Chapter V: Part II: Plate XIII (3)

October 6, Garnier resigned Diamond Cue to its surviving donor, H. W. Collender, instead of to C. Dion, who on September 30 had challenged winner of then pending Daly-Garnier match. Dion thereupon again became champion.

C. DION VS. RUDOLPHE. Same hall, April 7, 1876. Fourteenth match and thirteenth and last completed contest. Dion, 1500—40.54—228; Rudolphe, 392—108.

Time-limit, two years and a half, made the emblem Dion’s. Daly holds it as a souvenir of his having held it as champion.

* * * * *

=Second Championship of Massachusetts.= Olympic Theatre, Boston, May 10–18, 1869.—500–point games. R. E. Wilmarth, champion cue and $250; A. B. Williams, second (billiard-table); John H. Flack, third (gold watch and chain). Other contestants were W. A. Tobin, John F. Murphy, L. S. Brooks, Samuel Colby, and R. Davis. Stake in matches, $200.

WILMARTH VS. BROOKS. Bumstead Hall, Boston, December 10th. W., 1200—10—87; B., 955—99.

WILMARTH VS. MURPHY. Same hall, January 24, 1870. W., 1200—16.67—93; M., 846—69.

WILMARTH VS. B. FRANK DENNISON. Same hall, March 31, 1870. D., 1200—16—208; W., 787—60.

DENNISON VS. TOBIN. Opera House, Springfield, Mass., June 30, 1870. D., 1200—13.33—132; T., 1014—105.

* * * * *

=Chicago’s First Amateur Championship.= T. Foley’s Room, June 7–26, 1869.—500–point games. Clem Ellison won second in play-off, and fourth went to Humphreys. Average of tournament, nine games apiece, 8.02. G. A. of five leaders were: S., 12.06; E., 9.59; W., 9.34; H., 9.66; John W. Blaisdell, the actor, 8.26.

W. R. Av.
Spear 9 87 10.23
Ellison 7 108 13.89
Watkins 7 85 12.82
Humphreys 6 111 11.11
Blaisdell 5 87 11.36
Kinzie 5 72 10.09
Stevens 3 63 7.41
O’Brien 2 51 7.14
Wilson 1 66 7.35
Pickley 0 51

* * * * *

=Second Championship of Maine.= Portland, August 2–7th. 500 points, 5½ × 11 four-pocket, unrestricted, and counted in old way. Henry F. Shiel, unbeaten, won champion cue and $200; C. E. Smith, of Augusta, billiard-table; and Smith, of Portland, gold watch. Others, J. M. Bonney and George Swazey.

SHIEL VS. T. HERBERT WHITE. Portland, August 7, 1871. Former won by 1000 to 867.

SHIEL VS. C. E. SMITH. Lancaster Hall, Portland, June 28, 1871. Shiel, 1200—17.91—150; Smith, 818—115.

* * * * *

=Average of 1000.= Breed’s Hall, Norwich, Conn., August 4th.—First of home-and-home, each for $200 a side, $50 forfeit, Melvin Foster to discount Geo. T. Stone on 5½ × 11 carom, c. and p. both allowed, and counting in the old way. Foster “crotched” out his whole 1000 in his first inning. Stone, who made but 19, forfeited in return one, set for Aborn Hall, New London, August 11th.

=Third Championship of Ohio.= Mozart Hall, Cincinnati, November 29th to December 1st.—500–point games, 5½ × 11 carom. Williamson won play-off. Average of tournament, three games apiece, 11.77. Match stake, $100 a side, in games of 1000 points.

W. R. Av. G. A.
Williamson 2 108 13.51 12.02
Grunkemeyer 2 63 13.89 11.44
Casper 1 81 18.52 13.29
Cherry 1 57 13.51 10.47

Champions by turn were Williamson, Casper, Choate, Honing, and Choate again. Honing made the best run of the match series, 192 against Choate, May 17, 1871, in Cincinnati, and Choate the best winning average, 32.26 against Honing, same date.

* * * * *

=Choate vs. Jacob Garratt.= Respectively as champions of Ohio and Indiana, they played a match of $200 a side in Indianapolis July 3, 1871 (C., 1200—22.22—126; G., 989—78); and in Hopkins’s Hall, Cincinnati, July 18th following, they contended for the joint championship of the two States, regardless of disability by reason of non-residence (G., 1200—21.05—123; C., 1162—105). Both games, counted in threes, were on a 5 × 10, probably with push, but minus crotch; and on August 2, 1871, at the Opera House, Springfield, O., Choate’s home, they played a purse game on a 5½ × 11 carom, c. and p. barred (C., 1200—7.69—187; G., 1170—141).

* * * * *

=Parker vs. Snyder.= December 4, 1869, Crosby’s Music Hall, Chicago, $250 a side. P., 1200—15.58—207; S., 1088—84.

* * * * *

=Second Championship of Indiana.= If there was a tournament, record of it is altogether lacking. December 4, 1869, in Indianapolis, Alex. McCracken, then champion, contended with John W. Gregg for the championship and $200 on 5½ × 11 carom. G., 1200—19.05—126; McC., 1111—126.

GARRATT VS. McCRACKEN. Record is lacking as to how Gregg relinquished and Garratt acquired the championship. Washington Hall, Indianapolis, April 4, 1870, Champion Jacob Garratt, 1200—22.22—93; McC., 1129—144.

GARRATT VS. GREGG. Same hall, January 9, 1871.—Garratt, 1200—15—90; Gregg, 976—63.

GARRATT VS. CHOATE. For joint championship of Indiana and Ohio, July 18, 1871, see year 1869 under “Third Championship of Ohio.”

GARRATT VS. PARKER A. BYERS. Indianapolis, October 26, 1871.—For Indiana championship. G., 1200—24—105; B., 1187—135.

Byers was afterward proclaimed champion, and for some time Indiana had rival Billiard Associations and two championships.

GARST VS. GARRATT. Indianapolis, September 15, 1872.—New Billiard Association, with Peter Garst as standard-bearer. Table, 5½ × 11 carom. Garst won by 1500 to 1252.

BYERS VS. GARRATT. Lafayette, home of Byers, May 22, 1873.—$100 a side, 5 × 10 carom, “under the rules of the Indiana Billiard Association.” G., 1500—41.67—114; B., 1194—120.

This closed the often puzzling four-ball record of professionals in Indiana.

* * * * *

=First Case of Two Styles of Game in One Night.= Bumstead Hall, Boston, December 13, 1869.—First of two games, each $100 a side (see Three-ball Caroms, December 13, 1869, for second), 5½ × 11 carom, c. and p. b. Melvin Foster, 750—44.12—426; E. Daniels, 645—147.

1870.

=Deery vs. C. Dion.= Platt’s Hall, San Francisco, February 3d.—$1,000 a side. Deery, 1500—18.42—231; Dion, 1044—120.

* * * * *

=Parker vs. Adam Kleser.= Music Hall, Milwaukee, February 9th.—$100 a side. P., 1200—42.86—277; K., 321—run, 42.

(See “Best Record Performances.”)

* * * * *

=Rudolphe vs. Deery.= Mercantile Library Hall, San Francisco, March 17th.—$1,500 a side. R., 1500—32.61—312; D., 970—174.

This contest was unique in having three judges in addition to a referee.

* * * * *

=Parker vs. Coon.= Crosby’s Music Hall, Chicago, April 11th.—$250 a side. P., 1500—19.48—189; C., 1205—133.

* * * * *

=Second Championship of Maine.= First match was in Congress Hall, Portland, May 13th.—$100 a side, on a 5½ × 11 four-pocket, surely counting in threes, and supposedly j. and p. b. Champion, Henry Shiel, 1200—12.37—78; C. E. Smith, 1152—90.

