Willie Mosconi
Encyclopedia
William Joseph Mosconi (icon; June 27, 1913 – September 12, 1993), best known as Willie Mosconi, was an American professional pool (pocket billiards) player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. Between the years of 1941 and 1957, he won the World Straight Pool Championship
an unmatched fifteen times. For most of the 20th century, his name was essentially synonymous with pool in North America – he was nicknamed "Mr. Pocket Billiards" – and he was among the first Billiard Congress of America
Hall of Fame
inductees. Mosconi pioneered and regularly employed numerous trick shot
s, set many records, and helped to popularize pool as a national recreation activity.
During the 1940s and 1950s, the pocket billiards game most often played in competition was called straight pool
, or 14.1 continuous, a form of pool considered by most top players to be more difficult than today's fast tournament game nine-ball. Mosconi still holds the officially recognized straight pool high world record of 526 consecutive balls (see below for more details).
performer. He tried to keep his young son away from the game by hiding the billiard balls, but Willie improvised by practicing with small potatoes from his mother's kitchen and an old broomstick.
The young Mosconi was a prodigy
and his father soon realized that his son's talent could help earn money for their growing family. His father began advertising challenge matches, and though Willie had to stand on a box in order to reach the table, he beat experienced players many years his senior.
In 1919, an exhibition match was arranged between six-year-old Mosconi and the reigning World Champion, Ralph Greenleaf
. The hall was packed, and though Greenleaf won that match, Mosconi played well enough to draw considerable attention and launch his professional career.
Upon his return, Mosconi entered one local tournament after another and according to his autobiography, "Willie's Game", he won them all. After a short while, Mosconi was making a living as a professional pool player. Willie claimed he never hustled
anyone, beating everyone honestly.
In 1933, Mosconi competed in the Billiard Congress of America
(BCA) World Straight Pool Championship
. He nearly won the title but lost in the final to Erwin Rudolph
.
His performance garnered the attention of the president of Brunswick Corporation
who immediately hired the young phenom. That same year, Mosconi embarked on a hectic cross-country exhibition tour promoting Brunswick products. Mosconi was joined by his idol and then World Champion Ralph Greenleaf, who was at the top of his game. In the end the scoreline read 57 wins for Greenleaf and a close 50 for the 20-year-old Mosconi.
From 1940 to 1941, a round-robin tournament
series was sponsored by billiard halls, with eight invitational players. Mosconi was sponsored by a hall in New York City called McGirr's. He dominated this series, and ran 125 balls from the five times when only two other players in history had ever done the same.
In 1944, Mosconi enlisted in the US Army, having already spent several years working within the defense industry. When World War II
ended, he returned to a successful tournament career and renewed his affiliation with Brunswick.
After suffering a stroke in 1956, Mosconi slowed down on his tournament appearances in order to recover. He returned to the game at nearly 100% by 1957, when he once again won the BCA World Championship.
Mosconi retired from tournament play in 1966 but remained active in promoting the game. He consulted and appeared in several movies dealing with billiards, made game show appearances and wrote many articles on billiards, as well as co-authored some books.
He and a ghost writer authored an instructional book on pocket billiards entitled Willie Mosconi on Pocket Billiards. In the book he offers advice on fundamentals, includes photographs and diagrams on shotmaking and provides straight pool strategies. The book was originally published by Crown Publishers of New York (1948) and had a second printing (1959). A second ghost-written book (which on some finer points contradicts On Pocket Billiards) was also published under his name.
on March 19–20, 1954. To this day the record has not been toppled and many speculate it may never be bested. A handwritten and notarized
affidavit
with the signatures of more than 35 eyewitnesses exists as proof of this feat.
The record was set on a 4 × 8 foot Brunswick
table with 5 1/4 inch corner pockets at the East High Billiard Club. Today's standard for tables may be considered more difficult to play on than this exhibition table in the sense that longer shots are required (today's standard tables are 9 x 4 1/2 ft) with 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 inch pockets, but today's tables may be considered easier to play on in the sense that there is more room for the balls to spread, creating unfettered shots. Mosconi competed successfully on 4 1/2 × 9 and 5 x 10 ft tables. The 526-ball record just happened to be on a 4 × 8 ft table, a size seldom used in professional play, but used for the billiard club exhibition that day. In fact, the room owner expected the exhibition to take place on the room's 9 foot table. That table was not a Brunswick, so Willie was required to play on one of
the Brunswick 8 foot tables.
on the 1961 film The Hustler
, starring Paul Newman
, Jackie Gleason
and Piper Laurie
. The movie played a major part in the boom in the popularity of pool. Mosconi's job was to teach Newman how to walk, talk, and shoot like a real pool hustler. Newman had never even picked up a pool cue prior to filming, but his relative inexperience was undetectable due to Mosconi's expert instruction. According to Mosconi, Gleason already knew his way around a billiard table and some have suggested that it was Mosconi himself who recommended Gleason for the role of the original "Minnesota Fats".
