Luther Lassiter v. Willie Mosconi 7-ball (part 3 of 4)

Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter v. Willie Mosconi in 7-ball at the Claridge Hotel & Casino at a round-robin tournament called "The Legendary Stars of Pocket Billiards." Chris Berman and Allen Hopkins are the commentators. 1980.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• luther
• lassiter
• willie
• mosconi
• billiards
• nine-ball
• seven-ball
• wimpy
• 9-ball
• 7-ball
• allen
• hopkins
• chris
• berman

[dokokai]

@MrBaruth Reyes beat those guys when they were past their prime and they had already been competing for decades before anyone even heard of Reyes. Mosconi was THE greatest all round player ever...hands down!! There's a reason there's a tournament called "The Mosconi Cup"! Even Reyes can't deny Mosconi was the best ever.

[capitalismforme]

First, thanks for making this video available. With that said, the last video showed the score as Willie: 1 and Luther: 3. At the end of this video the score was tied at 3. Would have been nice to see the other 2 round that Mosconi won.

[bandit7498]

@LeonFleisherFan Well as far as being good for the sport I don't agree. The reason they made the tables smaller with bigger pockets were to speed the game up a little. Slow the game down and you bore spectators. Bore spectators and fewer people buy tickets to see the events. Sell fewer tickets then you make less money. Make less money, fewer events. fewer events, less sponsorship. Less sponsorship, less money. Less money, less public exposure. Less exposure, less overall interest in the sport.

[LeonFleisherFan]

@bandit7498 Greater playing surface = fewer balls that get in each other's way = more balls that go into a pocket directly (= fewer combination shots etc.) and can be played position on easily (= more open paths to get to them). I'll admit it's tough to e.g. make balls on a 9-Ball break (= it's not as if I didn't know exactly what I'm talking about, I've played on 10-footers, and love it). Note I'm not alone in believing this "return" might be good for the sport (except e.g. for space and cost).

[bandit7498]

@LeonFleisherFan Come on dude. Easier playing on 10 foot tables than 9 with smaller pockets? Who you trying to impress? Do you realize they made the tables 9 foot to make the game easier and faster, therefore drawing larger crowds? Besides, you're 42. Way too young to have seen the days when pool halls regularly stocked 10 tables. 10 footers went out of style in the 30s and early 40s. Willie won his forst title on 10 footers and they immediately switched to 9'.

[LeonFleisherFan]

@bandit7498 Note I never said anything to the extent that one is per se "better" - that Reyes is a greater all-around player follows directly from the fact that Mosconi hardly played most of the disciplines in which Reyes is the best, and vice versa. As to my personal impression, I've had the privilege to witness both players in person - needless to say, they're both awesome. Regarding the old 10-foot tables - I wish we'd go back to using them! Find it easier to play on a larger playing surface.

[bandit7498]

@LeonFleisherFan I wouldn't agree that Reyes is better than Mosconi. Problem is there is very little if any footage of Mosconi playing in his prime. But even at an old age he kicked ass. The man was amazing. You should read up on his stats. He won his 1st world title on what was then the standard 10 foot tables with smaller pockets. Once the standard was changed to 9 foot he was unbeatable. The man was awesome.

[GetMeThere1]

Nice to see Willie play that "professional looking position" with such ease. I only wish we could see him play a few racks of straight pool in his prime...

[LeonFleisherFan]

I agree Efren Reyes is probably the greatest all-around pool player of all time, but that doesn't change the fact that Lassiter and Mosconi were legends in their era, and would be, in their form of youth of course, highly competitive today, especially of course in Straight Pool, as would e.g. Irving Crane, possibly the greatest pattern player that game has ever seen. Apart from this, Lassiter is one of the greatest shot makers the game of 9-Ball has ever seen - remarkable even in his old age!

[MrBaruth]

@liveby14words

Efren reyes would destroy them nowadays... like he did with mike sigel, buddy hill etc...