* * * * *

=Second Amateur Championship of Long Island.= Assembly Rooms, Brooklyn, May 23d to June 2d.—Five games apiece. Rogers, won 5; Kirkby, 4; Craft and Upham, each 2; Roberts and Campbell, each 1. Of the matches, Kirkby beat Rogers, December 16, 1870, by 500 to 393; Earle, January 11, 1871, by 500 to 338; Aaron Vandewerker, January 26, 1871, by 500 to 375 (table changed from 5½ × 11 four-pocket to a carom of same size); and Vandewerker again, May 22, 1871, by 500 to 296. On October 17, 1871, it was Rogers, 500—20—99; Kirkby, 307—63, and on January 17, 1872, it was Rogers, 500—17.86—99; Rapelye, 375—108. Rogers’s 20 was high average, and the best carom-table run, next to the 108 and the two 99’s, was Kirkby’s 87 against Vandewerker.

* * * * *

=Experts’ Game, Also Known as “Red, White and Blue.”= Hippotheatron, N. Y. City, June 1st.—500 points, $250 purse. J. Dion, 300—5.36—25; M. Foster, 260—28.

This was the first game designed to suppress nursing. Instead of two reds, one red and a blue were used with two whites. The game had special rules, but its chief feature consisted in prohibiting the striker from playing on the nearer ball first when both were within a certain distance of each other. While 500 points had not been found too long in practising for the match, they proved too many in public competition, and when 100 points had been scored it was decided to shorten the game by two-fifths.

* * * * *

=Rudolphe vs. C. Dion.= Hippotheatron, N. Y. City, June 17, 1870.—$500 a side. D., 1500—27.27—193; R., 1090—246.

* * * * *

=New Championship of California.= Platt’s Hall, San Francisco, June 18th.—Match for silver cue and $400, 5½ × 11 carom, c. and p. b., and counted in threes. Joseph W. Little, averaging 16, won by 1200 to John F. B. McCleery’s 669. Congress Hall, same city, November 18th: McCleery, 1200—19.67—93; L., 836—93. See 1872 for another new series.

* * * * *

=G. F. Slosson’s First Public Match.= Opera House, Springfield, Mass., October 13th.—B. Frank Dennison giving odds of 300 in points and $200 to $100 in money. D., 1000—76.92—355; S., 684—138. This was counted in the old way, and was probably on a 5 × 10 carom-table.

* * * * *

=C. Dion vs. Dennison.= M. H. Hewins’s Room, Hartford, Conn., November 3d.—Purse game, carom-table, c. and p. b., counting in threes, and Dion giving odds of 250. Dion, 1000—52.63—171; Dennison, 577 (with odds)—57. A similar contest, $200 a side, was begun at once, odds now being 250. Dion, 1000—125—330; Dennison, 478 (with odds)—run not known.

* * * * *

=J. Dion vs. Deery.= San Francisco, November 26th.—$1,000 a side. Dion, 1500—22.38—315; Deery, 896—115.

* * * * *

=C. Dion vs. Rudolphe.= Academy of Music, N. Y. City, December 28th.—$1,000 a side, Rudolphe giving odds of 5 per cent. D., 2000—20 (in 1900)—141; R., 989—315.

1871.

=First Public Handicap Tournament.= Allyn Hall, Hartford, February 23d to March 1st.—Five games apiece, Clark E. Wilson winning 4, and prize cue and $250. Melvin Foster, M. H. Hewins and Geo. T. Stone 3 apiece, B. F. Dennison 2, and Wm. Bowen 0. In playing off the ties, Hewins beat Stone and won third ($50), and Foster beat both. In round numbers, the general averages were: F., 18; S., 13; W., 12; Dennison, 11; Hewins, 10. Bowen forfeited two games.

* * * * *

=First Known Use of 5 × 10 in Four-ball Game.= Academy of Music, Lafayette, Ind., March 2d.—$400. Parker A. Byers, 1200—24—96; Wm. F. Kenny, 817—108. The 5 × 10 is to be suspected of having been utilized in this way once or twice before, but this is the first sure case.

* * * * *

=Slosson and Daly’s First Tournament.= Rochester, N. Y., March 28th to April 1st.—1000–point games, counted in threes, p. and c. barred, but on a 5½ × 11 carom. Daly won play-off, and Slosson the $25 extra for highest run. Six games apiece.

W. R. Av.
G. F. Slosson, $200 6 342 52.63
M. Daly, $70 4 240 71.43
Eugene Kimball, $30 4 186 37.04
Wm. Jakes 3 207 26.32
Jeff. Ferguson 2 234 41.67
Frank Fitch 1 240
Frank Twitchell 1 28.57

* * * * *

=Rudolphe vs. J. Dion.= Platt’s Hall, San Francisco, April 1st.—Second of three games, every one for $1,000 a side. R., 1500—20.27—228; D., 1288—207. For third, see Three-ball Caroms. The first, English winning-and-losing, caroms and pocketings, with 2⅛ balls on an English 6 × 12 six-pocket table, was played in same hall, March 15th. Dion, 1000—4.24—29; R., 956—40.

* * * * *

=Plunkett vs. Nelms.= Assembly Buildings, Philadelphia, May 23d.—$250 a side, counted in the old way on a 5½ × 11 carom. P., 1500—28.85—132; N., 1183—138.

* * * * *

=Championship of Canada.= Also on 5½ × 11 carom, Montreal, July 18–27th.—Frank Dion first (gold-mounted cue and $100), John Hickey second ($60), and Thos. Russell third ($40). Jas. G. Bennett, Alphonse Derome, Chas. Egener, Thos. Knox, and Jas. Phelan were the others. Match record is incomplete. January 19, 1872: J. G. Bennett, 1500—18.07—75; A. Derome, 1259—105; and March 20, 1872, Wm. Jakes defeated Bennett by 1500 to 1183. Each match was for $100 a side, and both were played in Montreal.

* * * * *

=G. F. Slosson vs. Eugene Carter.= Toledo, O., July 26th.—$500 a side. S., 1500—av. about 27; C., 1032.

* * * * *

=A Wrong Decision Makes a Second Game.= Apollo Hall, Newark, N. J., August 14th.—C. A. Frink vs. Ebenezer Francis, $250 a side, carom table. As Francis made apparently the winning shot, spectators closed in, causing his cue to touch a ball. Frink claimed foul, the referee so ruled, and Frink, with a run of 82, changed score to 1500 to 1497 in his favor, with an average of 28.25. Francis protested against payment of stakes, and another game was played in same hall August 21st. Francis, 1500—24.19—154; Frink, 1378—141.

* * * * *

=Maurice Daly’s First Public Match.= Athenæum, Brooklyn, September 15th.—$50 a side, usual way of going, but on a carom table (5½ × 11). D., 1500—93.75—357; A. W. Jamison, 414—105.

* * * * *

=Garnier vs. Daly.= Metropolitan Hall, Chicago, October 2d.—First of home-and-home, $1,000 each game, usual terms. G., 1500—26.79—201; D., 1365—159.

Return, Irving Hall, N. Y. City, October 27th.—D., 1500—25—327; G., 1230—132.

This tie was virtually disposed of in Titusville, Pa., December 6th. First of two games (see Three-ball Caroms for second), severally for $250 and $200 a side. D., 1500—34.69—291; G. scored 698.

* * * * *

=Byron Gillett vs. G. F. Slosson.= Stancliff Hall, November 1st.—$250 a side, carom table G., 1500—50—267; S., 1263—240.

1872.

=Amateur Championship of Long Island.= Assembly Rooms, Brooklyn, March 11–12th.—Carom table of usual size, cue to become personal property of tournament winner. Two games each.

