact he didn't give a bunch of advice that would make this video seem painfully outdated by now, which is something you see so often with old masterclass videos by top sports people, simply because the training methods and detailed understanding of the physics improve over time.
My hero....this is how i learned to shoot...i actually met him at phila airport back in 78 or 79. Got his autograph. He was actually very friendly to talk to
Man Just a True Master of his craft. so so so Amazing. I just wished we had more like him around today. Cab Renick, Louie the Greek just among some of the few.
I used to play my fair share of pool in HS and my early 20's, but kind of self-taught. Wish I had known about this guy. Never really got into the history of the game, just liked to go to the pool halls and play. Those trick shots are incredible, both the execution, and the creativity to think of them in the first place.
I used the position exercises he showed on this tape religiously and it taught me more than anything I'd learned 10 years prior. Control is key and predictability equals winning, repetition and muscle memory are the only ways to guarantee those two things. I played with a guy that could line his shots up and look away and still make the pocket 99% of the time from muscle memory.
Love this guy and fats seen them many times!! Sometimes they were serious and other times would clown around and make the Audience laugh!! No better guys that taught pool and had fun doing it!! They are in Heaven now!! God Bless them as they RIP!!
Gentleman and Professional of Professionals.Much respect he brought to the billiard world.Love for his profession and family is greatly appreciated.RIP brother.
@@frankstidham1439 I've seen both Willie & Efren play and they are the 2 best by a wide margin...#3 is far out you can't even see him. Willie is the Babe Ruth of pool and Efren the Ty Cobb.
Frank Stidham Agree. I believe that Mosconi and Reyes have a different approach so it's pointless to compare them... It's like Mosconi is saying with all his career: " here are the fundamentals of pool which I mastered to perfection. What else can be said about this game?" - and here is the moment when Efren comes and says the rest that we know thanks to him today.
Willie Mosconi....the greatest player of all time. He won the World Straight Pool Championship 19 times. If you're a beginner, study this video. Learn the fundamentals, and then practice, practice, practice. Good shooting!
Still have my own 2 piece cue stick that I won in a tournament back in 1994 when I was 16. Just got my own table a few days ago. Now I can play whenever I want. Also love that he keeps referencing Newman and Gleason. The Hustler is such a great flick.
I read his book, On Pocket Billiards, when I was about 14. I then practiced, going to billiards halls once I could drive, and got to be a fairly good player. Not super great, but much better than average. In college at the bar I and any friend from the bare handful who were good could team up and literally play all night for free after paying for our first game and taking control of the table. It all started with learning from the greatest ever by reading his instructional book. Becoming at least somewhat skilled at pocket billiards is a worthy goal for anyone because you never know when you'll find yourself in a friendly game, and it sucks to be clueless and lose badly. It's also fun.
Thank you, Mr.Mosconi, I'll never forget the attention you gave to the great games of Billiards and made it extremely popular and reachable to the average player, may you rest in peaçe at that all night pool hall in the sky.
Years ago Mosconi was doing an exhibition match at a high school he stopped at a local bar and I saw somebody try to hustle him. I still laugh about it.
I wish they had just had him run like 30 racks of straight and explain as he goes. The subtle brilliance of his straight pool is awesome to watch. And my goodness does hit get a LOT of topspin on those break shots.
Saw the video, went hustling on the billard hall on the corner, lost all i got :( Nah, great vid. These are the fundamentals how they SHOULD be taught. Thatnk you, Mr. Mosconi!
26:48 Notice how he controls the cue ball move a couple more inches to have a position for the 9-ball by doing that ‘move’ and says, “don’t stop.” Amazing cue ball control.
Take his advise it be would the smart thing to do. These guys nowadays play that way because its comfortable for them not because it will improve your game. That is a myth.
Pool is by far my favorite game. I remember growing up, playing pool with my late father. What’s really cool is everything (besides the trick shots) Willie is covering here, I can remember my father teaching me; just didn’t realize how in tune with fundamentals he was, only insofar as his solid playing. There’s quite a bit of nostalgia in this video. Thank you for posting.
