Regent Snooker Lounge

by The Library of Congress

Article by Matt Warmann

The term “billiard” comes from the French word “bille,” meaning “ball,” referring to a ball and stick game, and the word “art,” representing the art of the game. Billiards has been around for many centuries, originating as lawn games in much of the world over 700 years ago. Presently, it is typical to see a pool table in every bar or tavern you walk into. A number of people even have them in their homes, but it was not always like that. When billiards originated, it was played outdoors as early as the thirteenth century, and from there moved indoors onto tables. Wooden sticks called “maces” were used to shove (rather than stroke) the wooden and ivory billiard balls. Maces were eventually modified into cue sticks due to the difficulty of shots near rails with maces.Many prominent, historical figures have owned pool tables, and in many countries. Some of these famous people include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, King James I of England, and Kings Louis III, XIV, XV, and XVI of France. It is even recorded that King Louis XI of France purchased a billiard table as early as 1470. Over time, billiards became more popular in bars, inns, and taverns, therefore becoming more commonplace amongst ordinary people. Below is a brief, historical timeline of how the game of billiards was born.

* 13th century:

o 1200s: Bat and ball lawn games are invented and spread quickly

* 15th century:

o 1470: King Louis XI of France buys his own billiard table

o End 1400′s: billiards moved from outside on grass to inside on a table

* 16th century:

o 1500s: “Table billiards” popularity spreads amongst nobility in France and England

* 17th century:

o 1600s: Billiard play becomes more popular amongst commoners in public places

o 1674: “The Complete Gamester,” one of the first ever how-to billiard publications, was written by Charles Cotton of England

* 18th century:

o 1773: Carambole introduced in France

o 1775: Idea of “One Pocket” developed

o 1797: Cotton and wool replaced with new fabric to improve smoothness and friction

* 19th century:

o 1807: Carombole becomes popular in England, coming to be known as the game of billiards

o 1820s: The mace becomes virtually obsolete, replaced solely by the cue sticko 1823: The perfection of the leather cue tip greatly increases the use of “spin”

o 1826: John Thurston of England develops the first slate tables, replacing the old wooden ones

o 1845: New rail cushions developed from vulcanized rubber by Goodyear.

o 1850s: A billiard “industry” is born, including companies like Sheraton’s and Gillow

o 1860: John Brunswick joins with the Phelan-Collender Group to form the Brunswick Corporation

o 1860: Claims of billiard tables existing in every State of the Union.

o 1868: Development of new billiard balls out of cellulose nitrate (called “celluloid”), replaces wooden- and ivory-made balls

o 1870: 1st officially recognized English Billiard Championship played between John Roberts and William Cook

o 1892: 1st official standard billiard table is made by Thurston & Co.

* 20th century:

o 1900: Snooker recognized by the Billiards Association

o 1901: 8-Ball invented

o 1910: Straight Pool invented

o 1920: Development of 9-Ball

o 1970s: Cast resin balls replace crystalate and celluloid billiard balls, improving accuracy in size, weight, and shape

Many improvements over the centuries have led billiards and pool into what it is today. Billiard games have been a pastime for years all around the world, and current trends show that it will be sticking around for quite some time.

For a generous amount of additional information on billiard topics, games, decorating a billiard room, and so on, along with a large selection of billiard room accessories and equipment, furniture, and decor, head over to Billiard N Bar Stools to see how we can help you.

About the Author

Matt Warmann is a 36-year old who loves creative writing, sports, and many other types of recreational activities. He has aspirations to write motion picture screenplays, and currently has three registered.

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by The Library of Congress

Although the precise early history of the game is unknown, billiards is believed to have been played in various guises for many centuries. Originally played as a lawn game, the more modern variants of billiards or pool are widely acknowledged as being a French version of traditional billiards games. Pocket billiards, otherwise known as pool, is the game that is traditionally played in Canada and the United States. A number of variants of pool also exist including nine ball and eight ball and several others.

The Origination Of Pool

While the precise origin of the sport isn’t known exactly, it is widely accepted that one of the earliest and most recognisable forms of billiards originated in 15th century France. In the early days, billiards enjoyed incredible success mentioned in Shakespearian plays and enjoyed by politicians, scientists, and celebrities alike. Mary, Queen of Scots was known to have been buried in her billiard table cloth. Louis XIV of France, Napoleon, Mozart, and George Washington were among some of the most famous and enthusiasts of the game.

Early Days Of The Game

It wasn’t until the late 17th century that the cue was introduced, and it is believed that prior to this date, players used a mace to strike the ball. The cue was introduced because hitting the ball with a mace when against the rail proved difficult and cumbersome. Following the turn of the 19th century, the game really took off in England and the equipment as well as the rules quickly evolved to a level that we would now consider more familiar.

