This is an absolute gem of a video clip with a lesson from Willie Mosconi himself.
When I was 17 I saw Willie Mosconi in at the airport terminals at the Louiville airport. Maybe someone recognized him as we were both flying to our respective homes on different flights leaving the BCA Trade show in July 1990, but it seemed like I was the only one who for that moment in the busy airport, did recognize who was gliding around in our midst like Fred Astaire in the silvery-gray suit.
He walked with the dignity of a king, one who had accomplished the ultimate expression of his talent in his life time. He walked also with a relaxed matter of fact gaze, seeming to appreciate the anonymity of the moment. I watched him walk away casually, perhaps the same way he walked around the table so casually dispensing of all the balls, except one break ball and the cue ball, rack after rack after rack.
I had met him at the show the year before and once again during the BCA Junior Nationals this year which he came to watch during the finals won by Nathan Haddad of Lansing, Michigan with a real nice thin cut on the 8-Ball to win it all, right there in front of Mosconi.
I had a chance to run into Mosconi on a break and I told him that “my grandpa once asked you what the most important thing about pool is, and you said ‘touch’,” and he told me “Yes, touch is important” as he walked back to his chair.
You can see a glimpse of the touch he possessed in this video. Remember to put touch into your aiming system as you deliver the cue smoothly and right on line.
Max Eberle