Snooker and Billiards – British History and Billiards Playing Funny Dogs on Art Prints

Snooker and Billiards British History and Billiards Playing Funny Dogs on Art Prints

Imbued in English culture is a love and creator of Sports of all kinds.

I have a website where I have listed and linked to the 100+ various sports and games created by us Brits. One of the most popular British sports is Snooker and Billiards which It is believed was first played over a 600 years ago by British Soldiers.

1470 - Billiard tables evolved as a replacement to the lawn of a croquet game. Although billiards tables initially could only afforded by nobility and the rich.

1516-1558 - It was reported that Bloody Queen Mary of Scotland 1516 1558 had a Billiards Table and was a great fan of the game.

1674 - The first book discussing about the rules of Billiard was named as `The Complete Gamester` and was written by Charles Cotton. The book was published in England in the year 1674. Almost all the towns in England had public Billiard Table's, during that period.Billiards became quite familiar to the public and several writers of that period also started to mention about the game in their writings.

1875 - It was in 1875 that Neville Chamberlain ( No, not that ex. British prime Minister ) created snooker. During the rainy season, young officers spent much of their time in the billiards room, and several of the games they played allowed for gambling. Two of the most popular games were ' pyramids' and 'black pool'.there were 15 reds, arranged in a pyramid, and each time a player potted a red his opponent had to pay a forfeit. In 'black pool', each player had a different coloured cue ball, and when an opponent potted potted it they had to pay a fee to rejoin the game. If the opponent potted the black ball after an opponents ball, the fee was greater.

Chamberlain combined elements of these two games to create a new game, which he persuaded his fellow officers to try. One day, when a player missed an easy shot, Chamberlain remarked that he was a 'snooker' - this was slang for a new recruit at Woolwich Military Academy. Chamberlain went on to say that they were all snookers at this game, and the name stuck.

Chamberlain had various postings throughout India, and introduced the game wherever he went. He was stationed in Madras from 1881 to 1885 and the game became very popular at the Ootacamund Club there. This is where the rules were worked out in detail for the first time.

During a visit to India in 1885, John Roberts, the world billiards champion, sought out Chamberlain in order to learn the game of snooker. He then introduced the game to England.

Chamberlain was promoted to captain in 1885, major shortly afterwards, and lieutenant-colonel in 1887. He was military secretary to the Kashmir government between 1890 and 1897, when he reorganised the Kashmir army. In 1899 he was promoted to colonel.

As well as India, Chamberlain also served in South Africa and Ireland. He died at his home in Ascot in 1944.

The Name Snooker received its name in the 1800's by the British Armed Force who always called losing players "snooker". The name stuck and the billiards game has remained under the same name of snooker for all of these years. The first organized tournament which was played wasn't until 1916 when snooker introduced the Amateur English Championships. The World Snooker Championships was released soon after with the help of Joe Davis in 1927. Throughout the 1930's snooker quickly became the most popular billiards game played throughout many countries.

1885 - The first governing body of the game, the English Billiards Association was formed in the UK in 1885, a period that saw a number of sporting bodies founded across the British sporting world. By the mid-20th century, the principal sanctioning body was the Billiards Association and Control Council (later the Billiards and Snooker Control Council).

1927 - The history of Billiards in India can be traced back to the first half of the nineteenth century, when the British rulers were ruling India. The game was brought to India by the British armed services.

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My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

The Chinese call Britain 'The Island of Hero's' which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.

Copyright 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

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