A Brief History of Billiards and the Tools of the Trade
1880
Until this time professional matches had generally been played over a single evening and were between 1,000 and 1,500 up. As the playing conditions improved, so did the proficiency of the top players with the spot-stroke. Now games began to be extended to make allowance for this ability. Billy Mitchell became the first player to achieve a 1,000 break in public whilst playing W. J. Peall in a match of 5,000 up at the Black Horse Hotel, Rathbone Place, on 5th October 1882. His break was 1,055 mainly made up from 350 consecutive spots.
In 1883 a fast table would travel six lengths. However, the vulcanised rubber cushions would still change their speed to some extent depending upon temperature, and would become noticeably faster after the gas table lighting had been turned on.
Around the mid-1880s the popularity of coloured chalk suddenly increased and became the innovation of the billiards world, although white chalk continued to be used by many players and public rooms.
In 1885 a group of professional players joined with representatives from the leading billiard table manufacturers to take over from the Sportsman newspaper and form the game's first governing body. This was called the Billiards Association of Great Britain and Ireland, and its first act was to publish a common set of rules. Amongst these rules was one which specified that only the tip of the cue could be used to strike the ball. The mace had long been discarded, but this rule also spelt the end for the "butt" in public rooms. The Baulk line was also set at 29" (current measurement) having previously been 28½"
On 5th November 1886, William Peall set a new milestone in the game by making a break of 2,413. The first player to exceed two thousand.