WILLIE MOSCONI
PHILLY'S G.O.A.T.
Willie Mosconi was Philadelphia's original "Philly Willie," and make no mistake - as Philly sports legends go (or any city's sports legends, for that matter), he truly was the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).
Straight pool, also known as pocket billiards, is widely recognized as a sport - a "cue sport." While experts can argue over who makes the best cheesesteak, there is no argument over who was the greatest straight pool player ever.
Willie Mosconi, appropriately nicknamed Mr. Pocket Billiards, was the GOAT. Hands down. No questions asked. (Go ahead and Google it.)
Willie was born in South Philly, just a short walk from the intersection of 9th and Passyunk, where Pat’s and Geno’s now stand.
Willie’s father was a pool hall owner and originally wanted for his son to be anything but a pool player. But that did not stop Willie. Legend has it that as a young child he practiced the game on his family's dining room table, using a broomstick as a cue and small potatoes as billiard balls.
It soon became apparent that Willie was a child prodigy, and his father had a change of heart. Standing on a box so he could reach the pool table, 6-year-old Willie beat experienced adult players – and actually took on Ralph Greenleaf, the reigning world champion! Willie became the world juvenile straight pool champion when he was only 11 years old.
How good a pool player was Willie Mosconi? In just 17 years from 1941 to 1957, he won the world pool championship 15 times! In 1954, he astonished onlookers by sinking 526 consecutive balls without a single miss – a record that stood for 6 decades.
A stroke slowed Willie down, but it did not prevent him from enjoying continued fame for many years to come. He served as technical advisor for – and had a cameo in – the 1961 movie The Hustler (starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason). He appeared in numerous televised pool matches and commercials, and on game shows.
In 1978, with Howard Cosell announcing, he defeated “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone in a pool shootout on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. And in 1992, Willie – then in his late seventies – appeared in the MTV video for George Thorogood’s classic hit “Bad to the Bone”.
Perhaps the best thing about Willie Mosconi is that he always played straight and never hustled anyone. He was a true gentleman and the perfect ambassador for the game of pool, and, as much as anyone, helped transform the game’s once-tawdry image into something far more wholesome and appealing.
