Behind Every Great Man, there is a Great Woman: Charlie Ursitti Remembers The Grand Dame of Billiards, Flora Mosconi On Thursday, March 25 at 10:15pm the billiard world lost Mrs. Willie Mosconi. She was 87 years old and had been married to 16 times world champion Willie Mosconi since 1954. Born Gloria Florence Marchini on February 14, 1923, she was the daughter of Italian immigrants Saulle and Nuntia Marchini and was the youngest of six children. To most of us she was Mrs. Mosconi, but to those of us who knew her she was Flora or Flo; to me she was Auntie Flo. I first met Auntie Flo back in 1977 while preparing for the ABC's Wide World of Sports telecast of the "Great Pool Shootout" between Willie and Minnesota Fats. I was going back and forth between New York City and Haddon Heights, New Jersey where the Mosconis lived, bringing contracts and formats for Willie to approve. We had talked on the phone many times, but this would be the first time I would meet her in person. She prepared a big meal, for myself, my girlfriend, Willie, her daughter Gloria, her two her nieces, Nancy and Loretta, and herself. Auntie Flo had asked me what I wanted for dinner, and we settled on roast beef, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and New Jersey beefsteak tomatoes that were in season. She reminded me of my own mother the way she had prepared the meal and the warm greeting she gave me. She told me the story of how she first met Willie. In 1953, she was working at the phone company in Philadelphia and was setup on a blind date with Willie by his cousin Madeline Mosconi who worked with her. Willie was about 10 years her senior, divorced and the father of two children; Willie Jr. 12 and Candice 10. When she came home from the date her brother asked her how it went and who she went out with. She said, "Did you ever hear of Willie Mosconi?" Her brother said "Of course I did." She said, "This is the man I am going to marry"! Willie was always traveling so the courtship was a tough one according to Auntie Flo. Willie had asked her several times to go to a tournament out of town with him, but she always refused. She told him that she was not that kind of girl and she wouldn't travel anywhere with him unless they were married. They were married on February 14, 1954, her birthday and Valentine's Day. Auntie Flo told me that they actually got married three times! First by a Justice of the Peace in Florida, then by another Justice of the Peace in New Mexico, and finally ten years later in a Catholic Church in Haddon Heights, NJ with Billy, Candice and Gloria present. She was 29 years old and became an instant mother of two and the wife of the World Champion. Billy Mosconi tells me that she is the only mother he ever knew. Willie's first wife, Ann Harrison, left Willie right after Candice was born and Billy was only two at the time. Flora adapted to tournament life quickly by becoming friendly with the other players' wives, like Marge Caras and Althea Crane. The wives would hang out together during the tournaments, watch the matches, go to the movies and shop together. Willie and Auntie Flo had one child together in 1955, a girl named Gloria. Gloria passed away in 1998 from breast cancer and this really crushed Flora. She never recovered from her loss. For Charlie's full story on Flora and anecdotes about her time with Willie, watch for the story in the May issue of Pool & Billiard Magazine. Flora is survived by her two stepchildren, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Gerda Hofstatter defeated Shu-Han Chang of Chinese Taipie to win the 14th annual WPBA San Diego Classic 9-Ball Championship, held this weekend at the Viejas Casino in Alpine, CA. This was Gerda's first major tour stop win since the BCA Open 9-Ball Championships in 2000. She defeated newcomer Chang 7-3 in the final, taped for later broadcast on ESPN, and won $12,700 for the victory. On her way to this momentous win, Gerda defeated Angelina Paglia and Kyoto Sone to make the final sixteen, then took down Monica Webb 9-3 in the first round of the single elimination portion of the event. Next up was #1 ranked Ga Young Kim and Gerda made short work of her too, 9-4. In the televised semi-final she bested former #1 Karen Corr 7-4. Chang defeated Pool & Billiard Magazine 2009 Player of the Year Jasmin Ouschan, Jeanette Lee and China's Xiaoting Pan in the other televised semifinal 7-5. In the final bout, Chang took the lead 2-1, but Gerda came back to lead 4-3 and never looked back, winning 7-3. Gerda made history as the WPBA Classic Tour's first-ever event winner in San Francisco in 1993 and proves today that she's still a player to beat! Congratulations, G-Force!

The Super Billiards Expo, set to take place at the Valley Forge Convention Center, will boast amateur and pro events and a great pool & billiard shopping experience in 150,000 square feet of exhibit and arena space, including exhibits from world famous American Cuemakers Association and International Cuemakers Association members. Pro events at the Expo include the popular Diamond Open 10-Ball Players Championship and the Artistic Pool Masters Championship. Pool & Billiard Magazine will be there as always, with expert coverage and our annual show special. Stop by Booth #L6 and say hi!

