The History of Pool & Billiards

More Than Just a Game: The Twisting Tale of Billiards and Pool

Ever walked past a glowing table with perfectly colored spheres and felt the pull of the green felt? That world of clicking balls, focused silence, and sudden, satisfying clatter has a history far richer and more surprising than you might imagine. It’s a story of two distinct families of games that grew from the same root, a tale of celebrity players who were once more famous than generals, and a rollercoaster ride of popularity fueled by smoky backrooms and Hollywood blockbusters. So, let’s chalk up and dive into the fascinating evolution of the games we play on a billiard table.

The Great Divide: Pockets or No Pockets?

Long before Eight-Ball or Nine-Ball became household names, the dominant game in America was a complex beast known as American Four-Ball Billiards. Picture a massive 11- or 12-foot table, four pockets, and four balls whizzing around—two white, two red. This was the direct descendant of English Billiards, and it was a game of chaotic opportunity. You scored points for almost anything: sinking a ball, hitting multiple balls with your cue ball (a "carom"), or even accidentally scratching your own ball into a pocket. On a single, spectacular shot, a skilled player could rack up as many as 13 points. But by the 1870s, this all-in-one game began to split, branching into two distinct paths that define the sport to this day. It was the fundamental choice: do you play for the pockets, or do you play for the carom? One path led to the elegant, pocketless world of Carom Billiards. The pockets were removed from the table entirely, and the goal became purely about precision and control. The simplest form, "Straight Rail," challenged players to make their cue ball contact the two object balls in a single stroke. This game was all about artistry and the subtle physics of angles and spin. It was the purest test of cue ball command. The other path, of course, led to the world of Pocket Billiards, the ancestor of everything we now call "pool." And it’s here we need to clear up one of the biggest misconceptions in the sport.

Why Do We Call It "Pool"?

The word "pool" has nothing to do with swimming and everything to do with betting. In the 19th century, a "poolroom" wasn't a hall filled with billiard tables; it was a betting parlor for horse racing. Bettors would "pool" their money together to wager on the ponies. To keep their patrons entertained between races, these establishments installed billiard tables. Over time, the public mind began to merge the two activities. The game played in the "poolroom" simply became known as "pool." Unfortunately, the slightly seedy, cigar- smoke-filled reputation of these gambling dens stuck to the game, not the gambling itself. It’s a classic case of guilt by association, and for over a century, the game has fought to step out from that shadow and be recognized for its skill and sophistication.

The Pocket Game Evolves: From Counting Points to Sinking Balls

The first major pocket billiard game to capture the American imagination was American Fifteen-Ball Pool. Played with 15 balls, numbered 1 through 15, the objective was simple but strategic. When you sank a ball, you earned points equal to its number. The total value of all the balls was 120, so the first player to score more than half—61 points—was declared the winner. This game, affectionately known as "61-Pool," was the format for the very first American championship tournament in 1878. However, around 1888, a consensus grew that this system wasn't entirely fair. A player could get lucky, sink a few high-numbered balls, and win without demonstrating superior skill. To fix this, the game evolved into 14.1 Continuous Pool, often just called Straight Pool. Here, the numbers on the balls didn't matter. You got one point for every ball you pocketed, regardless of its value. It was a pure test of shot-making. The "continuous" part of the name came from its clever racking system: when 14 of the 15 balls were pocketed, they were re-racked, leaving the last ball on the table. The player would then break this new rack by pocketing the last ball and continuing their run, creating a seamless and "continuous" flow from one rack to the next. From this foundation, the games we know and love today began to emerge. Eight-Ball, with its iconic solid and stripe groupings, was invented shortly after 1900. The fast-paced, high-stakes game of Nine-Ball appeared around 1920, and the strategic masterpiece of One-Pocket has roots stretching all the way back to the late 1700s.

The Golden Age of Billiard Gods

From the late 1800s until the mid-1950s, billiards wasn't just a pastime; it was a major professional sport. Championships were national events, and the top players were bona fide celebrities. Their exploits received more newspaper coverage than news from the Civil War. They were so famous that their portraits were printed on collectible cigarette cards, just like baseball stars. This era produced legends. In the carom world, there was no one greater than Willie Hoppe. At just 18 years old, in 1906, he traveled to France and defeated the reigning champion at Balkline, the most demanding carom game ever devised. Balkline tables had lines drawn on them to create zones. If both object balls were inside the same zone, the player had a limited number of shots before they had to move at least one ball out, preventing them from nudging the balls in a corner for endless points. It required incredible skill. When Balkline's popularity faded, Hoppe, already a legend, simply reinvented himself as the world's best Three-Cushion Billiards player, a game where the cue ball must strike at least three cushions before contacting the final object ball. He was a champion for nearly 50 years, a gentleman of the sport who captivated audiences with his seemingly magical control over the balls. While Hoppe ruled the carom world, pocket billiards found its own icon in Ralph Greenleaf. Starting in 1919, Greenleaf’s charismatic and dominant play captured the public’s imagination, and for the next twenty years, he was the undisputed king of pool. He was the one who truly shifted the public's focus from the technical artistry of carom to the dramatic thrill of sinking shots. Then, in 1941, the "Mosconi Era" began. Willie Mosconi was to pocket billiards what Babe Ruth was to baseball. He was an unstoppable force, winning the world title an astounding 19 times. His name became synonymous with pool. During World War II, pool was a vital recreational activity for troops, and players like Mosconi would tour military bases, putting on exhibitions and boosting morale.

A Post-War Fade and a Hollywood Revival

After the war, however, the lights began to dim on the golden age. Soldiers returned home focused on building careers, buying houses, and starting families. The idea of spending a long afternoon in a pool hall felt like a relic of a bygone era. Rooms closed, tournaments faded, and by the time Mosconi retired in 1956, the sport was on the verge of disappearing from the public consciousness. Then, in 1961, Hollywood intervened. The release of the film "The Hustler," starring Paul Newman as the broodingly intense hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, sent a jolt of electricity through the sport. The film depicted the dark, compelling, high-stakes underbelly of the pool world, and suddenly, the game was cool again. New pool halls opened across the country, and a new generation discovered the game's allure. This boom lasted through the 60s but eventually gave way to the social turbulence of the 70s and a growing interest in outdoor activities. The game began to fade once more, until Hollywood stepped in again. In 1986, the sequel, "The Color of Money," hit theaters. It brought back Paul Newman as an older, wiser Eddie Felson, who takes a flashy, supremely talented young prodigy, played by Tom Cruise, under his wing. The film was a massive box office success and ignited a second, more profound revival. This time, however, the revival came with a makeover. The film's success coincided with a cultural shift. The old, intimidating image of the "poolroom" was replaced by the upscale, stylish "billiard club." These new venues were bright, clean, and welcoming, designed as social destinations where men and women could enjoy a night out, have a drink, and play on high-quality equipment. They transformed the game's image from a loiterer's hideout to a chic and respectable social activity, helping to fuel the greatest surge of interest in billiards in over a century. The game had finally, and deservedly, earned its respectability.