Johnston City and Minnesota Fats: A Chat with Karen Fox

Johnston City and Minnesota Fats: A Chat with Karen Fox

by | Jul 26, 2020 | Jansco Brothers, Minnesota Fats, Tom Fox

Karen Fox, widow of Sports Illustrated writer Tom Fox, was there during the ’61 Johnston City tournament. Karen Fox Karen Fox, the widow of Sports Illustrated writer Tom Fox, recounts just below how her late husband came to author what would become one of the most important articles in the history of 20th Century pool. Tom Fox’s “A Hustler’s Holiday in the Lion’s...
Guest Post: The Hustler’s Newman vs Gleason Match Up

Guest Post: The Hustler’s Newman vs Gleason Match Up

by | Nov 6, 2019 | Hustler Stories, Minnesota Fats, Willie Mosconi

The catch, however, is that the match was never really played. By Bryan Johnston Ask any pool player what they consider the greatest pool match ever played and you’ll most likely hear Efren Reyes vs. Earl Strickland, June, 1995. Or perhaps Willie Mosconi vs. Rudolph “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone, Valentine’s Day, 1978. The Reyes/Strickland match is an obvious contender from a pure skill...
Memories of the Johnston City Hustler Jamborees

Memories of the Johnston City Hustler Jamborees

by | Aug 2, 2019 | Billiards Video, Historic Players, Historic Rooms, Hustler Stories, Jansco Brothers, Minnesota Fats

Pool history includes plenty of examples of grander tournaments but few were as colorful as those in Johnston City. I have been thinking a lot lately about the famous 1960s Johnston City tournaments, especially given the recent selection of tournament founders George and Paulie Jansco for posthumous induction into the Billiard Congress Hall of Fame.  The colorful tournaments in Southern...
Wimpy’s Norfolk Years: America’s Greatest Pool Town?

Wimpy’s Norfolk Years: America’s Greatest Pool Town?

by | May 23, 2019 | Historic Rooms, Hustler Stories, Minnesota Fats, Rags Fitzpatrick, Wimpy Lassiter

Norfolk during World War II was a mecca for big-time pool. Greatest pool town ever? Johnston City you say. New York during the 1960s? Ladies and gentlemen I present for your consideration Norfolk, Virginia. During World War II the Navy town was a wonderland of gambling, top-notch pool hustling and just general pandemonium. It also was in Norfolk that Wimpy Lassiter, arguably...