HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: Books & More

Does that special pool lover in your life already own 20 instructional books? How about going another direction this year and getting him or her the gift of pool history? As we like to say at poolhistory.com, a sport without history is a sport without consequence. But there's plenty of literature out there to help fill the gaps. I've included some of my favorite selections (including a couple of my own books) plus some video resources and other material.  You can find each of these potential stocking stuffers online. Keep reading for all the details.


THE HUSTLER & THE CHAMP

R.A. Dyer’s book, The Hustler and the Champ, chronicles the long colorful rivalry between pool’s greatest tournament player and its most colorful hustler. Read more about The Hustler and the Champ at the poolhistory.com website. Purchase the book on Amazon.

HUSTLER DAYS

This critically acclaimed book tells the story of pool in the 20th century and of the 1960s revival brought on by 20th Century Fox film, The Hustler. The book profiles some of the game’s greatest players, including Rags Fitzpatrick and Harold Worst.  Purchase the book on Amazon.

3 GREAT BOOKS BY THE LATE, GREAT FREDDY "THE BEARD"

Freddy "The Beard"  Bentivegna was an old-time pool hustler, a banking expert and one of our sport's great storytellers. I was sorry to hear of his passing in 2014. I've highlighted three of his books here. Each is well worth the investment. You can purchase them directly from his website, www.bankingwiththebeard.com.

THE “ENCYLOPEDIA”  OF POOL HUSTLERS

This reference work is not anything you’ll ever read from start to finish — at least, not in any disciplined way — but it’s a book you’ll want to have around your nightstand or in The Brown Study. It’s chock full of quick and quirky anecdotes about players both famous and obscure (mostly obscure), all seasoned with Bentivegna’s aromatic brand of BS.

BANKING WITH THE BEARD

Freddy's first book, "Banking With The Beard," includes a banking formula that incorporates the concepts of acquired english and cue ball english. It's 200 pages long.  The tips are invaluable.


GOSPOOL OF BANK POOL

Freddy's second book, "The GosPool of Bank Pool," also runs about 200 pages long -- but about half of it is devoted to colorful anecdotes. I found myself laughing out loud as I read about Minnesota Fats, Eddie "The Knoxville Bear" Taylor, Cornbread Red and Harold Worst. 

AND MORE BOOKS...

BYRNE'S NEW STANDARD BOOK ON POOL & BILLIARDS

This is the first instructional book that I ever purchased. Who knew that a collection of table drawings and shot descriptions could be so funny?  A friend of mine had lent me a copy many many years ago. After reading only about 10 pages of it, I marched out and bought my own. You should too. (And while you’re at it, pick up Bryne’s second instructional book Advanced Technique in Pool & Billiards.)

NEW ILLUSTRATED ENCYLOPEDIA OF BILLIARDS

Ever wonder how many possible ball arrangements there are in a straight-pool rack? Wonder no more. Mike Shamos, in this wonderful collection of the trivial and the historic, tells us. Here, you can learn about Kelly Pool, the Lambert Trophy, and the origin of the slang "weight." There’s plenty of pictures. As a hardback, it makes a perfect addition to any coffee table.

THE HUSTLER

There is no more important novel related to American pool as The Hustler, by Walter  Tevis. Although not based on the life of Rudolf Wanderone, it nonetheless launched his media career. The book also led to the 20th Century Fox movie and the great renaissance for our sport during the 1960s. You also can read all about The Hustler, Minnesota Fats, the 1960s renaissance -- and the interrelation between the the three -- in my own book Hustler Days (referenced above).

MCGOORTY, A POOL ROOM HUSTLER

Danny McGoorty was a poolroom hustler, ladies’ man, and drunk. Robert Bryne recorded McGoorty’s life's story, and then used it to craft one of the most delightful and hilarious biographies ever written about an American cueist. This book also includes fun anecdotes about some of the most important players of the last century, including Mosconi, Fats, Welker Cochran and even Alfredo De Oro.

WILLIE'S GAME

Willie Mosconi in his biography Willie’s Game co-authored with Stanley Cohen, speaks of Fats, Wimpy Lassiter, Irving Crane and several others. Speaking about Onofrio Lauri, Mosconi said: "You wouldn’t want him to be the guy standing between you and a championship. He was a sensational shot maker. If he got on a roll he could run out on you quicker than you could count the balls." Find the Kindle edition here.

THE BANK SHOT AND OTHER GREAT ROBBERIES

This is the autobiography of Minnesota Fats, co-written by Tom Fox and with an introduction by R. A. Dyer. It tells Fats' story is his own colorful words. A great fun read. Find it online here.

POOL WARS
Jay Helfert's great book Pool Wars is subtitled "On the Road to Hell and Back with the World's Greatest Money Players." That's particularly apt, given that Helfert here has collected stories about Charlie the Ape, Ronnie Allen, Cuban Joe, and of course Minnesota Fats. Helfert writes about brawls and sleeping in pool rooms. He has some wonderful old pictures of a crazy skinny Earl Strickland and Buddy "Rifleman" Hall. A great read.

