Tony C.
1239
Harold Worst
I played a little pool when I was young, but only a little, and never paid any attention to the professional circuit. Thanks to the internet, though, a while back
I stumbled across a reference to a very interesting former player whose name is not so well known, at least outside of the old pros. That man was Harold Worst.
The short version of the story is that Worst is considered by many who were/are in positions to judge to have been the best all-around pool player ever. His life and
accomplishments were both remarkable. and fascinating. Rather than encapsulating them here, I will provide just two links for those who are inclined to learn
more. The first is an overview of his pool-related accomplishments, along with quotes from more than a few top players who were contemporaries of Worst. The
second is a sound file of the late, and very colorful Ronnie "Fast Eddie" Allen explaining why he believed Worst to have been the best ever. Allen, incidentally, was widely considered
to have been the best one-pocket player in the world from the '60s into the '80s.
Hopefully these links will work, but please cut and paste the URLs if necessary.
Two unbelievable occurrences: Mosconi's record of 526 balls pocketed in succession . . .
. . . was beaten earlier this year by John Schmidt . . . . . . with an unfathomable 626 consecutive shots. Of all sporting records, Mosconi's had to be the most improbable of ever being breached. Schmidt breezed past. Way to go, John! Oh, and the second? ...
If you can get Ronnie to stage a record-breaking attempt, . . .
. . . I'll sell tickets at the door.
Harold Worst
I played a little pool when I was young, but only a little, and never paid any attention to the professional circuit. Thanks to the internet, though, a while back I stumbled across a reference to a very interesting former player whose name is not so well ...
Tony. Eternal thanks for this marvelous sound file. I hung on every word and I'm a violin player, not a pool player. I'll send this to a good friend.
And I'll get to your other link when I have a few more minutes. And I raise one for Mr. Harold Worst this evening. Many thanks for sharing. FH
More colorful (audio) tales from Ronnie Allen...
This begins with the Worst reminisces that I linked above, but includes many more gems!
I had come across Worst before while researching pool history . . .
. . . but didn't realize how highly regarded he was until now. Thanks for the links, Tony. Now, to find a poster of my new hero. ;-)
I'll keep my eyes open, Art!
There's something particularly fascinating about a player so supreme that he commanded such respect from, and struck fear into the hearts of so many great players and hustlers. That he accomplished what he did soon before dying so young is the exclamation...
