Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-04
Remarkable Billiards,

From the New York Times
The match at the fourteen-inch balk-line
game between Schaefer and Ives was I'M
doubleday the most remarkable exhibition
that has ever been made of the art OF play
ing billiards. In order to comprehend how
remarkable it was. il is necessary to bear
in mind that the game was devised I'm order
to reduce to q level with their competitors
certain players with whom the others had
no chance at straight billiards This was
something like ten years ago. and the play-
ers in question were Schaefer, Slosson and
, NiSn2ux- The first of these had in effect
invented, and the other two had mastered,
the art OF rail play, in which nobody else
could approach them, and by means of
which they were enabled to make internin-
able runs, which were complained of as be-
ing unjust to the other players, in that
rail play included but a part of the game,
and wearisome to The spectators, in that a
long run on the rail consisted merely in a
series Of slight ticks, by which the balls
were disturbed as little as possible, and be-
came very monotorous.
The introduction CT a balk line was one
CT several devices to compel open-table play,
to shorten runs, and to give the round
thc-tabie players an equal chance with the
''nurscrs.' The result has been to confirm
the suspicion that the exquisite Judgment
OF force involved in successful rail nursing
WAS not a part but the whole of billiards,
The same players who We're superior at
straight billiards showed an equal superb
GRITTY at balk-line billiards. They succeeded
in beating" the new game as they had
beaten the Old, and none of their old an
tagonists has any better chance with them
at the Dalk-line game than ~ straight bill
lizards. Ives has appeared since the new
game was introduced. but his proficiency at
il. as we'll as his proficiency at the com
promise game he played with Roberts shows
that the qualities that enable player sue
cessfulIy TO nurse the balls are really
game that is played upon billiard table
Sch2efers victory was, perhaps, a trib-
ute TO his moral as well as to his technical
qualities. He had often shown before that
he could play an uphill game" and that
ii was not safe to wager against his WIN
ming until the winning point mad been
scored. But he has seldom shown such
pluck as WAS required to win on Saturday
night, when, in order TO win, he had to
make LOO points against 800 by one of
the most siiilful billiard players living,
ana succeeded, with an average of 20. This
average shows sufficiently how progressive
IS the art of billiard laying. 1t is not so
very long ago that DiOn'S average of % for
OOO points at straight billiards was regard
ed as wonderful, and when Schaefer's go
az lhe iourteen-inch balk line was the eli
max OF billiard playing. But in this last
match the grand average of both PLAYERS
was over q, while Schaefer's record RIM
repeatedly broken by himself, is replaced
by the astonishing 456 of Ives. All these
tt % aud interest TO the triangular match
OF next month II Nignaux were also enter
ed. the result of that contest would b, an
understanding demonstration of the high
est SIN that mas been attained in b;liia I'd
play!"E up 10 The end of the year 1895