Billiard Incident and Humour
- The Billiards Magazine of New Yorkan excellent
monthlysays that the American game was evolved out
of the English (introduced by English officers in garrison
in New York City in the eighteenth century, and that
the French game was evolved out of the American.
- A kindly chairman, introducing Aiken in a country
match in Scotland, asked the company to give him every
encouragement. This they certainly did, for though
Aiken failed to score in his first four attempts, he was
embarrassed after each visit to the table by a hearty
round of applause. Aiken had to appeal to the chairman
for a little less "encouragement."
- There are good and bad billiard players, and Aiken
tells a story regarding two of the latter class who were
using a table in his rooms in Edinburgh one day. After
twenty minutes had elapsed, Aiken happened to pass the
table, and noticed that one of the scores was standing
at 3. Wondering at this, he asked the explanation.
One of the players replied: "Oh, I used to give him
five, but he's come on a lot, so I only give him three
now."
- There is no more enthusiastic billiard player (writes a
correspondent) at the National Liberal Club than Mr. John Burns, and Mr. Asquith's presence at championship
matches is not unknown. The late Mr. Herbert Spencer
was also a lover of the game; and the correct story
(often misquoted) about him is as follows:He was
playing a game of a hundred up with an opponent, who,
after the usual misses, ran out with a hundred break.
This induced the distinguished professor to say to him:
"A certain ability in games of skill is to be admired,
but such ability as you have displayed is strong presumptive evidence of an ill-spent youth."
[Perhaps to
this might be added that not to play billiards at all
implies an ill-spent maturity.Ed., B.P.]
- The following extraordinarily faithful pen picture of
the late Charles Dawson appeared in The Huddersfield
Examiner:"He has a pair of good shoulders, well
set above a bust and waist of comfortable, complacent
rotundity. A neat gold chain displays itself in two regular loops across the front of a well-cut dress waistcoat,
his shirt front, collar, and cuffs are glistening models
of good blanchisserie, and his whole appearance conveys
the impression of a man who dresses wellbut quietly,
always quietly. His head is poised slightly forward on
a thick, muscular neck, and as he surveys the balls he
holds his head aside. Often he can be noticed to give a
peculiar half-wriggling, half-shrugging movement of the
shoulders. The movement is slight, barely perceptible.
He chalks his cue lightly and airily before setting to
work. He settles down to the table with something of
an artistic flourish, a mannerism which he entirely
obscures in making his strokes. These are plainly
made, sound, and true. He allows his art to dominate
and cloak his personality. But he chalks his cue with
a mincing grace, and the little disc of powdery green
matter is whisked around the edges of the cue tip."
- A peculiar feature about billiard experts is that they
appear to run in "twins." Dawson and Diggle and,
later, Dawson and Stevenson, met in seemingly endless
contests, a state of affairs prevailing in later years in
the case of Inman and Stevenson, Inman and Reece, and,
later, Inman and Smith.Sporting Life.
- Charles Dawson could never (according to a writer in
The Evening News) appreciate another's joke, but would
roar lustily at one of his own invention. A favourite of
his was to tell us that, after seeing a headline in a
newspaper "Dawson Losing Ground," he consulted his
solicitor and surveyor, only to find that his acreage had
not diminished.
- "The game of billiards," says the unveracious
Hughes, "was known in Egypt, though the Pharaohs
were more in favour of pyramids. Potiphar was the
first player of note, but his fame was eclipsed later by
Marker Antony and Cleopottera. Billiards was introduced into England by the Lombardy bankers, who displayed the three balls as a sign over their doors. They
settled for the most part at Cue Gardens. A century or
two later the game was taken up by William Shakespeare, whose remark, ' Out damned spot,' as his
opponent was trying to leave him a double baulk, has
passed into current speech as a household word."#151;From
a review of "Sport in a Nutshell" in The Sporting
Times.
- The following story by Inman is vouched for by Harry
Young:Staying, while on tour with Smith, at one of
the big provincial hotels, a page-boy early one morning
brought Inman a letter inviting the two players to the
local Press Club that evening, with the intimation that
the bearer was waiting in the hall for a reply. Inman,
who was in bed, could not answer without Smith, so
told the boy to go to Mr. Smith's room, show him the
letter, and return with the reply. "Who's Mr. Smith?"
said the boy. "Mr. Willie Smith, the billiard player,"
responded Inman. "I don't know where to find him,"
the boy said. "Haven't you got a tongue, then?"
came from the now-exasperated Inman. "Go down to
the hall, find out Mr. Smith's number, take him this
letter, and hurry up." Just then Goundrill, the one-armed player, who happened to be staying in the same
hotel, came towards Inman's room. "What's up?"
said he to the boy, who made no response, so, proceeding, Goundrill said, "That's Inman, the billiard champion." "Billiard championI don't think," said the
boy. "Billiard washout," and with that he fled. Inman
had heard all this, so when the boy returned to say that
Smith was out (he was then in Inman's room), Inman
said, "What do you mean by referring to me as a
billiard washout?" He looked very fierce and spoke
harshly, thoroughly frightening the youngster.
Observing a twinkle in the eye of the strange gentleman
(Smith), however, he took heart of grace and said, "I
didn't mean you was a washout, sir. I meant Mr. Smith
was."