 | History of Pool and Billiards |
| Early History Billiards in America Pocket Billiards The Growth of Pool |
Early History: The true origin of billiards will probably never be exactly pinpointed. Possible origins include China, Italy, or Spain, but the best guess is that it originated in France as an indoor version of croquet. Some historians believe that it was the other way around -- that croquet originated as an outdoor version of billiards. The name "billiards" almost certainly comes from the name "billart" (French), the stick that was used. That word probably comes from bille, meaning "ball." The object of the game when first recorded was to push a ball through a croquet-like wicket to hit a peg, similar to the stake in croquet. Players used a club-like stick, which became known as the "mace" in England. When the ball was up against the rail, however, the head of the mace was too large and the narrower end of the stick was used. This end was called the "queue," meaning tail -- hence the modern cue. Billiards in America: Because tables were difficult to make and very expensive to import, billiards was strictly a rich man's sport in the American colonies. Carom billiards was evidently introduced during the Revolution by French officers. American craftsmen began to make tables more and more during the early 19th century. Although the average man couldn't afford one, he could play on a public table. In New York City, for example, there were eight tables in coffeehouses and hotels by 1808 and about 24 in 1824. During the 1840s, billiards became associated with pool parlors in large cities. The word "pool" at that time meant gambling, but it was soon attached to the American form of pocket billiards -- still commonly known as pool. The first unofficial American championship was played between Michael Phelan, the owner of a New York billiard parlor, and Ralph Benjamin of Philadelphia, in 1858. Phelan ended up beating Benjamin and won $1,000. The first championship tournament was also held that year. Dudley Kavanagh won the tournament an its $2,000, winner-take-all prize. Pocket Billiards: Pocket billiards was not yet a popular form of the game until the middle of the twentieth century. Pocket billiards is an American development of English billiards. The "carom" version of the game got rid of the pockets and decreased the number of balls, while in pocket billiards, the number of balls increased and the pockets were retained. The first pocket billiards championship, in 1878, was won by Cyrille Dion, a Canadian. The game was then called "61 pool." At that time, the game was played by earning points for each ball that you sink, earning as many as are represented by the number on the ball. Since the total of all of the numbers within a rack is 120, the winning score was 61. Obviously, this system wasn't too bright, since a player could win at 61 pool by sinking only 5 balls (15-14-13-12-11). Simply counting the number of balls seemed fairer to the game, and thus continuous pool was developed. The most popular form of pool, eight ball, was invented around 1900. In eight ball, one player or team shoots the low balls (represented by solid colors, and numbering one through seven), and the other shoots the striped, higher-numbered balls, eight through fifteen. Once the player has made all seven of his balls, he or she can sink the eight ball to win the game. A player can also win by sinking the eight ball on the break, or lose by sinking the eight ball out of turn. Nine ball originated around 1920. Only nine of the fifteen balls are used and the object is to simply sink the nine ball. The cue must first hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table, but the nine is often pocketed early either on a carom or on a combination shot off the original object ball. The Growth of Pool: Pool grew in popularity in the 1960s. The upsurge was founded largely on pool rooms associated with bowling alleys and coin-operated tables in bars and taverns. The latest trend, though, is toward stand alone pool parlors, many of which offer snacks and beverages. Girls and young women have taken up the sport in record numbers. This may be largely due to ESPN, which features women's and "co-ed" championship matches. According to a study conducted by the Billiards and Bowling Institute of America, 42.4 million Americans played billiards at least once in 1995, an increase of over 20% from 1986. Even more significant, the number of "frequent" players was at 11.3 million, up 21%. Females represented over 35% of the players compared to fewer than 20% in 1986. |
