The History Of Billiards

The modern incarnation of billiards may look something like this: Walking through a smoke-filled bar to reach a room crammed with pool tables and filled with even denser smoke. The rather unsavory crowd barely acknowledges your presence, and you wonder once again why billiards has for so long been called the "noble game?"

Although your local billiards hall may not look like a gathering of royalty, the
billiards games of yesteryear did. As long ago as the 1600s there are records of billiards being played by British royalty, though the game barely resembled what is played today. Billiards, which moved from a popular lawn game to its final indoor model, was mentioned in William Shakespeare?s play Antony and Cleopatra.

After the industrial revolution provided better game equipment in the 1800s, billiards began to make its way into the USA. The term ?English? that is used in reference to the spin put on a ball was a term used by the Americans at the time who observed the way the English shot the ball and mastered the game. There are a few reports of the game being played in the USA long before the 1800s. Some reports indicate St. Augustine brought the game in 1580 and others state that George Washington won a game around 1748. However it was not until the 1800s that parlors opened with billiards being the central activity.

The popularity of billiards in the United States was perhaps enhanced most by Michael Phelan. He created a standardized set of rules, and through his long beloved newspaper column, he created the demand for the new sport. Phelan and his colleagues eventually formed the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company which controlled the form, design, and expansion of the game of billiards in the USA.

So, the next time you descend into your local pool hall or the latest billiards tournament in the local bowling alley, don?t forget to honor the noble history of billiards. Remember that the game you just won has added to the illustrious history of billiards, or that the game you just lost was similarly lost by much more accomplished people than you--in a different era. Kings and Presidents have similarly won and lost at billiards, though they probably were able to drown their sorrows with something better than cheap beer and mozzarella sticks. Have a swig in memory of the royal history of the "noble game."

William Jones contributes to several web magazines, on recreation and sport and home and garden issues.

How I Got Snookered By An Antique Pool Table

When I inherited an antique Brunswick pool table from my great uncle Ivan, I did not know what to do. You see, I have a limited amount of space. My condo is not small, but it is not huge either. If I had wanted to, I would be able to keep the antique pool table, but I certainly could not store it.

I wondered if I should sell the antique pool table, or if I should play on it. It was in good condition, and I had always wanted to have a billiard table of my own. An antique billiard table seemed like such a classy thing to have. I knew that my uncle used to play on it from time to time, and antique pool tables seemed to withstand wear pretty well.

The problem was, my uncle Ivan was not much of a drinker. If he had been, the antique pool table would not have lasted in the condition that it was in. I have seen my friends play pool at bars. They get drunk and ram their cues into the felt. I shuddered to think about what that would do to the antique pool table. It would be a shame to damage such a beautiful antique!

The antique pool table really was beautiful. It was made of a dark wood, well finished and heavy. The pockets had their original webbing, the table was finished with the original felt, and everything was balanced perfectly. It even came with a set of fairly well preserved antique pool cues. Although they were slightly warped from age, they were still serviceable. Don't get me wrong ? I would rather use my own cue on that antique pool table. Even so, it was nice to have the whole set together.

In the end, I decided to keep the antique pool table. I would simply have to watch it carefully. From then on, I did not drink with my friends in my house. I knew that once the drinks started flowing, I could not stop something from happening to the antique pool table. I would, however, invite my friends over to my house in the afternoon sometimes for a game or two of 8-ball. They thought that I was being unreasonable by refusing to play host for evening soir?es, but I knew that I had to do what I had to do. It was the only way for me to take care of that antique pool table.

Ian Botham runs his own online sports goods mail order business as well as several sports related websites. If you are looking for sports Gear then check out this great Sports Equipment resource or here for more general Sports info and articles.

http://sports-info-and-stories.blogspot.com/

The Pool Table

Bars and recreation venues in rural or urban areas offer to their visitors the excitement and the sportsmanship of a famous table-played game, called pool or billiard. On the billiards table's totally flat surface, pool game fans strike, with the use of a specially designed long wooden stick known as "cue stick," colorful balls moving them around the table's area. Pool games attract a variety of publics from around the world, who enjoy the exhilaration of calculating angles and estimating how many strikes it will take them to accomplish their winning goal.

Pool tables are mainly separated into two categories, called carom and pocket tables. In fact, the word "billiards" when standing alone refers to the carom games played on a table without pockets, as opposed to games played on pocket billiards which people recognize as "pools" or also known as "snooker" tables. In Britain and Ireland though, the word "billiards" denotes the "English billiard" exclusively, which is the version of the table with the ball pockets. The difference between the two types is that carom billiards tables do not have six openings -four at each table corner and two at the middle of each of the table's largest sides- in which the pool player is called to direct the colorful balls on the surface of the table by striking each one of them, or more than one at a time, with a white ball. The white ball acts as the "mediator" between the cue stick's point and the round surface of the colored ball the striker aims to hit. If the striker manages to hit the white ball with the right speed and from the right angle then it will in turn hit the colored one which will be directed to fall into one of the tables' holes. Pool table fans generally refer to pocket billiard games, such as 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool and one-pocket.

Found in many sizes and styles, billiards or pools are tables in a rectangular shape and are generally twice as long as they are wide. When someone refers to the number of a pool table's foots this actually denotes its longer sides' length. Mainly a function of space, the pool table's length varies. English billiard tables, for example, are 12 feet long, while bars typically offer 7-foot tables. Pool halls tend to have 9-foot tables for more professional players, whereas the once commonly found 10-foot tables are now considered collectible items. Finally, the "felt" or "baize" is the cloth that covers the pool table's exposed surface and he higher its quality the faster the balls run on its completely flat surface.

While the word "billiard" has presumably originated from the French word "billart," which means "mace"-an implement that was the predecessor of the modern cue-the game did not remain constricted in Europe. Evolving from an outdoor to an indoor game, billiard became known as "pool," which originates from "poolrooms" where people gambled off their money betting on horse races. Since billiard tables were commonly found in this type of venue, pools became a synonym of billiards and gained fanatic supporters in every continent.

John Gibb is the owner of pool table resources , For more information on pool tables check out http://www.pool-tables-resources2k.info