My dad grew up playing pool in the South Bronx in the 40’s & 50’s, and he showed me both of these gentlemen on TV when I was a kid in the 70’s. My dad just passed away three weeks ago, I wish I’d found this video sooner. He would’ve loved it!
James, the people complaining obviously didn't grow up back then or are so spoiled by HD TV, good quality for being recorded over 40 years ago, I remember watching this with my Dad when it was on.
You will in MY neighborhood !‼️‼️thankfully ‼️🙂👍😃👍 I found their witty repartee to be so hilarious and entertaining when I watched this ,yrs ago that I had to look it up So glad I found it🤗😃👍👀☀️👀‼️👀‼️ Figure I'll watch the Hustler later😁🌜✨🌓🌠🌛
I actually got to play Fats in a San Antonio, Texas exhibition. I made a couple of shots and Fats said, “son, why are you even trying to beat me …. nobody in the WORLD would ever believe you”. I was done 😂
I was eating pie at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville TN with the other trumpet players from the Nashville Symphony after a performance. It was about 9:50 and they said... 10 more minutes. I said "for what?" They said, "In 10 minutes Minnesota Fats walks through that door, grabs a piece of pie here at the bar, and goes right back up to his room." I said, "WHAT?" They said, "He lives here." Wouldn't I be damned, 10 pm ON THE KNOB he walked through the door and got his pie.
Mosconi was perhaps the finest billiards player ever. Wanderone (Fats) was a great hustler and showman and none too short on personality. What an era during which these two lived. I hustled pool in the 90's through the 00's and would have given anything to have been hustling in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. 9-Ball was the most popular game in my day. It's a banger/fast-paced game that requires little art. Straight-pool and one-pocket, on the other hand, are a thinking man's games, like poetry in motion.
You're exactly right. 💯 I was born in 55 and grew up with a table in my basement. One pocket was like chess and 9 ball like checkers. We played straight in teams. Fats isn't really in Willie's league but I'd really have like to see Effren Reyes play Willie.
When I was in college in the 1970’s Willie Mosconi visited the school (Texas Tech) I attended and gave a pool exhibition. I asked him if he remembered a story about a game Minnesota Fats was in where he was carefully lining up a shot and the floor gave way underneath him from his considerable weight. Willie had never heard the story but he laughed so hard that I thought he was going to pass out. 😄
I'm actually impressed by the level of production in this. Everything from a camera placed directly above the table. Nice graphics showing the balls movements. Interviews with the players. Amazing to have this video saved on youtube forever.
Fats lived in a village of 450 in Dowell, Illinois. When he was home you would see him outside his house feeding the stray dogs and cats. He was a kind hearted man but always portrayed himself as a tough guy. Fats was a good person to the core and married a wonderful & kind lady named Wanda.
Thank you for posting this video. It brings back a good memory of my childhood when I watched this pool match live on TV. I was about 10 years old and this very match was the first (and unfortunately the last) professional pool match I had ever seen. I had been practicing pool on a daily basis and was totally amazed at how these two men played pool. I am so happy to be able to see it again here.
Keep playing pool. I play pinball machines about 12 hours a day everyday since I was 2 and a half years old. I started off as a bowler and through a fluke found out I was creme-de-la-creme of all world champions at the sport of pinball. One of the rarest occurrences in sports I went from an average player to the best on Earth in the blink of an eye. That was the way it happened.
Glad I stumbled across this. Not even a huge fan of pool but I always appreciate a professional who’s good at what he does. And just the time period u can tell was so special… even these comments are legendary. This is a great piece of history
Willie Misconi's grandson really saved my life in Vegas at the BCA Championship. It turned into a horrible trip, and he truly rescued me. I'm forever thankful. I was so shocked to have even met him. He showed me so many trick shots. Willie is amazing.
I always look up on you tube on old commercials for example like 90s commercials and so on. Just pick whatever decade and they run commercial after commercial and sometimes you’ll see one more than once.
This event was one of the reasons why I loved watching Wide World of Sports with Howard Cosell commentating. They always displayed a wide variety of sports and always made it very interesting. As a kid, it was the first time I watched Billiards televised live on TV. And although I've never been a good pool player, I always enjoyed playing the game. I liked and respected both legends. Willie the quiet Billiards champion. And Minnesota Fats always loud and outspoken. Fats sort of reminded me of Carroll O'Conner's character - Archie Bunker back then.
I worked at the Flamingo Hilton and was able to watch Mr. Masconi practice for this match. It was an absolute revelation for me, he never shot a hard shot because of his amazing cue ball control.
As a boy, I learned the basics from his Winning at Billiards book back in the 60s, he stressed holding the butt end of the cue lightly with the thumb and 3 fingers, not in a death grip with the palm of your hand. I've always played with a very light touch, too light, so I've always used a 21 oz. My buddies and I would play at our local billiards hall two evenings a week, then when we reached our late teens, we would practice at the hall for a couple hours, then go out to the bars, playing for drinks or a few bucks, playing on the little 7 ft. bar tables was duck soup after practicing on the 9ft table at the pool hall. I played in a league and in amateur tournaments for fun, but I never seriously practiced, so I never had good consistency. What gave me an advantage over many of the other novices like me, was that I always had the correct form, grip, stance, and pretty good speed, that's all to Mr. Mosconi's book. From my understanding, Mosconi was never was able to play the same after his stroke in the 50s. I love seeing these old clips of him, such good form even though he's well past his heyday.
@@frankkolton1780 This film is from a 1978 broadcast of ABC's Wide World of Sports - the US $15,000 match between Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, Jr. and William Joseph "Willie" Mosconi at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Commentator is Howard Cosell and referee is Charles Ursitti. Mosconi won all three sets of the competition, which included nine-ball, eight ball, and rotation, 5-2, 5-3 and 5-2 respectively..
In everything Cosell covered, he had this friendly relationship with the players that seemed to transcend the event and sport itself. It's hard to fathom anyone today, who was covering a boxer, a football player or a pool hustler, getting so familiar with them that you felt they were personal friends as well. Love him or hate him, he was one of a kind.
I loved the way Cosell could, just by the way he raised the timbre and cadence in his voice, make the football game more exciting than it really was on Monday nights. Him and Dandy Don were a real hoot ! Good times.