People underestimate the value of great mechanics. We just pick up the cue and start hitting but we generally don’t learn the right way to do so. Learning these seemingly basic skills can take someone very far.
This man is by far the greatest pool player of all time. Ask a modern player to put on a suit and tie, and put them in a smoke filled room. All of the players from Mr. Mosconi's era played in those types of conditions.
There are great players each in there own nitch . Theres alot of luck in pool catching the breaks is primo. You can’t compare players it’s anyones game. Mosconi was a straight pool player can he be beat in his prime of course so can any player. Still holds the highest run anyone can win at any given time.😎
@@freakoffear3823 Efren Reyes is a great player. No doubt about that. That being said i don't think he could run 526 balls in straight pool wearing a suit and tie!
The players like Mosconi or Willie Hoppe from that era we're every bit as great as today's players, if not better. Pool isn't like golf or baseball. The tables and equipment haven't changed that much. Willie could have held his own with any of today's great players. Everybody thinks because they could beat their buddies they were players. In real competitive pool, money talks and bullshit walks. Sucker born every minute 😂
I saw him in 1989 near Philadelphia at a luncheon/exhibition with Him, Irving Crane, Luther Lassiter, and Jimmy Caras. After the luncheon, they gave an exhibition of straight pool (I believe Caras beat Mosconi that day). Afterwards, they were signing autographs and I bought two of Willies paperback books on How To ... and he signed them for me. I still have them. He was a real gentleman, but then at the age of 76 his hearing was bad and he signed the first book wrong, mishearing the name I said, which I corrected him on for the second book. CORRECTION: Correction on the players. They were Ray Martin, Jimmy Caras, Willie Mosconi, and Jim Rempe. My work friend who I went with that day corrected me.
@@scurvy3113 Correction on the players. They were Ray Martin, Jimmy Caras, Willie Mosconi, and Jim Rempe. My work friend who I went with that day corrected me.
Asked a retired pro to help me with my game 50 yrs ago. He helped me by telling me to purchase pocket billiards by Willie mosconi. Can't thank him enough
Quality is amazing for that time,realy! This is youtube converted video, your source file should be much better..I suppose you have source file on computer?Can you contact me please?
He's not playing 8-ball or rotation (where you hit solids or stripes only), it is perfectly acceptable in 14.1 Continuous, also known as Straight Pool or 14.1 Rack, it was the most popular game of professional pool until the late 1970s, then the more audience and TV friendly 8-Ball and 9 Ball took over.
The 6 people that gave this video a thumbs down are ignorant & jealous and dont know jack crap about pool. Willie was world champion straight pool player with an amazing 526 ball run. Dont like that either? Lump it! learn how to play and stop disrespecting.
It's a Balabushka...sold several years ago in an anonymous sale to a sports memorabilia collector for $95,000. He only used it in exhibition play, his main cue during his championship years was a Rambow...that was long before Georrge Balabushka started making cues. He gave a Rambow each to Newman and Gleason after wrapping up the Hustler, those were both sold during auctions for quite a bit less than his Balabushka. ;)
That little side pocket semi-circle drill..."if you can do that five or six times in a row, you're doing good" HELL, if I do it ONCE in a row, I figure it's a win. That little drill is much tougher than it looks, you have to stay on the proper (short) side of each ball, and by the smallest of angles to continue forward, in sequential position...When I screw it up, it is almost always by ending up at too much of an angle and then shooting past...and I understand cheating pockets, so I'm talking pretty far out, pretty fast. I suck at this game. When I was practicing and drilling every day, I got quite a bit better, maybe top 15% in our amateur league, but when I moved practice to more like once or twice a week, my game fell DRAMATICALLY. This is a game that REQUIRES practice, properly done, and a fair amount of it....at least for me. One thing I've noticed about the pros is they can get right back in position from totally out of it...I'm really good at that two...only more from the in to out side. :-/
27:10 - Brit here, any American pool players who can tell me if that would in fact be a "push shot" if attempted in a real match? In snooker and English pool that would be a blatant illegal push shot. Always assumed the same rule applied in American pool variants?
