A brief history of billiards

When was billiards invented? This is a question that has brought debate between historians for a long time. Nonetheless, the history of billiards is full of wonders. Come with us along this thrilling journey!

The uncertain origin

The first reference to a “billiard” we can find in history dates back to the year 1471. An inventory of the king’s Charles VII of France court reflects that he had a table of this kind.

Despite this fact, the real origin remains uncertain. Some historians attribute the creation of the billiards to English soil, but this fact can not be proved. However, it is true as well that, in the history of billiards, it was in England where the game attained popularity.

But… How can we check the veracity of the expansion of its popularity? Well, during the period known as Restoration, initiated with the fall of Cromwell’s dictatorship and the beginning of Charles II reign, we have record of the publication of various manuals.

The first of those manuals was written under the name of Charles Cotton, and was titled The Compleat Gamester, published in 1674. The second one went under Robert Howlett’s name, The School of Recreation, published in 1684. Both of them are a reflection of the massive reception of billiards.

By this time, despite the lack of specifications about the manufacturing of the tables in the manuals, we can read about the rules of the game, and certain materials used for the crafting of balls, for example.

The balls were made of ivory. In order to absorb the impacts correctly, the density of each ball had to be uniform.

Another curious fact of the history of pool table is that, by this time, cues were in fact maces. This could be a remembrance of a previous time, when billiards shared a more tangible connection with other outside “stick and ball” games.

The usage of maces was discarded around the late 1600s, as the billiards were established as an indoor table game. The maces were too big for the tables, as they abandoned the floor and bigger playgrounds similar to croquet.

Billiards in the colonies

Maybe you are thinking that the British Empire played the introductory role in the history of billiards. Well, when we talk about the formerly United States, as a different compendium of colonies, the truth is that the tale, again, is kind of fuzzy.

The earliest reports of game tables in the history of pool table, are those referred to the Spanish territory, specifically in St. Augustine around the 1580s. Unfortunately, this super early references are just tales that could not be proved.

However, the first documented table in the history of billiards regarding the United States, was registered in 1709 by the tobacco planter William Byrd II of Virginia.

For the colonial Americans, pool tables were the most expensive furniture available. The prices varied from £12 the cheapest (second handed) to £50, the luxury imported ones, without the fees of transportation.

The spread through the colonies between the earliest 1700s and the latest were huge. George Washington himself played a match in 1748 as said by the reports, and with the entrance of the 19th century, public rooms with pool tables could be found all across the country.

American cue sports

To supply the need of pool tables, figures such as Abraham Bassford, a cabinetmaker, started to produce the first completely American ones. Bassford himself was the first man to start the production.

New York was the hotspot. By the 1820s, the city had 12 billiard halls, and in the middle of the 19th century, there were over 60 places to play cue sports.

The explanation to this phenomenon could be due to the decrease of price regulations, and, in the history of billiards, the halls became the new taverns.

Another important milestone was the regulation related to the games and gambling. At this moment, the billiard tables became playable in public after decades of being banned. 

Clearly, with that quantity of places, and a massive public playing every day, variations of the game started to come up. The very first documented American book dedicated exclusively to record the game in the history of pool table was the one published by Michael Phelan.

Phelan introduced new designs for the tables and its cushions. He also started to write in the press about billiards, turning in the first columnist in the history of pool table dedicated exclusively to cue sports.

With the insane projection of the game, as we said, some variations of the cue sports became popular around the halls. Those were the Four-Ball, the Fifteen-Ball and the later Eight-Ball.

Billiards became so popular that even during the Civil War, the championships received a better coverage than the war itself in the press. Consequently, tournaments were played every year, at least between 1878 and 1956. 

After World War II, the popularity of the game decreased as never seen in the history of billiards. The returning soldiers were not in the mood to expend their afternoons in the halls, so they started to close one by one.

This was the dominant tendency, at least until 1961, with the release of The Hustler, a movie about a pool table hustler played by Paul Newman, and its sequel, The Color of Money in 1986, which added Tom Cuise to the mixture.

Both movies were the breaking point which established the American billiards and pool table culture we know today.

With a forgotten past of gambling and the center of the critics coming from politicians during the 20s, a new era emerged from its ashes.

Competitions are again worldwide known, and the game became one of the favorites to enjoy in a chic ambiance in a restaurant and a club.

The tables, on their own, have become one of the essential pieces of furniture for every house with a point of distinction, adding an unforgettable touch of elegance and design.

We hope we have helped you to answer the question: When was billiards invented? And we hope as well that you have enjoyed this journey into the history of billiards through the time!