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.