Since, he said "if you can get away with it", I would assume yes-- the opponent not knowing the illegality, or NO--if playing with a referee. But almost likely not.
To set a ball in place on the cloth so it won't roll off. It's especially useful when trying to set two balls frozen together (touching), common for setting up trick shots, especially if you are in a hurry and don't mind harming how the table will play later. You should NEVER do that. Some ignorant people do that to achieve a tight rack for the break, or just to show off as if they know something, but it has the opposite effect. Little divots form and the balls roll in them making it harder and harder to get a tight rack. Here's a comment by a pool hall manager on Reddit explaining it: "Tapping the balls into the table causes an annoying semi permanent dent in the spot/cloth. This makes it hard for future racks to be tight. Essentially it's known to be a very rude thing to do because it ruins the quality of play for future players on that table. I've managed the same pool hall for years and sternly get onto people for this. Cloth and the labor of changing the cloth isn't cheap especially the kind we use/have at my pool hall. As for ruining the table? I suppose a cheaper table with multiple slates could plausibly be affected only in the quality of play (shifting the slates over time little by little causing the table to be off)... labor in professionally maintaining tables properly isn't cheap either."
@@YayComity Semi-permanent? This phrase is at loggerheads with itself. What does that even mean? Its either permanent or it isn't. It's a binary inquiry. Maybe he means that the indent lasts a long time, but as long as its not done again then it eventually disappears? If this is such sacrilege then why is the GOAT freely doing it on this table? I'm not saying its okay, but seems odd that such a venerated man in the sport would be permanently, or even "semi-permanently" 😄 damaging the cloth on this table. This especially so given that this is an instructional video, which means he's modeling bad behavior for his students? Don't know if I buy that.
@@YayComity We bought a used table and put a new cloth on it, there was a loose piece of slate right where the front ball sits on the rack. Don't chip your slate...
It's an interesting question about which generation of players would be better. Modern, decently paid pros with carbon cues, or the old school players like Mosconi. My guess is Mosconi's gen wins. For 3 reasons: 1, life was simpler then, fewer distractions. Devotion to the craft and time to concentrate were greater as a result. As opposed to other sports, where raw athleticism clearly gives today's players an edge (ie, football), skills aren't raw like that. 2, money was harder to come by then. That hunger and pressure dramatically increases concentration on the craft. 3, a spirit of being true to the sport was greater then.
I think you underestimate the dedication of modern pros. The top players treat pool like a full time job with long hours of good quality practice. I believe Jason Shaw, hadn’t even played straight pool, and started going for high runs. He got a 212 very early, and after a few months of practice, had set the record in the 600s. Just for reference on how modern pros could likely dominate the straight pool players of the past.
@@stephenmcneil4573 Those are valid points. The playing level to which modern players have to rise to be even moderately successful is huge. Yes. Far more intense competition at every level.
In 1963 Willie Mosconi was touring for Brunswick and he happened to be at Bensingers pool hall on Randolph St. downtown Chicago. He asked for a volunteer from the crowd to play a game to 50 pts. I jumped up and down to get his attention to pick me. He did. I ran 3 balls before scratching and he asked if I had ever been beaten 50 to 2 before he proceeded to run 50 balls. Watching him play at the table I learned a lot just through osmosis. It was the greatest event in my life and I will never forget it.
What a great story, glad you got to experience that
I saw Willie give a exhibition at a pool hall in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1968. He walks out up to pool table. Makes the break then runs 100 balls of straight pool. 100 balls. I was in disbelief. I still can’t believe what I saw. The skill to run a 100 balls of straight pool is of the charts. I have never forgot it.
Sweet story bro
In the 1960's my father was a sales rep for Brunswick. He opened a lot of Brunswick bowling alleys throughout the midwest. He often sold Brunswick pool tables to the new bowling alleys. If the bowling alley purchased a significant amount of tables they would set up an exhibition with Willie Mosconi, so dad got to witness Willie's expertise many times.
Totally cool...
