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Show 1920 an Off Year for Professional Billiards By Tom Gallagher In a sporting sense professional billiards bil-liards in the year 1.C0 were In an abnormal abnor-mal lethargic cond'tlon it was the Writ year since 1861. when the first championship tournament was held, during dur-ing which there were no titular or other matches. Apart from u series of tournaments tour-naments at pockets, tr.ree cushions and balkllne. .ill held between the middle of October ar.d tho second week of December, Decem-ber, there was no animation In tho profession. pro-fession. An unpopular scheme by which championships cham-pionships wete held for a year without being subject to challenge and tournament tourna-ment winners, tegcther with players who finished, second and third, wero given salaries by the promoters of the competitions, majlo for exhibition work to ihe exclusion of fportlng contests such as In the previous fifty-pig years l:ad Interested and enthused devotees of the game. Naturally salaried professional profes-sional billiard players who were not exhibition ex-hibition attractions hecame complacent and Inactive, while non-salaried profe-Bionals, profe-Bionals, unable to ijtilize their skill In competitions, hail no .incentive to practice. prac-tice. Thus the MrlpCe virile elements of the profeiK:;-n became obscured or eliminated Amateurs, however, have been the sal-vatton sal-vatton of the gume. They huve been earnest, active anJ unselfish in their devotion to it. Whllo engaging In and promoting serious contests their actlvl-t)e actlvl-t)e were not inspired by sordid considerations. con-siderations. To them billiards was a fascinating pastime and relaxation and they not only onjryed engaging in friendly games with each other but delighted de-lighted in watching experts play for fun, cups or prl-.es o' nominal value. Hoppe Retains Title More Important than any other pro-fi pro-fi rial billiard event of the year was the 18 balkllnS tournament, held at the Ailor Hotel December 6, 7 and 8. Only three Players figured In It. William K. Hoppe. by virtue of holding a championship cham-pionship won the year before, was ellsible wiiliout test. He w-as simply called upon to defend his title and perhaps, per-haps, renew It for another year, which he did. By finish, ng fir?t and second In the preliminary tournament held at Son Francisco November S to 13. Welker Cochron and Jacob Schaefer qualified to seek Hoppe i title. The trio played twice around. Hoppe beat each of the others twice and Cochran and Schaefer broke even. No records wero broken nor were exceptionally high runs mode A preliminary and final pocket tournament tourna-ment and a similar three-cushion carom even: were held In Chicago In October ... d .November. In the pocket preliminary prelimi-nary Arthur Woods, of Minneapolis; .lames Maturo. of Denver, and Walter Franklin, of Kansas City, qualified to meet Palph Oreenleaf. champion. They finished as named behind Greenleaf. Layton 3-Cushion Champion. Of twelve starters In tho three-cushion preliminary John Layton. of St. Incuts. Clarence Jackson, of Kansas City, and August Kicckhefcr. of Chicago, got Into the .final to contend against Robert Cannefax. who had been champion for, a enr Cjnnefax vva.- .I,r.-ed by layton. lay-ton. The Metropolitan Amateur Cup waa a medium of five challenge matches, all of which were dominated by Fdward W. Gardner, of Montclalr. N. J '. w ho became be-came owner of the trophy, which had to be played for In a club and had to he won five times by one player before be- ' coming personal property. Gardner challenged Francis S. Appleby for the cup. In a game played at the Lotos, Club April 15 he gained tentative possession of tho trophy which on four occasions he successfully defended. At the Amateur Billiard Club May he defeated LMgar T. Appleby. The next challenger. Charles K. White, was beaten May 27 at the Crescent Club. Brooklyn. Kranct.t S. Applebv and Kd-gar Kd-gar T. Appleby made unavailing efforts to get the cup. Francis was heaten al the Amateur Billiard Club Novemoer 15 and fifteen days later at the Crescent (Club Rdgar T Appleby was repelled. These were the only challenge matches of ihe year. McAndleis Eastern Champion. An eastern amateur championship at 18.3 balkline was acquired by Davit McAndleas. at ihe Amateur Billiard Club, January 26 io February 4. In winning. McAnd'ess ran 148 made a single averago of 171-11 In 400 points and scored a grand average of 16 44-!! Francis s Appleby, Edward W fJerd ner, T. Henry Ciarkson. Fdgar T. Appleby Apple-by and Percy Trump were the other contestants. The Class a tournament of the National Na-tional Association of Amateur Billiard Players was held at the Boston Athletic Association's clubhouse. February t) to March C. Percy Collins, of Chicago, and David McAndleas. also of Chicago, played - he deciding same, which Collins won. Edgar T. Appleby. Francis 8. Appleby, Percy Trump, Hohert Lord and Julian Ulce were other participants. Prior to going to Boston Julian Rice won the Class B 18.2 amateur tournament tourna-ment played at the Brooklyn Billiard Academy. Charles K. Mathews, who hod won the corresponding event In 1819, was the winner's npponeni In the final game. Tied in Metropolitan I'lay. George W. Spear and Louie A Seriating, Ser-iating, the seventy-t w o-year-old amateur ama-teur expert, lied for fits: prize In the Metropolitan Class C tournament at 18.2, held nt the Broadway Billiard Academy. New York.' In November Or, November 26 they played off and Spa-won. Spa-won. The National Amateur Three Cushion Tournament was played at the t'hlcigo Athletic Assoctotlon early In February. William B. Huey, who. In a match for the professional h.i r.ir,:onhip at th concert hall of the New York Theatre, defeated George W. Moore, finished flret. Dr, Campbell was second. Melton Mel-ton II. Flynn, who represented the Amateur Am-ateur Billiard Club, tied for third place. Shoemaker Retains Honors. The national amateur pocket tourney of the National Association of Amateur Billiard Players was held at the New York Athletic Club. On Man h 27 J. Howard Shoemaker, who had pieviously won every like event, was returned a winner 5us ilarriner wa9 his final adversary. ad-versary. Joseph Monarty. of the Illinois Athletic Club, finished third. Schuyler B. Burden, of Brooklyn, C. Karl Patterson) Patter-son) of the Chicago Athletic Assoclat lot, ; Louis B llr.lhrok of Hartford: William A. Tilt and Charles Shongood were other entrant a The Eastern pocket championship was .le.-'.e, Wednesdav night. J. Howard Shoemaker, national champion, won. with Bdward I". P.aynolds. of the Amateur Ama-teur Billiard Club. State champion, thej runner up. |
