Willie Hoppe & Welker Cochran

Very rare footage of Willie Hoppe and Welker Cochran playing billiards. Both players perform trick shots, regular shots, and ham it up for the camera. Both players are amazing characters and carry themselves with an elegance that is forever attached to the mid 20th century. Hoppe's playing cue in this film was a Herman Rambow cue and Cochran's was a Harvey Martin cue.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• willie
• hoppe
• welker
• cochran
• billiards
• pool
• snooker
• rambow
• szamboti
• balabushka
• mosconi
• jeanette
• lee

[outotfog]

These two gentleman are putting on an exibition of a game known as 3 cushion billiards. They were both world champions. This is very rare footage indeed. The Game: In order to score a point, the cue ball must hit 3 cushions before it strikes the second ball. For exampl: the cue ball could hit one ball and then hit 3 cushions, and then hit the second ball. That is a point. Basically, you have to hit both balls with the cue ball hitting 3 cushions before it hits the second ball.

[Stiletos]

Way slower table then the game is now played on. Hoppe was amazing given those playing conditions.

[nae8man87]

@ToothyGus HEY,,,XTRA TOOTH GUS, CLOSE UR MOUTH, YA DONT KNO SHIT...CANT CLOSE UR MOUTH THO I GUESS, "TOOTH GUS"...ITS A GAME TO BUILD QUE SKILLS, AND A GAME TO SHOW CUE SKILLS, NOT FOR FLASH AND FAME,,,,,DUDE RESPECT THE GAME

[capitalismforme]

The game became a lot more fun once they put 4 holes in the corners and 2 in the sides. :)

[t4v1nh0]

Joe Chamaco los traba

[TheWillsmith13]

my 2 idols. i cant decide who's better!!

[ToothyGus]

The skill required is impeccable. And these players mastered it. But the game itself, quite boring and not amusing at all; unlike, snooker and pool.

[skaterdudeguyperson]

AWESOME!!! THANKS FOR POSTING!!!

[Kriterian]

@outotfog I was wondering why everyone was clapping when all he did was make contact. I always thought 3 cushion meant you had to bank it 3 rails before making it, haha. Thanks for the info!

[GetMeThere1]

Geez. Looking at that crowd, it looks like a judges convention!

[mikie47]

somewhere there is a 30minute or so film of willie's trick shots i saw on tv in the late 50s. Amazing stuff ending with him standing up a quarter between two chalks 8inches or so from one end of table. With his cue he hit the top of the quarter out from between the two chalks that didn't move. The quarter rolled the length of the table hit the cushion and rolled back between the quarter thick space (yes the thickness of a quarter!) between the chalks, hit the cushion and fell over. so did i.

[fconor]

thanx for this video of a game i love. Used to play at Cochran's Billiards on Market Street in San Francisco

in the '60's