I had a brush with THE GREAT Willie Mosconi at Gaylanes Bowling and Pool hall in Sioux City Ia. It was 1968 I was 14 , Willie was in town on an exhibition tour, and asked for volunteers, I was picked by Willie to assist with The Machine Gun Shot. It was Great ! Dan Murphy
This video is a relic from a bygone era. A better era.
Willie came to Montana State in the ‘70s. Several of us thought we were pretty hot at 14.1 as we played it every day. He made a 14.1 break shot I had never seen before several times. He would make the object ball and the cue ball would jump into the middle of the rack spreading them out from where the cue ball landed. I was gob smacked - it took me a long time to learn how to do that. Then I quit playing pool for forty years while life intervened. Now I’m back at my obsession in the Philippines. I put Willie Mosconi and Efren Bata Reyes in the same category. Willie was like a machine, but he could play all the games better than anyone (as does Efren). Cue ball control and making every shot look easy is their hall marks. Both of them also personify the gentlemanly side of the game.
Well spoken. They're both two of the GOATs. Don't forget to watch pool being played today, and check out Shane Van Boening, Jayson Shaw, Fedor Gorst, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz just to name a few. They're all destined to be legends the way they're playing at the moment.
Mosconi is a like a machine the way he is so precise with his cue stroke. Efren is a magician the way he can make a shot happen from anywhere on the table even off a 2 rail kick masse combo shot.
Back in 2004, I was just hearing about Willie Mosconi and did a search on Google: "Willie Mosconi, the greatest pool player of all time."
Google made a suggestion, "Did you mean: Efren Reyes, the greatest pool player of all time?"
He and my dad were good friends. He didn't like kids, but he really loved me. I was so blessed to play him on a constant bases, along with Buddy Hall and others old time professionals. Luther, Buddy were always teaching me everytime I played them. I learned all games and strategies from them. RIP all you ald greats
RIP my grandfather!
@zanethindI promise you there is no shortage of people who don't like their own kids. Not saying it's true, but it's not like it's far fetched either.
That’s pretty cool.
Mosconi vs Reyes would've been an amazing match.
Two 🐐’s from different eras. That would be incredible. Imagine the safety battles 🤯
This is just a treat for any billiards enthusiast, regardless of skill level. Thanks for the upload. RIP Mosconi.
I watched this for a college Billiards class in 1983! Nice remaster.
I saw him 2 times in Brooklyn early 60's I think and he had such presence. When his hand touched the felt he owned that table.
I'm 74 years-old and still have my own cue stick. I was NEVER in Willie Mosconi's class by a long shot, but I picked up a few $$ in my day and never came out on the short end. Made most of my money during my two-year hitch with the army in 1968-1970, off poor slobs who thought they were great pool players. My game was and still is, 8-ball. It helped a lot that my dad set up a pool table in our home (to my mother's chagrin!) when I was 13 years-old. We had family and friends over almost every night for 'tournaments'. In our first final it was me pitted against my dad. He scratched on his 8 ball shot, and I won...and BOY was I hooked on the game! It has always amazed me that so few people know how to play angles and where to hit the object ball. Round ball to round ball is pretty tricky. To be a great pool player you have to know how to put 'english' (spin) on the ball, not to just make your called shot, but to have the cue ball line up your next shot. The game of pool is one of the most relaxing (for me) games you can play. I always hit the cue ball very gingerly as Mr. Mosconi adiveses (unless some extra force was needed) with the cue stick, and many of my shots would just get to the pocket and barely fall in, like a putt in golf. I remember beating this young hot shot one day when he was smiling and trash talking because he thought he had left me with no shot on the 8 ball. I jumped his ball with the cue ball and pocketed the 8. He threw his stick down in anger. I guess he had lost his last dollar. LOL!! BTW, I am a lefty shooter. Don't see many of us around.
Hah! Thank you for posting this. Cheers
He was a great player and teacher..
I read his book in the 70s...Fantastic instructor and student of the sport. Minnesota Fats couldn't hold a candle to this master of the game!
His follow and draw shots are just perfection.