Mosconi also had a cameo role as himself, acting as a holder during the first match-up between the film's characters "Fast Eddie" Felson and "Minnesota Fats". Gleason can be heard saying "Willie, hang on to that" (the money) when the match commences. At various points in the extended scene, a keen eye can spot Mosconi in the audience watching the match.
The documentary short "The Hustler: The Inside Story", featured on The Hustler Special Edition DVD revealed that whenever the camera cut to Fast Eddie's hands it was really Mosconi taking the shot. (However, IMDb claims that the only shot Mosconi took was the masse shot during Fast Eddie's rematch with Fats).
.
1945: Columbia World of Sports: "Champion of the Cue", an eight-minute "sports reel" in which Mosconi demonstrates his cueing expertise in slow motion.
1953: Columbia World of Sports: "Billiard and Bowling Champs", another short documentary starring Willie Mosconi and carom billiards great Willie Hoppe
(as well as bowlers), once again in slow motion.
1950–57: Mosconi appeared on Toast of the Town later known as The Ed Sullivan Show
on three occasions: April 23, 1950, January 6, 1952
September 25, 1961: Theatrical release of The Hustler (see above).
February 5, 1962: Mosconi was a contestant on the television game show I've Got a Secret
.
September 2, 1962: Mosconi was a contestant on the television game show What's My Line?
.
1966: An episode of Get Smart
, "The Dead Spy Scrawls" {1/18}, featured actor Harry Bartell in the role of "Willie Marconi," trying to teach Maxwell Smart how to play pool. While some have erroneously believed this is a cameo of Willie Mosconi playing himself, the Marconi character is a fictitious but obvious tribute to Mosconi, who is acknowledged by The Chief as "the greatest pool player in the world."
February 25, 1978: "The Great Pool Shoot-Out", a US$15,000 match between Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, Jr. and Mosconi at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
in New York City. Mosconi won the nine-ball competition in three sets, 5–2, 5–3 and 5–2. Aired on ABC
's Wide World of Sports with commentator Howard Cosell
and referee Charles Ursitti.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s: Mosconi made several other television appearances competing in challenge matches with other legends such as Jimmy Caras, Luther Lassiter
, Irving Crane
, Joe Balsis
and "Fats" Wanderone. Many of these shows aired on ABC and the fledgling ESPN
network.
May 9, 1980: Mosconi played a sportscaster in the film The Baltimore Bullet
starring James Coburn
and Omar Sharif
.
1982: He appeared in the music video for George Thorogood
's "Bad to the Bone
".
August 10, 1991: Mosconi played his last challenge match, against Jimmy Caras at the Valley Billiards
Hall of Fame tribute dinner show. The event was hosted by billiard artists the Birkbeck Twins at the Williamson Restaurant in Horsham, Pennsylvania
. Both players were stopped every couple of for interviews.
.
In 1994
, the Mosconi Cup
, an annual pool competition between American and European players, was founded in Willie's honor. The event has been held in December of every year since then and is more popular than ever, especially in Europe. The Mosconi Cup is considered the Ryder Cup
of the billiard world, and players strive to become a member of their respective countries' teams.
In 2006, Mosconi was posthumously honored with membership in the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
.
Mosconi married his second wife, Flora Marchini, in 1953. Their daughter Gloria was born in 1954. Flora remained married to Willie until his death in 1993.
.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Between the years of 1941 and 1957, he won the World Straight Pool Championship
World Straight Pool Championship
The World Straight Pool Championship is an annual pocket billiards competition held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, since 2006. It is the current global professional title for straight pool , and is organized by Dragon Promotions, in part to restore the game's popularity in the United States...
an unmatched fifteen times. For most of the 20th century, his name was essentially synonymous with pool in North America – he was nicknamed "Mr. Pocket Billiards" – and he was among the first Billiard Congress of America
Billiard Congress of America
Billiard Congress of America is a governing body for cue sports in North America , the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association...