This is when times were a lot better . Every Saturday I would watch these guys on CBS sports with my dad . Fats was his favorite. 1970’s what a decade to live in .
All of these guys are legendary in my opinion especially Howard Coscell!!! I remember watching this quite a few years ago!!! Gentlemen you are missed!!! RIP.
I played MF in nashville tn in 1992 when I was 16. He was truly a great pool player. He died in nashville four years later. I'll never forget that day. He was super nice but of course would always tell you how good he was.
I'm old to remember them, but I was more into watching the master series of bowling. Do you think he was best overall pool player? Certainly likes to trash talk, lol.
I can remember back around 1975-77 maybe Willie came to where my dad worked, a vending machine place...pinball, jukes, tables, etc. to give a promo/exhibition. I remember watching Willie pull up in a big car, something like an El Dorado or Lincoln. I recall he was very pleasant to the crowd that showed up to see him. He talked a little about himself and did some exhibition shooting. He pretty much looked the same as in this video. That was pretty cool listening to him and watching him shoot. I got to shake his hand at the end.
Willy played at my father's aunts place in Brooklyn N.Y. in the old days. I met Willy at a pool demonstration in Torrington Ct. . He was humble and a there's an interesting back story to our conversation.
I lived in Dowell Illinois with Minnesota Fats in the late 60s. Approx 1969 He was a pet lover. He would take in strays and buy them prime cuts of meat. He offered me a autographed cue stick I didn't take it. I thought I don't need a hand out. I was 14 then and wished I'd have taken it for just gratitude only. He gave kids great gifts that were poor. He didn't live fancy. Wish I'd have talked to him more. One he'll of great man.
even tho my dad disliked fats, cuz he was a loudmouth & my dad was a serious student of the game, like his idol willie, i liked him cuz he was entertaining. thanks for revealing a side of him that most may not have known, his generosity & love of animals. btw, i would have taken the stick.
Willie Mosconi taught me how to shoot pool! Back in the day I worked one summer as a timekeeper at his poolroom in Phila. off Broad St. in Logan.Because of the “Blue Laws” pool rooms had to close on Saturday's at midnight. After we closed down and shut all the lights on the ~35 tables this huge room was totally black except for the main front table which was lit by three hanging lights, a surreal scene that looked like something from “The Hustler” movie. Willie would practice while I would rack the balls for him. As he ran rack after rack he would talk about each shot and his strategy for the next few shots while I silently listened. Sometimes he would shoot for several hours and not miss, running hundreds if not thousands of balls. To me he was the definition of “suave and debonair” in addition to being the greatest pool player in the world. In those days there were several legendary hustlers who hung out there including Pete the Greek, Peter Rabbit, The Breeze (who loved the “ponies" and claimed the horses talked to him at the track) and John Oakley whose day job was re-covering pool and billiard tables. Although gambling was against the law I watched games where as much as a $500 a game was wagered and this was in the mid 1950’s. I learned that hustling pool had less to do with expertise and everything to do with negotiating a match as in “you making 50 balls before I make 35”. The preferred game of the “fast” hustlers was 9 ball while the more skilled players preferred the game of one pocket that had higher dollar bets although the games took much longer to complete. Good times.
Efren is the greatest plus he said his prime was in the 70’s think about it, he’s the greatest now, imagine what he could’ve done if he was in tournaments in the U . S in the 70’s , efren still the goat tho, plus he’s the greatest cueist ever
I still remember the day my Grandfather led 4 men into our cellar and watched them assemble a pool table and leave. My Grandfather returned an hour later with Mr. Mosconi to teach my father, brothers and I the basics of pool and left a autographed copy of his new book. I had no idea who he was until I read the book and then realized how lucky I was to meet him.
@Marilyn Miller, that is amazing! the great willie mosconi in house. my dad whose high I.Q. helped make him 1 of the 3 best pool players in all of washington dc got to meet his idol at an exhibition. willie gave anyone who wanted to, a chance to play him. my dad was too nervous & awestruck to play him. he said willie was such a classy gentleman. wonder if anyone knows what willie's I.Q. was. it had to b pretty high for him to play at the level that he did.
Ha! Yes. I remember. I would slow the flips down until it only flipped every 30 seconds. Never could find that sweet spot where it didn’t flip! Floor model console TV needed replaced but it still worked! Good times.
I met both of them in Nashville, TN. when I qualified from Missouri and went to the Junior National 8-Ball pool tournament in 1991. They were there, along with other pro players representing pool game supplies equipment. Minnesota Fats was there with a stamper to stamp his autograph to those asking for it. I did get Willie Mosconi's autograph at the time on a provided 8X10 print. Very nice guy. He ended up passing away the following year, I believe. He was the only autograph I got there, since I considered him the greatest player that ever lived. Great memory of mine.
I managed a restaurant in Nashville back in 91-92. Fats lived in Nashville back in those days. He used to sit beside the stage in the downstairs club at the Stockade. He had a stack of cocktail napkins and a black felt pen sitting on his table and would sign an autograph for anyone that asked. My friend was the liquor salesman for the Stockade and he asked me if I wanted to meet Fats, I still have the napkin.
Can't stop laughing when Minnesota turns on the smack talk! This is also one of the few times I wouldn't mind watching the commercials. That Sears commercial brought back some memories.
I love the way these two talk to each other and the lingo used. There's so much personailty and humor between the two. It's almost like watching a movie. Would give just about anything to attend a match like this
I met both these gentlemen about a year after this at an exposition my dad took me to when I was 5 yrs old. I've been playing pool ever since. So glad I decided to look this up.
Such a treat to stumble across this! Love these guys shootin'. Willie's a better player but the flagrant intuition that Fats shoots with is a thing of beauty! I hope when my back gives up that I can shoot hip like that. Spectacular!
And Fats wasn't bad either. haha. Masconi was probably the greatest player in history, Fats was maybe second but certainly first in terms of entertainment.
Age caught up with Masconi. A blind man could pot balls dead center pocket on a pool table that size. Masconi turned into a bum while I at age 63 still have a worldwide challenge out to anyone who thinks they know how to play a pinball machine. I was always the fastest player alive from the time I was four and a half years old. If I live to be 100 I'll still be the fastest player alive. The man who rules the world a the world champion. The fine line between mortality and immortality a the real Tommy a the world champion.