This is what I’ve been searching for. My daily game at the senior center is about to be upped. Thank you, Willie!
I'm kind of impressed with the fact he didn't give a bunch of advice that would make this video seem painfully outdated by now, which is something you see so often with old masterclass videos by top sports people, simply because the training methods and detailed understanding of the physics improve over time.
My hero....this is how i learned to shoot...i actually met him at phila airport back in 78 or 79.
Got his autograph.
He was actually very friendly to talk to
He seems like such a class guy. When I learned where he was from, it made me feel proud to be a Philadelphian!
Willie Mosconi is the KING of POOL! EXCELLENT VIDO FOR THE BEGINER! OR ANYONE !
Man Just a True Master of his craft. so so so Amazing. I just wished we had more like him around today. Cab Renick, Louie the Greek just among some of the few.
I've been playing pool my whole life, and this is the hands down best video I've seen on billiards, very informative, and concise
12:30 in the morning, was going to watch a couple minutes and watched the whole thing. Amazing shooting and style!
I used to play my fair share of pool in HS and my early 20's, but kind of self-taught. Wish I had known about this guy. Never really got into the history of the game, just liked to go to the pool halls and play. Those trick shots are incredible, both the execution, and the creativity to think of them in the first place.
I used the position exercises he showed on this tape religiously and it taught me more than anything I'd learned 10 years prior. Control is key and predictability equals winning, repetition and muscle memory are the only ways to guarantee those two things. I played with a guy that could line his shots up and look away and still make the pocket 99% of the time from muscle memory.
Love this guy and fats seen them many times!! Sometimes they were serious and other times would clown around and make the Audience laugh!! No better guys that taught pool and had fun doing it!! They are in Heaven now!! God Bless them as they RIP!!
Gentleman and Professional of Professionals.Much respect he brought to the billiard world.Love for his profession and family is greatly appreciated.RIP brother.
Willie Mosconi was the best player . This is our history not only as players but me as a professional pool instructor. This is cool stuff.
Didn’t notice your name and channel until after I wrote all of that 😂 Of corse you know who he is...lol
I’ll subscribe to your channel now 🤙
I wish i met him. His elegance when he gets on his craft is something i look up to as a 20yr old.
I been playing pool for decades …. And this is always great & helpful to re manifest to your knowledge …. Awesome video
I like that peach color cloth so much.. I'm used to blue and green... but this peach color is easier on the eyes.. more relaxing.
Always enjoyed Watching Willie. Greatest for many years. I think Efren has the top spot now. Two Legends
Of the game.
Efren is #2 all-time; Mosconi #1...whoever is #3 is way behind these two!
@@frankstidham1439 I've seen both Willie & Efren play and they are the 2 best by a wide margin...#3 is far out you can't even see him. Willie is the Babe Ruth of pool and Efren the Ty Cobb.
Frank Stidham Agree. I believe that Mosconi and Reyes have a different approach so it's pointless to compare them... It's like Mosconi is saying with all his career: " here are the fundamentals of pool which I mastered to perfection. What else can be said about this game?" - and here is the moment when Efren comes and says the rest that we know thanks to him today.
@@maksimkempe3425 We'll find out who's the greatest in heaven & if there's gambling there, my money is on Mosconi!
Efren isn't qualified to shine Willie's shoes
How wonderful it would be to have precisely this type of video for everything I love
Awesome man in regards to his passion for the game
What a, legend.. thanks from NZ 🎱👍🇳🇿
Phenomenal player he makes everything look simple
Damn Willie is back in town
The greatest 14.1 player who ever drew breath.
Great video with the fundamentals of the game explained so clearly.
This was very well needed. I’ve been doing some of these wrong hahaha.
Willie Mosconi....the greatest player of all time. He won the World Straight Pool Championship 19 times. If you're a beginner, study this video. Learn the fundamentals, and then practice, practice, practice. Good shooting!
Still have my own 2 piece cue stick that I won in a tournament back in 1994 when I was 16. Just got my own table a few days ago. Now I can play whenever I want. Also love that he keeps referencing Newman and Gleason. The Hustler is such a great flick.
