The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-04-19
THE COMING BILLIARDS.
The Arrangements and the Capacity of Play
ers for the New Game.

NEW YORK, April 1S.-George f. Slosson,
Jacob Shaefer, William Sexton, Maurice Daily
and Joseph Dion, the five billiard champions Of
America, sat in a circle around silver haired
Chairman Hugh Collender, IN the Brunswick
Collender warerooms, at $50 Broadway, on Fri
day, and completed the arrangement for the ten
night billiard tournament, in Irving Hail. which
is to begin on Monday evening next. The
tournament will serve to formally introduce to
the public the new 14-inch balk-line game. This
is a new style of play that does away entirely
with rail-nursing, and insures degree of bril-
liancy, variety and excitement that was not
possible at the old nursing style of billiards.
Parallel lines will be chalked on the table in the
hail. fourteen inches from the cushions, and a
player will not be permitted to make more than
two consecutive carroms within this space,
under penalty of FORGETTING his inning The
new balk lines are six inches wider than those
adopted in the Chicago tournament, in which
Schaefer won the championship from Maurice
Vlgnaux and to execute runs of 100 or more
demand the greatest skill and accuracy of exc
cution on the part of the player. None of the
champions have yet been able to excedd 200 in
their practice games, and runs q 100 are d
rarity.
The champions decided so make each game
500 points up. and to play one game each night
to finish game according to the speed Of the
players. The prize money of S., 200 was divided
into four purses of ST. 900, $780, $500 and $780, re-
spectively, and it was decided to divide the ag-
gregate surplus of door money equally among the
five players The champions further resolved
to have umpires, and that each night the
players of the night shall mutually select a
referee for the game. The hall will be arranged
so that 500 persons can be seated The CALLER
les will be reserved for ladies' Smoking and
professional betting will be positively prohibited
in the hall.
Each of the contestants in the tournament
has won emblems of championship George
Slosson is the champion of the champions game
of restricted rail play, and was the first Amer
lean expert who ever defeated Maurice Vignaux.
Jacob Schaefer is now champion of the eight.
inch balk-line game. Maurice DAILY and William
ons. Joseph Dion has been champion of the regu-
cushion -carom championship in the original
cushion carom tournament.
Betting on the games has become very lively.
These bets have been offered on the winner:
81, 900 to So, 900 on both Schaefer and Slosson,
$500 to So, 500 on DAILY $500 to So, 900 on Sexton
and Dion.
George Slosson arrived in town late on Tues
day night. He is in fine playing FORM and has
made runs of ia, 176 and 200 In practice. He
will practice daily at the Columbia rooms in
Broadway. AL Smith is betting on DAILY, who is
also playing very strongly in practice at his own
rooms. Schaefer and Sexton are practising to-
gether at Sections rooms, and play with great
steadiness. The veteran Joseph Dion draws
crowds of admirers about him as he yields his
cue to the tune of 100 and more daily.