Willie Mosconi

Willie Mosconi, known as **Mr. Pocket Billiards**, was the dominant straight pool player of the twentieth century. Born in Philadelphia, he won the World Straight Pool Championship a record fifteen times between 1941 and 1957, a feat no player has equalled.

In 1954 Mosconi set the world record for an unfinished straight-pool run — 526 consecutive balls in a single inning at East High Billiards in Springfield, Ohio. The mark stood for decades and is still cited as the gold standard for a competitive run.

Later in life Mosconi served as the technical advisor for the 1961 film *The Hustler*, narrated billiards content for television, and toured exhibitions with Minnesota Fats. He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1968.