Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-12-21
Hard Work Spells
Success For Hoppe

| The question as to how Willie
Hoppe does it--how he goes along
year after year cueing his way thru
the strongest opposition that can be
mustered against him--is the chief
| topic of conversation in billiard
circles.
enthusiasts have sought often to
iihd the answer to the CHAMPIONS
mastery OF the ivories They have
sought to ascertain Just why II is
that no other seems able TO step
along the broad highway and meas
ure strides with him.
When close study of Homes
methods is made and when these
metnods are compared with those
employed by others who have sought
To strip him of the laurels he has so
gracefully worn for the last fifteen
years. or ever since he was eighteen
years OF age. the answer is simple
enough. 1t is practice-olose appli-
cation to conscientious practice. II
VIII surprise n great many TO learn
that even when the billiard season is
at Its height Hoppe spends at least
two hours day In practice. Thu
does not include the time that he de-
votes to playing afternoon and even
Ing exhibition matches.
After the recent tournament Hoppe
was asked to what he attributed his
success. He replied:
Practice. Billiard playing ia my
profession. A man In any other pro-
fession or business devotes at least
| seven hours day to work, doesn't
he? That being true. why shouldn't
man who makes billiards his work
do the same thing! i put in an aver
age of four hours day playing ex-
hibition matches in the afternoon
| and evening. / also devote two hours
in the morning to practice. On days
when have no exhibition matches
| scheduled. and / am In a position to
do so-that is to say when am not
| on train making Jump from one
city to another--I manage to put in
at least two-hour session at the
table in the morning and follow this
| with three hours work in the after
| noon.
When I am playing an exhibition
or match game ] always make u
mental note OF the shots that I miss
or those that hnve failed to play
| accurately. 1t is these shots that
practice. try to remember the exac.
| position the balls were In and then
place them. i keep playing the shot
| not until make it once or twice, but
1 until ii becomes almost second ma
ture to ME to make 1t properly. Ma
turally, in making shots | am always
seeking to make them in n way that
| will give me the best position for a
succeeding shot. Position is every
thing in billiards. A player who
simply plays ball to bali billiards
with no thought Of the position the
balls will be in after the Immediate
point has been made, can not hope
| to get very far in competitive bill
liards."
Every Ball Player Has His Day.
Frank Russell Woodward. whose
name again adorns the reserve list
believes every ball player should
| have his day. just like every dog
/, This year and the year before. Wood
/ ward, whose first engagement in fast
company was with the Phillies in
1918. has had one large, large after
noon--in 1919 as pitcher, in 1920 a.
batter.
Woodward's big afternoon In 1915
Aug. 15-merely got him little
honorable mention in Philadelphia
The Cards doubled up with the Phils
that day and Woodward, pitching
parts of both the games, turned the
/ Quakers back hitless and runless fol
nine successive innings. Then, in his
] attempt to reel off another perfect
round, he cracked and lost a bal
game after having won one. This is