Fats vs Mosconi: The Greatest Pool Shoot-Out
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- ** Most watched pool match in U.S. history **
Firstly, SORRY FOR THE LOW QUALITY!
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The Hustler and The Champ - Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, And The Rivalry That Defined Pool
Before TV cameras, Howard Cosell, and 20 million Americans, pool’s greatest champion would challenge its greatest hustler. The date: February 14, 1978. The stakes: honor, a legacy, the true meaning of a sport. R.A. Dyer, the award-winning author of Hustler Days, tells the improbable but true story of pool’s two most important players and of a single match that captured the public’s imagination like none other, before or since. Willie Mosconi stood for artistry, Minnesota Fats for show business; Mosconi brought dignity to pool, Fats made it fun. When they came together for the most watched pool match in American history, the results would be explosive.
#The great shootout
Willie Mosconi was pool's greatest champion - the winner of 15 world titles, the holder of records that have remained undisturbed for generations. Minnesota Fats was pool's most important trickster, a man who built his fame and fortune upon deceipt and guile. In 1978, both men came together for what would become the most viewed pocket billiards match in American history. Before a breathless nation, pool’s two most important personalities set out to prove who really was best.
Mosconi may have been remembered as one of the most dominant sports figures of all time, a man who had laid low some of the greatest players in history-but no one would pose a greater threat to his legacy than the man-child Minnesota Fats. So when the consummate perfectionist and the unapologetic gambler finally went head to head for what Howard Cosell described as one of the most fascinating televised segments he ever hosted, all of America would ask the same question: Who would win?
The Hustler & The Champ tells of both men’s hardscrabble march to greatness, of their bitter decades-long rivalry, and finally of the televised shoot-out that revealed pocket billiards to millions even as it exposed the deep contradictions within all of organized competition. Through the 1920s, the Great Depression, and the resurgent 1960s, R.A. Dyer follows the lives of both men and tells the story of America’s conflicted love affair with the sport of rogues.
#Support author and buy this book:
Hustler & The Champ: Willie Mosconi, Minnesota Fats, And The Rivalry That Defined Pool:
www.amazon.com/...
i remember this match.. it was on abc tv in 78. my mom made me go to my room initially but my uncle convinced her to let me watch it because it was sports related. mans i learned how to trash talk watching this match.. it was like hearing Richard Pryor. perform. some great stuff.
Fats was like a rapper before rappers
@@mgcuniverse9037 Both being from the streets of New York probably has a lot to do with that
iPool. I remember saying somewhere to somebody the word speechless Oh I'm speechless. But every time in my years alive saying it I realise now that I never meant it, I was still able to talk. This video here though has left me out of oxygen total shocked this exists. I cannot believe I'm watching this and the entertainment is priceless. I thought earl the pearl had a mouth. Awesome seeing Minnesota Fats bring out a stack of cash. Thanks for uploading this film you have made me a very happy individual today.
We needed Carroll O’Connor to play Fats in a true biopic. Just watched “The Hustler” for the first time last night. (The restaurant where I work in New Orleans has the Jackie Gleason pool cue hanging on the wall.)
Ouch ! It hurts watching these guys, past their prime ! Such legends ! 😊
The style and way the players played then is so different than now. Legends.
I think they learned from them
Mosconi used a slip stroke. It was his key to start the cue action.
...He hold's the cue forward with his right hand, but when he starts his final stroke to hit the cue ball, his hand slides/slips back a few inches.
...Also Mosconi's posture is still excellent.
...Bridge hand - dominant aiming eye - and cue holding hand are all in beautiful alignment.
...And a very smooth tempo.
My friend and I were just discussing this. Watching pool players from the 80s and 90s, it seems like you could tell differences in their styles and approach. Also personalities. Now it seems everyone shoots the exact same way and are all copies of each other (there are exceptions). Not that there's anything wrong with that as they are just refined versions of technique, but it's not as fun to watch. Sigel, strickland, Reyes, Bustamante, Archer, etc etc etc, all great players to watch.
The trash talking with these two is hilarious. I
Willie Mosconi fifteen world championships and also three runnerups. Hard to top. The best ever
Much much much lower standard of play
@@Neurotik51 true, but then again, always true of the distant past. That's what makes "GOAT" conversations interesting, IMO!
Efren is the best ever
What a great two gentlemen here!
Seeing Mosconi in the early 1960's at the University of Wisconsin while in college was huge for me since I learned to play from his book. He was my early hero. Smooth, fast and deadly. Video's don't do him justice as he was well past his prime.
