The New York herald., 1920-12-07
BY WILLIAM b. HANNA.

! Welker Cochran, now San Fran
ciscan, defeated young Jake Schaefer
from the same far west community yes
| terday afternoon in the championship
1872 balkline billiard tournament at the
Hotel Astor, and in the evening Willie
Hoppe of New York, the perennial cham
Iion. defeated Welker Cochran. The
afternoon score was 400 to 33S; the
evening score was 400 to 370.
These were the first games of a three
day tournament and with mediocre but
close playing In both. The evening game
was long, stubborn and with Hoppe
much below his normal excellence of
craftsmanship. Cochran gave him a
fierce battle and passed him several
times.
In the evening Cochran was the first
to shoot ard Hoppe the first to count
The champions skill at execution served
him WELL fer his first inning began with
three around-the-table shots which re-
quired all the art and angle excellence
of the expert three cushioner. Willie had
to do a good deal of cross country work
| in his getaway inning for the balls
were nomadic and hard to domesticate
Cochran had two bad innings and
hadn't composed himself, but Hoppe in
the second paraded the balls on short
| flights for a long run. They were in
hand from the start, and with wide nurse
and close nurse. impeled by y stroke
plant and free and seductive, they criss-
crossed the upper spaces. head rail TO
side rails and back and forth. Points
| came fast and fell on the ear low toned
but clear as evening chimes.
Hoppe Rolls Up 1O1.
Up past the hundred point the daddy
| cueist Of them all continued to unroll
his magic. He missed his 1921 shot. 4
masse long the head rail. but in all
| that copicus strewing OF caroms on the
| emerald field he never was In trouble,
| ana he had TO drive the length OF the
| tabia but three times. The opulent en-
! semble gave him 120 points to Cochran's
| g. but the younger player steadied I'm his
third and ran Al. He covered moro
ground th1n Hoppe to get his points and
didn't keep his cue bail as close to the
other bills. In short. his control of all
| three wasn't as skilful
Cochran was going nicely in his fourth
when he missed a draw off the rail. the
cue ball being very close to the first
ball He left a hard shot The object
balls were on the end rail and far apart
A thin transverse two cushion shot
solved that situation for Hoppe and he
cracked two fancy ones at long range
before a violent kiss spoiled a third one
of these ornate geometric flights. Willie
garnished his fifth inning with a kiss
follow, then a masse, but he was get
ting the substance sought and stopped
at "a.
A beautiful long draw. taking the table
on the bias and giving position bright
ened Cochrans sixth inning and was
one of q run OF 25. which brought his
total to 115 Hoppe at the time had
t6s and was not flourishing or running
away When Cochran ran "a In his
ninth inning he spurted to within two
points Of Hoppe. The latter had III
points to Cochran's 1863. Hoppe was In
the thick Of famine He had made
three points In four innings. He made
beauty In the tenth inning. The cue
| bali was frozen to the white and all
three on or near the end rail. Hoppe
banked to the side rail. forcing the
white out OF the way as he came back
and half following II along the end rail
| TO the red--a bizarre shot and only for
a master.
Game Close but Ragged.
Half way home the game was close
but ragged. Cochran earned frequent
applause with good gather shots OF null
tiple cushions. and IN truth balkline had
given way TO cushion caroms Hair
draws off the rail were causing frequent
misses and short runs. Hopes poor
PLAYING enabled Cochran to hang on like
leech. The score for the. fifteenth
irnlng was: Hoppe. 216 Cochran, 2O5.
Thirty-six billiards trickled from Coch-
rams cue In the sixteenth inning and he
passed the champion.
He didn't stay there long. Hoppe.
after long. long stretch of poor bill
lizards for him. took his mace In hand In
the seventeenth inning and went at the
balls with square jawed earnestness. His
technique was still iabored, but at least
he was finding the second ball even II
not just where he wanted. His counting
was copious II not of his accustomed
sureness and ease OF action. His un-
limited resourcefulness came into pay
and two cushion shot to the side, then
| The foot. then back TO the other side
solved a lineup on the rail and was a
siam bang "a we'll az gorgeous effort
He ran 9o-his only real corpulent
inning since his secondhand turned tho
800 mark. A long draw. played with
the left hand and helped by kiss was
spectacular effort by Cochran follow
ing Hoppe's timely splurge A run OF
90 by Cochran made Il anybody's game
The score:
aGpPe1gi e 10 iSi q 4 4 g. Total zoo ATeroqa ~ u
10 4-22. High runs, f0i. 90, -.
/ o 80 o q az e2 o. Total. $40. ., Average, S
10 1929 High runs, p2, ~, 30
Teferee-Charles Peterson.
scbaefer Begins Well.
schaefer opened the afternoon game
with a run of 2S. In which he proceeded
slowly at open billiards and endeavoring
10 get the balls together. Tie was driving
constantly for the first twenty-five
points, at which stage he had them tanned
and huddled on the lower rou. An un.