W. R. Av. G. A.
S. Rapelye 2 64 16.31 14.08
F. Rogers 1 99 17.24 15.08
A. Vanderwerker 0 9.10

* * * * *

=Championship of Pacific Coast.= Platt’s Hall, San Francisco, March 21st.—Silver cue and $200 a side, 5 × 10 carom. J. F. B. McCleery, 1500—28.85—207; W. W. Wright, 900—117. Same hall, May 7th, A. Kraker, 1500—38.46—147; McC., 754—150. Same hall, October 25th, Kraker, 1500—83.33—348; McC., 930—234.

* * * * *

=Championship of Massachusetts.= Bumstead Hall, Boston, December 9–12th.—Entrance fee $50, 600–point games, carom table, 5 × 10. First prize, cue and $300; second, billiard-table; third, $150. Nothing to indicate general averages or disposition of ties. Five games apiece.

W. R. Av.
Ed. Kendall 4 219 66.67
John Peck 3 213 35.29
R. E. Wilmarth 3 201 40.
B. F. Dennison 3 276 46.15
C. E. Wilson 2 195 42.86
T. R. Bullock 0 123

KENDALL VS. JOHN HICKEY. Same hall, February 11, 1873, stake $100 a side and championship. K., 1500—31.58—186; H., 1225—168.

KENDALL VS. WILSON. Same hall, March 11, 1873. W., 1500—33.44—273, K., 1410—150.

WILSON VS. DENNISON. Same hall, April 2, 1873. D., 1500—46.88—330; W., 741—159.

DENNISON VS. BULLOCK. Same hall, April 28, 1873. D., 1500—40.54—120; B., 784—207.

DENNISON VS. KENDALL. Same hall, October 24, 1873. K., 1500—52.41—273; D., 1485—285.

1873.

[This year and thenceforward, except when otherwise stated, 5 × 10
carom, c. and p. barred, counting in threes.]

=Dennison vs. J. G. Bennett.= Bumstead Hall, Boston, April 14th.—$200 a side. D., 1500—83.33—300; B., 579—240.

* * * * *

=Slosson vs. John Bessunger.= Kingsbury Hall, Chicago, September 9th.—$250 a side. S., 2000—142.86—534; B., 216—run, 108. On the prior April 19th they had played a similar match in Chicago. S., 2000—44.44—279; B., 1969—213.

* * * * *

=Dennison vs. Goldthwait.= Bumstead Hall, Boston, September 18th.—$100 a side. D., 1500—65.22—417; G., 819—216.

1874.

=Louisiana Double Championship.= Crescent Hall, New Orleans, April 6–30th.—Tournament at both four-ball and three-ball games. (For second, see Three-ball Caroms.) First prize, championship locket and $100; second, $50. Six games apiece. Average of tournament, about 13¼. Individual G. A.: H., 14.40; H. M., 20.61; C., 10.11; J. M., 14.31; J. F. M., 15.25; A., 10.31; Q., 10.65.

W. R. Av.
Albert Hoa 5 77 21.36
H. Miller 4 92 30.
A. Coste 3 91 14.29
J. Miller 3 86 10.71
J. F. Maggioli 3 93 23.08
L. Abrams 2 96 21.43
Chas. Quaid 1 128 18.75

HOA VS. H. MILLER. Same hall, June 1st.—Match, stake $50. M., 500—20.83—155; H., 180—36.

H. MILLER VS. MAGGIOLI. Varieties Theatre, New Orleans, March 4, 1876. Miller, 500—33.33—91; Maggioli, 360—77.

1876.

=Slosson vs. Sexton.= Foley’s Room, Chicago, September 17th.—Purse game, 5½ × 11 four-pocket table, counting in the old way. Slosson, 2000—33.33—356; Sexton, 1730—257. [The night before they had played the three-ball game on the same table. Slosson, 600—8.22—137; Sexton’s total, 278.]

Those games were not matches, and are not records. Not being matches, they furnished no line at all as to Old Billiards vs. New. This is the final four-ball chronicle as to professed experts of standing. The revival of contests on pocketless tables, tested as early as 1860, and abandoned outside of Philadelphia as too repressive of “safety,” or generalship, had brought the game into disesteem for spectacular uses. So small a table as a 5 × 10 for that way of going was almost a burlesque of competitive billiards in the hands even of approximate masters; and yet it remained for four-ball caroms to be played, although by an inferior class of experts in the remoter West, on a 4½ × 9 carom!

BEST RECORD PERFORMANCES AT FOUR-BALL CAROMS
IN MATCHES FOR A GENERAL CHAMPIONSHIP.

BEST AVERAGES ON 6 × 12 FOUR-POCKET TABLE.

166.67 in 1500, jawing barred, pushing allowed—J. McDevitt, 1868
(see series under 1863).

25.86 in 1500, push and jaw allowed—J. Dion, 1866 (see series under
1863).

BEST RUNS ON 6 × 12 FOUR-POCKET TABLE.

1458, jaw barred, push allowed—J. McDevitt, 1868.

616, due to jawing—J. Dion, 1867. (See series under 1863 for both.)

BEST AVERAGES ON 5½ × 11 FOUR-POCKET TABLE.

40.54 in 1500, push and jaw barred—C. Dion, 1876.

31.25 in 1500, push and jaw barred—A. Garnier, 1873. (See series
under 1869 for both.)

RUNS ON 5½ × 11 FOUR-POCKET TABLE.

321 by C. Dion, 1872; 279 by A. P. Rudolphe, 1870; and 249 by
Maurice Daly, 1873—all push and jaw barred. (See series under 1869.)

PUBLIC CONTESTS NOT FOR GENERAL CHAMPIONSHIP.

BEST AVERAGES ON 6 × 12 SIX-POCKET TABLE.

12.20 in 2000—Michael Phelan, 1859.

17.24 in 1500—John McDevitt, 1863.

10.00 in 1500, push and massé barred—Dudley Kavanagh, 1862.

BEST RUNS ON 6 × 12 SIX-POCKET TABLE.

177 by Dudley Kavanagh, 157 by John Seereiter, and 129 by Michael
Phelan, all in 1859.

90, push and massé barred—Michael Foley, 1862.

BEST AVERAGES ON 6 × 12 FOUR-POCKET TABLE.

8.40 in 1000, push and jaw barred—Michael Phelan, 1864.

166.67 (by jawing and pushing)—John McDevitt, 1868.

BEST RUNS ON 6 × 12 FOUR-POCKET.

56, push and jaw barred—Michael Phelan, 1864.

1483, by jawing and pushing—John McDevitt, 1868.

BEST AVERAGES ON A 5½ × 11 FOUR-POCKET.

42.86 in 1200, push and jaw barred—Frank Parker, 1870.

BEST RUNS ON A 5½ × 11 FOUR-POCKET.

492, push and jaw barred—Melvin Foster, 1869.

327, push and jaw barred—Maurice Daly, 1871.

315, push and jaw barred—J. Dion and A. P. Rudolphe, 1870.

BEST AVERAGES ON A CAROM TABLE.

15.38 in 1200, push and crotch barred, size 6 × 12—Victor Estephe,
1865.

25.00 in 1500, push barred, crotching allowed, but none done, size
5½ × 11, 2–5/16 balls—Dudley Kavanagh, 1865.

39.47 in 750, push barred, but average due to crotching, 5½ × 11,
2–5/16 balls—J. Dion, 1866.

33.33 in 1500, crotch barred, push allowed, 6 × 12—E. H. Nelms,
1867.

1000 in 1000, push and crotch allowed, 5½ × 11—Melvin Foster, 1869.

