Minnesota Fats

Minnesota Fats, a hustler who blustered his way out of smoky barrooms to become the world's most famous pool player, died Thursday. Fats died of congestive heart failure, said his wife Theresa Bell Wanderone, who already has his epitaph ready: "Beat everybody living on earth. Now St. Peter, rack 'em up." Varying accounts listed Fats as anywhere from 82- to 95-years old, but as he boasted in a 1988 Associated Press interview, "No one on this Earth knows how old I am." Born Rudolf Wanderone Jr., he was known as New York Fats early in his career. Jackie Gleason's character in the 1961 movie "The Hustler," based on Wanderone, was called Minnesota Fats. Ever adaptable, Wanderone started calling himself Minnesota Fats and his fame and fortune began to rise. The movie describes his clash with a young gun called Fast Eddie, played by Paul Newman. "He probably did more for the sport of pool than any other human being alive," said Fast Eddie Parker, who still competes today. Fats' career was interwoven with that of Willie Mosconi, who died in 1993. Mosconi was the technical adviser on the set of "The Hustler," and the duo paired off in a series of matches on "Wide World of Sports" in the 1970s. Mosconi regularly beat Fats, but Fats usually won the battle of wits and charisma. He became a household name in a sport that needed one bad, said Conrad Burkman, publisher of National Billiard News. "You could go into a restaurant the night after Mosconi and Fats had a match on television. Mosconi would have beat his brains in and all everyone would say is, `Wow, I saw Minnesota Fats on TV last night,'" Burkman said. Fats could shoot pool with either hand and was known for wearing $100 bills in the handkerchief pocket of his suits. More than his skill at the table, Fats' personality made him famous. "He was, shall we say, the Don Rickles of pool," Parker said. "He made a lot of money with pool because of his skills, but he was really an entertainer. He could talk you out of a game rather than shoot you out of a game." He also was nicknamed "Fatty," and tags like "triple smart," "dean of the green," "the sultan of stroke" and "bank shot bandit" were stuck on him as well. He would bet on just about anything, especially eating contests. At one time he weighed 245 pounds, but was down to about 175 in recent years. He suffered a heart attack in 1992. Fats' favorite game was One Pocket, Burkman said. The rules call for each player to shoot only for one pocket on the table. The first to sink eight balls wins. "Fats' strong point was banks," Burkman said. "One Pocket is the chess game of pool." Before he rose to fame, the New York-born Fats hustled suckers at pool halls all over the country. "His big days in hustling were in the Second World War in Norfolk (Va.)," Burkman said. "The sailors were there, easy marks and all that kind of stuff. He got too well-known for that. If someone knows your name when you walk through the door it's hard to hustle them." Until the early 1990s, he played pool occasionally at The Hermitage, a plush Nashville hotel where he lived and often was seen feeding the birds outside. He also made cameo appearances in country music videos. A Nashville resident periodically through his life, Fats was a regular visitor to the Grand Ole Opry and country music nightclubs. A graveside service will be scheduled at Hermitage Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens. Memorial donations are requested in lieu of flowers to the Fats Foundation, care of Calvary Bank in Murfreesboro, Tenn.