Willie Mosconi, also known as Mr. Pocket Billiards is one of the best
pool players in the history of billiard as well as one of the most
famous pool legends in the world. Mosconi won 15 world billiard
championships in less than 20 years. Mosconi was also holds a world
record of scoring 526 balls in a row during a straight pool game.
Born in 1913 in Pennsylvania as William Joseph Mosconi, Mr. Pocket
Billiards was also a billiard author and an inventor of several trick
shots. Above all, Mosconi can be named as responsible for making
billiards as one of the most popular games in the United States. Here
you can read about the lives and legacy of the pool legend Willie
Mosconi.
As the son of a pool hall owner who was born and raised just one floor
above a pool hall, it can be said that Mosconi grew up into the game.
Although Mosconi's father, Joseph, wasn't approval of his son interest
in the pocket billiards game, young Willie couldn't help but being
drawn to the billiard ball. After realizing his son's pool playing
talent, Joseph Mosconi changed his mind about his son hobby.
According to the legend, Willie Mosconi first major pool match took
place at 1919, when he was no older than 6, against billiard World
Champion, Ralph Greenleaf. Although Mosconi lost the match, this game
marked the beginning of Mr. Pocket Billiards career.
Willie Mosconi first major winning was in 1941, when he took over the
Billiard Congress of America World Championship after running 125
balls from the break five times. Mosconi was only the third billiard
player in history to reach this achievement. From now on and until
1957, Mosconi won no less than 15 BCA World Championships.
In 1954, Willie Mosconi made history by running 526 balls in a row
without a single miss in a straight pool game, also known as 14.1
continuous, which took place in a an exhibition of the game. This
record has not been broken until our days.
Mosconi also wrote two best selling billiard books, took part in
several TV shows and served as the technical advisor of the billiard
movie The Hustler and was induced to the Billiard Hall of Fame in
1968. In 1994, a year after Mosconi's death at the age of 80, The
Mosconi Cup, the prestigious pool competition that takes place every
year between American and European players, was launched.