I've lost count of the number times I have watched this great video - - - highlight of the video is Howard using his term "ring balls", striped balls will never be the same. Thanks for this wonderful old video of long dead pool Masters!
Best thing I like about Mosconi, is the lack of trash talk. Just let the pool speak for itself.
It's a wonder that rude Fats gets anyone to play with him. What a disgusting person.
I never knew Mosconi was so particular about the audience being quiet during his time at the table! A bit precarious he would find the situation at the tournament named after him! Haha. The loudest racket in pool today.
Definitely ironic. ( I hate those loud games myself).
omg....this video and others like it are PRICELESS...THANK YOU SO MUCH....
There will never be another Howard Cosell.
Thank God!!! I lived through his Era. He was horribly irritating.
I sure hope not.
Thank God (2)
thank god
Must make a movie about their rivalry starring Anthony Hopkins (Mosconi) and John Goodman (Fats)!
John Goodman is not so fat anymore.
@@andrewbell7579well, he could spend a few weeks at McDonalds for the sake of method acting...
John Candy played Fats in a TV skit
@@tupac2672 Wow! I gotta search for that footage. I loved J. Candy movies when I was a child... He passed too early, he was way too young
Thanks for uploading this! 👍🏻
Imagine Mosconi vs. Efren. That would be a match of the century.
Efren would win.
@@mjsudelaAfter watching 15 minutes of this I'd say Efren would wipe the floor with him. Standard of play is a lot lower than I expected.
@@leemendez7876Efren wins in every game
Efren wins easily
A lot of people don't know how good Mosconi was, he is definitely past his prime here
I just caught Willie moving the 6 ball in rack 3!!!! Can’t believe nobody caught that, it’s when he leans over to bank the 2 cross corner. Go to minute 14:34. Check it out 🤪
John Madden commentating on pool is hilarious!
...and here's the break...BOOM!
Efren Reyes still wiping the floor with them 😂
Of course 😅
Mosconi in straight pool? Doubtful.
My grandpa, who had the table I learned on, used to play with MN Fats.
lie
@@hoss-lk4bg Possible. But he did live in MN. He knew a LOT of other famous ppl there and was a damn good pool player. It's possible he lied. Just doubt it.
@@brjones27 Minnesota Fats was from New York. He changed his name after the movie came out.
@@jameson71 I have no clue. My gpa was in IN and went all over.
*ALLEN HOPKINS IS STILL ALIVE AND PRODUCES THE POOL EXPO EVERY YEAR. MAKING HIM KINDA OF A LEGEND SINCE HE WAS ABLE TO KNOW MOSCONI, FATS, ETC. PROBABLY THE LAST POOL PLAYER ALIVE TO KNOW ALL THE GREATS, PLAYED WITH THE GREATS*
this is priceless
Caught a flash of what looked like an old Whataburger commercial at 7:58! :D
American pool had so much personality before the sport went international.
you mean the game that was invented hundreds of years before america was even a thing
@@user-pm9jr2cr8g You're talking about billiards.
I'm talking about "American pool".
@@LavishPatchKid bro pool was invented in france in like the 1400s the only difference to american pool is yous suck so bad yous made bigger pockets an thinner felt
@@user-pm9jr2cr8g So you acknowledge American pool is different.
Great. lol
Why did you even comment?
So wonderful
He's got a better chance of swimming here to Arabia underwater.... that's just awesome im going to say that next time I'm challenged, this is some top notch pool here
Both were obviously past their prime but it's apparent fats has always been full of bravado while Wille was more professional and also the better player all around. He rightfully believed fats gave pool a bad name. Not bar pool. Professional pool.
Fats would have been a great pro wrestler.
These geezers here was trying to win that mental game from the introductions lol
Great tv reception 😅
Willie Mosconi was named of big pool tournament now...
Two greats hustle the crowd.
27:04 is the shot I've always dreamed of making... Im 21 and been playing pool since i was 4
He missed it by a foot
? that was a complete fluke
Deff not what he wanted
You’ve never seen a fluke?
Pocket could get 3 balls side by side 😂
Fats never won a single tournament in his life. In today's level of play, he wouldn't even be known as a top 100 ranked player. The movie the hustler, wasn't about him, although he made everyone believe it was after adoption the name *Minnesota fats* from the movie. Prior to the movie, he was known as NY fats. Mosconi was in fact, an amazing player, and is still regarded as the #2-3 best to have ever played the game. Efren Bata Reyes is regarded as the best to ever play the game, and by a large margin.
iv'e probably watch this probably 100+ times. learn everything new each time. I am a road player. this is the bible.
