One of the most interesting aspects of our game, is the development of the ball, in particular the change over from ivory to composition balls. To the modern player it is difficult to understand why the change took so long, with the advantages of the man made-item being so obvious.
Before looking at this aspect of our history, it is worth considering the many types and materials used in ball manufacture since billiards began.
Until the invention of celluloid in 1868, billiards, as a serious indoor game was only ever played with ivory balls. Ivory must have been a relatively inexpensive material in the early and mid eighteen hundreds, because it was used for other purposes as well (i.e. name-plates for cues, pointers for scoreboards etc.) Although ivory was used for other billiard table games using a greater number of balls, e.g. life pool and pyramids, there were occasions when wood was used purely for reasons of economy. Since the potting angle is unchanged no matter what the balls are made from, this was not a serious departure from the norm. These winning hazard games were usually played in a boisterous manner, with a strong gambling element, and the technical niceties of the balls used were a minor consideration.
Ivory however remained the only ball the serious player would consider, at the time that billiards was growing rapidly in popularity. However, the cost of providing decent balls was becoming a problem for many clubs, as the demand for ivory was pushing up the price. Another factor effecting the cost was the increasing size of the balls themselves. The standard size in England before 1830 was only 1.7/8ins. When Thurstons standardised the game, later on in the century, the size was increased to 2ins. By the end of the century the ball had reached the present day size of.2.1/16ins.
When the balls were actually made, their size was 2.5/64 or 2.3/32, in order that they could be turned down to regulation size once they had begun to run foul. All major billiards firms had skilled ball turners who could skim the ovallity from a ball making it round again.
The obvious consequence of this practice was that the balls would eventually become too small for quality billiards.
All this meant that only five balls could be obtained from a single tusk; the pointed end being too thin, and the thicker base of the tusk being too hollow. Nowadays, of course, the environmentalist lobby would be making loud protests about the wholesale slaughter of elephants. The best ivory came from the tusks of the cow African elephant, although the trade did produce inferior balls from bull elephants, and even from the narwhal, a member of the whale family, with a single large horn.
There began the serious task of finding a substitute for ivory, and a Swedish firm produced hollow steel balls with a skin of 1.5mm, which were the same weight as ivory. (Years later, Riso Levi experimented with 2ins ball bearings in order to establish their 'throw', and found that it was necessary to spot very wide - on the end of the 'D1 in fact.) The American billiard industry offered a $10,000 reward for an ivory substitute and in 1865, a New York inventor, John Wesley Hyatt, made balls of layers of cloth coated with shellac and ivory dust. Later on he tried paper-pulp and shellac without success. It was brought to his attention that a solution of nitro cellulose, camphor and alcohol, was used by printers to protect their hands and that this substance became hard when dry.
It took a couple of years to develop a good playable ball, but the process was finally patented in 1870 and the material given the name of, 'Celluloid'. The new plastic was also used in the manufacture of other articles such as knife handles and piano keys.
Technically there were still problems with the new ball; problems of a most alarming nature. On occasions an explosion would occur between the two balls on impact, and at least once, the balls caught fire, causing injury to the players.
Nevertheless, the development of billiards had reached a milestone, and by 1893 the 'Bonzoline' ball was in production in England. These balls were on sale for 3 l/6d as opposed to 3,4 or 5 guineas for a set of ivories.
They immediately found favour with any club or individual who counted the pennies. Technically, a more important market was the Colonies, where quality billiards had always been difficult due to the affects of heat and humidity on the ivory ball. Players of the stature of Fred Lindrum and George Gray were able to compile far bigger breaks, than their colleagues in the old country still playing with ivories. By the time the composition/ivory argument had reached its zenith, around the early 20s, the greatest of them all, Walter Lindrum, was approaching the 2000 break mark with the plastic ball.
There were other composition balls available at that time under various names:- Bonzoline, Crystalate, and Duralite, with Vitalite to appear a few years later. There was little or no difference between these balls in performance, although players who favoured composition would usually stick to one make.
The arguments then began over the relative merits of each ball. Unlike other areas of controversy, such as cotton cloth or transmitted side, the virtues of each ball were fully accepted and understood by both sides.
The pro-ivory faction argued that the composition ball threw wider, and this made the game too easy. The composition camp said that ivories, even good ones, soon began to run foul, and this could spoil the flow of a break. The attributes of one ball would be claimed by its antagonists as negative points.
The proportion of composition balls in use increased rapidly. The reason for this was not that more were being bought, but that once bought they lasted so much longer. Ivories, however carefully selected, could only be relied upon for a few months play, then they would often begin to run foul, (that is, become slightly oval), and could only be remedied by turning them down.
An intriguing story of the unreliability of ivories, arose at the time of the 1919 Championship, between Inman and Stevenson. Each player had occasion to complain several times about the balls in use, and by the time the contest was over, no fewer than seven sets had been used.
If Stevenson had his way, he would have used composition. Using these balls he had compiled, a few years earlier, the game's first thousand break at all round billiards.
Inman however, was pro-ivory, and in any case, the BACC, the game's governing body, had stipulated ivories. An example of the mercenary attitude of some professionals was to be seen in Inman's book, "Billiards, How to Play and Win". Having stated many times that correct billiards could not be played with composition balls, an advertisement appeared in the back of his book that said:- "My best performance on a billiards table was made with bonzoline balls."
Riso Levi, a fierce defender of the composition ball, challenged Inman for an explanation. Inman explained that he had recently achieved an average of 232 using ivories over a whole days play.
It seems to the writer that Inman and other professionals wanted to retain ivories, not because these balls were better, but because they were skilled enough players to overcome their inadequacies. Amateurs and lower ranking professionals could not.
Willie Smith was quoted as saying "They would make the game too easy. When you play with bonzoline balls you know exactly what your ball is going to do." He was not praising the bonzoline ball however, he was condemning it, because he also said:- "I can say at once that any attempt to put composition balls on the table for a championship game will have my unrelenting opposition."
But the growth in popularity of the man-made ball could not be stopped and by the twenties the only amateurs in favour of ivories, were those of the older generation; those who had learned their trade with the traditional ball. In 1926 the composition ball was made compulsory for the amateur championship. Sadly, a number of respected amateurs, including S. H. Fry (who had won the event eight times between 1893 and the last year of the ivory, 1925), withdrew, but there can be no doubt that the net result was an improvement in both the quality and quantity of the entrants.
Resistance from the top pros could not be maintained, and in 1928 the regulation was extended to the paid ranks. A spin-off from this was the fact that 1928 snooker championship was played with composition balls, as opposed to the ivories used in the previous year inaugural event.
Part II of this article will be the history of the ball from 1928 to the present day.