Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-12
WILLIAM HOPPE
DESCRIBES SHOT
WAS TURNING POINT IN HIS
CAREER
Champion Billiardst Defeated Maurice
Vignaux, Veteran French Player,
by Securing Lead After
Gaining Position

William Hoppe the young billiard
champion at 1S-inch balk line billiards,
one shot in, and holder of the worlds
record run of 307 for 1S-inch balk line,
two shots in, was asked the other day
what shot, if any, he considered the
most momentous of his career.
In January last Hoppe defeated
Maurice Vignaux in Paris and wrested
the 1871 title from the veteran French
man. He told of shot in that game
which came as near as any to being a
turning point in his struggle for pre-
mier honors. 1t was the winning of
that game that brought him from the
shortstOp class up to the masters class
ranked him among the top-notchers.
THE most important shot, to me, of
that game" said Willie, was at the
beginning of the second inning of the
second half of the contest. In Paris
there is a recess when one of the play
ers has reached the halfway mark in
points. The game was close enough
when the second half began to be
either mans.
For the shot am telling you about
the balls were lined up, extending dag
onally out from the side rail. The cue
ball was farthest from the rail and
outside of the other two. The cue ball
went from the first object ball to the
side rail and then to the second ball,
catching the second ball on the far
edge. The shot gave me position and
l ran SO.
"If 1 had missed I would have left
position for Vignaux, and the chances
are that he would have gotten his
stroke first instead of me. A great
deal depended on which if us got his
stroke first, and I consider that shot
the most important in the game. Any
way, he did not play well after that,
and he told me after the game that
that shot beat him."
In the recent Chicago 1872 tournament
Hoppe defeated George Sutton, who
made the record average of 100 for 49,
in the New York tournament There
was a shot in that game which he
thinks as hard as any he ever made.
| The first object ball was frozen to an
end rail. Near the other end rail and
about its middle was the cue ball.
The second object ball was in cor
ner just to the right of the cue ball. The
cue ball was driven up to the far OBJ
ject ball, sliced off the latter to the
right and to the adjacent end cushion
and came back to the second object
| ball-a one-cushion shot. 1t was a
shot calling for complex application OF
force and a position shot as well. II
| gathered the balls and led up to a
big run.
"How long did it take me to run SO7?'
repeated Hoppe. About forty minutes
l should say. | did not feel much like
playing before the game began, but the
further 1t went the better l felt. Some
! times a man plays well when he doesn't
think he Is going to, and vice versa.
That's one of the several things about
billiards that is hard to explain. was
a little tired when a reached the Tooth
count of the run, but not after that
When you get to the 200 mark i'm a run
you feel that you can make anything
and that's the way / felt in that run.
There was more applause wher
I reached $50 than when. a few shots
later, l passed the previous record run
made by Cure. Most of the spectators
did not know the record run had beer
beaten. No, 1 can't say that applause
has much effect on me. 1 never see the
people i'm an important match. The
balls and the table are all l see. The
only time / feel nervous is just before
the start. After the start I'm al
right"