Willie S Game

A “fascinating” memoir by America’s greatest professional billiards player, a child prodigy in the pool halls of the 1930s who became a world champion (Library Journal). Willie Mosconi’s father never wanted him to play billiards. At night, the boy would lie awake listening to the clatter of balls downstairs in the family pool hall, and when his father wasn’t around, he would climb onto an apple crate to practice his shots. When his dad started locking up the balls and cue, young Willie improvised with potatoes and a broom handle. By the time he was 7 years old, he was good enough to play against Ralph Greenleaf in a match billed as “The Child Prodigy vs. The World Champion.” It was the start of a magnificent career that would include an unprecedented 15 world championships and the record for most consecutive balls run without a miss: 526. Nicknamed “Mr. Pocket Billiards,” Mosconi was instrumental in popularizing pool in America, serving as a consultant for iconic films such as The Hustler and The Color of Money and facing off against the famed hustler Minnesota Fats in 2 celebrated matches. Cowritten with journalist Stanley Cohen, Willie’s Game is the colorful, captivating autobiography of an illustrious champion who lifted his sport to new heights and played by one simple rule: If you don’t miss, you don’t have to worry about anything else.

The first black NHL player recounts his Canadian boyhood, his eighteen-year career as a professional hockey player, and especially his years with the Boston Bruins.

The story of baseball legend Willie Horton. The 1968 Detroit Tigers always will mean something very special to the city of Detroit. No one player is a better symbol of the relationship between the '68 team and the city than is Willie Horton. When eight-year-old Willie was walking the six miles from his home in Stonega, Virginia to neighboring Appalachia to play baseball, he never dreamed that one day he would star in a major league World Series. The likelihood of a successful career of any kind seemed even more remote after his family moved to Detroit, Michigan. Growing up in Detroit's Projects, Willie had no way of knowing that one day he would give his name to a foundation dedicated to helping youngsters living in similar slum conditions. Willie Horton: Detroit's Own Willie the Wonder takes this warm and generous man from his disadvantaged childhood through the excitement of a baseball career, and ends with an account of his ongoing work among today's youth. Willie believes that his success comes from what others have done for him, and he is determined to give back as much as he can. Young readers will understand why coaches and friends were so willing to help Willie, and t

Acclaimed sportswriter Allen Barra exposes the uncanny parallels--and lifelong friendship--between two of the greatest baseball players ever to take the field. Culturally, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were light-years apart. Yet they were nearly the same age and almost the same size, and they came to New York at the same time. They possessed virtually the same talents and played the same position. They were both products of generations of baseball-playing families, for whom the game was the only escape from a lifetime of brutal manual labor. Both were nearly crushed by the weight of the outsized expectations placed on them, first by their families and later by America. Both lived secret lives far different from those their fans knew. What their fans also didn't know was that the two men shared a close personal friendship--and that each was the only man who could truly understand the other's experience.

The “enormously entertaining and wide-ranging” (Seattle Times) authorized, definitive, New York Times bestselling biography of Willie Mays, the most complete baseball player of all time. Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the passion he brought to the game. He began as a teenager in the Negro Leagues, became a cult hero in New York, and was the headliner in Major League Baseball’s bold expansion to California. He was a blend of power, speed, and stylistic bravado that enraptured fans for more than two decades. Now James Hirsch reveals the man behind the player. Mays was a transcendent figure who received standing ovations in enemy stadiums and who, during the turbulent civil rights era, urged understanding and reconciliation. More than his records, his legacy is defined by the pure joy that he brought to fans and the loving memories that have been passed to future generations so they might know the magic and beauty of the game. With meticulous research and drawing on interviews with Mays himself as well as with close friends, family, and teammates, Hirsch presents a brilliant portrait of one of America’s most significant cultural icons.

Wee Willie Sherdel was a very humble, courageous left-handed pitcher who became one of the all-time great southpaws in St. Louis Cardinals history. The son of a German blacksmith in a small Pennsylvania village, Willie’s dream was to become a major league pitcher – a rather big dream for a small boy. Not the most talented or biggest, he worked hard and learned from greats like Eddie Plank, Branch Rickey and Grover Cleveland Alexander. Sherdel’s best years were in the 1920s while Rickey was developing the farm system concept and the Cards were playing in two World Series. Known for his slow ball, Willie was given the honor of pitching the first game against Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and the powerful Yankees in both Series. Although labeled a hard-luck pitcher in the Series, Sherdel performed many great feats on the diamond. Since his retirement in 1932, he remains the Redbirds’ winningest left-hander and fourth all-time winner. Willie also has pitched the third-most games and the fourth-most innings. Like all pitchers, he loved to talk about his hitting. Among Cardinals’ pitchers, Sherdel owns the fourth-most career home runs and the fifth-best batting average for his .337 in 1923. His contemporaries included over 90 Hall of Famers and some of the greatest players of all-time including Ruth, Gehrig, Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby.

A book unlike any other customer service guide, Willie’s Way translates Willie’s common-sense wisdom into simple, practical applications. Each chapter looks at one of the six service secrets and explains how and why it works. From listening to customers, to offering them special favors, to making every customer connection memorable, these proven strategies will impress, entice and win new customers with every interaction. As a successful speaker and author who travels constantly, Phillip Van Hooser has been in and out of his fair share of cabs. But only one cabbie ever taught him anything about customer service. That cabbie is Willie, and the common-sense wisdom he imparted has become known as Willie’s Way. In Willie’s Way, you too will learn Willie’s unique brand of personalized service: How to woo customers so they come back again and again How to wow customers so they tell their friends about you How to win customers’ long-term business by exceeding their expectations How to apply Willie’s techniques to your own enterprises to build long-term customer loyalty “Willie’s Way is a fascinating compilation of real-life customer service stories that actually make a difference. It’s about building your brand one customer at a time. Read how enthusiasm, confidence and sincerity can impact your customers, grow revenues and impact your bottom line. This is the best book I’ve read on customer service in a long time.” –Joe Scarlett, Chairman of the Board, Tractor Supply Company “Van Hooser absolutely hit the bulls-eye with an outstanding instruction manual about the keys to extraordinary customer service. I have no doubt that companies and customer service professionals across virtually every industry will find value and fresh insights in the pages of this brilliantly written gem.” –Richard G. Kelley, Director of Sales Training, North America Axcan Pharma, Inc.

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