32.26 in 1000, push allowed, crotch barred, 5½ × 11 table, $500 a
side—W. W. Wright, Virginia City, N. T., December 11, 1868. Loser,
C. A. W. Jamison, who was given odds of discount, averaged 51.23 in
his total of 1537.

93.75 in 1500, 5½ × 11, crotch barred—M. Daly, 1871.

BEST RUNS ON CAROM TABLE

543, crotching barred, push allowed, 6 × 12—E. H. Nelms, 1867.

297, by crotching on a 5½ × 11—J. Dion, 1866.

1000 (whole game), by pushing and crotching, 5½ × 11—Melvin Foster,
1869.

BEST AVERAGE IN TOURNAMENT.

100 in 300, 5½ × 11 four-pocket, no restrictions—M. Foster, 1867.

NOTE.—No account has been taken here of either tournament games or
matches on any table smaller than a 5½ × 11, which was the
first-class professionals’ limit.

REGULAR THREE-BALL CAROMS.

[Unless otherwise stated, all play was with 2⅜ balls, and, with but
few exceptions, on a Phelan & Collender, a Collender or a
Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. 5 × 10 carom table, crotching not
barred until 1870.]

ABBREVIATIONS.—This succession—Player, 250—10.—54; Player,
212—69—stands for winner’s total, average, and high run, and loser’s
total and high run.

1862.

=First Public Match.= Louis Fox, of Rochester vs. John Deery, of N. Y. City, $250 a side, 250 points up, 6 × 12 four-pocket table, was the first match made at this game with any idea of playing it in public. It was set for Buffalo, N. Y., but the Deery side forfeited on November 7th.

1864.

=First Technically Public Contest.= Irving Hall, N. Y. City, afternoon of April 8th.—$250 a side, 6 × 12 four-pocket table, in aid of the Workingwomen’s Protective Union. Peter D. Braisted, Jr., 100; Wm. H. Freeman, 79. Players were not of the first class, and hence runs and averages were not tallied for publication.

There had, of course, been many earlier match-contests, both amateur and professional; but those and scores of others before them were of the nature of billiard-room contests, with the exception that Michael Phelan and Ralph Benjamin’s in Philadelphia, in 1857, was a formal match, although not public, each principal being limited to a certain number of friends as spectators.

1865.

=First Formal Public Contest.= Gallaher’s Hall, N. Y. City, October 5th.—First of the three-game match (see, Four-ball for others), $1,000 a side, 5½ × 11 carom, 2–5/16 balls. Pierre Carme, from France: Total, 250—winning average, 2.48—high run, 19; Dudley Kavanagh, 224—15. [Note.—This is the order of all matches, the loser’s average being omitted as not a technical record.]

The table was a compromise in height between the French and the American.

1868.

=First Match on a 5 × 10 Carom.= For this reason, a billiard-room match merits mention. This size is not known to have been used again in any expert match in this country until 1870.

Peter D. Braisted’s Room, N. Y. City, January 21st.—$50 a side Wm. N. Wickes, amateur, 150—2.86—15; Braisted, 47—5.

* * * * *

=Melvin Foster vs. John Deery.= Irving Hall, N. Y. City, September 30th.—$250 a side, 5½ × 11 carom. Foster, 300—2.80—40; D., 184—24.

* * * * *

=Foster vs. Joseph Dion.= Academy of Music, N. Y. City, December 28th.—Second game of match of three (see Four-ball for others), $1,000 a side, 5½ × 11 carom. F., 300—1.73—21; D., 296—11. Catching the draughts and blasts from the untenanted stage, the balls were ice, the cues icicles, and the players paralytics in sheer numbness.

1869.

=Foster vs. Benjamin.= Braisted’s Room, N. Y. City, January 6th.—F. giving 150 in 300 and laying $100 to $80, 5½ × 11 carom. F., 300—1.94—16; B., 131 (without odds)—14.

Not a record except as a match in which, for many successive innings, both men played alternately for “safety” without leaving their seats. Foster, who began it, had to quit, as he was behind, and the misses, if continued, would have put his opponent out. This contest suggested the rule of 1879, illegalizing more than two consecutive misses.

* * * * *

=Foster vs. Deery.= Irving Hall, N. Y. City, April 23d.—$250 a side, 5½ × 11 four-pocket. F., 300—2.80—18; D., 183—14.

* * * * *

=McDevitt vs. C. Dion.= Irving Hall, N. Y. City, May 10, $500, 5¼ × 11 four-pocket. D., 300—2.03—19; MCD., 299—29.

* * * * *

=Ralph Benjamin vs. M. H. Hewins.= Town Hall, Meriden, Conn., November 23d.—$100 a side, 5½ × 11 four-pocket. B., 150; H., 132. On the same terms, Hewins had won in Meriden, Conn., August 21st, by 150 to 130, and Benjamin had won return game in Portchester, N. Y., October 22d, by protesting against referee’s decision as to a shot claimed as foul (actual score, 150 to 149 in favor of Hewins). Best runs in the three games: B., 7, 8, and 11; H., 7, 10, 8. Winning averages, barring protested game, 1.50 each.

1870.

=Geo. T. Stone vs. Hewins.= Music Hall, New Haven, Conn., January 4th.—$300 a side, Stone giving odds of 60, probably a 5½ × 11 carom. S., 300—1.63—11; H., 267—11.

* * * * *

=First Public Match Contest at the West.= Crosby’s Music Hall, Chicago, January 19th.—$200 a side, 5½ × 11 carom, Frank Parker defeating Henry Rhines by 300 to 260. There had been an announced three-ball match at the West a year or so before, but it was really an exhibition.

* * * * *

=Carme vs. Henry Miller.= National Theatre, New Orleans, March 24–25th.—Two games, each $250 a side, Carme giving odds of 150. First game: M., 500—3.98 (in 350)—56; C., 374—29. Second game: C., 500—6.49—85; M., 388—31. Table was surely no larger than 5 × 10.

* * * * *

=J. W. Coon vs. Frank Parker.= Crosby’s Music Hall, Chicago, April 25th.—$250 a side, 5½ × 11 carom. C., 500—2.90—24; P., 499—17.

* * * * *

=First Three-ball State Championship.= Assembly Rooms, Philadelphia, April 25–30th.—First tournament for championship of Pennsylvania, 5½ × 11 carom. E. J. Plunkett, 6—0; E. H. Nelms, 5—1; Wm. Rockhill, 4—2; James Palmer, 3—3; Robt. Hunter, 2—4; McAlier, 1—5; Doyle, 0—6. Prizes—1st., cue and billiard-table; 2d, $150; third, $70.

=Plunkett vs. Nelms.=—Same hall, January 18, 1872.—First match for champion cue. N., 200—av., 2—run, 22; P., 168—18.

* * * * *

=Michael Honohan vs. Abraham Bassford.= Crosby’s Music Hall, Chicago.—$100 a side, 5 × 10 carom. H., 300—2.63—17; B., 191—17.

* * * * *

=First Known Case of Crotching Barred.= Crosby’s Music Hall, Chicago, October 19th.—$250 a side, 5½ × 11 carom, c. b. Frank Parker and Henry Rhines, 400—3.07 and 2.54—19 and 17; Peter Snyder and John W. Coon, 264—2.26 and 1.51—13 and 12.

As far back as 1860–1, a run of 40 had been crotched (or jawed, in fact), in a non-public match at the three-ball game; and that crotching was not specifically barred before 1870 was because, until small tables came into vogue, it was theoretically twice as hard to get the crotch at three-ball caroms as at four-ball, and practically much harder.

1871.

[In this and all later years, table a 5 × 10 carom, with crotch
barred, unless mentioned differently.]