@@maxxxmodelz4061 fats wasnt second.... fats would have lost to the ten best players at any time since straight pool started. most poolrooms in the northeast have players who'd beat him now... he was a brand, not a great but a good poolplayer with brass b@lls.
After the Color of Money 1986 and through the 90's there were many more everywhere. What year was the peak? We had 2 pool rooms in Eureka CA and now none, 0, zero, notta, zipo... What happened? How bad can it get? Is there a solution? InsidePoolMag and ProPool have merged along with a construction sponsor to reinvent pool events with the TV Driven interactive event system.
I grew up in the pool hall they were this was back in the 50s all the way up I went in the Army in 64 and the pool halls was where it was that as young kids have go up there and watch those guys and you don't have any more of that but you know they drink their beer they slip us a beer was a different world you didn't have a police state then you didn't have soccer moms helicopter moms and all that b******* we were just left to do what we want I-17 I joined the army and they were glad to get rid of me piss ants today don't know what it's all about they stay with their parents and forever they never stopped I've got Neighbors in the Daddy's a millionaire and they just suck off him and they'll suck off of him until he's dead and then when it's all gone I don't know what the poor bastards will do because they have no thing like that all they know is to suck off their parents they're f*****
I think I watched this match when it took place and was rooting for Minnesota Fats. Watching it now I find him obnoxious. I always found Howard Cosell obnoxious.
Too funny!!! Yeah the antenna thing! I can't tell you how many antennas I've installed, how many MA-TV systems I installed in the Chicago area… thanks you made me laugh !!!
Life as it was back then. Thanks for putting this vid up for the youths to see what it is like to fight for respect the way it was. No help, no excuses, just hard work whatever the discipline !
"Those were the days my friend, we thought they never end, we sing and dance forever and a day, we'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never lose,for we we were young and sure to have our way...LA la la la."
This is incredible. Thank you for the upload. Only thing missing is the commericals. I can't stand them now a days but I really get a kick out of the old ones.
Once they figure out how many people are still alive willing to watch a flickering, garbled, half-viewable mess as this for hours were all screwed!! Love it! Thanks
Unbelievable match with 2 of the greatest pool players of all time! Amazing. Heard about them both for years, but never saw them play anyone - let alone eachother!
@@michaelmarron8441as with anything else….car racing….basketball….baseball….football….swimming…..tennis…..you name it…..it’s called progress…..that doesn’t take a single cent away from those who were the best of their time…..
I remember this so well being that my dad taught me and my brothers how to play since when we had to stand on our tippy toes just to see the table so by the time I was 16 I was a pretty descent shot and about 6 months before this match happened. Our father had bought us a brand new championship Brunswiick table that he paid a little over 5,000 dollars for in 1977. My opinion the best table you could ever play on!
My grandfather had them build one in him basement and paid for a return to be installed on that table, they said the only one they built at that time early 70's. Beautiful Table.
Coming up, World Nordic Skiing Championships! Lol, gotta love Wide World Of Sports, they showed everything. I was a kid when this match happened and that was the best sports show on TV. It's great to see this match lives on TH-cam.
Thanks for sharing. I even enjoyed the static, film frame skips, and all the other aberrations that marked content consumption in our lives back then. I recall having to stand perfectly still for most of a Monday Night Football game because I had gotten up, changed the channel, and on my way back the whole room yelled "STOP THERE!!!". When I turned around (slowly) the picture was the most perfect any of us had ever seen. ROFL
This was basically an exhibition match, so I don't know what all rules they agreed to, but I seem to recall, when I played, that you are correct, if you didn't call it before the next shot, then it was too late.
I played Fats at an exhibition in southern Illinois. I scratched three rails after making 9 ball in the side. Met Willie Moscone in an exhibition in Colorado. he asked me to go to dinner with him but I was broke.A proud grandfather.
Our Oldest Sister beat Him at 8 ball, August 1965, at an exhibition in Madison Wi, I assume She went first, or He let Her win, She insists that He didn’t , the place was packed
I loved watching these pool matches with my dad. Back in the day when we didn't have 2020 bullshit. I'm 57 today! And how can any one replace Howard Cosell!
Two greats! Mosconi seams to be playing great position. My father, John McGinnis use to preach position! My father was a great pool player! You give him a shot and in most cases it's over! Watching this in 2019 makes me think of him and how much I miss him!
I was going through the comments and came across yours. Saw the name john mcginnis, which was my great great grandfather's name. But obviously a different john mcginnis. My mcginnis line is in canada.
Sorry so late....Never seen this before....Masterpiece....Two Classic Pool Masters One Room....Wish I Was There To Witness That Greatness 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Does this ever bring back memories of Wide World of Sports ... Howard Cosell's voice alone ... great video ... Two perfect characters for a billiard exhibition 😀...
Back in the late 70s. I had the pleasure of watching Earl Strickland at Dons pool hall in Greensboro NC. Don who racked after putting 50 cent on the table after each game. These are the days of pure talent and old school pool halls!
Old Legend around here in Northshore in east side of Houston Texas. Earl used to play my dads roommate Bobby dickens and they had some amazing matches. Bobby ran the table on him numerous times. Great houston legends of pool back then around here.
I love Fats. He's got balls. (As is obvious at 17:19 ! Geez, dude.) And Howard... the greatest sportscaster ever. He could call a Tic-Tac-Toe game and make it sound fascinating.
Wow!👌🏾 Watching these two masters at work on the table was indeed a delight in entertainment. Two different styles, yet the skill-set of Willie and Fats is undeniable. I prefer Willie's game, as his cue ball control is a brilliant. It was a treat to see H. Cosell in action as well.
That's because you got that damn Magnavox laptop with all those tubes. Everybody knows RCA is the wave of the future. They got that there, what they call "solid state" whatchamacallit inside there. Seriously, though am I the only one that wishes the commercials weren't edited out?
My dad grew up playing pool in the South Bronx in the 40’s & 50’s, and he showed me both of these gentlemen on TV when I was a kid in the 70’s. My dad just passed away three weeks ago, I wish I’d found this video sooner. He would’ve loved it!
R.I.P.🙏❤️
God Bless you & your dad.
@@evanabbott2737 thank you for your condolences.
@@buradley1733 thank you for saying that. May God bless you & yours as well.
Sorry to hear about your loss.
People complaining about the quality of this video clearly never lived in the 80's, this would've been classed as a good copy back then lol
@James ... Hell, this is HD in 80's terms!
