Synopses & Reviews
Willie Mosconi was pools greatest championthe winner of fifteen world titles, the holder of records that have remained undisturbed for generations. Minnesota Fats was pools most important trickster, a man who built his fame and fortune upon deceit 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, pools 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 historybut 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 mens 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 Americas conflicted love affair with the sport of rogues.
Synopsis
The riveting story of an unforgettable match.
In the tradition of the high-stakes sportsmanship in Positively Fifth Street, a Pulitzer Prize nominee that covers the legendary match-up of pool’s two greatest sharks. It was Valentine’s Day, 1977, and Howard Cosell was hosting the ABC-TV broadcast of the long-awaited shoot-out between the best-ever tournament player, Willie Mosconi, against the game’s most famous hustler, Minnesota Fats. The artist and the showman. One was good. The other was good, too, but he definitely made it more fun. The ratings for the program exceeded the Super Bowl and the World Series that year, because the rivalry had decisively divided fans as well as players. Hearkening back to the growth of billiards during the 1940s, Dyer expands the story that was started in Hustler Days. He reveals the lawsuits and countersuits about who could call himself the best pool player, the history of their match-ups, and the money they won. The distinctions between the two heroes create a real-life drama that exceeds “The Hustler.” This is the ultimate tale of American sportsmanship.
R.A. Dyer is a columnist for Billiards Digest, and lives in Austin, Texas.
Synopsis
Dyer, author of the bestselling "Hustler Days," which recounts the rise of pool during the 1960s, writes of the acrid, but mutually beneficial rivalry between two of the sports legendary figures, and how the televised shoot-outs came to embody that rivalry.
About the Author
R. A. Dyer is a columnist for the nation's premier pool magazine,
Billiards Digest. He is currently statehouse reporter for the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and before that, was a reporter for
The Houston Chronicle, where he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Table of Contents
TOC OVERVIEWSome seminal events, over which chapters will be organized:
*In 1948, Fats and Mosconi apparently met for the first time. This confrontation perfectly frames the conflicted relationship to follow. Fats came into Willies room to hustle up a game. In his autobiography, Fats said he whacked out Willie good.” Mosconi said he sent Fats home with nothing left in his pocket but train fare.
This was described in a footnote in Hustler Days. It will probably become a chapter in the new book.
*At some point, there was litigation between Fats and Mosconi relating to claims and counter-claims over who really was the best pool player.
* In 1971, at Johnston City, Minnesota Fats hustled a far superior player out of more than $20,000. The story is an amazing one -- and involved deceit, stool pigeons, and an ingenious trap. So while Mosconi was the doubtlessly the better player, it still remains true that Fats was clearly the better hustler.
*I foresee the book beginning in 1976. The occasion was a botched pool event, never televised, pitting Fats against a more obscure player. Mosconi was hired to moderate. As the story goes, Mosconi became enraged by one of Fats ridiculous boasts, actually ran at him from the broadcast booth, and the two had to be physically separated.
*The first pool shoot-out was in 1977, and televised by ABC. They would continue on for another four years. The shoot-outs opened the eyes of professional marketers, and led to the later fame of Steve Mizerak, a three-time winner of the U.S. Open but who gained his greatest renown as a pitchman for Budweiser beer.
Although not as significant as the 1961 release of The Hustler, the pool shoot-outs nonetheless kept the sport in the publics eye during the later 70s. The shoot-outs also offer a perfect vehicle to compare the characters of these vastly different players. Fats was undignified, loud -- but very funny. Mosconi was the consummate athlete and disciplined but painfully humorless. And of course, Fats saw gambling as the life blood of pool; Mosconi thought gamblers were destroying the sport. One thought pool was about showbiz; the other thought it was about excellence. Theirs was the classic conflict between form and content.
The rivalry and the shoot-outs will illustrate broader themes: what is the proper role of entertainment in spectator sports? Is gambling always bad? Where has pool gone, and what does it owe to Willie Mosconi and Minnesota Fats?