Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-01-17
TWO GREAT Br1L1ARpIsTs.
characteristics of scbaefer and slossom
When at Play.


George f. Slossom and Jacob Schsef-
er, old rivals at billiards, play again
anuary % at the LenoX Lyceum. IL
! i'll be the thirty-hfth time these TIVE
xperss have crossed cues. They hayo
wen and lost to each other at straight
rail billiards, cushion caroms, cham
| pion's game and the balk-iine system.
! Slosson has won seventeen times out OF
the thirty-three games played al all
! styles.
The next game will be a great one.
Both men are practicing hard. Like
old wine, they SCENE to improve with
age. Men who ought TO know, say
| these two wonderful billiardiSts are
playing better now than ever before.
Except for a difference In stroke,
Shaefer and Slosson are like two peas
| in pod. Born within few months OF
each other, they have grown TO the same
height. Ten pounds is more than their
difference in weight. But the stroke
All, there you have found the dividing
line. George is "the Student" and
Jake "the Wizard" That explains 1t,
| does it not?
If you don't think it does. go and see
them practice. You will find Siosson
at his rooms, corner Of Broadway and
Twenty-second street. He is snort
man and doesn't weigh as much as has
been said. His face is pale and his eyes
are large and blue. When he is playing
he walks around the billiard table at
rapid pace. II the balls are running
smoothly, his strokes follow each other
quickly, but If there is bad break, or
a hazardous shot is before him, he stud
| les the situation carefully. Every pos
sible chance is calculated. II there Is
| a fair possibility OF miss, the shot Is
played to leave the balls safe" for his
opponent. Here is where the name Of
Student" comes IN.
His style of stroke Is what is known
as the forearm movement. The wrist
is kept rigid and all the power given TO
the cue comes from the elbow. 1t is.
| perhaps, not so pretty as the wrist
stroke, and many experts say it is in
correct, but, like the famous insect, 1t
gets there just the same. While Slosson
is playing q game, whether 1t be only
for practice or in q match, he attends
strictly to business. He wants to win
His constitution is such that he has
to train carefully for match. Long
walks in the park, simple diet and regu-
lar hours for sleep are part OF mis-
training. His friends say there is UNI
mistakable way of telling whether he
will win or not. II his hands are warm
on the night of the contest he will win;
! if they are cold he will lose. Shake
hands with him on January %, and see
If there is anything in this theory.
Schaefer is practising at Heisers's
room, corner of Broadway and Twenty
ing the cue is fascinating. His IS the
wrist movement. He walks around the
table at an even pace executing masses
draws, follows and round-the-table shots
with precision and regularity that Is
amazing. You say to yourself. WHO
In the world can beat this man?" To
any one who has fancy for the nitric
aces Of billiards 1t is worth year OF
your life to see lin play. He is what
you would call a natural-born billiard
player.
Watch carefully the two men at prac-
tice. You will see that on ''round-the-
table" shots, the "Student" huddles the
balls together just as well as does the
wizard" You will see that although
George fiddles his cue up and down fifty
times before he makes a masse, he
counts just as often as does Jake. In
word, it is toss-up between them.
When they come together in match
Schaefer is alwas the favorite. His fas-
cinating stroke simply "Carries away !"
his friends.
Both of these experts sometimes get
"ratted. "When Schaefer is in this
state he slowly rubs his right ear and
an expression of despair is pictured on
his face. Slosson, when he IS ratified"
puts both hand on the rail Of the billiard
table and gazes at the balls with q wild
look In his eyes.
The match on January 90 will be at
14-inch baik lines for the championship
of the world. The winner takes the
emblem donated by the Brunswick
Balke-Collender Company, now held by
Schaefer.
The balk-line game was adopted by
the experts as an Improvement on the
champions game, which was invented
to relieve the monotony Of the old
straight rail-" The professionals had