*7 BALL GREATEST GAME EVER. IT STARTED 9 BALL THEN EVENTUALLY 10 BALL. IF THERE WASNT 7 BALL THERE WOULDNT BE 9 OR 10 BALL*
The game of 7 Ball was created in the 1980's. The game of 9 Ball dates back to the 1920's.
just think does that mean if there were no chickens we would not have eggs
Google
Mosconi beat Fats on what looks like a 5 x 10 table. Mosconi shoots so fast and so fluid.
I thought fats was Archie bunker for a minute!
Alot of W.C. Fields too.
Buenos jugadores .pero creo que el nivel de hoy es muy superior
fats was a showman but he was never pro level
Dang, these guys don't even get down and aim. Just jump up and shoot it in almost every time.
I noticed this too.
Modern pool is like watching robots play.
al michaels gets shout out from howie, abc had tha market cornered on them heebs
Great shit talking ....love it
I became jealous when "fats"said he never worked a day in his life..of course id say bending over a pool table in smoky bars for hours on end is hard work but if you truly love something its easy...most never find their passion
I would've liked to have seen Mosconi v Reyes.
Mosconi would have been a sort of pastry.
Is it just me, or were tables back then 10x more forgiving than they are now?
Compared to a Diamond table, yes they are.
Fats was not Etta James dad her dad just passed on July 10th here in Winchester Tennessee and his name is Wallace Edward Perry aka Buddy
the jokes on you Fool send pictures and wow look close at them
Thank you very much for the video. The best players ever!! And Efren Reyes the third one.
What people do not know it yellow journalism!!!,, they were best friends
facts.. they just talked lots of shyte to syke and elevate each others play.
Wow at 14:35 Willie banks the 2 in and moves the 6 and while it is rolling he grabs it with his hand and stops it,he knows he cheated and keeps shooting,I lost all respect for the man after seeing that.
Who is the little boy that makes the shot at 1:48:00? also his father is famous player?
Allen Hopkins Jr.
for the love of god, will you quit fooling with the television set?
I'm trying to watch something over here.
is rags woods still alive?
31:45 for some drama.
How come all these guys look like my grandpa
Interesting video. They must've been good in their day, but by today's standards, they're nearly terrible. Funny to watch, and funny to see people consider these guys so amazing. They make some good shots, but cue ball and position play is pretty bad. Fats can't even bend over and get down on his shot. Guess they paved the way for players today.
Also interesting how people were just SOOOOO fascinated with stupid trickshots. My goodness. They gather around and applaud and cheer after a lame trickshot like someone just cured cancer or something. ;o)
Yes in their day, which is why I was so impressed by this display. Fats just had a stroke 2 years earlier, and both were over 20 years past their competitive age.
That's what I was wondering. Where the hell are the safety shots? Maybe they were banned in the rules they played with.
Still cant understand the way Fats was shooting
Interesting
Fat’s can bank
imagine the experiencd you have to have to not even low down bf stroke....
fats was what they call a shortstop not a top player.
Eddie vs M fattS
He was New York fat’s
fats was more a pool hustler than a tournament player all fats cared about was the cash r.i.p fats
johnathen callahan it seems to me that yes he hustled and sharked his opponents
I don't like to kinds of players I like players like efren Reyes and mosconi, quiet humble pool legends who just let their skill and clean stroke do the talking
@@vicluevano1222 you would like Irving Crane
Whats so special about these guys?
Bernard Bernabe Mosconi once ran 525 straight without missing. That’s kinda special. Have u run that many?
i think they were the first to be televised and practically unfiltered on tv.
BATA!!
I have beat all creatures on earth !!! Saint Peter rack em up , FAT’s
Two of the greatest players of all time.
ahh..no....Mosconi was for sure Fats was not...for sure
fats was a showman he was never good enough to be pro
Fats was just fat.
Fats took his name from the movie The Hustler. Just another example of trying to cash in on notoriety.
Minnesota Fats was a shit stain lol
Too old to be hustling.
cheater 14:36
Huh?
@@new2POOL208 Are you blind? Don't look at the 2 ball, watch what Mosconi does with his left hand after the shot.
Yeah, but it was an accident and really did not affect the outcome. But that said it was a foul.
The only guy more annoying than fats was Howard.
Reason America can’t compete anymore is respecting ass shits like Fats, keeping Billiards in joke world