The history of pool dates back to the fifteenth century in Northern Europe. The first pool games were played out side on the grass. These first games were similar to the game we now recognize as croquet. This lawn game evolved indoors to a wooden table. The wooden table was covered with a green cloth. The color green was chosen to cover the table because it represented the green grass where the gave evolved from. Wooden sticks called “maces” were used to push balls across the table. The game was generally played with two balls on a six pocket table. The target was a hoop, similar to a croquet wicket. The hoop target slowly disappeared leaving just pockets and balls. The majority of the primitive information that we know about pool comes from ancient documents describing the pool playing of royalty and nobles.

During this time the word billiard was formed from the French word “billart”. The pool game became known as the “Noble Game of Billiards” in the 1800’s. During this time in history the Industrial

Revolution was taking place. The Industrial Revolution help cause a drastic improvement in the equipment used in pool. In 1823 the leather cue tip was being perfected. The leather cue tip allowed player to apply side spin to their shots. Visitors from England showed Americans how to use this spin and that’s how we got the term putting “English” on the ball. Chalk was now used on the tips of the cue to help increase the friction between the ball and the cue. In 1829 the two piece cue started being used. Next, in 1835 slate started being used as the flat surface under the cloth. The use of slate for the surface was very important because it gave the pool table a very strong and flat surface. In 1945 rubber started being used as the pool table cushions. The pool table had evolved into its current form by 1850. The American pool industry had a drastic rise in popularity in the 1850’s because of Michael Phelan. He migrated from Ireland and wrote the first American book on the game of pool. He helped in setting rules and standards in the American game. He is known as “The Father of American Billiards”. In 1859 Phelan wrote his first article in Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly. These articles helped spread the word of the game of pool the American people. Later that year Phelan won the first stakes match held in the united States. He won fifteen thousand dollars in a tournament which took place in Detroit. He created the manufacturing company Phelan and Collender and in 1884 his company merged with J.M Brunswick & Balke. They became known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company which controlled all aspects of the pool game until the 1950’s. From 1850 to the 1870’s the popular American pool game played was American Four Ball Billiards. This game was usually played on a twelve foot table with four pockets and four balls, two white and two red. American Four Ball Billiards produced two new games which surpassed it popularity in the late 1870’s. One of the pool games was called Straight Rail. This game was played with one simple caroms and three balls on a pocket less table. The term “caroms” was used to describe the act of hitting two object balls with one cue ball in one stroke. The other popular game was American Fifteen-Ball Pool. This game was played with fifteen object balls numbered one through fifteen. When a ball was pocketed the player received the number of points which was on the pocketed ball. The first player to reach sixty-one wins the game. The number sixty-one was chosen because it is one point over half the total points allowed on the table. This game was also known as 61-Pool. This game was used in the first American Championship Pool tournament held in 1878. During the next year it was determined that it was more fair to count the number of balls pocketed by a player rather than their numerical value. This change invented a new game of pool called 14.1 Continuous Pool. In this game the player who pocketed the last ball of the rack would break the next rack and their point total would be kept continuously from one rack to another. From 1878 to 1869 billiard and pool championship tournaments were held yearly. During the Civil War some pool match results would receive wider coverage than war news. Pool players were getting so popular that cigarette cards were made featuring pictures of famous pool players. Famous players from this era include Frank Taberski, Jacob Schaefer, Alfredo DeOro, and Johnny Layton. This period of time in the history of pool was thought of as the era of the billiards personality. The next generation of pool players became famous in 1906 when American Willie Hoppe, at the age of eighteen, beat Maurice Vignaux of France in a pool game called Balkine. Balkine is a version of carom billiards. With this win Hoppe established the supremacy of American players. When Balkine lost its popularity in the 1930’s Hoppe began a new dominating career in Three Cushion Billiards. Hoppe won a world championship as a teenager and held professional titles for fifty years. He was an American pool legend. One newspaper reported that under his ball control, the balls move “as if under a magic spell”. In 1941 the Mosconi era began and carom games declined in popularity. Pool became a popular game for troops to play. Professional players toured military posts and played in games to entertain soldiers. After World War 2 there was a decline in pool popularity. Returning soldiers were focusing on their families and trying to build careers. By the 1950’s the game of pool was in danger. The game was brought back to the spot light by two movies. The first movie in 1961 was called “The Hustler” which was about the dark life of a pool hustler. Paul Newman stared in the movie and it was a hit. New pool rooms opened up all over the country. The second movie that helped propel pool popularity was in 1986 with the release of “Color of Money” the sequel of “The Hustler”. “Color of Money” featured Tom Cruise who appealed to a new generation of pool players.

The History of Women in Billiards

Women have played pool since its beginning in the 1800’s. Famous early pool players were Ruth McGinnis, May Kaarlus, Willie Mosconi, and Dorothy Wise. Dorothy Wise won U.S open Tournament five times. In 1876 the Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) was formed. Jean Balukas won seven U.S opens. Allison Fisher is one of the more popular players now. She was won over fifty major titles since 1995.