If people weren't bitching James, they'd be dead. YOur comment, EXACTLY, thankfully someone recorded it so we can watch it.
James, the people complaining obviously didn't grow up back then or are so spoiled by HD TV, good quality for being recorded over 40 years ago, I remember watching this with my Dad when it was on.
Thunderstorm was near the broadcast station...more than likely.
I watch this with my dad when it was broadcasted...
Good times.
The commentary by Howard Cosell is absolutely legendary!
Used to love to hate him.
Yiôyuyl
Are you kidding? Cosell at his mumbling worst. In his element commenting on girls’ ice skating.
Cosell is the GOAT! 😃
Never liked him. At all.
The wild west of sports TV entertainment with Willie, Fats, and Howard Cosell... loved every minute
I grew up watching these guys and Howard Cosell on TV in the 70's and 80's. You'll never find old school characters like these guys again.
I also grew up watching Cosell in the 60s and 70s - 80s too, I guess. There was no old school about it. It was just school..
And in most cases, that's a good thing.
Same here. I loved watching these two masters at work on ABC, usually Saturday afternoons if I recall. And, yeah, they certainly were "characters"!
You will in MY neighborhood !‼️‼️thankfully ‼️🙂👍😃👍
I found their witty repartee to be so hilarious and entertaining when I watched this ,yrs ago that I had to look it up So glad I found it🤗😃👍👀☀️👀‼️👀‼️
Figure I'll watch the Hustler later😁🌜✨🌓🌠🌛
You got that right... 😂😂😂 ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ i as well...
Back when there was no cable and only 3 channels to watch on TV and you needed a great set of rabbit ears.... ah the good ole days!
Thank you for explanation. I was @ ready to throw my cellie across the room.
You said his lip was white from dehydration? That's NOT GOOD!
You were lucky we had two stations and one was fuzzy but you are right.the good old days.boy do i miss them.
Don't forget the aluminum foil wrapped around the rabbit ears!
Yes indeed, lord knows how much i miss them.
I actually got to play Fats in a San Antonio, Texas exhibition. I made a couple of shots and Fats said, “son, why are you even trying to beat me …. nobody in the WORLD would ever believe you”. I was done 😂
What A Heck Of A Story, You Probably Will Never Forget That.
I was eating pie at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville TN with the other trumpet players from the Nashville Symphony after a performance. It was about 9:50 and they said... 10 more minutes. I said "for what?" They said, "In 10 minutes Minnesota Fats walks through that door, grabs a piece of pie here at the bar, and goes right back up to his room." I said, "WHAT?" They said, "He lives here." Wouldn't I be damned, 10 pm ON THE KNOB he walked through the door and got his pie.
How modest of him.
@@nathanoman1 Well Okay What Ever Your Oponion Is Have A Nice Summer Time 2021
Gary scoggins
Mosconi was perhaps the finest billiards player ever. Wanderone (Fats) was a great hustler and showman and none too short on personality. What an era during which these two lived. I hustled pool in the 90's through the 00's and would have given anything to have been hustling in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. 9-Ball was the most popular game in my day. It's a banger/fast-paced game that requires little art. Straight-pool and one-pocket, on the other hand, are a thinking man's games, like poetry in motion.
Walderone was a poser fraud. Mosconi is the GOAT.
You're exactly right. 💯 I was born in 55 and grew up with a table in my basement. One pocket was like chess and 9 ball like checkers. We played straight in teams. Fats isn't really in Willie's league but I'd really have like to see Effren Reyes play Willie.
@@Kenny-zv4pp Not many players were in Mosconi's league. That said, Reyes was a SUPERB player.
Pool is just for people who can't play snooker
LOL@@andyhalstead3949 LOVE Snooker.
I can't believe I got to watch this game of all pool games , thank you to who ever recorded this
THIS is TRUTH.. give that man more than a damn cookie!!
Willie is buried at St. Mary’s cemetery in Bellmawr, NJ & every time I visit other graves I make an effort to stop at Willie’s to pay homage.😢🙏
When I was in college in the 1970’s Willie Mosconi visited the school (Texas Tech) I attended and gave a pool exhibition. I asked him if he remembered a story about a game Minnesota Fats was in where he was carefully lining up a shot and the floor gave way underneath him from his considerable weight. Willie had never heard the story but he laughed so hard that I thought he was going to pass out. 😄
Ok that is classic, I can just imagine that too
@@hammerlane3871 her her he he he ha ha
Absolute masterpiece of history!! Fats is a legend!!
I'm actually impressed by the level of production in this. Everything from a camera placed directly above the table. Nice graphics showing the balls movements. Interviews with the players. Amazing to have this video saved on youtube forever.
Agreed. Everything about this was great.
Fats lived in a village of 450 in Dowell, Illinois. When he was home you would see him outside his house feeding the stray dogs and cats. He was a kind hearted man but always portrayed himself as a tough guy. Fats was a good person to the core and married a wonderful & kind lady named Wanda.
My Kinda guy !! I Love his persona !!! 👍😊🌃🌕⭐🌌🌝🌙
@Insignificant Speck Of Dust
You think he's in heaven, or hell?
a village lol
Wanda Wanderone? That's a name.
He reminds me of WCFeilds
Thank you for posting this video. It brings back a good memory of my childhood when I watched this pool match live on TV. I was about 10 years old and this very match was the first (and unfortunately the last) professional pool match I had ever seen. I had been practicing pool on a daily basis and was totally amazed at how these two men played pool. I am so happy to be able to see it again here.
Keep playing pool. I play pinball machines about 12 hours a day everyday since I was 2 and a half years old. I started off as a bowler and through a fluke found out I was creme-de-la-creme of all world champions at the sport of pinball. One of the rarest occurrences in sports I went from an average player to the best on Earth in the blink of an eye. That was the way it happened.
@@parkerbohnn Are you also deaf, dumb and blind and live in Brighton, England?
Glad I stumbled across this. Not even a huge fan of pool but I always appreciate a professional who’s good at what he does. And just the time period u can tell was so special… even these comments are legendary. This is a great piece of history
Willie Misconi's grandson really saved my life in Vegas at the BCA Championship. It turned into a horrible trip, and he truly rescued me. I'm forever thankful. I was so shocked to have even met him. He showed me so many trick shots. Willie is amazing.
ball face liar
I wouldn't have even minded seeing those old commercials.
