Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-02-21
JAKE SCHAEFER DOES
LOTS OF WALKING.

With his cue balanced nicely III his
right hand, his left bridged firmly upon
the green taizc of the billiard cloth,
Jacob Schaefer. the wizard OF the
table," the man who has held more
championships than any other profess
sional, who has been beaten one sea-
son only to regain his lost title before
the year was over or in the season
following. TAPPED the cue bail lightly,
sending it forward with enough i'm
pulse to reverse" from the red ball to
the object ball, and retired from the
table winner of a so-called exhibition
match, to which he had given quite as
much mental concentration as if he
had been playing for the champion
ship.
That's right, applaud" said the
champion, somewhat testify, for it had
not been an easy game to win, and
if l had lost probably you would have
said that Jake is getting too old and
doesn't throw the life into his game
that he did 90 years ago II wonder"
said he, after ne had disjointed MS cue
and placed it carefully in a case and
had thrown himself into q rOomy
lounging chair which had been drawn
toward one corner of the room, "hOW
many persons there are in the world
who really have an idea of the amount
Of hard mental and physical labor that
must be undergone to become a billiard
champion. Sometimes I have thought
that if, when I first began to play b;l-
lizards in Cleveland with some success,
l had known what l would have to go
through, there would never have been
Jacob Schaefer champion. Still, /
presume that 1 should have continued
in the game" unused the champion, as
he fiicked the ashes from q cigar to-
ward the fireplace.
Can you imagine" suddenly exclaimed
the famous expert, as lie threw one leg
over the other and looked toward the
ceiling, with his forehead wrinkled in
calculation. that 1 have spent almost
half Of my life with d billiard cue in my
hand" Everybody knows how old I am,
and I don't propose to say anything in
regard to that. but, for instance, what
would you think of watkins, around a bill
lard table for % years in succession?
Hard labor Ell? Well. I guess it is.
Twenty-Five years on tho march, poking
out cushion caromG here and draw shots
there. running 1@, GGG and SO. ana behind
YOU bearing the nervous hum Of an ex-
cited crowd that begins to fret almost
as much as you do whenever You bend
over to make Il shot: counting point after
point with an cxactitude that almost
surprises yourself. and then ut the last
moment falling flat on an easy chance
and failing to break a record"
The wizard" picked up a paper pad
from nearby table and with the stub of
a pencil began to make some calculations
In a few moments he laid 1t down.
No use" he said. as ne resumed the
conversation. Il was starting to figure
out how far 1 might have walked in the
last % years. 1 ann not including walk
ing to and from home or walking around
a city or anything of that sort I mean
walking around Il billiard table. 1 can't
GET anywhere near the right figures. I
don't know how to make enough allow
ance for the long turns that I may have
taken. and the many times In which 7
have walked around a table more than
once before l shot. But say, Father Wes-
ton. with all his recent success in dupli-
eating his walk from Portland to Chica
20, I don't believe has walked much fur
Their in his time than JACOB Schaefer. bill
lizard player. I wouldn't agree to walk
against him on his terms. but I guess 1
could keep up with him around a billiard
table.
Schaefer was silent for 4 moment as he
fumbled with the contents of a match
box that was before him. Swinging one
foot idly to and fro, like a child perched
on a fence. he resumed the conversation
by remarking that billiards are the
same that they ever have been. but that
the players have grown faster in the last
10 years. II don't believe there is any
doubt abort it," said he. Men are more
expert, the experts are more expert. and
more players can make fair averages
than was the case in 1895. If experts are
not more expert why should the secret
of the 49, and the 1871 games have been
mastered in far quicker time than any
other restrictions make the game
harder for the more proficient players?
I don't recall anything in the history of
billiards to equal the skill Of the Ameri-
can and French players in making the
most of these recent forms of competed