by radyer | Apr 22, 2023 | 1800s Pool, Industry History
Pool aficionados know him as the sport’s first true champion; as a famous promoter, innovator and author. But what may come a surprise is that the man rightfully considered the father of our sport also conspired openly against the British government....
by Pool History Guest Contributor | Jun 30, 2019 | 1800s Pool, Equipment, Historical Notes, Industry History
By Allie Leigh Adams Francois Mingaud We can thank the French for some of pool’s most important innovations. Fifteenth-century French royalty, for instance, transitioned the game from one played on outdoor lawns to one played indoors on wooden tables. Another...
by radyer | Feb 27, 2019 | 1800s Pool
Two photos. One mystery. The man with the crew cut on the right is Mike Tiernan, a famous 19th Century outfielder. But who is the bearded fellow on the left? Baseball historian Tom Shieber, the man behind the Baseball Researcher blog, recently stumbled across these...
by radyer | Feb 26, 2019 | 1800s Pool, 1910s Pool, 1920s Pool, 1930s Pool, Alfredo De Oro, Historic Players
De Oro is largely forgotten these days, probably because his spectacular career occurred before living memory and because his exploits were overshadowed by the very colorful Ralph Greenleaf, If you’ve been following along lately, you know we’ve had on-gain...
by radyer | Feb 21, 2019 | 1800s Pool, Equipment, Historical Notes, Industry History
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....
by | Oct 22, 2018 | 1800s Pool
This excerpt, below, from an old edition of the New York Times describes the discovery in 1866 of the body of pool player Louis Fox in a Rochester, New York river. But how did Fox’s body get there? According to one very colorful (and perhaps apocryphal) story by...
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