Morton Goldberg (December 17, 1916 – February 22, 1996), was an American professional
pool
Pool may refer to:
Water pool
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a rocky pool ...
player. Born in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
,
Goldberg beat such famous pool players as
Minnesota Fats
Minnesota Fats, or George Hegerman, is a fictional pool hustler created by American novelist Walter Tevis. The character appears in Tevis' novel ''The Hustler'' (1959). Jackie Gleason portrayed the character in the 1961 film adaptation of ''The ...
,
Irving Crane
Irving Crane (November 13, 1913 – November 17, 2001), nicknamed "the Deacon", was an American pool player from Livonia (near Rochester), New York,Billiard Congress America (1995-2005)BCA Hall of Fame Inductees: 1977 - 1984. Retrieved Nove ...
, and
Willie Munson
Biography
Morton Goldberg was born in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
in 1916.
Goldberg joined the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in 1942 when he was 25 years old. At the time of his enlistment, he was the New York State
billiard champion, a title he had held for several years, having defeated some of the top players, including
Willie Mosconi
William Joseph Mosconi (; June 27, 1913 – September 17, 1993) was an American professional pool player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between the years of 1941 and 1956, he won the World Straight Pool Championship nineteen times. For mos ...
,
Jimmy Caras
James Caras (17 December 1908 – 3 December 2002) was an American professional pool player, most well known for winning five World Pocket Billiard Titles between 1935 and 1949.
After a 12-year hiatus, Caras would return to cue sports, and win ...
,
Ralph Greenleaf
Ralph Greenleaf (November 3, 1899 in Monmouth, Illinois – March 15, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American professional pool and carom billiards player. He was a 19 time World Pocket Billiards Champion, who dominated the sport duri ...
,
Irving Crane
Irving Crane (November 13, 1913 – November 17, 2001), nicknamed "the Deacon", was an American pool player from Livonia (near Rochester), New York,Billiard Congress America (1995-2005)BCA Hall of Fame Inductees: 1977 - 1984. Retrieved Nove ...
, and
Erwin Rudolph
Erwin Rudolph (December 30, 1893 - May 19, 1957) was an American pocket billiards player from Cleveland, Ohio and a five-time world champion. One of his great feats was running 125 points in 32 minutes (now eclipsed).
Biography
Rudolph was born o ...
.
For much of his service time, he was stationed in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. When he wasn't cooking for the troops, he played pool. Goldberg beat such famous pool players as
Minnesota Fats
Minnesota Fats, or George Hegerman, is a fictional pool hustler created by American novelist Walter Tevis. The character appears in Tevis' novel ''The Hustler'' (1959). Jackie Gleason portrayed the character in the 1961 film adaptation of ''The ...
,
Irving Crane
Irving Crane (November 13, 1913 – November 17, 2001), nicknamed "the Deacon", was an American pool player from Livonia (near Rochester), New York,Billiard Congress America (1995-2005)BCA Hall of Fame Inductees: 1977 - 1984. Retrieved Nove ...
, and
Willie Mosconi
William Joseph Mosconi (; June 27, 1913 – September 17, 1993) was an American professional pool player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between the years of 1941 and 1956, he won the World Straight Pool Championship nineteen times. For mos ...
. Standing only five feet two inches, Goldberg overcame his lack of height by becoming extremely adept at using a .
It was in Boston that
Pfc.
Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces.
French speaking countries
In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...
Goldberg met
Willie Hoppe
William Frederick Hoppe (October 11, 1887 – February 1, 1959) (surname rhymes with "poppy"), was an internationally renowned American professional carom billiards champion, who was posthumously inducted into the Billiard Congress of America H ...
(the world's champion billiard player) for a second time—Goldberg had lost to Hoppe at an exhibition in Poughkeepsie in 1939. The two provided a brilliant exhibition of billiard skill, held at
Fort Heath
Fort Heath was a US seacoast military installation for defense of the Boston and Winthrop Harbors with an early 20th-century Coast Artillery fort, a 1930s USCG radio station, prewar naval research facilities, World War II batteries, and a C ...
. The match was one between champions, both expert in the game, and the remarkable precision shown by both players brought gasps of amazement from the huge crowd of onlookers.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Morton
American pool players
Sportspeople from Rochester, New York
Jewish American sportspeople
Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester)
1916 births
1996 deaths
United States Army personnel of World War II
20th-century American Jews