[Bob Jewett]

Here are the illustrations from Willie Mosconi's "Winning Pocket Billiards". If you are interested in the full text, you should get the book which is available for under $5 delivered to your house from biblio.com:



Here are all of the illustrations about aiming:

[CocoboloCowboy]

I have actually seen that book, Willie Mosoni was a great Pool player, and ambassador for the game.

My oldest friend in life is named Mosconi also, Lou Mosconi, who dad Lou Sr., was mention in the book Willie's Game. Actually met Willie who was visit my buddy business, in Burbank, CA. Apparently Willie was headed to splay some big Tournment in LA Area.

All I knew was this Willie was a pro pool player, no big deal to a kid who was a teen. Little did I know?

Apprently the Mosconi family were in entertainment business, Willie broke away from normal route family member took, and became maybe the greatest pool player in history.

Every pool player use's an aiming system, they use the one that works best for their particular style of play, or shot they are making.

The illustrations from Willie book is INTRESTING. Basis aiming, good foundation to build off of. Then you tune to maker it work better for you.

Willie cousin Lou was a comic, played lot of extra roll in movies, tv, did commercial work, and now has sever memory loss. Lives in Lass Vegas in memory care place, his step daughter keeps me in loop.

[Patrick Johnson]

This is what I've called "Parallel Lines" aiming.

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[Patrick Johnson]

Originally Posted by Patrick Johnson

This is what I've called Parallel Lines Aiming.

Now that I think of it, I first saw it in Mosconi's book - the first pool book I had at the age of 16-17. It's long lost now, and by the time I picked up the game again 30 years later I'd forgotten its contents - although they might still influence me.

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[BilliardsAbout]

My understanding is Willie used a different system but felt this one would be easier to communicate to the masses.

[Bob Jewett]

Originally Posted by BilliardsAbout

My understanding is Willie used a different system but felt this one would be easier to communicate to the masses.

The actual author of WPB is rumored to be Harry Grove who seems to have been a Brunswick publicist. My belief is that Mosconi had no real "system" as such. His (or Grove's) advice for playing a ball frozen to the cushion was just plain wrong.

[Dan White]

Originally Posted by Bob Jewett

The actual author of WPB is rumored to be Harry Grove who seems to have been a Brunswick publicist. My belief is that Mosconi had no real "system" as such. His (or Grove's) advice for playing a ball frozen to the cushion was just plain wrong.

Willie was running racks before he was tall enough to see the table bed while standing on the floor. I'm pretty sure his system was "See the ball, pocket the ball."

[Bob Jewett]

Originally Posted by Dan White

Willie was running racks before he was tall enough to see the table bed while standing on the floor. I'm pretty sure his system was "See the ball, pocket the ball."

There are a couple of videos of Willie giving basic instruction. Does anyone recall if he suggested an aiming method? One video was something like, "An evening with Willie Mosconi," and was pretty informal. I'd trust something like that to give Mosconi's actual ideas more than a ghost-written book.

[Dan White]

Originally Posted by Bob Jewett

There are a couple of videos of Willie giving basic instruction. Does anyone recall if he suggested an aiming method? One video was something like, "An evening with Willie Mosconi," and was pretty informal. I'd trust something like that to give Mosconi's actual ideas more than a ghost-written book.

I think this is about at detailed as I've seen from him:

https://youtu.be/Yym21l9_Z3U?t=702

Old school. Just aim at the spot on the ob farthest from the pocket and practice.

[Bob Jewett]

Originally Posted by Dan White

I think this is about at detailed as I've seen from him:

https://youtu.be/Yym21l9_Z3U?t=702

Old school. Just aim at the spot on the ob farthest from the pocket and practice.

That's from his instructional video on the table with gold cloth. There was another home made video of him at a special event that was called "An Evening with Willie Mosconi" that the Birkbeck twins organized. Google... google... google... here is that video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ur8yIFhBy8

The event is described in the March, 1987 issue of The National Billiard News. Unfortunately that issue is not in the AZB Goldmine which has an archive of some NBN issues. That month there was an additional special issue for a tournament and that was the issue that got into the Goldmine. The Willie article was in the regular March issue that has Willie on the cover. (You have to be a gold member to access the Goldmine.)

[Vorpal Cue]

Willie's explanation sounds like he used some form of contact point aiming. He pointed to the place where the line through the pocket exits the OB and stressed this is the place to hit the ball for that location on the table. "It never changes." he expains. Sure sounds like he's aiming at the CP on the OB in some manner.

He set up a CB in the ghost ball position and showed different approach angles to the shot talking about how different 'parts' of the CB must hit the OB point for different angles. He didn't mention any way to find the corresponding CP on the CB. It's hard to believe he didn't know about the parallel line method or 'mirroring' the OB point from center to center line.

Maybe he used a hybrid system like overlap to CP? Or something else.

[Patrick Johnson]

Originally Posted by Vorpal Cue

Willie's explanation sounds like he used some form of contact point aiming. He pointed to the place where the line through the pocket exits the OB and stressed this is the place to hit the ball for that location on the table. "It never changes." he expains. Sure sounds like he's aiming at the CP on the OB in some manner.

He set up a CB in the ghost ball position and showed different approach angles to the shot talking about how different 'parts' of the CB must hit the OB point for different angles. He didn't mention any way to find the corresponding CP on the CB. It's hard to believe he didn't know about the parallel line method or 'mirroring' the OB point from center to center line.

Maybe he used a hybrid system like overlap to CP? Or something else.

Maybe he just learns to hit the OBCP by practicing, with no (conscious) system for locating the CBCP. Many players work with less.

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[Vorpal Cue]

Originally Posted by Patrick Johnson

Maybe he just learns to hit the OBCP by practicing, with no (conscious) system for locating the CBCP. Many players work with less.

pj
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Gonna be hard to find out now. I've heard if you have a supple wrist and play by sense of smell you can become a Valley Table King.

[Patrick Johnson]

Originally Posted by Vorpal Cue

I've heard if you have a supple wrist and play by sense of smell you can become a Valley Table King.

Let us know how that works out for you.

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[Bob Jewett]

Originally Posted by Patrick Johnson

Let us know how that works out for you ...

It worked OK for Tommy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqXVZM9o6DU