Legends of the Cue
Legends of the Cue
"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with notable players, promoters, administrators and other people of influence in and around cue sports. We also plan to highlight memorable brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of cue sport’s greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”
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Legends of the Cue

Legends of the Cue

"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with notable players, promoters, administrators and other people of influence in and around cue sports. We also plan to highlight memorable brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of cue sport’s greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”

Legends of the Cue

Recent Episodes

Sept. 29, 2026

Hydred Goldberg - Part 4 (Champion, Ambassador and the Future of Parasport Pool)

Winning a world championship changes how others see you. Winning two can change how you see your responsibility to the sport. In the concluding chapter of Hydred Goldberg’s Legends of the Cue story, the two-time WPA Parasport Heyball World Champion looks beyond trophies toward the future of wheelchair pool, women’s billiards and international Parasport competition. Hydred discusses returning to competition as defending champion, her growing friendship and rivalry with Catherine Schneeberge
Sept. 29, 2026

Hydred Goldberg - Part 3 (From Wheelchair Pool to World Champion)

How does a lifelong 9-ball player enter a world championship in a game she has barely played—and leave as the first women’s champion in its history? That unlikely journey is at the heart of Part 3 with Hydred Goldberg on Legends of the Cue. Hydred joins Allison Fisher, Mark Wilson and Mike Gonzalez for a detailed exploration of what elite pool really looks like from a wheelchair. She explains how table height, flooring, wheel position, abdominal strength and stroke mechanics affect every s
Sept. 22, 2026

Hydred Goldberg - Part 2 (Reinvention, Poolrooms and Finding Her Game)

After a life-changing automobile accident at 18, Hydred Goldberg faced a fundamental question: what would the rest of her life look like? In Part 2 of her Legends of the Cue story, the future two-time WPA Parasport Heyball World Champion describes the decisions that gave her independence—and ultimately led her to the pool table. Learning to drive became a major turning point. Soon afterward, Hydred moved by herself to San Diego, enrolled in college and eventually earned a degree in psychol
Sept. 22, 2026

Hydred Goldberg - Part 1 (The Accident That Changed Everything)

Two-time WPA Heyball Parasport World Champion Hydred Goldberg joins Legends of the Cue to begin an extraordinary life story that stretches from London and the Philippines to California—and eventually to the top of international wheelchair pool. Hydred sits down with hosts Allison Fisher, Mark Wilson and Mike Gonzalez just months after surrendering the world title she had held since the inaugural WPA Parasport Heyball Championship in 2024. She reflects on the pressure of defending a world cham
Sept. 15, 2026

Chris Melling - Part 4 (“The Magician” — Viral Shots, Derby City, Ultimate Pool & Legacy)

Why do they call Chris Melling “The Magician”? Part Four of our Legends of the Cue conversation provides the answer. We begin with perhaps the most famous rack of Melling’s career: his extraordinary World Pool Series clearance against Mika Immonen. Chris takes us inside the combination-carom, the severe swerve shot and the unforgettable four-rail bank that helped turn the clearance into one of pool’s most widely viewed highlights. He explains what he saw, what he intended and why the shots th...
Sept. 15, 2026

Chris Melling - Part 3 (Triumph Through Loss — China Open, Mosconi Cup & MVP)

Some of Chris Melling’s greatest victories came during the most painful period of his life. Part Three of our Legends of the Cue conversation explores the remarkable intersection of loss, resilience and championship performance that helped define Chris Melling’s career. Chris begins by discussing the difficult choice between professional snooker and pool. He believed he possessed the ability to reach snooker’s upper ranks, but pool provided the exhibitions, tournament income and financial sta...

Recent Blog Posts

May 12, 2026

The Maverick Mindset: Why Justin Bergman Chose His Own Path in Pool

Welcome back to the blog, fellow cue sport enthusiasts! In our latest podcast episode, "Justin Bergman - Part 3 (Doing It His Way)," we delved deep into the fascinating and often unconventional journey of one of pool's most distinctive personalities…
May 12, 2026

Mark Wilson's Blueprint: Discipline and Distractions in Team USA Pool

Welcome back to the blog, everyone! This week on Legends of the Cue, we delved into a fascinating aspect of elite pool that often goes unseen: the delicate balance between instilling discipline and managing the inevitable distractions that come with…

About the Hosts

Allison Fisher Profile Photo
Allison Fisher

Allison Fisher started playing pool when she was 7. She won her first world title at the age of 17. To date, she has won over 80 national titles and 15 world titles in total. After winning 11 world championships in snooker, she moved to the United States in 1995 to play on the WPBA Tour. Allison did not take long to make her mark in the world of pool, winning only the second tournament that she played in. She has an unequalled record, winning over 60 WPBA titles as of 2024, which includes 4 world 9-Ball championships. She was invited to play in the inaugural Mosconi Cup.

Allison was inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame, Billiard Congress of America HOF, WPA HOF, World Snooker HOF and the World Billiard Museum HOF.

Allison was nicknamed "the Duchess of Doom". Her greatest season was the 2000/2001 season when she won 8 consecutive major pro pool tournaments.

Allison was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to sport.

Mark Wilson Profile Photo
Mark Wilson

Mark grew up in Moline, Illinois and graduated high school in 1973 and attended Blackhawk College to play baseball, but pool began demanding an increasingly large portion of his attention.

He became a professional pool player in 1975. Without a pro tour in those days, a player could only earn money from the sport through gambling matches and regional tournaments. If you could excel, the reward would be a sub-poverty level income – so being young, single, and frugal were critical assets. He is deeply satisfied that somehow he managed to spend the best years of his life doing what he loved best.

Mark played in the 1994 and 1995 Mosconi Cups and captained the U.S. side in 2014, 2015 and 2016. He has been involved in pool matches in many corners of the earth. England, Iceland, Japan, Sweden, Canada, Philippines, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, in addition to all of the major and most of the minor U.S. cities have played host to his passion.

Mike Gonzalez Profile Photo
Mike Gonzalez

Mike is a retired business executive, having headed up several mid-sized companies in a career that spanned nearly 35 years. Introduced to pool at an early age, he has been passionate about the game ever since. A graduate of the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago, Mike appreciates his midwestern roots and has been a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He has served on various professional and philanthropic boards including the Material Handling Board of Governors, the Boys & Girls Club, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Southeastern Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District (Miller Park). Currently, Mike enjoys work as Lead Director of an employee-owned firm and as a mentor to young business executives. Mike met his wife Jan in college and they have been married for 40+ years. They have two grown daughters and one adorable grandson.

Reviews

Love it!

"Legends of the Cue isn’t just a podcast, it’s a living time capsule of the soul of professional cue sports. With each episode, Alison Fisher, Mark Wilson and Mike Gonzalez invite us into the inner sa…"

Terry Albl | Aug. 1, 2025