A sad note from Jim and Bonnie Parker, the founders/owners of The Illinois Billiard Club. "A bright and warm flame of human love and compassion that burned so brilliantly in many of our lives for some 40 years has recently flickered for the last time, and quietly went out as it soared to the heavens in search a better place... when three-cushion billiard promoter, instructor, feared contender, and man amongst men, Mr. Jose (Joe) Diaz recently passed away...

[Read more →]

(At left, George Breedlove and Jeanette Lee, Photo by Jerry Forsyth). Women's professional billiard star Jeanette Lee and her husband, George Breedlove, are eagerly awaiting the birth of their sixth child. The couple announced the great news at the WPBA San Diego Classic in Alpine, CA. The baby will be the first natural-birth child for Lee and Breedlove.   "George and I are so excited to welcome another child to our growing family," said Lee. "This is really a wonderful surprise for us. Nothing gives me greater joy than being a mom and to be able to bring a life into this world is something I will always cherish." In October, Lee and Breedlove welcomed their first biological child together, Chloe Angelee Breedlove, who was born to a surrogate mother. They are also the parents of an adopted child, Cheyenne, and a foster child, John Kang, as well as Breedlove's two daughters from a previous marriage, Morgan and Olivia. "Jeanette and George are a perfect example of the success of a modern blended family driven by faith-based values and strong parenting," said Tom George, Octagon's Senior Vice President. "Their love and devotion for all of their children is apparent and I am so glad that they have been blessed with the opportunity to give birth naturally. It is something Jeanette has always hoped for." With a due date in mid-September, Lee will continue to play in professional tournaments through roughly mid-July. From that point until at least mid-November, Lee will be at home on maternity leave. In her 17 years as a professional, Lee has fashioned one of the most illustrious careers of any billiards player in history, including claiming more than 30 national and international titles. Formerly ranked as the No. 1 player in the world, she has been named "WPBA Sportsperson of the Year" as well as "Player of the Year" by Pool & Billiard Magazine. Lee was a 2001 World Games gold medalist and 2004 International Trick Shot champion in addition to taking home back-to-back Empress Cup titles in 2008 and 2009. Selected as one of the "Sexiest Female Athletes in the World" by ESPN, she has appeared in television and print, including features in Esquire and on HBO Real Sports, The Today Show, The Late Show with David Letterman and Live with Regis & Kelly.

UK based Matchroom Sport announced that the 2010 PartyPoker.com Mosconi Cup, featuring multi-discipline pool and billiard competitions between American and European pro pool players, will take place at the fabled York Hall, Bethnal Green, London from December 9-12, 2010...

[Read more →]

We love pool & billiard fans, especially fans who show the world they love pool with a cool pool avatar! We really appreciate you and think you ought to be rewarded for reminding people of pool each day on your Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages. So here's the deal. We're going to pick our favorite 100 cool pool avatars and give you each a FREE one year subscription to Pool & Billiard Magazine. No catch, no purchase necessary - and if you're already a subscriber, play along and we'll add a free year to your subscription if you're one of the lucky 100. Winners will be selected by our staff and the only rule is your avatar must be based on a pool theme, pool message, cool pool pic or graphic - sky's the limit so long as it promotes our sport. If your Facebook or Twitter profile pic is about pool, then you qualify to enter! It's easy to enter, too. Throughout this month (March) you can show us your avatar by commenting on this post at our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE or our FACEBOOK GROUP or replying to our TWEET. Our favorite 100 Pool Avatars will be showcased in the May issue of P&B and those lucky 100 will win a free one year subscription to Pool & Billiard Magazine that begins with that issue. Ready to play? Connect with us today! Just tell us you want in when you become a fan at our Pool & Billiard Magazine Fan Page or join our Group Page, o Farmers, No Mafia, No Fish, Just Pool Players. This is POOLMAG Mister! or tweet us at @PoolandBilliard Shoot straight! P.S. Here's a few pool avatars from some of our social media savvy staff (No, we're not eligible to win)

Here's one just in from Topeka, Kansas: The city of Topeka, Kansas, home of www.mycustomgameroom.com, has changed its name to "Google, Kansas" for the month of March. This means they are actually shipping products from the town of Google for a limited time. A new website has been started in this Midwest town with a very important mission, to educate the public about all of the nuances of the sport of billiards. Topics of interest will range from equipment to tips on actually playing the game. The Mayor changed the city's name in an attempt to sway Google to bring their experimental "Fiber for Communities" program to Topeka. This program is meant to test a new super high speed connection that Google is developing, it could mean internet speeds up to 100 times faster than elsewhere. Speeds like this could prove very useful to a new billiard website. Mycustomgameroom.com is operated by long time billiard mechanic and pool player, Rich Brown. Besides delivering quality products, one purpose of the site is to provide a resource for everything from "How to hang a pool table light" to "how to choose a pool cue." According to the release on Earthtimes.org, "Years of experience installing all brands of pool tables, as well as playing billiards with some of the finest pool players in the country is being added to the site weekly."