Hall of Fame
Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame. Many of these were inducted based on their excellence as world-class players , while others were inducted for their contributions to the game or the billiards industry .The year of induction is listed after...
inductees. Mosconi pioneered and regularly employed numerous trick shot
Trick shot
A trick shot is a shot played on a billiards table , which seems unlikely, impossible, or requires significant skill...
s, set many records, and helped to popularize pool as a national recreation activity.
During the 1940s and 1950s, the pocket billiards game most often played in competition was called straight pool
Straight Pool
Straight pool, also called 14.1 continuous or simply 14.1, is a pocket billiards game, and was the common sport of championship competition until overtaken by faster-playing games like nine-ball...
, or 14.1 continuous, a form of pool considered by most top players to be more difficult than today's fast tournament game nine-ball. Mosconi still holds the officially recognized straight pool high world record of 526 consecutive balls (see below for more details).
Early life
Willie's father Joseph Mosconi owned a pool hall that the family lived above. Joseph Mosconi was strongly opposed to Willie playing pocket billiards, preferring he become a VaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer. He tried to keep his young son away from the game by hiding the billiard balls, but Willie improvised by practicing with small potatoes from his mother's kitchen and an old broomstick.
The young Mosconi was a prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
and his father soon realized that his son's talent could help earn money for their growing family. His father began advertising challenge matches, and though Willie had to stand on a box in order to reach the table, he beat experienced players many years his senior.
In 1919, an exhibition match was arranged between six-year-old Mosconi and the reigning World Champion, Ralph Greenleaf
Ralph Greenleaf
Ralph Greenleaf was an American professional pool and carom billiards player, a twenty-time World Pocket Billiards Champion, whose ability and charisma dominated the sport during his heyday.His obituary in The New York Times said of Greenleaf, in March 1950: "What Babe Ruth did for baseball,...
. The hall was packed, and though Greenleaf won that match, Mosconi played well enough to draw considerable attention and launch his professional career.
Tournaments and exhibitions
In 1924, at the age of 11, Mosconi was the juvenile straight pool champion and was regularly holding trick shot exhibitions. By the early 1930s, Mosconi had taken a brief hiatus from the game, but returned a couple of years later in the hopes of earning some money.Upon his return, Mosconi entered one local tournament after another and according to his autobiography, "Willie's Game", he won them all. After a short while, Mosconi was making a living as a professional pool player. Willie claimed he never hustled
Hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
anyone, beating everyone honestly.
In 1933, Mosconi competed in the Billiard Congress of America
Billiard Congress of America
Billiard Congress of America is a governing body for cue sports in North America , the regional member organization of the World Pool-Billiard Association...
(BCA) World Straight Pool Championship
World Straight Pool Championship
The World Straight Pool Championship is an annual pocket billiards competition held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, since 2006. It is the current global professional title for straight pool , and is organized by Dragon Promotions, in part to restore the game's popularity in the United States...
. He nearly won the title but lost in the final to Erwin Rudolph
Erwin Rudolph
Erwin Rudolph was an American pocket billiards player from Cleveland, Ohio and a four-time world champion. One of his great feats was running 125 points in 32 minutes .-Biography:...
.
His performance garnered the attention of the president of Brunswick Corporation
Brunswick Corporation
The Brunswick Corporation , formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is a United States-based corporation that has been involved in manufacturing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick's global headquarters is in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois...
who immediately hired the young phenom. That same year, Mosconi embarked on a hectic cross-country exhibition tour promoting Brunswick products. Mosconi was joined by his idol and then World Champion Ralph Greenleaf, who was at the top of his game. In the end the scoreline read 57 wins for Greenleaf and a close 50 for the 20-year-old Mosconi.
From 1940 to 1941, a round-robin tournament
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
series was sponsored by billiard halls, with eight invitational players. Mosconi was sponsored by a hall in New York City called McGirr's. He dominated this series, and ran 125 balls from the five times when only two other players in history had ever done the same.
In 1944, Mosconi enlisted in the US Army, having already spent several years working within the defense industry. When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended, he returned to a successful tournament career and renewed his affiliation with Brunswick.
After suffering a stroke in 1956, Mosconi slowed down on his tournament appearances in order to recover. He returned to the game at nearly 100% by 1957, when he once again won the BCA World Championship.
Mosconi retired from tournament play in 1966 but remained active in promoting the game. He consulted and appeared in several movies dealing with billiards, made game show appearances and wrote many articles on billiards, as well as co-authored some books.
