Straight Pool - Crane vs. Balsis 150 and out 1966 pt 7

[vs800rider]

Thanks for posting. I wish we could see straight pool on tv now. Interesting that the crowd was in suits. Those days are long gone.

[royplayer]

@pokerfreak12 Unfortunately all the great ones and the not so great ones eventually die. Life is hard that way.

[TheBanjo2010]

love this stuff

[notphilivey]

Car as

[notphilivey]

Crane was an artist. It's hard to believe Mosconi dominated him. If you look in the crowd it looks like Luther Lassiter is watching,

[unclemings]

god I miss playing. I dont know why I stopped. Crane was one of my fav players.

[miguelangdl]

It must be nice to be a winner, to be succesfull, to acomplish something good.

[phattymcpat12]

saw him many times at olympic bowl

[andrewmathias1967]

if you watch a man shoot pool for an hour and he dose not miss then you know he just cant be beat

[dv713]

Crane was a great champion and a real gentleman.

I have seen this whole match, the 142nd ball was a tough shot and he nearly scratched on the one before it.

Great run. I believe Crane held the record for a while at 309 which I believe was on a 5x10 table. Wish there was some straight pool played today, only a few special events. 9 ball is such a slam bang game, it does not have the class that straight pool has.

[BMWLDRider]

Thanks for this post.

I watched all episodes. Was a pleasure to watch him use the entire table....don't see that anymore. Heck....you don't see straight pool anymore....its all slam 9 ball or slam 8 ball. Glad I was part of the game back then. Thats the way I learned. Thats the way I play. You should see the looks I get when I take the unconventional shot and play the cue ball around the table.

Thanks again.

And if I were to guess I'd say he played a Bushka back then.

[wigglybridge]

i've watched this match 4-5 times now, over the past year, and it certainly won't be the last time. thanks so much for posting it!

such a beautiful stroke, such genius position play, so much to learn here.

[kindguy420]

i feel privileged just to have watched

[dtouey]

At 148 Balsis yells out "What a lucky guy!" and even Crane has to smile.

[elementskateboardsyo]

Straight pool at its best, by one of the best.

[akbarbaby]

One of the greatest games ever played, never again anyone won the championshing like that! Crane was a master. Love the narrator, really understood the game, does anyone knows his name?

[duster413]

That's "Whispering Joe" Wilson, a popular bowling/billiards commentator during the '50s and '60s.

[akbarbaby]

@duster413 Thanks.

[leothepoolplayer]

who made mr.cranes cue?

[duster413]

I'm not sure, but I'd think it a safe bet they were made by Herman Rambow.

[Anonomousxxx]

1:10 LOL

1:46 amazing

[Quatsch83]

That was awesome. I'm just getting into straight pool, great to see stuff like this!

[plmijnygcrdzwaquyijo]

Thanks ALOT for posting!!! What a treat to watch!!!!

[LeifB60]

Great ball of fire....

Loved to see this game.

I think i might go too the pool hall and make some balls now.

Maybe i can make some of this too.

; )

[42949]

legendary gentlemen

[FunnyStylez]

this isn't pool. this is art!

[Merajka]

Impressive.

[COLUMBINE1818]

Irving Crane plays pool like doctors perform open heart surgery. Amazing control of the cue, perfect position play. He's just increadible to watch.

[smijam2]

What a player. And bear in mind that the shot he played to start this run (in vid pt 2) was an incredible pot in the first place! Imagine how Mr Balsis would have felt! Commentary is fantastic too. Great vid thanks

[kindguy420]

oh yeah, and the shot at 1:53 is one of the best i have ever seen. to almost blow this amazing run and gather his will to pocket that shot is incredible.

[kindguy420]

best commentating i ever heard

[sunnyjjpark]

9-ball is for bangers. Straight pool is pool. great video!

[almostfamous70]

I will echo these comments. Great video. I'm just starting to play straight pool, after years of playing primarily 8-ball (with decent results...can run racks, beat most of my buddies). But straight pool is tough...much tougher than you would think watching these guys. Getting the break ball angle correct is VERY hard and takes a lot of foresight to properly position yourself. To date, I have yet to run more than 1 rack (but am still trying)

[lemonite1]

@almostfamous70 Patterns patterns more patterns,.....

[Ansonidak]

Thanks for putting these videos up. A virtuoso performance!

[ferret6677]

Mr Crane worked at a car dealership in Rochester and everyday for lunch he would go to the pool hall and run 100 balls without missing and then go back to work. He was Awesome. He makes me proud be be from Rochester.

[OldSkaterGuy]

Cool... nice to know that these guys are human too.

[aardvaark069]

I think modern camera coverage of cuesports is awful. Todays broadcasters can learn much from this footage and this camerawork. The camera sits back and lets you see the stroke and the shot. It's great!

[briggy1979]

Absolutely stunning footage! The standard was so high. Probably the most enjoyable footage I have ever seen on YouTube.

[FastLarryG]

Crane was first to run 300, and won more world championships in more decades than wm. Yes, crane was a high class gentleman, will was a dago ah.

[lemonite1]

i bet all you guys are over 50.......

sorry, just kidding. no really this run is amazing because the racks dont pop open for him.(slo cloth era)Crane was said to have been a poor, conservatve shot maker. not so here.

[jayrecto]

magnificent!

[senes346]

Thank you duster413 for this post! You can hear about them and read about them but what a treat to actually SEE legends of the game in action!

[soprisrb]

All those shots are so easy, I could make those...boring.

(PS--that's a giant joke) What a cool video! Thanks so much for posting it, the amazing part is, Balsis is a HOF'er--it's not like Crane beat a nobody!

[pokerfreak12]

i am from rochester, and i want to thank irving crane for when he was alive, i would go after school (1984) to the trophy shop where he had a table set up for his practice supplied by the owner of the shop and he spent time with me showing me how to play. it was such a treat for me to be lessoned by a legend. thank you mr. crane RIP

[soprisrb]

Since you knew Mr. Crane I'd like to ask you, how did he match-up against Willie Mosconi? Lifetime, I mean. Their career apex is during the same time, Crane is considered the better 14.1 player, right? But, Mosconi had the 526 and the legendary name...so how did they do head-to-head? Anyone? Anywhere you can look that information up? What was Mr. Crane like? He strikes me as a NICE man, whereas Mosconi was, for lack of a better word, a pompous dago asshole. He was mean to Mr. Crane.

[ferret6677]

Slight edge to Mosconi.

[soprisrb]

Really? Thanks. I've always wondered. Guys I play at tournies still talk about Crane like he's the 2nd coming wheras with Mosconi it's sort of, "Urgh...yeah, he was a hard guy to know". Still, he's like Ruth, he's the name most associated with the game.

[lemonite1]

@soprisrb I think Crane has the high run on a 5'-10' at 300+

[asbani991]

legend match and legend player.... I enjoyed every second.

[rpc717]

Wow - that was ridiculous! One of the coolest things I've ever seen in sports. This is some really outstanding video - thanks so much for posting it.

I saw the Deacon play on ESPN in a 7-ball tournament for legends in the early '80s. Although Wimpy Lassiter owned the competition, the Deacon still played with the same majesty he showed here.

[Valdinsh]

superb match... outstanding 150 run-out. Thx for the upload

[Reggie1971]

Thanks for posting. Absolutely legendary match.

[nedmanxxx]

now there's a man.