Same!
Take me right back. 😂
ladyraven30 me too 🤣
Same here
I always look up on you tube on old commercials for example like 90s commercials and so on. Just pick whatever decade and they run commercial after commercial and sometimes you’ll see one more than once.
Tracking!
Two legends at work with commentary by the late Howard Cosell this video is a true gem.
They set this up like a pro wrestling angle. Brilliant.
I remember watching the original broadcast of this with my dad.
Me too. I remember my Dad and I laughing like hell over Fat's trash talk.
Omg ... me three .... my dad was the underdog rooter ..... but liked classy dominance !!! Tiger woods ish
This event was one of the reasons why I loved watching Wide World of Sports with Howard Cosell commentating. They always displayed a wide variety of sports and always made it very interesting. As a kid, it was the first time I watched Billiards televised live on TV. And although I've never been a good pool player, I always enjoyed playing the game. I liked and respected both legends. Willie the quiet Billiards champion. And Minnesota Fats always loud and outspoken. Fats sort of reminded me of Carroll O'Conner's character - Archie Bunker back then.
What year was this?
Thank you for posting this. RIP to these legends. 👊🏽🙏🏽✌🏽🎱
Mosconi is a legend. The GOAT.
Rudolf Wanderone was a fraud and a poser.
I worked at the Flamingo Hilton and was able to watch Mr. Masconi practice for this match. It was an absolute revelation for me, he never shot a hard shot because of his amazing cue ball control.
As a boy, I learned the basics from his Winning at Billiards book back in the 60s, he stressed holding the butt end of the cue lightly with the thumb and 3 fingers, not in a death grip with the palm of your hand. I've always played with a very light touch, too light, so I've always used a 21 oz.
My buddies and I would play at our local billiards hall two evenings a week, then when we reached our late teens, we would practice at the hall for a couple hours, then go out to the bars, playing for drinks or a few bucks, playing on the little 7 ft. bar tables was duck soup after practicing on the 9ft table at the pool hall.
I played in a league and in amateur tournaments for fun, but I never seriously practiced, so I never had good consistency. What gave me an advantage over many of the other novices like me, was that I always had the correct form, grip, stance, and pretty good speed, that's all to Mr. Mosconi's book. From my understanding, Mosconi was never was able to play the same after his stroke in the 50s. I love seeing these old clips of him, such good form even though he's well past his heyday.
@@frankkolton1780 This film is from a 1978 broadcast of ABC's Wide World of Sports - the US $15,000 match between Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, Jr. and William Joseph "Willie" Mosconi at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Commentator is Howard Cosell and referee is Charles Ursitti. Mosconi won all three sets of the competition, which included nine-ball, eight ball, and rotation, 5-2, 5-3 and 5-2 respectively..
Fats used to say, "treat them like they was eggs."
Wow! He didn't slam every shot like he was teeing off at the golf course, and still managed to play position! WOW!! 🙄
ball face liar
In everything Cosell covered, he had this friendly relationship with the players that seemed to transcend the event and sport itself. It's hard to fathom anyone today, who was covering a boxer, a football player or a pool hustler, getting so familiar with them that you felt they were personal friends as well. Love him or hate him, he was one of a kind.
I loved the way Cosell could, just by the way he raised the timbre and cadence in his voice, make the football game more exciting than it really was on Monday nights. Him and Dandy Don were a real hoot ! Good times.
Cosell doing the Sunday's games highlights at halftime of the Monday night game was the best.
John Addeo I agree
Cosell was obnoxious. I grew up listening to his BS and sneaky opinions. I Love billiards but he has no right commenting on it.
@@marvin5620 I concur! He made it all seem so epically dramatic somehow…he was brilliant at drawing the viewer in.
This is when times were a lot better . Every Saturday I would watch these guys on CBS sports with my dad . Fats was his favorite. 1970’s what a decade to live in .
Exactly what year was this? I'm thinking late seventies
@@ronalddaub7965 early to mid seventies 1974-1977
same at our house
That was ABC Wide Wide world of Sports. I saw that game.
@@paulodelorios8482 I knew it was one of them lol
Fats sounds like a mob boss telling a short story just before having the listener whacked without seeing it coming 😅
He'd be great in a Martin Scorsese movie!
Great comparison! Lol
Angels with filthy souls xD
I remember watching this on TV one Saturday afternoon years ago. Watching these guys play pool was what we were doing that day. It was an event.
Fats would love the fact that new generations can watch his ranting thanks to TH-cam and appreciate the skill these two legends had
Fats sucked
. .
P
looks like we had the john McEnroe of pool
All of these guys are legendary in my opinion especially Howard Coscell!!! I remember watching this quite a few years ago!!! Gentlemen you are missed!!! RIP.
coscell huh lol who
Willie taught me how to run a table at Keesler Airforce Base in Biloxi Mississippi in 1978. Something I will never forget. What a nice and fun man.
I played MF in nashville tn in 1992 when I was 16. He was truly a great pool player. He died in nashville four years later. I'll never forget that day. He was super nice but of course would always tell you how good he was.
I'm old to remember them, but I was more into watching the master series of bowling. Do you think he was best overall pool player? Certainly likes to trash talk, lol.
@@ross5506Walderone wasn't a pro, but a poser hustler. Better than an average player but nowhere near the great Mosconi.
I can remember back around 1975-77 maybe Willie came to where my dad worked, a vending machine place...pinball, jukes, tables, etc. to give a promo/exhibition. I remember watching Willie pull up in a big car, something like an El Dorado or Lincoln. I recall he was very pleasant to the crowd that showed up to see him. He talked a little about himself and did some exhibition shooting. He pretty much looked the same as in this video. That was pretty cool listening to him and watching him shoot. I got to shake his hand at the end.
Mosconi true pool champion!
Wide world of sports, watched it, back in the day, still entertaining. Thanks.
Thanks for this
This reminds me of my Grandfather i use to watch these matches with him
Willy played at my father's aunts place in Brooklyn N.Y. in the old days. I met Willy at a pool demonstration in Torrington Ct. . He was humble and a there's an interesting back story to our conversation.
