The grandest ever?

Regardless of the sport, the easiest way to stir up a heated discussion is to pose the question, "Who was the greatest ever?"

In pocket billiards, that question is still cause for great debate. The general consensus is that the finalist are William Mosconi and Ralph Greenleaf. Greenleaf, a child prodigy from Illinois, reigned over the pocket billiard world from 1919 - 1938. During that time, the classy showman won 14 world pocket billiard titles. Mosconi won the first of his 15 world championships in 1941 and simple dominated the sport until is retirement in 1957.

Although their careers intertwined only briefly in the late thirties, Greenleafand Mosconi did spend the summer of 1934 together, touring the South. Greenleaf, 38 at the time, won the majority of the early matches against his 21 year old opponent, but Mosconi held is own in the later exhibitions. After 107 matches, Greenleaf had won 57 to Mosconi's 50.

Perhaps the greatest legacy of Mosconi's career are his high runs. The Philadelphia native still holds the recognized mark of 526 balls in a competition in Springfield, Ohio, in 1954. He did this remarkable run on a 4 x 8 ft table.

I can only imagine what the matches looked like back them, but I can see the gentlemen dressing up in black suits and a tie just to compete. Can't really seeing them drinking beers, but something like martinis. Who knows, I wasn't there, but I like to visualize;).

Greenleaf never matched Mosconi's high runs, but exhibition wasn't really his style. Greenleaf was flamboyant and a great admirer of the good life. It's been said that Greenleaf, a natural talent, never practiced a day in his life. He indeed was the "Babe Ruth" of pocket billiards.

I think it's pretty amazing that both men are still strong legends in your local pool hall. Mention either name - and you know who they were. I often wonder who the "Legends" are from Austin. There's some remarkable players here and I believe a couple of them will be a future name in the billiard world.