Rudolf Wanderone

Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone Jr.
Front cover of Minnesota Fats on Pool (1967)
Born	January 19, 1913 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	January 15, 1996(1996-01-15) (aged 82) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Other names	New York Fats Broadway Fats Chicago Fats Double-Smart Triple-Smart Fats
Occupation	Professional pocket billiards player

Rudolf Walter Wanderone Jr. (January 19, 1913 – January 15, 1996; originally spelled Wanderon) was an American professional pocket billiards player, also known as "Minnesota Fats." Although he never won a major pool tournament as "Fats," he was perhaps the most publicly recognized pool player in the United States – not only as a player, but also as an entertainer. Wanderone was inducted in 1984 into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame for his decades-long public promotion of pool.

Wanderone began playing at a young age in New York City. As a teenager, he became a traveling pool hustler. Later, in his 30s, he moved to southern Illinois where he met and married his first wife, Evelyn. During World War II, he hustled servicemen in Norfolk, Virginia. With the end of the war, Wanderone returned to Illinois and entered semi-retirement.

Wanderone adopted the nickname "Minnesota Fats" from a character in the 1961 film The Hustler, claiming that the character was based upon him. He parlayed the association with the film into his own book deals and television appearances, including a series of matches with rival Willie Mosconi. Later in life, Wanderone divorced Evelyn and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he married his second wife, Theresa, with whom he remained until his death.

Wanderon was born in New York City to Rosa and Rudolf Wanderon, Swiss immigrants. He was born in 1913 but sometimes hinted he was born earlier, even as early as 1900. The surname was later changed to Wanderone.

Known as "Rudy" to friends and family, Wanderone started playing pool as a child while living in Washington Heights, Manhattan. In 1923, he traveled to Europe with his father where he received training from German balkline billiards champion Erich Hagenlocher. His first prominent match was in 1926 when he competed against former nine-ball champion "Cowboy" Weston (Wanderone won, handily). Wanderone left school in the eighth grade and became a traveling pool hustler, spending much of the 1920s playing at a pool hall called Cranfield's in New York City, where Wanderone received his first nickname after beating another hustler known as "Smart Henry". The intensity of their competition led Wanderone's friend, Titanic Thompson, to dub Wanderone "Double-Smart". By the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression, Wanderone had become a manager of a pool hall, owned by a friend, in Anacostia, southeast Washington, D.C. He had acquired more notoriety and nicknames, including "Triple-Smart Fats", "New York Fats", "Broadway Fats", and "Chicago Fats", attracting action from other hustlers, including the then unknown Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter.