The San Francisco call., 1913-07-20
Incidents in Career of Three
Cushion Marvel, Showing
His Skill and Game
ness in Play
By WILLIE GREEN

of the great national sport and in
terest would die.
1t is claimed that boxing has
stronger hold than even baseball, yet
there are less thrills to a bout than to
baseball game.
Golf and tennis and cricket and
Yachting and field and track games.
and horseraces all have their follow
ing-and. incidentally. there are thrills
In racing. Clean sport is a tonic for
the mentality
There is no sport today that is
cleaner nor that possesses more real
thrills than billiards-the gentleman's
game. \ contest between evenly
matched experts is one of the most
fascinating of entertainments.
The names of some of the great bill
lard PLAYERS of long ago-are familiar
TO all. Such masters of the cue as was
Jake Schaefer. the Wizard" as was
Frank Ives and George Slosson. and
Sutton and VignauX and Dion, and a
host of others who have been sup
planted by younger coterie of stars in
the billiard world, like De Orc. Hoppe.
Horgan, and the subject of this sketch,
Joe Carney
Joe Carney is one of the billiard ex-
perts now in the lmelight. for he is
ma atched to play Alfredo de Orc, the
three cushion champion, for the dia-
mond emblem, and the play will take
place in New York city some time in
October.
NOW a CALIFORNIAN
Joe Carney is now a Californian, hav-
ing made his home in San Franisco
for the last dozen years, and intending
to remain here during the tenure of
his life.
Joe Carney was born in st. Paul.
Mimi. in April. 1870 He began play
ing pool at the age of Is Young
Carney quickly developed into an ex-
pert pool player and met and van
quished many of the then stars in that
line
Carney's first really stellar pool en-
gagement was when he played Tommy
Hueston in San Francisco in 1906, a
week before the big fire. for the pool
championship. Hueston was then one
of Americas greatest pool players, and
is now a star performer at three cush-
ion caroms.
LOST BY ONE POINT
Just before the fire Joe Carney played
a great game in San Francisco with
Jake Schaefer at three cushions. Car
ney was defeated just one point.
Three years ago Carney defeated the
famous Willie Hoppe in three cush-
ion match at Graney's billiard parlors.
Carney ranks as the peer of such eX-
perts a the game as John Daily, former
champion; Tommy Hueston, former
billiard and pool champion; Ben Saylor,
the old time expert; Red Ely, the great
left handed point getter.
Saylor has played in this country
and in Europe, and is of the class of
Schaefer and Ives.
Wilson Sigourney is another of the
best old time coast players at all styles
Of billiards who has frequently met
Carney in matches.
-Tba ba tcI7
three cushions in which Carney was a
principal was when he was defeated
by John Horgan in a challenge match
for the championship, played in San
Francisco recently. Horgan, then
hampton. won by t50 to 125.
Carney. like others. believer that
three cushion caroms is the coming
game At billiards. The sport has made
remarkable strides in recent years
and the three cushion game is sup
planting balk line in public favor.
Hence all interest now centers in the
three eusion championship, once held
by Carney.
DEFEAT OF DE oRO
on January 70. 1912. Joe Carney met
Alfredo de ORC inDenver for the cham
pionship II was Carney's first try for
the honor. which he won. despite the
predictions Of the wise ones that De
ORC was his master with the cue
The championship was contested in
three games $50 points, 80 points a
right-the regulation championship
trial.
On the first night by most master
full play. De ORC won by so TO 25 in the
initial block for the three cushion
championship The block was played
IN 81 innings. Every available seat in
Sarconi hall academy was occupied by
enthusiastic billiard fans.
III .f~s @fet
spot shot handily. His steady. con-
sistent play was in evidence from the
start On the other hand Carney seemed
in hard luck with his stroke little
off. he missing many caroms by hair,
sufficient to unnerve the coolest of
skilled players. At that Carney pulled
off many brilliant shots. but the luck
was against him all through the first
block
In the twelfth inning De Orc made
3 run of five. and left the balls safe.
In the twelfth the Cuban ran three,
making the score at this stage IL to 3
IN his favor
The Cuban was making the naturals
perfectly. while Carney was missing
by hair.
At the nineteenth inning De Orc had
13 to Carney's 4.
SOME HARD LUCK SHOTS
The crowd had taken great interest
in De Oro's masterful PLAY, but there
was much sympathy for Carney, who
was afflicted with kisses and made
miscue at a critical stage, which ma
reriany kept his score down
In the twenty-sixth inning Carney
looked better. the score being II to 10
in favor of De orc. in the thirty-drst
however De orc got going again, pill
ing up five BEAUTIES, and leaving the
balls safe
Carney made three in the thirty
third but left them easy for De Orc,
who made another run of three.
De Oros wonderful safety play was
by this time the topic among the on
lockers.
ALI. UP WITH CARNEY
Carney continued to play in hard
luck. and in the forty-third inning the
score was De ORC 36. Carney II.
Then De ORC woke up and made some
brilliant scores. in the sixtieth inning
the tally standing: De ORC 46, Carney
%.
De ORC ran the game out of 80 points
in the ixty-fourth inning, Carney hav-
ing 25 in the sixty third.
While De Oro's average of .1lS was
not remarkable-in fact, rather SLOW
Vet Carney's average, -396, was the
io,vest that he had made in Denver, and
M criterion of what he could do In
lis n1av there with Fred Eames. Carney
b,d shown his gameness, and his ad-
,,,i,ers did not lose confidence in his
me-, T., even m scores with the great