The Hustler & the Champ

Author:

By R. A. Dyer

Format:

Hardback

Availability:

In print, usually dispatched within 3-4 days.

Price:

£15.99

Tagged with:

Snooker, Pool and Billiards, Minnesota Fats, Willie Mosconi

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Further Details

• Published: 1st Oct 2007
• ISBN: 1592288839
• Pages: 320

From the Publisher:

In the tradition of Pulitzer Prize nominated, "Positively Fifth Street," here is a riveting account of a high stakes shoot-out between pool's two most famous personalities.

It was Valentine's Day, 1978, and Howard Cosell was hosting the long-awaited show-down between the best-ever tournament player, Willie Mosconi, and the game's most famous hustler, Minnesota Fats. This was The Great Pool Shoot-Out, one of the most highly rated televised sporting events of the year, exceeding even World Series games and basketball championships. R.A. Dyer, author of the best-selling "Hustler Days," which recounts the rise of pool during the 1960s, writes of the acrid, but mutually beneficial rivalry between Fats and Mosconi, and how the televised shoot-outs came to embody that rivalry, which was nothing less than a bitter rift within the soul of American pocket billiards. Fats and Mosconi were born the same year, but were vastly different characters: one stood for artistry, the other for show business; one brought dignity to pool, the other made it fun. They are without a doubt the two most important players ever to hold a cue. This is the ultimate tale of American sportsmanship.