As an author
Mosconi authored an autobiography titled Willie's Game.He and a ghost writer authored an instructional book on pocket billiards entitled Willie Mosconi on Pocket Billiards. In the book he offers advice on fundamentals, includes photographs and diagrams on shotmaking and provides straight pool strategies. The book was originally published by Crown Publishers of New York (1948) and had a second printing (1959). A second ghost-written book (which on some finer points contradicts On Pocket Billiards) was also published under his name.
526 high run
Mosconi set the world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition in Springfield, OhioSpringfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
on March 19–20, 1954. To this day the record has not been toppled and many speculate it may never be bested. A handwritten and notarized
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
with the signatures of more than 35 eyewitnesses exists as proof of this feat.
The record was set on a 4 × 8 foot Brunswick
Brunswick Corporation
The Brunswick Corporation , formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is a United States-based corporation that has been involved in manufacturing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick's global headquarters is in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois...
table with 5 1/4 inch corner pockets at the East High Billiard Club. Today's standard for tables may be considered more difficult to play on than this exhibition table in the sense that longer shots are required (today's standard tables are 9 x 4 1/2 ft) with 4 1/2 to 4 3/4 inch pockets, but today's tables may be considered easier to play on in the sense that there is more room for the balls to spread, creating unfettered shots. Mosconi competed successfully on 4 1/2 × 9 and 5 x 10 ft tables. The 526-ball record just happened to be on a 4 × 8 ft table, a size seldom used in professional play, but used for the billiard club exhibition that day. In fact, the room owner expected the exhibition to take place on the room's 9 foot table. That table was not a Brunswick, so Willie was required to play on one of
the Brunswick 8 foot tables.
The Hustler (1961)
Mosconi was the technical advisorTechnical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
on the 1961 film The Hustler
The Hustler (film)
The Hustler is a 1961 American drama film directed by Robert Rossen from the 1959 novel of the same name he and Sidney Carroll adapted for the screen...
, starring Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
and Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie is an American actress of stage and screen known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks and the films The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God, all of which brought her Academy Award nominations...
. The movie played a major part in the boom in the popularity of pool. Mosconi's job was to teach Newman how to walk, talk, and shoot like a real pool hustler. Newman had never even picked up a pool cue prior to filming, but his relative inexperience was undetectable due to Mosconi's expert instruction. According to Mosconi, Gleason already knew his way around a billiard table and some have suggested that it was Mosconi himself who recommended Gleason for the role of the original "Minnesota Fats".
Mosconi also had a cameo role as himself, acting as a holder during the first match-up between the film's characters "Fast Eddie" Felson and "Minnesota Fats". Gleason can be heard saying "Willie, hang on to that" (the money) when the match commences. At various points in the extended scene, a keen eye can spot Mosconi in the audience watching the match.
The documentary short "The Hustler: The Inside Story", featured on The Hustler Special Edition DVD revealed that whenever the camera cut to Fast Eddie's hands it was really Mosconi taking the shot. (However, IMDb claims that the only shot Mosconi took was the masse shot during Fast Eddie's rematch with Fats).
Filmography
1937: "Super Cue Men", a short feature starring Mosconi, Jimmy Caras and Joi LansingJoi Lansing
Joi Lansing was an American model, film and television actress, as well as a nightclub singer. She was most noted for her pin-up photos, and for her minor roles in B-movies...
.
1945: Columbia World of Sports: "Champion of the Cue", an eight-minute "sports reel" in which Mosconi demonstrates his cueing expertise in slow motion.
1953: Columbia World of Sports: "Billiard and Bowling Champs", another short documentary starring Willie Mosconi and carom billiards great Willie Hoppe
Willie Hoppe
William Frederick Hoppe , known predominantly as Willie Hoppe , was an internationally renowned American professional carom billiards champion, who was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1966.-Biography:Hoppe was born in Cornwall on Hudson, New York on...
(as well as bowlers), once again in slow motion.
1950–57: Mosconi appeared on Toast of the Town later known as The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
on three occasions: April 23, 1950, January 6, 1952
September 25, 1961: Theatrical release of The Hustler (see above).
February 5, 1962: Mosconi was a contestant on the television game show I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret
I've Got a Secret is a panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show What's My Line?...
.
September 2, 1962: Mosconi was a contestant on the television game show What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
.
1966: An episode of Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
, "The Dead Spy Scrawls" {1/18}, featured actor Harry Bartell in the role of "Willie Marconi," trying to teach Maxwell Smart how to play pool. While some have erroneously believed this is a cameo of Willie Mosconi playing himself, the Marconi character is a fictitious but obvious tribute to Mosconi, who is acknowledged by The Chief as "the greatest pool player in the world."
