The Spin on Pool: Innovator Francois Mingaud

The Spin on Pool: Innovator Francois Mingaud

By Allie Leigh Adams Francois Mingaud We can thank the French for some of pool’s most important innovations. Fifteenth-century French royalty, for instance, transitioned the game from one played on outdoor lawns to one played indoors on wooden tables. Another innovation — and perhaps nearly as important — was the addition of cue tips to wooden cues. Without cue tips, there would be no...

Memories of Bill “Weenie Beenie” Bill Staton

Johnny Carson, Mamie Van Doren and Bill “Weenie Beenie” Staton on the Tonight Show. I have collected here a few stories about Bill “Weenie Beenie” Staton, who was one of our sport’s more colorful promoters and players during the 1960s. The owner of Jack & Jill’s Cue Clubs, Staton died on Feb. 18, 2006 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, his hometown. He...

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Hustler & the Champ on Kindle

R.A. Dyer's critically acclaimed biography of Willie Mosconi and Minnesota Fats available in hardback or Kindle.

Expanded edition of Hustler Days

Biography of Lassiter, Fats and Jersey Red, released originally in 2003, now updated with expanded content.

Pool History in Billiards Digest

R.A. Dyer writes about a startling new Minnesota Fats discovery in the November edition of Billiards Digest.

Dyer featured in documentary

R.A. Dyer appears in Swimming with Sharks documentary, included in the 50th anniversary edition of The Hustler.

Janscos Inducted into Hall of Fame

Pool promoters George and Paulie Jansco receive posthumous induction. Read R.A. Dyer's story.