=First Match on a 5 × 10 Between First-Class Players.= Platt’s Hall, San Francisco, January 12th.—$500 a side. J. Dion, 500—3.60—46; Deery, 474—37.

January 26th, same hall and stake, Dion giving odds of 100. Deery, 600—3.73 (in 500)—57; Dion, 479—42.

February 9th, same place and stake, Dion now giving 50. Deery, 600—5.98 (in 550)—83; Dion, 491—25.

These were the first public three-ball contests at odds between first-class players, and the odds was always marked up at the start of the game, instead of, as usual now, one man’s going to 500 against the other’s 600. Practically, or temperamentally, there is often a difference between ways that theoretically seem the same.

* * * * *

=Rudolphe vs. Garnier.= Apollo Hall, N. Y. City, January 21st.—$500 a side, 5½ × 11 carom, crotch not barred, but no crotching, Garnier receiving odds of 15 per cent. Rudolphe, 600—5.46—72; G., 510—28.

* * * * *

=C. Dion vs. Daniels.= Bumstead Hall, Boston, January 24th.—$250 a side, 5½ × 11 carom, no bar. Dion won by 300 to 131, with 38 against 12 for best run.

* * * * *

=First Professional Tournament at Three-ball Game, and Also First Championship of the Northwest.= Chicago, February 2–28th.—Games 300 points, balls 2–5/16. Playing off, Foley beat Pearce, and Coon both Pearce and Foley. Six games apiece.

W. R. Av.
H. Rhines 5 34 4.84
J. W. Coon 4 36 4.41
T. Foley 4 32 4.55
P. J. Pearce 4 23 3.
J. Vermeulen 3 30 3.75
A. Le Brun 1 18 2.88
H. Liverman 0 29

The 2–5/16 ball had not been used in tournament before, and has been availed of in but one since. It makes “position draws” harder, and failures easier by an eighth of an inch. Yet it made less difference then than it would make now. There was but one match.

RHINES VS. COON.—Crosby’s Music Hall, Chicago, May 27th.—$250 a side, same balls. R., 400—4.82—54; C., 295—18.

* * * * *

=Coon vs. Garnier.= Same hall as above, March 8th.—$200, 5½ × 11 carom. C., 600 (odds of 100)—4.76 in 500—58; G., 522—35.

* * * * *

=Coon vs. Parker.= Same hall and table, March 11th.—$500. C., 400—3.48—22; P., 320—29.

* * * * *

=Parker vs. Rhines.= Same hall and table, March 22d.—$500. P., 400—2.44—26; R., 369—29.

* * * * *

=C. Dion vs. Deery.= Platt’s Hall, San Francisco, April 7th.—$500 a side. Dion, 500—6.41—58; Deery, 476—73.

* * * * *

=J. Dion vs. Rudolphe.= Congress Hall, San Francisco, April 17th.—Third and last of three games (see Four-ball Game for both that style and English billiards for $1,000 apiece). D., 500—4.72—(run not recorded); R., 472—69.

* * * * *

=Daly vs. Rhines.= Brooklyn Hall, Brooklyn, N. Y., November 6th.—$500 a side. Daly, 500—4.27—44; R., 397—58.

* * * * *

=First Triple-figure Runs.= National Theatre, New Orleans, November 20th, 22d, 25th.—Separate games, $500 apiece, crotch probably not barred. Joseph Dion won by 500 to 479, 365, and 268, including odds of 150 received invariably by Henry Miller. Winner’s averages: 4.95, 6.85, and 8.94. Best runs per game: D., 48, 105, 107; M., 29, 23, 11. [In this city, January 16, 1872, C. Dion ran 109, mainly in the crotch of a 5 × 10; but as a billiard-room match it was not a record.]

* * * * *

=First Double-figure Average.= Corinthian Hall, Titusville, Pa., December 7th.—$250 a side. Garnier, 500—10.42—80; Daly, 233—27.

1872.

=Garnier and Rhines vs. Deery and Parker.= Orpheus Hall, Chicago, May 25th.—$250 a side. G. and R., 336 and 164 (500)—7 and 3.49—82 and 27; D. and P., 181 and 191 (372)—3.85 and 4.07—32 and 46.

* * * * *

=Parker vs. Rhines.= Orpheus Hall, Chicago, July 1st.—$500 a side, 5 × 10 carom. P., 500—4.94—44; R., 359—27.

* * * * *

=Daly vs. Deery.= Irving Hall, N. Y. City, September 3d and 13th.—Match of 500 and 600 points, each for $1,000 a side, c. b. Resulted from match for $250 a side, played July 25th in the private room at Chris. O’Connor’s, Daly then winning by 500 to 455, averaging 4, and running 56 against 31. September 3d: Daly, 500—6.94—59; Deery, 292—41. September 13th: Daly, 600—6.25—54; Deery, 406—63.

1873.

=Francois Ubassy vs. Henry Miller and John Bessunger.= In Harmony Hall, New Orleans, and in Nixon’s Amphitheatre and the Globe Theatre, Chicago, Ubassy gave odds varying from “discount” to 200 in 600 and 300 in 800, in April, May, and June. The half dozen contests were of importance chiefly by reason of Ubassy’s runs and averages. The highest of the former were 117 and 116; of the latter, 15.79 in 300 in New Orleans and 17.78 in 800 in Chicago.

* * * * *

=Amateur Championship of Louisiana.= New Orleans, May 12th to 28th.—Tournament of 200–point games on a 4½ × 9 carom table. This series was so called not so much because quite all the contestants were clearly non-professionals as for the reason that any professional championship at that precise time would have fallen to either Henry Miller or his brother John, then first and second best players in the State. All matches of the new series were 300 up, on a 4½ × 9 table, for a stake of $100 a side, and played in New Orleans. Record of tournament, four games apiece:

W. R. Av.
F. Maggioli 4 22 4.17
L. Abrams 3 43 5.88
A. Coste 2 34 4.57[2]
J. Cochran 1 20 2.78
C. Blanchard 0 38

Footnote 2:

A losing average.

From June 10th of this year until July 14, 1874, there were a dozen or two matches, Maggioli, Abrams and Choate taking turns as champions. Ultimately, the emblem became Maggioli’s permanently. The highest run of the series was 60, and the highest average 12, both by Maggioli.

* * * * *

=First Championship of the World.= Irving Hall, N. Y. City, June 23–30th.—First first-class professional tournament anywhere at three-ball caroms. Games, five apiece, 300 points. This tournament made the 5 × 10 carom table, bar crotch (4½ in. in all directions from the cushion-junction), the standard. Garnier and C. Dion first and second after playing off.

W. H. R. Av. G. A.
Garnier 4 113 12. 9.32
C. Dion 4 77 10.75 7.57
Daly 4 62 9.68 7.01
Ubassy 2 98 17.65 8.53
J. Dion 1 64 10. 5.60
Deery 0 79 6.08

Average of tournament, 7.89.

All matches were for the Challenge Cup and $1,000 a side, and all but the last were played in Tammany Hall, N. Y. City.

GARNIER VS. C. DION. December 2d.—G., 600—10—68; D., 480—61.

GARNIER VS. UBASSY. January 30, 1874.—G., 600—8.70—108; U., 460—50.

GARNIER VS. DALY. April 3, 1874.—G., 600—12.77—75; D., 380—62.

GARNIER VS. RUDOLPHE. December 10, 1874.—R., 600—14.63—161; G., 387—101.

RUDOLPHE VS. MAURICE VIGNAUX. February 22, 1875.—V., 600—10.17—60; R., 556—58.

VIGNAUX VS. SEXTON. Grand Hotel, Paris, France, March 3, 1876.—V., 600—19.35; S., 459—run, 129.