February 25, 1978: "The Great Pool Shoot-Out", a US$15,000 match between Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone, Jr. and Mosconi at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
in New York City. Mosconi won the nine-ball competition in three sets, 5–2, 5–3 and 5–2. Aired on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Wide World of Sports with commentator Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
and referee Charles Ursitti.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s: Mosconi made several other television appearances competing in challenge matches with other legends such as Jimmy Caras, Luther Lassiter
Luther Lassiter
Luther Lassiter , born Luther Clement Lassiter, Jr. and nicknamed Wimpy, was a world-renowned American pool player from Elizabeth City, North Carolina...
, Irving Crane
Irving Crane
Irving Crane , nicknamed "the Deacon", was an American pool player from Livonia , New York, and ranks among the stellar players in the history of the sport...
, Joe Balsis
Joe Balsis
Joseph Balsis , nicknamed "the Meatman", was a professional pool player, and was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's Hall of Fame in 1982.-Early life:...
and "Fats" Wanderone. Many of these shows aired on ABC and the fledgling ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
network.
May 9, 1980: Mosconi played a sportscaster in the film The Baltimore Bullet
The Baltimore Bullet
The Baltimore Bullet is a 1980 film based on the adventures of two pool hustlers in the United States.It was directed by Robert Ellis Miller and starred James Coburn, Bruce Boxleitner and Omar Sharif. The Baltimore Bullet screenplay was written by legendary film and stage dancer John Brascia, from...
starring James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
and Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.-Early life:...
.
1982: He appeared in the music video for George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
's "Bad to the Bone
Bad to the Bone
"Bad to the Bone" is a song by George Thorogood and the Destroyers released in 1982 on the album of the same name. While it was not a major hit on initial release, its video made recurrent appearances on the nascent MTV, which was created a year before...
".
August 10, 1991: Mosconi played his last challenge match, against Jimmy Caras at the Valley Billiards
Valley-Dynamo
Valley-Dynamo, Inc. is a gaming and sporting goods manufacturing company. It has been the dominant manufacturer of coin-operated pool tables in North America for over 6 decades, and produces the US-ubiquitous Valley brand and decreasingly common Dynamo brand...
Hall of Fame tribute dinner show. The event was hosted by billiard artists the Birkbeck Twins at the Williamson Restaurant in Horsham, Pennsylvania
Horsham, Pennsylvania
Horsham is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,842 at the 2010 census. Horsham is located entirely within Horsham Township, and it is home to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.In 2007, Horsham was named the 15th best...
. Both players were stopped every couple of for interviews.
The Mosconi legacy
In 1968, at the age of 55, Willie Mosconi was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of FameBilliard Congress of America Hall of Fame
This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame. Many of these were inducted based on their excellence as world-class players , while others were inducted for their contributions to the game or the billiards industry .The year of induction is listed after...
.
In 1994
1994 Mosconi Cup
The 1994 Mosconi Cup, the inaugural edition of the annual nine-ball pool competition between teams representing Europe and the United States, took place between 15–18 December, at the Roller Bowl, Romford, London, England....
, the Mosconi Cup
Mosconi Cup
The Mosconi Cup is an annual nine-ball pool tournament contested between teams representing Europe and the USA since 1994. The trophy is named after American player Willie Mosconi, and is modeled on and compared to the Ryder Cup in golf...
, an annual pool competition between American and European players, was founded in Willie's honor. The event has been held in December of every year since then and is more popular than ever, especially in Europe. The Mosconi Cup is considered the Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
of the billiard world, and players strive to become a member of their respective countries' teams.
In 2006, Mosconi was posthumously honored with membership in the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
The Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., that was established in May 2002, to honor individuals and groups who are either area natives who became prominent in the field of sports or who became prominent in the field of sports in the...
.
Personal life
Shortly before winning his first World Straight Pool Championship in 1941, Mosconi married Ann Harrison, his first wife. Shortly thereafter the first of his three children was born, William, Jr., who attended St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia and graduated with the class of 1959. Willie's and Ann's daughter, Candace, followed soon after William, Jr. The marriage ended in divorce.Mosconi married his second wife, Flora Marchini, in 1953. Their daughter Gloria was born in 1954. Flora remained married to Willie until his death in 1993.
Death
Willie Mosconi died of a heart attack on September 12, 1993 in Haddon Heights, New JerseyHaddon Heights, New Jersey
Haddon Heights is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population is 7,473....
.