The 1960s Hustlers' Jamboree and George Jansco's Minor League Baseball Stats

The internet is amazing. Here's a site that references George Jansco's minor league baseball stats back in the 1930s. Notice that the site references George's nickname as "Wimpy" -- which was the same handle used by Luther Lassiter. Odd. Also looks like George had a career batting average of .291. Not too shabby.

For those who don't know, George Jansco was the promoter (along with his brother Paulie) behind the Johnston City hustler jamborees during the 1960s. Lassiter dominated the colorful events, which also featured Jersey Red, Boston Shorty, Ronnie Allen, Harold Worst, Handsome Dan and of course Minnesota Fats. I've attached a YouTube video at the top of this post that features an interview with Fats at one of the southern Illinois tournaments. That's a picture of George Jansco at the upper right. You can find more historic pool videos here. (Freddy "The Beard' Bentivegna also has amassed a cool collection of online videos.) You can read more about George Jansco and his jamborees in Hustler Days.

Jersey Red in 1969: "Even Houdini Couldn't Get Out From Here!"

I LOVE this sequence of shots. It was executed by Jersey Red back in 1969 during a match-up with Ronnie Allen in Houston's Le Cue pool hall. Grady "The Professor" Mathews was an eyewitness, and he describes it gloriously in Eddie Robin's excellent book, Winning One-Pocket. You can see the shots more clearly by clicking here.

Red was at the table and needed all four balls. The Red Raider looked The Professor straight in the eye, remarked "even Houdini couldn't get out from here" and then began his spectacular run. First Red shot the combination seen in the top diagram. That is, he pockets a ball in the upper right-hand corner while simultaneously sinking another back into his pocket on the lower left side. Notice he goes rail first to to make this combination-bank shot. In the next diagram Red pockets the ball into his wicket while simultaneously pocketing the hanger in the side pocket. He then pockets the final two balls after they were spotted back up. Notice here the two-rail bank.

This match-up would have occurred within months of Red's second place finish in that year's U.S. Open. Luther Lassiter won it. You can read more about Red and the U.S. Open in Hustler Days. And please go buy Robin's Winning One-Pocket. It's a great book.