Mitch Laurance - Part 6 (A Life Well-Lived: Gratitude, Golf Getaways, and the Legacy of Mitch Laurance)
In this moving final chapter of our six-part Legends of the Cue conversation, Mitch Laurance brings his remarkable journey full circle—through gratitude, reflection, and the relationships that have shaped a life squeezed for every ounce of meaning.
Before we leave the world of pool, Mitch turns his attention to the people beside him—Allison Fisher and Mark Wilson—offering heartfelt thanks for what they’ve given the game and the players who love it. What follows is an unforgettable exchange of memories and admiration, including Allison’s vivid recollection of her early U.S. breakthrough and those “welcome to ESPN” moments that only champions can laugh about years later.
Mitch also shares two of the most emotional highlights of his broadcasting career: calling championship matches featuring his wife, the legendary Ewa Mataya Laurance—an experience almost unheard of in sports commentary, and one that tested every ounce of his composure. From Boston in 1998 to a stunning Masters run years later, Mitch opens up about what it meant to sit behind the mic while the person he loved most battled for a title.
Then, in true Mitch fashion, the conversation pivots—this time to golf. He takes us from frustration and burnout to discovering the joy of hickory clubs, launching Hooked on Hickories, and eventually producing hundreds of episodes across multiple golf shows. It’s a masterclass in reinvention—and finding the fun again.
We wrap with our signature three questions, where Mitch’s answers are as thoughtful as they are revealing: what he’d change, what he wouldn’t, and how he hopes to be remembered. The bow on this story is simple—and powerful: kindness, love, and a life fully lived.
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Music by Lyrium.
About
"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool 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 pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”
Actor, Sports Broadcaster
Mitch Laurance is one of cue sports’ most recognizable and trusted voices, an entertainer, storyteller, and broadcaster whose career has traveled an uncommon path from legendary television comedy to the pressure-packed arena of championship billiards. He’s the kind of presence audiences immediately feel: warm, quick-witted, and steady when the moment gets big. And whether he’s calling a final rack under bright lights or swapping stories about the personalities who shaped the game, Mitch has built a reputation on one essential skill, making people care.
Long before pool fans knew him from the booth, Mitch was developing the instincts of a live performer in the most demanding classroom imaginable: "Saturday Night Live". In the show’s formative years, he worked inside that famously fast, chaotic, and relentlessly creative environment, learning firsthand how timing, preparation, and teamwork turn a rough idea into something electric. Those early experiences weren’t just a résumé line, they became a professional foundation. Mitch has often reflected on what it means to operate under pressure with a clock running, an audience waiting, and no margin for hesitation. It’s a mindset that later translated seamlessly into live sports television, where a single shot can flip the story, and a broadcaster has to be ready to capture it in real time.
That blend of performance and discipline carried Mitch into a full on-camera career. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked his way into television roles, earning early credits that opened the door to a long run of…Read More