Luther Lassiter - Hustler Days

Hustler Days

During the early 1940s, following his discharge from the Coast Guard, Lassiter's main running buddy was Rudolph Walter Wanderone, best known as Minnesota Fats. Their town of preference was Norfolk, Virginia, which was known at the time as the highest-rolling place for pool hustlers, card players, and gamblers in general. During these years, Lassiter became the "undisputed king" of the pool hustlers, reportedly winning over $300,000 from gambling on pool games between 1942 and 1948 (including $15,000 in a single week). He often accepted "money games" involving extraordinary sums, often around $1,000 a game. It was during this time that he developed his confidence and skill necessary to begin competing on the professional level with the greatest pocket-billiard masters of the day, including Willie Mosconi and Irving Crane.

After the sudden decline of the gambling action in Norfolk around 1948, Lassiter was forced to begin competing professionally in pool tournaments held across the country. His first major tournament was the World Straight Pool Championships in 1953 held in San Francisco's Downtown Bowl; the player who knocked him out—and who would go on to win the tournament and then the world title—was Willie Mosconi.

It was also during this time that Lassiter formed a partnership with Don Willis, a player who—while never having won any world titles because he never competed in any of the tournaments—had beaten some of pool's greatest players, including Jimmy Moore, Ralph Greenleaf, and Willie Mosconi, all in straight pool. In 1948, Willis beat Lassiter in nine-ball on Lassiter's home turf, Elizabeth City; it was Lassiter's best game. Indeed, Willis' talent for nine-ball was the primary reason for Lassiter forming a partnership with Willis rather than a rivalry. Together they would go on the road and hustle pool rooms, sometimes winning anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 over a period of several days.