Known as ‘The Philadelphia Flash’, Jimmy Fusco has matured into one of the patriarchs of Philadelphia’s legendary One Pocket scene. For years a top tournament player and action veteran, Jimmy is one of the very few living Johnston City winners. He was the One Pocket champion in the 1972 Johnston City tournament that was interrupted by the big FBI anti-gambling bust. That bust turned out to be the final blow to twelve years of exciting hustler’s all-around tournaments.
Billie Billing photo from a 1991 Legends of One Pocket promo poster
Fusco happens to be a big pool name in Philadelphia; in addition to Jimmy, his cousin Pete Fusco is another top player and popular room owner. In fact both Fusco cousins got their start playing pool together under the tutelage of Jimmy’s father, who was a very good player in his own day, and a long-time friend of Willie Mosconi. Just to confuse people further there was Mike Fusco, no known relation to Jimmy and Pete, who for years ran the recently closed Boulevard Billiard Club, and who promoted many local tournaments himself. There must be something in the name!
Philly has always had a tremendous pool tradition, being the home city of both BCA Hall of Fame greats, Willie Mosconi and Jimmy Caras. In fact, when Mosconi was preparing for his first big TV showdown with Fats, it was to Jimmy Fusco that he turned for a little coaching in One Pocket.
It is no coincidence that Philadelphia has for years been known as a One Pocket town; Jimmy partnered with Grady Mathews to promote several of the first Legends of One Pocket tournaments there. Jimmy has also helped popularize a couple of variations of the game, Back Pocket 9-Ball, and One Ball One Pocket; both of which offer non-One Pocket players an easy introduction to elements of the game.
* As a tournament player, besides many Straight Pool and 9-Ball wins, Jimmy’s record includes:
- 1972 Johnston City One Pocket Division champion
- 2nd place, 1992 UJ Pucket Memorial One Pocket
- 2nd place 1993 Lexington All Star One Pocket
* As an After Hours Player, Jimmy has matched up with most of the top players of his era.
Jimmy is featured on several Accu-Stats videos, including one with his own ‘player review’ commentary.
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Jimmy at the Stardust c. 1972
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Jimmy qualified for the US Open