What a treat to watch and learn from
THE GOAT!!!! Legendary!
I read his book, On Pocket Billiards, when I was about 14. I then practiced, going to billiards halls once I could drive, and got to be a fairly good player. Not super great, but much better than average.
In college at the bar I and any friend from the bare handful who were good could team up and literally play all night for free after paying for our first game and taking control of the table.
It all started with learning from the greatest ever by reading his instructional book. Becoming at least somewhat skilled at pocket billiards is a worthy goal for anyone because you never know when you'll find yourself in a friendly game, and it sucks to be clueless and lose badly. It's also fun.
Thank you, Mr.Mosconi, I'll never forget the attention you gave to the great games of Billiards and made it extremely popular and reachable to the average player, may you rest in peaçe at that
all night pool hall in the sky.
ii
That ending was badass
Years ago Mosconi was doing an exhibition match at a high school he stopped at a local bar and I saw somebody try to hustle him. I still laugh about it.
The greatest
Great video
Great legend 👏
I love this guy
A class act, what a touch!
I wish they had just had him run like 30 racks of straight and explain as he goes. The subtle brilliance of his straight pool is awesome to watch. And my goodness does hit get a LOT of topspin on those break shots.
I saw him run 100 balls in Phenoxe AZ. in 1965 ,I think.
Saw the video, went hustling on the billard hall on the corner, lost all i got :( Nah, great vid. These are the fundamentals how they SHOULD be taught. Thatnk you, Mr. Mosconi!
Incredible player. He makes everything look so easy like anybody can do it.
Thanks for sharing, this was excellent
Aye buddy was different!!!
26:48 Notice how he controls the cue ball move a couple more inches to have a position for the 9-ball by doing that ‘move’ and says, “don’t stop.” Amazing cue ball control.
I used to have this on VHS.
Thanks for sharing!
Been using an open bridge for everything except draw shots. Think Mr Mosconi just convinced me to change that all these years later.
Take his advise it be would the smart thing to do. These guys nowadays play that way because its comfortable for them not because it will improve your game. That is a myth.
What did he suggest
Pool is by far my favorite game. I remember growing up, playing pool with my late father. What’s really cool is everything (besides the trick shots) Willie is covering here, I can remember my father teaching me; just didn’t realize how in tune with fundamentals he was, only insofar as his solid playing. There’s quite a bit of nostalgia in this video. Thank you for posting.
How do I show this to someone else
This is Golden ! Than you !
bridge n follow through 🥇
versatile with it
People underestimate the value of great mechanics. We just pick up the cue and start hitting but we generally don’t learn the right way to do so. Learning these seemingly basic skills can take someone very far.
I know what you mean. I'm a very low skilled player but I always get praise about my fundamentals from everyone who plays me.
This man is by far the greatest pool player of all time. Ask a modern player to put on a suit and tie, and put them in a smoke filled room. All of the players from Mr. Mosconi's era played in those types of conditions.
Ummm... no. Pool has come a long way. No one from that time would even come close to todays players. Efren Reyes is who you are thinking of
There are great players each in there own nitch . Theres alot of luck in pool catching the breaks is primo. You can’t compare players it’s anyones game. Mosconi was a straight pool player can he be beat in his prime of course so can any player. Still holds the highest run anyone can win at any given time.😎
@@freakoffear3823 Efren Reyes is a great player. No doubt about that. That being said i don't think he could run 526 balls in straight pool wearing a suit and tie!
The players like Mosconi or Willie Hoppe from that era we're every bit as great as today's players, if not better. Pool isn't like golf or baseball. The tables and equipment haven't changed that much. Willie could have held his own with any of today's great players. Everybody thinks because they could beat their buddies they were players. In real competitive pool, money talks and bullshit walks. Sucker born every minute 😂
Yes& they gentlemen.
41:14 When Misconi becomes so good he breaks reality and the time/space continuum
My dad took me to See him in 1967 putting on a trick show in east Detroit
Thank you!
That masse shot was nuts
He should have talked more in detail about using left and right english fpr cue ball control.
