For a Short Time, Worst Was Best

Worst was the darling of his hometown paper, The Grand Rapids Press, back in an era when newspapers covered billiards. His world title hit the front page in October 1954.

Worst's first billiards tutor was Walter Brundage, who died in 1950 at age 81. He also learned from oilman Joe "Red" McDevitt, a respected amateur champ who came to Grand Rapids from Ohio in 1946. McDivitt spent several days each week teaching the young prodigy angles and shots.

By then, Worst would have stood about 6'1" and weighed 180 pounds. His hair was brown, his eyes hazel. He smiled easily, was friendly (although he never suffered fools), and was a quick learner. So quick, in fact, that Harold Worst soon outstripped McDevitt, his teacher.

"Joe taught me the fundamentals," Worst said in a February 1950 newspaper article. "Billiards requires concentration more than anything else. Certainly a good pair of eyes and fairly strong wrists are important, but it's the concentration on the problem that counts. ... He (Joe) started me off right, and in billiards it must be that way if you're going anyplace." If it was from a respected amateur that Harold learned the fundamentals, then it was from the nation's finest-ever billiards pro that he received his graduate training. Willie Hoppe, considered by many as the finest cueist this nation has ever produced, befriended Worst in 1949. This happened by way of Roy Deak "The Deacon" Nichols, who managed Chinnick's poolroom, and who was known for spotting and cultivating top-notch talent. The Deacon kept his eye on the smooth-stroking Worst, watching him for long months as he progressed from short-stop to journeyman to potential champion.

According to The Grand Rapids Press, The Deacon contacted Brunswick-Balke, which then sponsored Hoppe and other pool and billiard stars in exhibition tours. As a result of The Deacon's intercession and a last-minute cancellation of another player, Brunswick-Balke agreed to pit Worst against Hoppe in a Detroit exhibition. Although Worst got beat (by just one point), the event nonetheless cemented his reputation as a world-class contender. The event also became the glue that sealed his lifelong friendship with Hoppe.

In 1949, according to The Grand Rapids Press, "Worst had followed in Hoppe's steps as a 'boy wonder,' having set a record for youth when at the age of 21 he became the youngest player in history to qualify for world championship play." He placed second in that year's national tournament and then fourth in the world meet.

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