* * * * *

=Jacob Schaefer’s Public Debut.= Washington Hall, Indianapolis, July 25th.—Purse game. Schaefer, 300—4.84—38; Parker A. Byers, 183—20. He had also pursed two weeks before, Jacob Garratt beating him by 1000 to 932; but it was at the four-ball game, and in Garratt’s Indianapolis billiard-room.

* * * * *

=First Championship of Pacific Coast.= Mercantile Library Hall, San Francisco, August 25–30, 1873.—Tournament for championship, a silver cup and $650. Games, 200 points, six apiece. Mott won play-off.

W. R. Av.
J. McCleery 6 31 3.39
Tony Kraker 5 30 4.65
J.H Mott, Jr. 3 32 3.92
Wm. Terrell 3 18 2.79
W. W. Wright 2 32 2.73[3]
J. W. Little 1 26 2.90
L. W. Perkins 1 23 2.53[3]

Footnote 3:

Losing averages.

=Slosson and Schaefer’s First Meeting.= October 5, 1873, Indianapolis, $100 a side, was the first meeting between a pair that have met oftener in public than any other two. Slosson, 500—5.32—35; Schaefer, 321—45.

* * * * *

=Slosson vs. Daly.= Kingsbury Hall, Chicago, November 8th.—$500 a side, Daly giving odds of 100. S., 600—5.68 (in 500); D., 593—44.

* * * * *

=Chicago’s First First-Class Tournament.= Kingsbury Hall, November 10–21st.—Aggregate, $3,100 in cash prizes, seven 400–point games apiece. Garnier and Daly won in playing off. Average of tournament, 6.46.

W. R. Av. G. A.
Garnier 6 82 17.35 9.88
Ubassy 6 69 12.90 7.98
C. Dion 5 86 8.52 6.56
Daly 4 153 12.12 7.44
J. Dion 4 124 7.18[4] 5.60
Slosson 2 68 9.09 6.53
Bessunger 1 71 7.28[4] 5.66
Snyder 0 48 3.72

Footnote 4:

The 7.18 and 7.28 were not winning averages.

In tabulating this tournament originally, the mistake was made of including the tie or extra games. Omitting them makes a slight difference in the general averages of Garnier, Ubassy and Daly, but none at all in J. Dion’s.

* * * * *

=First Three-ball Championship of Massachusetts.= Boston, closing December 5, 1873. Three prizes for place, and one for high run. Five games apiece.

W. R. Av. G. A.
J. Hickey 4 34 6.67 3.74
F. Dennison 3 45 3.08 2.80
C. E. Wilson 3 51 4. 2.76
J. Peck 2 22 2.06[5] 2.27
Lon Morris 2 37 3.77 2.80
D. T. Pulsifer 1 24 2.60 2.30

Footnote 5:

The 2.06 was a losing average.

Match-stake was $200, but there was only one contest—Bumstead Hall, Boston, January 7, 1874. Hickey, 400—3.40—22; Dennison, 323—26. On March 3 following, when there was no challenge outstanding, H. resigned emblem to Massachusetts Billiard Congress.

* * * * *

=Tournament at Two Different Games.= (See Four-ball Game, 1874, for one.) New Orleans, April 6–30th.—200 points up, for three prizes. Called an amateur tournament. Hoa won play-off.

W. R. Av. G. A.
H. Miller 5 58 9.52 5.37
A. Hoa 4 48 5.55 3.93
J. Miller 4 29 3.88 3.20
F. Maggioli 3 47 4.08 3.34
A. Coste 3 33 4. 3.03
L. Abrams 1 27 4.65 3.60
C. Quaid 1 32 3.98[6] 2.68

Footnote 6:

Quaid’s 3.98 was a losing average—beaten by one point.

MILLER VS. HOA. New Orleans, July 1st.—M., 300—3.33—20; H., 285—29. In this match, as in the other, the stake was the championship and $25 a side.

MILLER VS. MAGGIOLI. Same city, September 1st.—Maggioli, 300—3.85—33; Miller, 277—21.

1874.

=First Game of Multiple Nights in America.= Fall River, Mass., January 19–27th.—Wm. Briggs vs. Jerry Sullivan, for championship of Fall River and a silver cup, played in nightly blocks. Nothing reported but totals and best runs. B., 1500—26; S., 1449—19.

Multiple nights’ play, since carried to an extreme in England, originated in France in 1867.

* * * * *

=First First-Class Tournament in Boston.= Bumstead Hall, March 9–13th.—There was a prize for every player, and there was also poor playing for every prize, Garnier’s 78, 7.84 and 5.90 being best run, winning average and general average. This was the order of the prize-winners: Garnier, C. Dion, J. Dion, Ubassy, and Daly.

* * * * *

=Daly vs. C. Dion.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, March 3d.—$1,000 a side. Daly, 600—8.95—212; Dion, 547—81. Daly here beat the record run, which was his own 153.

* * * * *

=C. Dion vs. Daly.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, May 15th.—$2,000. Dion, 600—8.22—83; Daly, 578—94.

* * * * *

=Ubassy vs. Garnier.= Same hall, May 24th.—Purse game. U., 600—8.33—68; G., 446—61.

* * * * *

=Wm. M. Dodds vs. E. H. Nelms.= Assembly Buildings, Philadelphia, May 27th.—$250 a side, probably a 5½ × 11. D., 400—3.25—27; N., 334—28.

Same hall, same terms, June 30th.—N., 400—3.20—48; D., 391—31.

* * * * *

=Rudolphe vs. C. Dion.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, September 18th.—$500 a side. R., 600—12—79; D., 338—55.

This led to a $200 “freeze-out,” $50 a game, played September 21–22 in Tim Flynn’s room, and lasting from 8.45 P.M. until 9.30 A.M. Games (100 up) and total points: R., 13—1349; D., 9—1266.

* * * * *

=Rudolphe vs. Wm. Cook, Champion of England.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, October 9th.—$1,000 a side, with 2–1/16 balls on an English six-pocket table, 6 × 12 inside measurement. R., 400—1.96—26; C., 274—16.

* * * * *

=Amateur Championship of Long Island.= Assembly Rooms, Brooklyn, N. Y., beginning October 26th.—Tournament for gold-mounted cue and $50 for first, and $75 apportioned as other prizes. Games, 200 points, with eleven entries. Samuel F. Knight and Joseph Pihet tied. After Knight had won the play-off, the loser protested on the ground that Knight, the year before, had received pay for marking in a professional tournament, and the cue and the $50 were awarded to Pihet. Later, there were half a dozen or more matches for the emblem, with varying results.

=First Three-ball Championship of America.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, November 4–13th.—Special prizes were a gold watch from Capt. Fred Grote for best run, a watch from Peter Totans for best general average, and an emblematic gold medal from Matthew Delancy. There were also a number of special playing-rules, no one of which outlasted the championship itself. Among them was one to bar crotching by requiring a 5½-in. oblique line on the bed of the table. This had been suggested for another end in the Dion-Foster match in Montreal in 1869 (see “First Protest” under Four-ball Game). Accomplishing nothing except actually to increase the crotching area by an inch, this, too, was speedily abandoned, an imaginary line (on the principle of the spot-radius in the three-ball game and the “string” in the four-ball) having been sufficient ever since 1862.

The tournament itself was an emphatic success, but the strange rules confused the public and irritated the players; and for the first time in a professional tournament a game was not completed, and for the first time, also, a referee was impelled, in self-respect, to vacate his office in rebuke of a player who refused to defer to the official ruling. It is necessary to mention the unfinished game (Garnier ahead of Ubassy by 274 to 246) for the reason that, as his general average indicates in the table below, Garnier has a total of but 2238, whereas, beaten only by Vignaux (11) and Daly (125), he should have 2264. The average of the tournament, eight games apiece, was 8.93.