WOW IM LIVING KINDA CLOSE HERE IN MERIDEN
@traviswilliam5453 Care to indulge us with this interesting backstory? 😅
I lived in Dowell Illinois with Minnesota Fats in the late 60s. Approx 1969
He was a pet lover. He would take in strays and buy them prime cuts of meat. He offered me a autographed cue stick
I didn't take it.
I thought I don't need a hand out. I was 14 then and wished I'd have taken it for just gratitude only.
He gave kids great gifts that were poor.
He didn't live fancy. Wish I'd have talked to him more.
One he'll of great man.
even tho my dad disliked fats, cuz he was a loudmouth & my dad was a serious student of the game, like his idol willie, i liked him cuz he was entertaining. thanks for revealing a side of him that most may not have known, his generosity & love of animals. btw, i would have taken the stick.
Howard Cosell broadcasting this! Amazing!
Willie Mosconi taught me how to shoot pool!
Back in the day I worked one summer as a timekeeper at his poolroom in Phila. off Broad St. in Logan.Because of the “Blue Laws” pool rooms had to close on Saturday's at midnight. After we closed down and shut all the lights on the ~35 tables this huge room was totally black except for the main front table which was lit by three hanging lights, a surreal scene that looked like something from “The Hustler” movie. Willie would practice while I would rack the balls for him. As he ran rack after rack he would talk about each shot and his strategy for the next few shots while I silently listened. Sometimes he would shoot for several hours and not miss, running hundreds if not thousands of balls. To me he was the definition of “suave and debonair” in addition to being the greatest pool player in the world. In those days there were several legendary hustlers who hung out there including Pete the Greek, Peter Rabbit, The Breeze (who loved the “ponies" and claimed the horses talked to him at the track) and John Oakley whose day job was re-covering pool and billiard tables. Although gambling was against the law I watched games where as much as a $500 a game was wagered and this was in the mid 1950’s. I learned that hustling pool had less to do with expertise and everything to do with negotiating a match as in “you making 50 balls before I make 35”. The preferred game of the “fast” hustlers was 9 ball while the more skilled players preferred the game of one pocket that had higher dollar bets although the games took much longer to complete.
Good times.
Efren is the greatest plus he said his prime was in the 70’s think about it, he’s the greatest now, imagine what he could’ve done if he was in tournaments in the U . S in the 70’s , efren still the goat tho, plus he’s the greatest cueist ever
Wow.Im sorta' glad I'm old enough to remember these guys.History.
I watched this LIVE on ABC's Wide World Of Sports! great times during the 70's!
Tom Taylor
Things where better back then.
@@celticjay2306 tell me about it!
I still remember the day my Grandfather led 4 men into our cellar and watched them assemble a pool table and leave. My Grandfather returned an hour later with Mr. Mosconi to teach my father, brothers and I the basics of pool and left a autographed copy of his new book. I had no idea who he was until I read the book and then realized how lucky I was to meet him.
Did you live in Philly?
The Maestro He did yes
Are you the same Marilyn Miller, married to Arthur Miller?
J Damian Abel yes
@Marilyn Miller, that is amazing! the great willie mosconi in house. my dad whose high I.Q. helped make him 1 of the 3 best pool players in all of washington dc got to meet his idol at an exhibition. willie gave anyone who wanted to, a chance to play him. my dad was too nervous & awestruck to play him. he said willie was such a classy gentleman. wonder if anyone knows what willie's I.Q. was. it had to b pretty high for him to play at the level that he did.
One of the best classic I've seen in a long time. Thanks for the memory.
The bad tape just adds to the nostalgia.
Og reel.
sunspots
The only thing that would have made this better is to leave in all those old commercials.
What a gob shit.
It's a bad tape. I have VHS tapes that are clear as water. Someone didn't take care of this tape
Thank you for this rare gem. Enjoyed Willie and Fats very much.
Anybody else remember when tv’s had vertical and horizontal knobs.
yep.
The knob s in the oval office today
@@davehallett3128 and yet a coke head with skank getting his knob worked on in the Oval office was fine right? Smh
Ha! Yes. I remember. I would slow the flips down until it only flipped every 30 seconds. Never could find that sweet spot where it didn’t flip! Floor model console TV needed replaced but it still worked! Good times.
Rabbit ears and steel wool?
I met both of them in Nashville, TN. when I qualified from Missouri and went to the Junior National 8-Ball pool tournament in 1991. They were there, along with other pro players representing pool game supplies equipment. Minnesota Fats was there with a stamper to stamp his autograph to those asking for it. I did get Willie Mosconi's autograph at the time on a provided 8X10 print. Very nice guy. He ended up passing away the following year, I believe. He was the only autograph I got there, since I considered him the greatest player that ever lived. Great memory of mine.
I managed a restaurant in Nashville back in 91-92. Fats lived in Nashville back in those days. He used to sit beside the stage in the downstairs club at the Stockade. He had a stack of cocktail napkins and a black felt pen sitting on his table and would sign an autograph for anyone that asked. My friend was the liquor salesman for the Stockade and he asked me if I wanted to meet Fats, I still have the napkin.
ball face liar
@@douggoettsch3235Awesomeness.
Today's generation doesn't know the struggle of bad tracking.
This new generation is spoiled, with buffering at least you get to see the whole program lol
Yeah, I had manual tracking on my Betamax ( my Betamax still works )
How about the fact you had to get out of your seat to change the channel.
They just don't get it and never will. They get upset if their Twitter doesn't load instantaneously
A vcr with no tracking was considered junk. Where’s the tracking fast forwarding always worked lol
Love the way Howard announced this like he's narrating a 1930's noir. Perfect lol
Can't stop laughing when Minnesota turns on the smack talk! This is also one of the few times I wouldn't mind watching the commercials. That Sears commercial brought back some memories.
Talking trash was Walderone's real talent. A fraud and a poser.
I love the way these two talk to each other and the lingo used. There's so much personailty and humor between the two. It's almost like watching a movie. Would give just about anything to attend a match like this
I especially love and miss the uniquely talented, Howard Cosell.
They left out the best part... When Minnesota says.... If I want a trophy I'll buy one!
I met both these gentlemen about a year after this at an exposition my dad took me to when I was 5 yrs old. I've been playing pool ever since. So glad I decided to look this up.
Talk about digging out the archives, two of the greatest pool players ever. Then you have Howard Cosell . Wow
OMG I recall watching this. Pure trash talking all over the game.
