Boston Shorty versus Harold Worst

Boston Shorty won the Johnston City One-Pocket competition four times. He is remembered today as one of the greatest one-pocket players ever. Harold Worst won the 1965 event outright, as well as that year's Stardust Open. He was nearly unstoppable when he was at the top of his game. Worst could have been remembered as the most dominant player of the 1960s if not for his premature death (at age 37) from cancer.

You can watch the two legendary players battling it out in the video above. I really love the groovy jazz music. Very atmospheric. And if you want to learn more, there's also Hustler Days. The book includes information about the famous Johnston City  tournaments, Worst's dominant play in 1965, and a reference to Jersey Red's travels with Boston Shorty. Freddy "The Beard" Bentivegna also has a link to a Jim McKay interview with Worst, which you can find here.

-- R.A. Dyer

Johnston City & The Jansco Brothers

Here's another Johnston City video, this one featuring trick shots by Ronnie Allen, Champagne Eddy Kelly, Weenie Beenie and others. Jim McKay from Wide World of Sports hosts. The Johnston City jamborees began with the release of The Hustler, and lasted until 1972. They were organized by George and Paulie Jansco, who also created the Stardust Events in Las Vegas. The Johnston City events were clearly the most colorful pool tournaments of the 1960s, as they brought road players from all over. The closest thing to Johnston City these days are the annual Derby City events, which features plenty of action -- but on a much grander scale. You can read all about the Johnston City events in Hustler Days.

The 1960s Hustlers' Jamboree and George Jansco's Minor League Baseball Stats

The internet is amazing. Here's a site that references George Jansco's minor league baseball stats back in the 1930s. Notice that the site references George's nickname as "Wimpy" -- which was the same handle used by Luther Lassiter. Odd. Also looks like George had a career batting average of .291. Not too shabby.

For those who don't know, George Jansco was the promoter (along with his brother Paulie) behind the Johnston City hustler jamborees during the 1960s. Lassiter dominated the colorful events, which also featured Jersey Red, Boston Shorty, Ronnie Allen, Harold Worst, Handsome Dan and of course Minnesota Fats. I've attached a YouTube video at the top of this post that features an interview with Fats at one of the southern Illinois tournaments. That's a picture of George Jansco at the upper right. You can find more historic pool videos here. (Freddy "The Beard' Bentivegna also has amassed a cool collection of online videos.) You can read more about George Jansco and his jamborees in Hustler Days.