Billiards: Return of Willie

Promoters call it pocket billiards and push it as a harmless pastime. But for those who really play the game, pool is a mankiller. Robert Cannafax used to fly into such a rage when his game went awry that he would haul out a pocketknife and stab himself repeatedly in his wooden leg. George Fox, another champion, committed suicide after he miscued what would have been his winning ball in the 1865 U.S. championship. Years later, when he lost the championship, Onofrio Lauri rushed out of a Chicago poolroom, cue in hand,...

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