Such a treat to stumble across this! Love these guys shootin'. Willie's a better player but the flagrant intuition that Fats shoots with is a thing of beauty! I hope when my back gives up that I can shoot hip like that. Spectacular!
i think i now remember why i liked sports growing up,, Nobody can do it like Howard Cosell..
The tracking on this VHS making me feel old asf and cracking me up at the same time. So many memories. Thanks for uploading this classic
Remember watching as a kid in 78'.....ABC Wide World of Sports. Willie was a class act.
What a cueist Mosconi was! A senior citizen and still making most of his shots dead center pocket. Amazing! Beautiful slip stroke.
And Fats wasn't bad either. haha. Masconi was probably the greatest player in history, Fats was maybe second but certainly first in terms of entertainment.
funny, you are only a few who recognized his smooth stroke ability.. a master he was!
Age caught up with Masconi. A blind man could pot balls dead center pocket on a pool table that size. Masconi turned into a bum while I at age 63 still have a worldwide challenge out to anyone who thinks they know how to play a pinball machine. I was always the fastest player alive from the time I was four and a half years old. If I live to be 100 I'll still be the fastest player alive. The man who rules the world a the world champion. The fine line between mortality and immortality a the real Tommy a the world champion.
@@maxxxmodelz4061 fats wasnt second.... fats would have lost to the ten best players at any time since straight pool started. most poolrooms in the northeast have players who'd beat him now... he was a brand, not a great but a good poolplayer with brass b@lls.
@@parkerbohnn ok parker.... whatever you say. and it's mosconi smart guy.
you have to realize back in the 70s there was a pool hall in every town
After the Color of Money 1986 and through the 90's there were many more everywhere. What year was the peak? We had 2 pool rooms in Eureka CA and now none, 0, zero, notta, zipo... What happened? How bad can it get? Is there a solution? InsidePoolMag and ProPool have merged along with a construction sponsor to reinvent pool events with the TV Driven interactive event system.
Well here in texas theres a pool hall in every town. Got 4 in my town.
@@andrewverrett568 might have to move down to Texas 🤷
I grew up in the pool hall they were this was back in the 50s all the way up I went in the Army in 64 and the pool halls was where it was that as young kids have go up there and watch those guys and you don't have any more of that but you know they drink their beer they slip us a beer was a different world you didn't have a police state then you didn't have soccer moms helicopter moms and all that b******* we were just left to do what we want I-17 I joined the army and they were glad to get rid of me piss ants today don't know what it's all about they stay with their parents and forever they never stopped I've got Neighbors in the Daddy's a millionaire and they just suck off him and they'll suck off of him until he's dead and then when it's all gone I don't know what the poor bastards will do because they have no thing like that all they know is to suck off their parents they're f*****
Johnson City, I’ll. was home to the world pocket billiards championships back in the fifties, sixties, and into the seventies. Not sure after that.
These gentlemen were the ones who made the game become reallly quite, no one could smack talk as good as them
Fats - "I got six Cadillacs. Every time a bird flies over one I buy another one!"
I love TH-cam because of videos like this that I wouldn't never see or even know existed!!
Not "wouldn't never". That's a double negative. Just "wouldn't ever."
@@lancebaker1374 And not being a condencending twit is really important too!
hpnc by far the best thing about TH-cam is getting blessed with some nostalgic gold
I think I watched this match when it took place and was rooting for Minnesota Fats. Watching it now I find him obnoxious. I always found Howard Cosell obnoxious.
At the 26 minute mark I felt the urge to get on top of the house and move the antenna.
i just put some aluminum foil on my rabbit-ears.
Danny Mcnamara.... Of course I'm not positive but I think it's the tracking adjustment on a vcr.
Danny Mcnamara h. Yhhy7y
Z
Too funny!!! Yeah the antenna thing! I can't tell you how many antennas I've installed, how many MA-TV systems I installed in the Chicago area… thanks you made me laugh !!!
Tracking on the VCR.
Life as it was back then. Thanks for putting this vid up for the youths to see what it is like to fight for respect the way it was. No help, no excuses, just hard work whatever the discipline !
I remember it well. I was watching. It was Valentine's Day, 1978.
ssoooo I was right in my earlier reply on another post,.. I was 13,..lol willie was a billiards GOD!
ssoooo I was right in my earlier reply on another post,.. I was 13,..lol willie was a billiards GOD!
"Those were the days my friend, we thought they never end, we sing and dance forever and a day, we'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never lose,for we we were young and sure to have our way...LA la la la."
Excellent song 👌🏻
Old school loved it. thank you
This is incredible. Thank you for the upload. Only thing missing is the commericals. I can't stand them now a days but I really get a kick out of the old ones.
Omg! Who besides me would do anything to have been able to meet these guys? Great show, and God bless all of us billiard players!
Once they figure out how many people are still alive willing to watch a flickering, garbled, half-viewable mess as this for hours were all screwed!! Love it! Thanks
Thanks for this. I remember watching this as a kid.
good game!
Unbelievable match with 2 of the greatest pool players of all time! Amazing. Heard about them both for years, but never saw them play anyone - let alone eachother!
New kids would not let these guy get out of their chair but surely they are one of the most influential players ever and they also very enterntaining
Walderone isn't one of the greats, unless you're referring to frauds. Not in the same league as the great Mosconi.
@@joulupukki1607 indeed. They are way below todays standards
@@michaelmarron8441as with anything else….car racing….basketball….baseball….football….swimming…..tennis…..you name it…..it’s called progress…..that doesn’t take a single cent away from those who were the best of their time…..
3:17 "A pool player with a tuxedo is like putting ice-cream on a hotdog" lol
😂😂😂😂, LMAO hilarious
That was some top shelf shade right there! 🤣🤣🤣😂 VSOP burn
I was dead on that comment!!😂🤣🤣🤣
I remember this so well being that my dad taught me and my brothers how to play since when we had to stand on our tippy toes just to see the table so by the time I was 16 I was a pretty descent shot and about 6 months before this match happened. Our father had bought us a brand new championship Brunswiick table that he paid a little over 5,000 dollars for in 1977.
My opinion the best table you could ever play on!
My grandfather had them build one in him basement and paid for a return to be installed on that table, they said the only one they built at that time early 70's. Beautiful Table.