W. R. Av. G. A.
Vignaux ($1,351) 7 159 16.66 10.53
Garnier ($928.58) 6 93 18.75 11.36
Daly ($928.58) 6 108 21.43 9.73
J. Dion ($585.72) 5 150 25. 11.
Rudolphe ($440.48) 4 97 15.79 9.35
Ubassy ($127.62) 3 104 12. 7.912
Slosson ($127.62) 3 88 11.11 7.910
C. Dion 2 79 14.29 8.43
Daniels 0 45 5.13

All matches for $500 a side, and in Tammany Hall.

VIGNAUX VS. J. DION. December 30, 1874.—V., 600—12.50—192; D., 538—64.

VIGNAUX VS. RUDOLPHE. February 23, 1875.—V., 600—15.38—69; R., 326—41.

VIGNAUX VS. C. DION. March 25, 1875.—V., 600—12—80; Dion, 543—119.

April 26, 1875, his backers having failed to cover challenger’s final money on time, Vignaux forfeited emblem and $250 to Garnier. Money was returned, but emblem was retained until, on June 12th, Garnier resigned it to Daly, who had challenged May 26th.

DALY VS. C. DION. November 23, 1875.—Dion, 600—12.50—52; Daly, 557—104.

Challenged by Garnier November 30th, Dion resigned the emblem December 14th.

GARNIER VS. J. DION. November 16, 1876.—D., 600—8.22—180; G., 495—77.

J. DION VS. SEXTON. May 31, 1877.—S., 600—12.23—247; D., 442—84. This was the first match-run to beat Daly’s 212 of 1874. Sexton seemed hopelessly behind when he made it.

SEXTON VS. C. DION. November 13, 1877.—S., 600—11.32—97; D., 428—105.

SEXTON VS. SLOSSON. June 27, 1878.—Sexton, 600—28.57—158; S., 338—100.

SEXTON VS. SLOSSON. December 27, 1878.—Tenth match and ninth and final contest. Sexton, 600—20.69—158; Slosson, 468—140.

* * * * *

=Vignaux vs. C. Dion.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, December 8, 1874.—$500 a side. V., 800—11.94—100; D., 772—127.

* * * * *

=Ubassy vs. C. Dion.= Chris. O’Connor’s private room, N. Y. City, December 15–16th.—$500 a side, played in two nights. U., 1000—8.16—137; D., 930—91.

This was the first contest of more than one night between leading experts in America.

1875.

=Championship of Ohio.= Cleveland, O., closing January 25th.—Tournament for championship of Ohio and $1000 in money. Eugene Carter first, T. J. Gallagher second, and Anthony Honing, John Bluim, John A. Thatcher, Harry Choate, Joseph Casper, W. A. Burchard, Martin Mullen and H. Coleman following. Stake in match series was $200 a side, and table a 5 × 10. Carter beat Gallagher by 400 to 346, March 25th, and Honing by 400 to 353, both in White’s Hall, Toledo. In the Globe Theatre, Cleveland, October 17, 1876, occurred the fastest game of the series, which was for $250 a side. Gallagher, 400—17.39—76; Carter, 221—31.

* * * * *

=Four-handed Public Game.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, February 17th.—In aid of the Homoœpathic Hospital Fund. J. and C. Dion, 500—15.15—36 and 56; Daly and Garnier, 354—28 and 34.

=First Avowedly Professional Use of 4½ × 9 Table.= (It had already been used in declaratively amateur games in New Orleans.) Championship of Indiana, Indianapolis, February 23 to March 1, 1875.—Eight contestants. Henry Bussey was undefeated, while Parker A. Byers, failing to beat Bussey only, made best run, winning average, and general average, viz., 67—14.29—6.66.

But one match-contest is chronicled, and in that, played in Turners’ Hall, Indianapolis, June 24th, Byers beat Jacob Garratt who had been third in tournament. B., 400—10.26—63; G., 201—38.

* * * * *

=First Undeniably Professional Match on 4½ × 9.= Washington Hall, Indianapolis, March 9th.—$200 a side. Lewis Shaw, 400—13.79—51; Wm. Burleigh, 188—25.

* * * * *

=Slosson vs. Rhines.= Warerooms of J. M. Brunswick & Balke Co., Chicago, March 24th.—Rhines receiving odds of 100. S., 600—5.13—45; R., 579—41.

* * * * *

=Brooklyn’s Only Professional Carom Tournament.= Assembly (Billiard) Rooms, April 1–15th.—300–point games, for $600 (Garnier), $400 (Vignaux), $250 (J. Dion), $150 (Ubassy), and $100 (C. Dion). Neither runs nor averages were striking. Games won and lost: G., 5—1; V., 4—2; J. D., U., and C. D., 3—3; Daly, 2—4; Rudolphe, 1—5. J. Dion and Ubassy won in playing off triple tie.

* * * * *

=Wm. Sexton’s First Public Three-ball Match.= Bleecker Hall, Albany, N. Y., April 5th.—$100 a side, c. b. S., 500 to 462; winning average, 4.32.

* * * * *

=Championship of Northwestern and Southwestern States.= Warerooms of J. M. Brunswick & Balke Co., Chicago, April 12–24th.—200–point games. Prizes show outcomes of play-offs, every one of the twelve but Miller, Maggioli and Honing having tied. Average of tournament, 5.36. General averages of Gallagher and Burleigh parallel Ubassy and Slosson’s in 1874 for closeness.

W. R. Av. G. A.
H. Miller ($500) 9 50 6.90 5.20
W. Burleigh ($400) 8 117 11.04[7] 6.961
H. Rhines ($300) 8 100 11.11 5.25
Lannie McAfee ($250) 7 76 10.53 6.98
E. Carter ($175) 7 84 22.22 7.22
T. J. Gallagher ($125) 7 94 11.11 6.962
L. Shaw 6 86 10.53 5.62
F. Parker 6 94 8.18 5.57
F. Maggioli 4 83 9.09 4.53
A. Honing 2 44 8. 4.96
H. Liverman 1 34 6.06 3.78
A. Hoa 1 34 5.94 3.45

Footnote 7:

Hoa’s 5.94 was a loser, and so were Burleigh’s 11.04 and Parker’s
8.18.

MILLER VS. RHINES. Academy of Music, New Orleans, July 8th.—First match for championship and $500. M., 500—5.49—32; R., 304—60.

MILLER VS. MAGGIOLI. Same hall, September 9th.—Maggioli, 500—5.68—73; Miller, 354—36.

MAGGIOLI VS. BURLEIGH. Oddfellows’ Hall, New Orleans, December 9th.—B., 500—9.43—69; M., 365—33.

BURLEIGH VS. SHAW. Chicago, February 19, 1876. S., 500—8.62—67; B., 485—87.

As a changeful championship, this has always stood unmatched. No one man won two successive contests.

* * * * *

=Garnier vs. Vignaux.= Tammany Hall, April 28, 1875.—$500 a side, c. b. G., 600—13.04—90; V., 258—33.

* * * * *

=Garratt vs. Choate.= Academy of Music, Cincinnati, July 29th.—$250 a side, c. b. G., 400—6.90—75; C., 304—27.

* * * * *

=Anthony Kraker vs. Deery.= Palace Amphitheatre, San Francisco, August 14th.—$1.000, c. b. K., 600—5.77—38; D., 598—48.

* * * * *

=“The Garnier Tournament.”= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, November 15–22d.—For a purse of $3,000, presented by the late George L. Lorillard through Albert Garnier; 300–point games. Ties for third, fourth, and fifth prizes were not played off, the aggregate $1,000 being divided equally. The tournament stands alone not only because its winner’s general average is surpassed by those of four out of his six competitors, but also because his best single average is lower than that of any other player who won one or more games. Average of tournament (six games apiece), 9.81.