17:17 the "Yea...I'm a bad ass" stare.
I saw him in 1989 near Philadelphia at a luncheon/exhibition with Him, Irving Crane, Luther Lassiter, and Jimmy Caras. After the luncheon, they gave an exhibition of straight pool (I believe Caras beat Mosconi that day). Afterwards, they were signing autographs and I bought two of Willies paperback books on How To ... and he signed them for me. I still have them. He was a real gentleman, but then at the age of 76 his hearing was bad and he signed the first book wrong, mishearing the name I said, which I corrected him on for the second book.
CORRECTION: Correction on the players. They were Ray Martin, Jimmy Caras, Willie Mosconi, and Jim Rempe. My work friend who I went with that day corrected me.
Lol
@@scurvy3113 Correction on the players. They were Ray Martin, Jimmy Caras, Willie Mosconi, and Jim Rempe. My work friend who I went with that day corrected me.
That was back when they wore jackets and cufh links. and they were gentlemen.
This was my idol the absolute best I’ve ever seen until I had to play Effen Reyes.
Asked a retired pro to help me with my game 50 yrs ago. He helped me by telling me to purchase pocket billiards by Willie mosconi. Can't thank him enough
Like a father😊
How old was he when this was filmed? For an old man, his stroke is still flawless here and he made the game look easy and effortless.
This was in 1984, so he would have been 70-71.
That’s because he’s the best there ever was. Loved to watch him play fats. While fats is steady talking trash willie is steady kicking his butt
Quality is amazing for that time,realy! This is youtube converted video, your source file should be much better..I suppose you have source file on computer?Can you contact me please?
@@flelite3994 what No?
Willie Mosconi was a Great Pool instructor, and he was in the Hustler.
Is that cue an original Balabushka?
I think so.
Fascinating! The only thing I didn‘t understood was, why he several times changed between full and half balls while demonstrating clearing the table.
He's not playing 8-ball or rotation (where you hit solids or stripes only), it is perfectly acceptable in 14.1 Continuous, also known as Straight Pool or 14.1 Rack, it was the most popular game of professional pool until the late 1970s, then the more audience and TV friendly 8-Ball and 9 Ball took over.
"I hit it too good that time"
Not just that time, Willie
RIP
The up loader should have just showed the old original adds instead of new ones.
The 6 people that gave this video a thumbs down are ignorant & jealous and dont know jack crap about pool. Willie was world champion straight pool player with an amazing 526 ball run. Dont like that either? Lump it! learn how to play and stop disrespecting.
You are 1000 percent correct... people today aren't taught respect..matter of fact they're total jerk offs.
It was 6 Minnesota Fats fans
That's a fact,Willie probably forgot more about billiards than this guy could learn if he was a 15 year old now.😂
What year was this film made?
What year was this?
Two of my brothers got to see him play against our dad.
I’ve never seen this game played. Just striped and solids. He can shoot any ball he wants? Is this snooker? Or a version of it.
lol. Its called Straight Pool. Was the popular game before 8-ball & 9-ball were
9:12 he was teaching fractional ball aiming before CTE aiming became a thing.
The up loader should have just showed the old original adds instead of adding new ones.
Billiard balls were terrified by Willie Mosconi.
*WAS HE USING A BALABUSHKA OR A SZAMBOTI?*
It's a Balabushka...sold several years ago in an anonymous sale to a sports memorabilia collector for $95,000. He only used it in exhibition play, his main cue during his championship years was a Rambow...that was long before Georrge Balabushka started making cues. He gave a Rambow each to Newman and Gleason after wrapping up the Hustler, those were both sold during auctions for quite a bit less than his Balabushka. ;)
@@williamwoods1657coool story
Alguém traduz isto por favor
Hahaha querendo ficar bom não é? 😎
What was the English on the drunkerd shot. High center.
I want that stick
Is this a George Balabushka cue?
It is a Balabushka. Possible that the shaft at this point was made by Gus Szamboti though. He had a whole bunch of shafts for that cue.
