Michael Phelan is considered the father of American pool. He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 1993. Just below is a timeline that outlines major events in his life. 1819 (April 18th) — Born in Castle Comer, County Kilkenny, Ireland....
Here’s a bit of sad news for pool history fans: William Hendricks, author of the very good but somewhat obscure Official Standard History of Pool, Billiards and Snooker, has died. The World War II veteran was 90 years old. He passed away on May 15, 2015 in an Illinois...
Here’s a one-pocket mystery. Jack Hill, apparently from Oklahoma, is referenced in Hustler Days as the inventor of one-pocket. But the original source for that information was The Bank Shot and Other Great Robberies, the book by Minnesota Fats. Fats offers only...
In January, 1927, Erwin Rudolf met Ralph Greenleaf in New York City to determine the nation’s next pocket billiards champion. Greenleaf had held the title nearly uninterrupted for the previous eight years, having relinquished it only once (in 1925) to Frank Taberski....
Consider exhibit A, above. It’s a handwritten note in which someone has enumerated 13 pool shots, each of which has been described with just a few words. The unnamed author uses cursive letters that slant off to the right. It also looks like he took his time...
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