Coming up, World Nordic Skiing Championships! Lol, gotta love Wide World Of Sports, they showed everything. I was a kid when this match happened and that was the best sports show on TV. It's great to see this match lives on TH-cam.
After that, Demolition Derby.
Thanks for sharing. I even enjoyed the static, film frame skips, and all the other aberrations that marked content consumption in our lives back then. I recall having to stand perfectly still for most of a Monday Night Football game because I had gotten up, changed the channel, and on my way back the whole room yelled "STOP THERE!!!". When I turned around (slowly) the picture was the most perfect any of us had ever seen. ROFL
Anyone else notice the foul at about 14:25 where he quickly puts the ball back when he moved it with his cue hand?
the miscue was karma lol
+Greg Schmidt lies!!
+Greg Schmidt .. Isn't it only a foul if the other player calls it? That's how it is around here anyway..
This was basically an exhibition match, so I don't know what all rules they agreed to, but I seem to recall, when I played, that you are correct, if you didn't call it before the next shot, then it was too late.
not only that, he didn't put it anywhere near where it was, lol. He just wanted to stop it from rolling and get out of there.
Mosconi moved like a spry 20 year old man. And shot every shot crisply, lots of snap.
I played Fats at an exhibition in southern Illinois. I scratched three rails after making 9 ball in the side. Met Willie Moscone in an exhibition in Colorado. he asked me to go to dinner with him but I was broke.A proud grandfather.
Our Oldest Sister beat Him at 8 ball, August 1965, at an exhibition in Madison Wi, I assume She went first, or He let Her win, She insists that He didn’t , the place was packed
R.I.P RUDOLF WANDERONE 1913-1996 AND WILLIE MOSCONI 1913-1993
R.I.P RUDOLF WANDERONE 1913-1996 AND WILLIE MOSCONI 1913-1993
anandguruji83 RIP Arthur "Babe" Cranfield. The billiard legend from Syracuse NY.....
anandguruji83 Great times watching these two play and put on a show. Any old time pool player knows how great those times were. RIP old friends.
anandguruji83 Great times watching these two play and put on a show. Any old time pool player knows how great those times were. RIP old friends.
Boston Cleaning Company, Inc. about like saying ruth was not the best ball player to ever play the game.
I think Archie Bunker got his character from Minnesota fats 😆
Most definitely
For sure !
@@FirstLast-jv4gr from all in the family how old are you
@@FirstLast-jv4gr in cool bro I'm a musician I'm 15
@@FirstLast-jv4gr blues
I remember watching this match on Wide World of Sports when it occurred back in 1978! It was great then! It's even better now!
I loved watching these pool matches with my dad. Back in the day when we didn't have 2020 bullshit. I'm 57 today! And how can any one replace Howard Cosell!
Two greats! Mosconi seams to be playing great position. My father, John McGinnis use to preach position! My father was a great pool player! You give him a shot and in most cases it's over! Watching this in 2019 makes me think of him and how much I miss him!
I was going through the comments and came across yours. Saw the name john mcginnis, which was my great great grandfather's name. But obviously a different john mcginnis. My mcginnis line is in canada.
Bet He Couldnt Beat Willie Mosconi
Sorry so late....Never seen this before....Masterpiece....Two Classic Pool Masters One Room....Wish I Was There To Witness That Greatness 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Does this ever bring back memories of Wide World of Sports ... Howard Cosell's voice alone ... great video ... Two perfect characters for a billiard exhibition 😀...
This almost has an old school wrestling feel with the interviews and trash talking.
Defiantly
Fats was a great heel!
I remember watching this as a kid on Wide World Of Sports. It was a big deal to watch this game and these two legends.
I seen it on ESPN8.
Back during the heyday of the legendary Howard Cosell
Back in the late 70s. I had the pleasure of watching Earl Strickland at Dons pool hall in Greensboro NC. Don who racked after putting 50 cent on the table after each game. These are the days of pure talent and old school pool halls!
Old
Legend around here in Northshore in east side of Houston Texas. Earl used to play my dads roommate Bobby dickens and they had some amazing matches. Bobby ran the table on him numerous times. Great houston legends of pool back then around here.
only Howard Kossel can make pool dramatic....underrated sports caster, and human being
Underrated by whom? He was the greatest of all time.
To pool players and pool fans, pool IS dramatic. We would also prefer an announcer who is more knowledgeable about the game.
kossel lol
Getting into each others heads... This is how men used to play... Love Howard!
Grew up playing pool, in pool halls, still love the game but those pool halls are long gone
@Joey B we have tables at the legion and vfw
One hour north of new orleans
@Joey B oh yes, and the music, cant beat it,they goin to tear down the hard rock soon
Come to the Philippines. They're everywhere.
Even the sh*t talking is classy. I love this video.
I remember watching this on ABC when it first aired.It's so cool watching this so many years later.
I love Fats. He's got balls. (As is obvious at 17:19 ! Geez, dude.)
And Howard... the greatest sportscaster ever. He could call a Tic-Tac-Toe game and make it sound fascinating.
TacomaPaul m
Cats was a funt. Or something like that.
Cosell was a lousy sportscaster. Extremely obnoxious and often got things all wrong.
Cosell was a legend
This made me wanna slam the side of my computer like I used to back in the day with the family tv
I'd smack the hell out of it and grandma would get pissed! I can still hear her today "Boy, I'm gonna kick your ass if you hit my tv again!" 😄
Yup!!!!
I kept wanting to adjust the tracking on the VCR!! Great video anyways!! Thanks for sharing.
Wow!👌🏾
Watching these two masters at work on the table was indeed a delight in entertainment. Two different styles, yet the skill-set of Willie and Fats is undeniable. I prefer Willie's game, as his cue ball control is a brilliant. It was a treat to see H. Cosell in action as well.
I only seen one master not 2.
the spotty quality of this video almost made me hit my laptop like it was an old tv.
Tracking on the VCr
"Babe get me my goddam clicker"
That's because you got that damn Magnavox laptop with all those tubes. Everybody knows RCA is the wave of the future. They got that there, what they call "solid state" whatchamacallit inside there.
Seriously, though am I the only one that wishes the commercials weren't edited out?
yeah - at 20:50 I was smacking the side of my monitor...
It was just the way I saw it the first time and I thought it was my tv's fault.
This is so awesome, thanks! Best hangover cure video ever