OTHER STUFF ...

If that special someone doesn't feel like reading over the holidays, here are a few non-book recommendations:

PHOTOS BY HELAINE GARREN
In 1970 Helaine Garren shot a series of images at Bensinger’s Pool Hall while she was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago. Garren's astounding photos have won rave reviews from Slate, the Chicago Reader and every pool publication you can think of. Buy prints directly from Ms. Garren at her website, www.helainegarren.com.

Accu-Stats

Call Pat Flemming over at Accu-Stats HQ and he'll recommend a good DVD. He's never steered me wrong once. Here's his number:  1-800-828-0397. You can also check out the website at accu-stats.com. 

THE HUSTLER (DVD RELEASE)

The Hustler is the single-most important film ever made about our sport. For that reason alone, it deserves a revered sport in the DVD library of any lover of pool history.  The scenes between Paul Newman, as Fast Eddy, and Jackie Gleason, as Fats, are inspirational. The two-disk collector's edition also includes several extra documentaries, including one entitled “Swimming with Sharks” with commentary from Max Eberle and myself. So there’s that.

-- R.A. Dyer

Fisher, Reyes Named Players of Decade

News flash: Efren Reyes and Allison Fisher were named today as the male and female players of the decade by the United States Billiard Media Association. Reyes -- also known as "The Magician" or "Bata" -- amassed nearly $1.7 million in prize money during the decade, according to an USBMA release. Fisher won 27 profession billiard association classic tour titles during the same period.

Reyes and Fisher were chosen by members of the USMBA, who also select Hall of Fame inductees. Reyes outpolled fellow legends Johnny Archer, Ralf Souquet and Mika Immonen in the balloting. Fisher was named Player of The Decade on all but two of the USMBA ballots, with Karen Corr and Jasmin Ouschan also receiving votes, according to the organzation.

Reyes' dominant performance during the first decade of the new century included victories in 20 major professional pool tournaments, beginning with the $30,000 Camel Pro 8-Ball Championship in 2000 and his twin victories in the short-lived but lucrative International Pool Tour. Those victories alone netted him $765,000. Reyes also won four one-pocket crowns, four eight-ball titles, and 14 nineball titles. Reyes won the Derby City All-Around title three times during the decade.

Fisher, arguably the greatest female player of all time, continued her dominance of women's pool, adding 27 titles between 2000 and 2010. She also earned the gold medal at the 2009 World Games and was the 2000 BCA U.S. Open 14.1 champion. She received $637,000 in tournament winnings over the decade. She was also the most dominant player in women's pool during the decade of the 90s.


-- R.A. Dyer

Best pool player ever: Mosconi or Greenleaf?

We ran a poll here not too long ago in which we asked who was the greatest player in history. As I might have expected, the top two finishers were Willie Mosconi and Ralph Greenleaf. Neither received a majority of votes. A runoff! So now the question becomes: which player really was better? Thoughts? I'm going to write a column about this at some point and I'm looking for comments. You can see the poll results in the column on the right. That's a picture of both players at the top of this post, with Mosconi on the left.


-- R.A. Dyer

Varner places fourth in Eight-Ball segment of Galveston World Classic

Nick Varner has placed fourth in the eight-ball segment of the Galveston World Classic. He was eliminated Saturday afternoon by Johnny Archer, who beat the Kentucky native 7-1 during a match televised for the Internet. Archer's methodical and calculated attack left little chance for error for Varner, who early during the match missed two very makable balls.

Archer won the lag, then ran out two racks to begin with. He broke dry on the third rack, but Varner couldn't capitalize, and Archer won that game as well. The fourth also went to Archer. Varner picked up a game about midway through the match, and did so in high form. Facing a tough layout with two of his balls locked up on the far rail, Varner played a safe while simultaneously sending the object ball down table to a spot near the troublesome cluster. Archer then fouled, giving Varner ball in hand. Varner then used the manufactured helper ball to break out the cluster and proceeded to navigate a very tricky layout.

But that would be Varner's only victory. At one point, Varner got so locked up after a tough roll that he had neither a shot nor any obvious safety. Archer now can do no worse than third in the eight-ball segment. Also left alive are Ronnie Alcano and Roberto Gomez. Archer faces Gomez Sunday at noon.

Obama Plays Pool

Some say he was just trying to score points with working class voters. But when Democratic hopeful Barack Obama during a 2008 campaign stop picked up a pool cue in a West Virginia bar and started running balls, he was simply following a long, proud and very presidential tradition.

Consider this: George Washington reportedly won a game of pool in 1748; John Quincy Adams installed a table in the presidential quarters in 1828; and Abraham Lincoln extolled the virtues of pool as a "scientific game lending recreation to the otherwise fatigued mind."

Even Founding Father Thomas Jefferson was said to have a table at Monticello.

But Obama should also be careful about pocketing balls for political gain. After Adams used his own money to purchase a pool table, his political opposition in 1828 took him to task for installing "gambling furniture" in the White House.