The Washington times., 1921-02-13

representing the best we have In
America, and the other no doubt
equally representing European PROV
ess. are both to appear at Sherman's
billiard and bowling academy and II
is through the energetic efforts OF
George Lewis that Washington's low
ers Of the green cloth game have such
a treat In store.
TONGUES ARE wAGGING.
or the comparative merits OF these
players, the billiard world has been
buzzing throughout the winter. From
New York TO the Barbary Coast the
indoor sports have had the PROPOSED
championship match on their tongues
at all times. r
The conversat ion, and In some cases
Indignation, started shortly after
Horemans arrived in America. In his
exhibition games he made some ex-
tremely long runs and the wags be-
gan to believe he would be q hitting
opponent for Hoppe in q sufficiently
long game, say $500 points. These
long runs. however, cannot be ac-
cepted as official. as they were made
In exhibition. not match play.
The fact stands out In bold relief.
though. that Horemans' long strings
"S'V SAoSsay shV ooshS
conditions that obtain In champion
ship 1871 and 1872 jousts. and 1t is
this feature which has set the bugs
to thinking.
His runs Of 7O1 at 1872 and 207 at
ISL. both OF which eclipsed anything
ever before attained at these styles.
although made in exhibition matches.
are hard to forget when considering
how he would stand the wear in a
titular bout OF however many points
with Hoppe.
RECORDS ARE sCRUTTNIZED.
The previous high runs made by
Frank Ives and Willie Hoppe have
been infinitely examined and even
the stancffest supporters of these
other stars have been forced to I'D
nit that stheir performances dwindle
into almost insignificance when sub
mitted - the glare of comparison
with Horemans' recent work.
The Belgique's performance when
he made the two remarkable runs
referred to were done on a regula-
ton five by ten table, which had
been leveled, accurately marked with
the balklines and was covered with
the best grade of green Simonis
cloth.
The balls had been measured an
weighed and found to be as perfect
as any set of championship worries
ever brought into play. Further
more, and what Is really of greater
Importance when making the COM
parison with other achievements. the
DR.. Harley Parker anchor box Of
seven inches square was drawn at
the anchor space.
DIDN'T HAVE THIS BARRIER.
No such barrier existed when Ives
and Hoppe made their record runs.
1t is this fact which makes Hore-
mans performance so Impressive.
with the seven-inch anchor box, it
Is impossible for any of the con-
tinuous nurses, frequently used in
the past to make high runs, to be
employed. The anchor. chuck nurse
and rub nurse are effectively barred
by the anchor box in it's present
form. 1t leaves only the line nurse,
and this cannot be classed as a con-
tinuous nurse, for the position of the
balls is always changing.
In brief, there is no chance now to
play continually off afrozen ball, as
was possible when the chuck nurse
was permissible.
When Frank Ives made his run of
III in 1895 at Madrid, Spain, IL was
at 14.2 balkline on a Az by table
The anchor was barred but no an
Choir boxes were drawn on the table
and il is generally believed that Ives
used the chuck or some similar nurse.
When Willie Hoppe made his grand
run of 621 in Paris in 1906, the an
Choir was barred and again no
anchor boxes were outlined on the
n RI
sumo that Willie used the chuck
nurse to some extent
THOSE DAYS AND THESE.
The fact that no anchor boxes
were drawn on the tables when these
performances were made means that
perhaps twenty or more times during
the runs the balls were in anchor
and were permitted to remain there
for succeeding shots This would
have terminated the runs under
present-day conditions, but they were
legitimate nurses in those days.
The entire development Of balkline
billiards is built around the anchor
box. Jake Schaefer was the first
player to make a stable run. While
playing against Frank Ives in 1898,
Schaefer ran 343 and won the match
by score Of 1000 to 1885. THE Wiz
ard" used the anchor shot in this run.
He really was the first player to per-
feet it. At that time 1t was legiti-
mate shot
CLAMOR FOR MATCH.
But the public is clamoring for a
match between Hoppe and Horemans.
and by all means let II take place
Hoppe has been champion for seven
teen years. and he is still in his
prime.
In spite OF the glowing reports of
the cleverness of the Belgian, he will
have his hands full to wrest the
crown from Hopes head. Hoppe Is
man with an arctic temperament
His nerves are nil. He is as trapped
as a bottle of champagne used to be
and he has never been known to be-
come ruffled no matter what his for
tune on the table may have been. He
has rallied under some remarkable
handicaps.
Horemans, on the other hand, In Of
the Latin type and has temperament.
Still he is without question the great
n.