Evolution Of Billiards In England

Chalk and leather cue tips were introduced in the first half of the 19th century in a bid to improve the friction when striking the ball and subsequently to be able to spin both the cue ball and the contact ball. Spin became known as “English” in the United States because the practice of spinning the ball was first used in England and then brought over to the United States and taught to players there.

Further Advancements In Billiards

It was also in the first half of the 19th century, following the industrial revolution, when the two-piece cue was introduced. Slate then became the predominant material used to create the bed of the playing surface; something which has continued through to modern times because of the quality that slate affords to the shot. In 1845, following the discovery of rubber vulcanization, rails were made from this incredible new material; again, this is a practice that has continued since.

Modern Pool Evolution

15 ball pool is widely thought to be the forerunner to the modern nine ball pool that is predominantly played in the US. Fifteen balls were number sequentially from one to fifteen and players amassed a score equal to the sum of the balls they potted. The first player to reach 61, or more than half of the 120 total on the balls, was declared the winner.

What Do You Play?

In modern times, the game of eight ball pool, which is largely played in Europe, was developed in around 1900 while nine ball pool was first introduced in 1920. Billiards now refers to essentially any table game that uses balls and cues including eight ball, nine ball, and many variations of pool and traditional billiards games including three ball billiards.

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Question by Abel: Who made the first century break of snooker in the history?
I know that Joe Davis was the first man who made the FIRST TELEVISED CENTURY BREAK.

Best answer:

Answer by rawlings12345
Snooker has been around since the 15th century. I’m sure someone did it well before recorded history. However, here are some other fascinating records:

At least three breaks in excess of 147 have been recorded. A 149 by Tony Drago in West Norwood, UK in 1998 is recorded by the Guinness Book of Records as the highest. In that match Drago was foul snookered and chose the brown as the free ball, to score one point. He then potted the brown again, for four more points, before potting 13 reds and 13 blacks, a red and a pink, a red and a blue, then all the colours. In October 2004, during qualifying for the UK Championship, Jamie Burnett achieved a 148 against Leo Fernandez, becoming the first player to achieve a break of more than 147 in a professional match. [1]

Wally West was reported to have made a 151 break in the final of a club competition in Hounslow in 1976. Jamie Cope was reported to have made a break of 155 in a practice frame during 2005. [2]

The five fastest 147s have been made by Ronnie O’Sullivan. The times of the three fastest are

1997: 5 minutes 20 seconds (video)
2003: 6 minutes 30 seconds (video)
2001: 6 minutes 36 seconds (video)

Add your own answer in the comments!

by The Library of Congress

Article by Ernie Reynolds

The game of billiards evolved from a lawn game much like croquet in Europe in the 1500′s. The game was moved indoors at some point and played on a table covered in green cloth, presumably, to simulate a lawn.

The first balls are believed to be stone, eventually being replaced by balls made of wood and clay. Rails were mounted around the edge of the table to prevent the balls from falling off. The balls were shoved around the table by a wooden stick called a mace.

In the 1600′s, elephant ivory became the material of choice for billiard balls. Affordable only to the rich and affluent at that time, it offered a glossy, attractive appearance and good performance. The common people of the time used the less expensive wood or clay for their billiard balls.

Ivory balls were expensive and time-consuming to manufacture however. Only 4 or 5 balls could be made from a single ivory tusk, and these tusks had to be imported from Africa or Asia.

The tusks were cut into rough blanks and turned into over-sized balls. These blank balls had to aged for 2 to 3 years to stabilize so they wouldn’t crack and distort when played.

These aged balls were then hand-turned by skilled craftsman to perfectly round balls of just the right size and weight. Many balls were rejected because they were the wrong weight due to different densities of ivory, or the craftsman who made them didn’t make them perfectly round.

Eventually the supply of elephants began to thin out as there were thousands killed to supply the world appetite for billiard balls. Because of this scarcity, ivory balls became even more expensive.

Even with all these faults, ivory billiard balls were still popular by the early 1800s. Due to the limited amounts of elephant ivory available, a contest was held in 1865 by the Phelan and Collender Company of New York City to find a replacement material to make the balls from.

John Wesley Hyatt won a ,000 prize and was granted US patent US50359 for his contribution of Celluloid as the replacement material to build billiard balls. This industrial plastic was used for a while but it had a bad tendency to explode during the manufacturing process.

In more recent times, phenolic resin, polyester, and acrylic have replaced the materials formerly used in billiard balls. These materials offer great strength and are highly resistant to chipping and cracking.

About the Author

Ernie Reynolds is a long–time pool and billiards player. His sites — http://www.Pool-and-Pocket-Billiards-Resource.com, http://www.Pool-For-Beginners.com, and http://www.Pool-Is-Cool.com are evidence of his love for the game and his desire to share the wealth of knowledge he and others have acquired over the years. His websites are a reference for pool and pocket billiards players, where game descriptions, equipment care and mainten

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