That little side pocket semi-circle drill..."if you can do that five or six times in a row, you're doing good"
HELL, if I do it ONCE in a row, I figure it's a win. That little drill is much tougher than it looks, you have to stay on the proper (short) side of each ball, and by the smallest of angles to continue forward, in sequential position...When I screw it up, it is almost always by ending up at too much of an angle and then shooting past...and I understand cheating pockets, so I'm talking pretty far out, pretty fast. I suck at this game. When I was practicing and drilling every day, I got quite a bit better, maybe top 15% in our amateur league, but when I moved practice to more like once or twice a week, my game fell DRAMATICALLY. This is a game that REQUIRES practice, properly done, and a fair amount of it....at least for me. One thing I've noticed about the pros is they can get right back in position from totally out of it...I'm really good at that two...only more from the in to out side. :-/
27:10 - Brit here, any American pool players who can tell me if that would in fact be a "push shot" if attempted in a real match? In snooker and English pool that would be a blatant illegal push shot. Always assumed the same rule applied in American pool variants?
Since, he said "if you can get away with it", I would assume yes-- the opponent not knowing the illegality, or NO--if playing with a referee. But almost likely not.
I thought it was definitely a double hit, however he was just demonstrating trick shots.
Damn that look he gives after he makes that shot at 17:15 😎😎😎
Why does he occasionally bang a ball on top of another one (that is already set on the table)?
To keep the balls touching.
To set a ball in place on the cloth so it won't roll off. It's especially useful when trying to set two balls frozen together (touching), common for setting up trick shots, especially if you are in a hurry and don't mind harming how the table will play later.
You should NEVER do that. Some ignorant people do that to achieve a tight rack for the break, or just to show off as if they know something, but it has the opposite effect. Little divots form and the balls roll in them making it harder and harder to get a tight rack. Here's a comment by a pool hall manager on Reddit explaining it:
"Tapping the balls into the table causes an annoying semi permanent dent in the spot/cloth. This makes it hard for future racks to be tight. Essentially it's known to be a very rude thing to do because it ruins the quality of play for future players on that table. I've managed the same pool hall for years and sternly get onto people for this. Cloth and the labor of changing the cloth isn't cheap especially the kind we use/have at my pool hall. As for ruining the table? I suppose a cheaper table with multiple slates could plausibly be affected only in the quality of play (shifting the slates over time little by little causing the table to be off)... labor in professionally maintaining tables properly isn't cheap either."
@@YayComity Semi-permanent? This phrase is at loggerheads with itself. What does that even mean? Its either permanent or it isn't. It's a binary inquiry. Maybe he means that the indent lasts a long time, but as long as its not done again then it eventually disappears?
If this is such sacrilege then why is the GOAT freely doing it on this table? I'm not saying its okay, but seems odd that such a venerated man in the sport would be permanently, or even "semi-permanently" 😄 damaging the cloth on this table. This especially so given that this is an instructional video, which means he's modeling bad behavior for his students? Don't know if I buy that.
@@YayComity We bought a used table and put a new cloth on it, there was a loose piece of slate right where the front ball sits on the rack. Don't chip your slate...
It's an interesting question about which generation of players would be better. Modern, decently paid pros with carbon cues, or the old school players like Mosconi. My guess is Mosconi's gen wins. For 3 reasons: 1, life was simpler then, fewer distractions. Devotion to the craft and time to concentrate were greater as a result. As opposed to other sports, where raw athleticism clearly gives today's players an edge (ie, football), skills aren't raw like that. 2, money was harder to come by then. That hunger and pressure dramatically increases concentration on the craft. 3, a spirit of being true to the sport was greater then.
I think you underestimate the dedication of modern pros. The top players treat pool like a full time job with long hours of good quality practice.
I believe Jason Shaw, hadn’t even played straight pool, and started going for high runs. He got a 212 very early, and after a few months of practice, had set the record in the 600s. Just for reference on how modern pros could likely dominate the straight pool players of the past.
@@stephenmcneil4573 Those are valid points. The playing level to which modern players have to rise to be even moderately successful is huge. Yes. Far more intense competition at every level.