Evening star., 1893-12-04
Remarkable Billiards.
From the New York Times.

From the New York Times.
The match at the fourteen-inch balk-line
game between Schaefer and Ives was un-
doubtedly the most remarkable exhibition
that has ever been made of the art of play
ing billiards. In order to comprehend how
remarkable it was, ii is necessary to bear
in mind that the game was devised in order
to reduce to 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
Vignaux. 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 monotonoUs.
The introduction of balk line was one
of several devices to compel open ia BILE play
to shorten runs, and to give the round
the-table players an equal chance with the
"nursers.' The result mas been to confirm
the suspicion that the exquisite Judgment
OF force involved in successful rail narsing
was not u part but the whole of billiards
The same players who were superior at
straight billiards showed an equal superb
ority at balk-line billiards. They succeeded
in beating the new game they had
beaten the old, and none of their old an
tagoniSts has any better chance with them
at tne balk-line game than at straight bill
lardS. Ives has appeared since the new
game was introduced, but his proficiency at
it, well 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
the qualities that make an expert at any
game that is played upon a billiard table.
Schaefer's victory was, perhaps, a trib-
ute to his moral well as to his technical
qualities. He had often shown before that
he could play an up hill game" and that
it was not safe to wager against his win
ming until the winning point had been
scored. But he has seldom shown such
pluck as was required to win on Saturday
night when, in order 10 win, ne had to
make 1.J0J points against 500 by one Of
the mes, slillful billiard players living
and succeeded, with an average of 20, This
average shows sufficiently how progressive
is the art of billiard playing. 1t is not SO
very long ago that Dion's average of % for
Uo points at straight billiards was regS rd-
ed as wonderful, and when Schaefer's 30
at the fourteen-inch balk line was the eli
max OF billiard playing. But in this last
match the grand average of both players
was over -, while Schaefer's record run
repeatedly broken by himself is replaced
~ the astonishing 456 of Ives. All these
tnhss add interest to the triangular match
vi ~, ny IN nnonin- II Fignaux were also enter
eu' the result of that contest would be an
uhqueStlonabie demonstration Of the high
eSt SALi Ihat has been attained in billiard
pidSlhs up 10 the end Of the year 1893