Who invented the pool table?

Question

Who invented the pool table?

Answer 1

History of Pool Tables

Like many other sports, it's hard to pinpoint when and where the game of billiards originated. France, England and Persia are often mentioned as countries that possibly invented the game of pool, but each is debatable. We do know that the earliest version of the game of pool was played on lawns and was often compared to a form of croquet because the purpose of the game was to shoot balls through a course of hoops to knock over a cone shaped object. The game was then transferred indoors and played on the floor, but it was soon found to be hard on the backs of players who were continuously bending over. This is why the game of pool was eventually moved atop a table.

The problem with playing pool on a table was the balls kept rolling off, so wooden rails or bumpers were soon attached to the pool table's edges to keep the balls in play. The next modification occurred around 1600, with the addition of rubber strips to the wooden side rails. These rubber strips were used as cushions to give the balls added bounce when hitting the edges of the table. The rubber also served to protect the wood from chipping. A thin green wool/felt cloth was then added to cover the table to allow players a more accurate and precise shot. The colour green was originally chosen for pool tables because it represented the grass that the game originated on.

Players soon became bored with trying to knock over the cone, and decided to make the game more exciting and challenging by cutting two round holes in the ends of the table. To stop the balls from falling to the floor and getting damaged, the holes were blocked underneath by pocket style bags, which were sewed on in order to catch the balls. The object of the game of pool changed, it now consisted of knocking the balls into the pocketed holes. Over the years more pockets were added until eventually the six pocketed billiard table had fully evolved.

Like the sport of pool itself, nobody knows when the first pool table was built. However, the first record of a pool table dates back to 1470, when King Louis XI of France possessed one. King Louis pool table had no pockets, but it did have a hole in the centre of the table.

The first tables were mainly owned by monarchs and noblemen because the cost of having one built by a cabinet maker and imported was very high. However, the working classes often built their own crude versions of pool tables. Unfortunately because the table beds were made of wood they often warped within a few years. There was no standard size or shape to the early pool tables, and many early models were square, eventually changing to oblong (usually twice the length to width). By the 1500s, pool tables were common in taverns and public places throughout France.

In 1826, the pool table took a dramatic change as John Thurston of England invented the slate bed, giving the table a far smoother surface. Marble was used by some people but the costs were far too high. Billiard slate was a lot heavier than wood, and thanks to it pool tables were a lot sturdier. In 1845 Thurston was granted a patent and starting making the billiard cushions out of vulcanized rubber, cork and leather. Later on, the green cloth/felt pool table cover was also improved upon, and added to the new slate tables to produce a pool table similar to those used today.

Answer 2

Historians of billards point to the table evolving from an indoor version of croquet in the 15th Century.

Though the modern billards table started around 1850.

Answer 3

The origin of billiards will probably never be exactly pinpointed. While it may have sprung from earlier games played with balls on a table in China, Italy, or Spain, the best guess is that it originated in France as an indoor version of a lawn game similar to croquet. (On the other hand, some historians have suggested that croquet originated as an outdoor version of billiards.)

The name almost certainly comes from the French billart, the stick that was used, and that word probably comes from bille, meaning "ball." When first recorded, in the 15th century, the object of the game was to push a ball through a croquet-like wicket to hit a peg, similar to the stake in croquet. Players used a club-like stick, which became known as the "mace" in England.

When the ball was up against a rail, however, the head of the mace was too unwieldy and the other, narrower end of the stick was used. This was called the "queue," meaning tail--hence the modern word, cue.

Shakespeare refers to billiards in Antony and Cleopatra--which led one early sports historian to conclude that it was an old Egyptian sport--and by 1675 it was very popular in England. The first known rule book was published that year, and its writer claimed that there were "few Towns of note therein which hath not a publick Billiard-Table."

The first steps toward making billiards a "scientific" sport were taken by a Frenchman, known only as Captain Mingaud, who was a political prisoner in Paris during the French Revolution. While in prison, he enjoyed playing billiards so much that he refused to be released when his time was up.

Mingaud discovered that, if he rounded the cue tip with a file, he could aim more accurately. He also added a leather tip to further improve control of the ball. After finally leaving prison, Mingaud traveled around France giving exhibitions and stirring a great deal of interest in the sport.

The leather tip lost its effectiveness when it became shiny with use and had to be replaced frequently. An English billiards teacher, Jack Carr, learned that putting chalk on the tip prevented miscues. He was also evidently the first player to hit the ball off-center to apply spin.

Carr was a genuine hustler. He traveled around Europe during the 1820s, giving his demonstrations and selling his magical "twisting chalk" at an exorbitant price, throwing in a free lesson on how to make it work. As a result, the term "English" entered the lexicon of billiards--although, ironically, it's called "side" in England.

By that time, there were several different versions of billiards. In France, the most popular game was carom billiards, played with three balls (occasionally four balls) on a pocketless table. As in modern billiards, the object was to hit both of the object balls with the cue ball--called a carom or a billiard.

The most common game in England was also played with three balls, but on a table with six pockets. There were two ways of scoring: By pocketing a ball (other than the cue ball) or by hitting both of the other balls with the cue ball. This game is the ancestor of modern pocket billiards and English snooker..☺