W. R. Av. G. A.
J. Dion ($1,500) 5 122 14.29 9.43
C. Dion ($1,000) 5 89 30. 10.78
A. Garnier ($333) 3 119 30. 11.13
G. F. Slosson ($333) 3 104 16.67 8.60
Wm. Sexton ($333) 3 136 15. 10.96
M. Daly 2 124 23.08 12.32
A. P. Rudolphe 0 67 6.75

=Schaefer vs. A. Kraker.= About this year, Schaefer played and won a $500 match in Virginia City, N. T. (we think, having no record but memory), averaging 12 or 12.50 in 500 or 600, which was high for that region, high for himself, and high for his surroundings, unsecreted pistols stimulating him to unusual efforts.

1876.

=Shaw vs. Carter.= Adelphi Theatre, Toledo, January 7th.—$500, 4½ × 9, c. b. S., 500—15.13—108; C., 311—89.

* * * * *

=Rudolphe vs. Daniels.= Bumstead Hall, Boston, January 20th.—$500, 5 × 10, R. giving odds of 150. R., 600—13.04—68; D., 426—44. This match came of a billiard-room encounter between the pair in N. Y. City, Daniels receiving odds then, also, and losing.

* * * * *

=Sexton vs. Slosson.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, January 27th.—$1,000. Sexton, 600—15.38—73; Slosson, 482—110. It was this match, with its high winning average, that determined the choice of Sexton over Slosson to go to Paris as challenger of Vignaux to the last game for the first world’s championship, which see under 1873.

* * * * *

=Schaefer’s First Public Match in the East.= Ford’s Opera-house, Washington, D. C., April 26th.—Announced as for $2,500 a side. Lewis Shaw, 600—10.72—69; Jacob Schaefer, 547—76. It was because of Shaw’s victory that he, instead of Schaefer, was admitted to the Centennial Tournament of May following.

* * * * *

=Centennial Tournament.= Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia, May 15–27th.—300–point games. This tournament took its rise in a purse of $1,000 proffered by Frank Queen, editor of the New York Clipper, to whichever billiard manufacturer should add most. H. W. Collender added $4,000. J. Dion, Daly, and Rudolphe played off their ties in Irving Hall, this city, June 5, 6, 7, with the results shown here in apportioning the prizes. Nine games apiece. Average of tournament, 10.07.

W. R. Av. G. A.
Wm. Sexton ($2,000) 8 287[8] 60.[8] 14.73[8]
A. Garnier ($1,200) 7 176 37.50 13.78
G. F. Slosson ($800) 6 103 21.43 13.48
J. Dion ($600) 5 106 50. 14.26
M. Daly ($400) 5 153 23.08 13.04
A. P. Rudolphe 5 175 23.08 12.66
J. Bessunger 4 91 12.50 7.83
C. Dion 3 86 15.79 8.72
L. Shaw 1 62 6.98 7.26
M. Foster 1 79 6.38 7.29

Footnote 8:

Beating record—Daly’s 212, Garnier and C. Dion’s 30 and Daly’s 12.32.

The runs of 251 and 287 by Sexton were the first public exhibitions of
straightforward railing (term shortened to “straight rail”). Before
that, players hugged the rail, or cushion, by close nursing, not going
far forward, and especially aiming to keep near a corner.

* * * * *

=First of Long Games in Tournaments.= Irving Hall, N. Y. City, June 8–16th.—$1,500 in prize-money, 600–point games, one a night, instead of two short ones. In playing off ties, Rudolphe averaged 25 and ran 127 against Sexton, while Slosson against Garnier ran 311, thus beating record, which was Sexton’s 287. Average of tournament was the high one of 15.88. Garnier’s 17.84 eclipsed the general-average record, which was Sexton’s 14.73.

W. R. Av. G. A.
Rudolphe 2 102 21.43 16.71
Sexton 2 125 20. 14.56
Garnier 1 121 22.22 17.84
Slosson 1 152 20.81[9] 14.66

Footnote 9:

Either losing average or error.

* * * * *

=Daly vs. C. Dion.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, June 12–15th.—Five nights for $200 a side, c. b. Dion, 2000—12.99—121; Daly, 1141—128.

* * * * *

=The Only First-class Tournament in California.= Platt’s Hall, San Francisco, July 31st to August 4th.—600–point games for announced $3,000 in prize-money. Average of tournament, 17.44. Ties not played off.

W. R. Av. G. A.
Garnier 2 139 21.43 15.47
Sexton 2 120 19.35 16.16
Slosson 2 230 20. 18.80
Daly 0 184 14.29

Slosson’s general average of 18.80 surpasses Garnier’s New York record of 17.84. The two tournaments themselves were record-beaters for coincidences. They were the first with long games at three-ball caroms, 600 points in each, and neither came anywhere near paying expenses. The single averages of the winners-in-chief in the two cities were precisely the same (21.43) in exactly the same number of games. Finally, the player who had made the highest single average in New York made the highest in San Francisco also.

* * * * *

=Daly vs. Slosson.= August 12, same hall and c. b. game as foregoing.—$500 a side. D., 600—13.95—153; S., 364—47.

* * * * *

=Louisiana Championship.= No record of tournament, if there was one. A change seemingly made to 5 × 10 table.

New Orleans, June 6th, first match, stake $50 a side. Louis Abrams, already champion, 300 to Chas. Quaid’s 143, winner’s average and best run being 8.33 and 50.

August 4th, Abrams, 300—5.88—55; John Miller’s total, 249.

October 4th, Henry Miller, 300—6—63; Abrams, 244—23.

December 4th, Maggioli, 300—10.71—58; H. Miller, 253—61.

This was the sixth match, and seems to have been the last.

* * * * *

=Schaefer’s First Tournament.= Tammany Hall, N. Y. City, November 20–28th.—Four money-prizes, aggregating $1,500, 300–point games on the usual 5 × 10, but with 2–5/16 balls. Slosson having gone South, but one tie game was played, and that, increased to 600 points, was won by J. Dion, who also received the special prize (a billiard-table) for best general average. Six games apiece, averaging 9.30, a drop due less to lesser runs on balls together than to missing on smaller balls far apart.

W. R. Av. G. A.
J. Dion 4 195 17.65 10.94
Rudolphe 4 134 21.43 10.04
Slosson 4 122 16.70[10] 9.73
Garnier 3 181 16.67 8.71
Daly 2 123 11.54 9.34
C. Dion 2 136 13.67[10] 8.79
Schaefer 2 155 12.50 7.60

Footnote 10:

Losing averages.

* * * * *

=First Public Handicap Tourney at Game.= Begun in Academy of Music, Cleveland, O., December 27th.—A Honing (275), $250; T. J. Gallagher (350), $200; J. Randolph Heiser (275), $150; Eugene Carter (300), $100. J. A. Thatcher (275) was the other competitor.

1877.

=Sexton vs. Slosson.= Globe Theatre, New Orleans, January 5th, 6th, 7th.—5 × 10, c. b., $200 a side. Sexton, 1800—24.32—417; Slosson, 976—172. Winner’s run and average surpassed previous records.

* * * * *

=Schaefer’s Second Tournament.= Mechanics’ Hall, Utica, N. Y., beginning March 20th.—300–point games, c. b. John Bessunger, $400, in addition to a gold-mounted cue for best general average; T. J. Gallagher (beaten by Bessunger in play-off), $250; Wm. Burleigh, $150; Jacob Schaefer, $125; and Eugene Carter (beat Chas. Knight in play-off), $75.

1878.