Chicago Billiard Museum 1920

1921

N ews: June 16, 1921 New Billiard Body To Be Formed
Tentative arrangements for organization of National Billiard Association.

Patent# 1,395,236   Oct 25,1921   Henry O. Taylor
Machine for repairing cues.

How Cues Are Made
An article describing the classic process for making hand-made cues in 1921.
Part 1 here     Part 2 here
From: The Wood Worker magazine, October 1921

News: Oct 20, 1921 Seven Players Of World's Tourny Announced
Hoppe (NY), Schaefer Jr. (Chi), Cochran (San Fran), Horemans (Belgium), Conti
(Paris), Morningstar (San Diego), Sutton (Chi)

News: Nov 24, 1921 Schaefer Dethrones Hoppe, Title Holder Since 1906
Schaefer is the new 18.2 world champion.

News: Dec 25, 1921 Champions of Sports in 1921
A list of every major sport in the U.S.- and the best players of each.

        Bud Green                   Andrew O'Brien        Howard Shoemaker & Gus Gardner

1921 s062308 1921 SDN-062984 1921 s062469
Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.
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1922

News: April 14th, 1922 Chicago Billiard and Baseball legend "Cap Anson" died.
A well loved man in Chicago and across the nation.

A grumpy looking senior Tom Foley (left) & Fred Pfeffer,
attending Cap Anson's funeral.

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1923

Patent# 1,450,605 April 3, 1923 Stephen Nemecek
A Cue Tip. Nemecek produces his cue tips for Kieckhefer Mfg.
Below: Kieckhefer - Nemecek ad from Billiards Magazine Jan. 1923

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1924

News: William P. Mussey of Chicago Dies
World famous billiard and bowling room owner and former president of the NBL.

Above article from: Billiards Magazine 04/1924 Charles Ursitti Collection

April 19th, Thomas Phelan Foley died. See Also: Portrait Gallery

Patent # 1,509,144 Sept 23, 1924 Frank J. Harmet
Hood for billiard table pockets.
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1925

News: Undated 1925 George Sutton's Son Arrested For Robbery

Patent # 1,524,132 Jan 27, 1925 Edmund F. Hoskin (assignor to William Spinks)
Billiard Cue Chalk.

News: Jan 27, 1925 Greenleaf Losing To Rudolph At Mussey's

Patent# 1,527,748 Feb 24, 1925 Herman J. Rambow (assignor to BBCC)
Cue design

June 12, Calvin Demarest died. Elgin, IL
See Also: Portrait Gallery (with biography)

Patent # 1,558,209 Oct 20, 1925 Theodore R. Treiber (assignor to BBCC)
Game Table.

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1926

Former Chicago billiard table maker Louis Passow died. (son of Charles Passow)
See also Chicago Companies. Excerpt from Billiards Magazine Feb. 1926

Patent # 1,568,106 Jan 5, 1926 Theo . R. Treiber (assignor to Wil l m . McWhorter)
Game Table.

News: Jan 7, 1926 SCHAEFER BEASTS HOREMANS; WINS TITLE
Front page news in Chicago plus a great article on the two players differing styles.

Patent # 1,574,590 Feb 23, 1926 George F. Miller
Chalk Holder.

News: Undated 1926 Schaefer Regains World 18.2 Title
Schaefer vs Horemans. Both players beat Hoppe records.
Dubbed "Best 1500 balk-line competition in history"

News: April 3, 1926 Schaefer Regains 18.1 Title Against Hoppe
Brilliant play and previous records shattered.

Below: Article from Popular Mechanics Apr.,1926. (Click on title to read)

Sadly, Tom died shortly thereafter on November 3rd, 1926.
It was a great loss to Chicago and to billiard and baseball fans across the U.S.
Image from Billiards Magazine Nov 1926 Courtesy Charles Ursitti Collection
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1927

Patent# 1,613,372 Jan 4, 1927 Charles P. Barker (assignor BBCC)
Table-Mounted Ball Rack.

Patent# 1,613,403 Jan 4, 1927 John O. Miller (assignor to BBCC)
Game Table Cushion.

Patent# 1,615,899 Feb 1, 1927 John G. Bjorkman
New kind of billiard table.

Patent # 1,652,671 Dec 13, 1927 Edmund F. Hoskin (assignor to William Spinks)
Game Table.

Arthur Thurnblad R. Campanioni Robert Mellen

1927 SDN-066417                                                  1927 SDN-066416
Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.

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1928

News: May 2nd, 1928   L. A. Bensinger Killed By Car
Billiard family of Chicago suffers a great loss.

News: May 1928   The Will of L.A. Bensinger is Filed

Above image from Billiards Magazine Dec. 1928 Charles Ursitti Collection
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1929

Patent# 1,702,292 Feb 19, 1929 Harold G. Barrett (assignor to Barbarite Co)
Billiard Cue.

Patent # 1,705,353 March 12, 1929 Harold G. Barret (assignor Barbarite Corp)
Billiard Cue.

Below: A Portrait of Sydney Laner, featured in Billiards Magazine, June 1929
The Laner family served Chicagoland until 2009.
(see also Chicago Billiard Companies)

1920

Chicago Population: 2,701,705

Click here for Pocket Billiard scores and records from 1920-1930

Click here for 3-cushion scores and records from 1878-1929

Click here to see maps of Chicago in the 1920s

Jan 16, Prohibition Begins. The "speakeasy" is born.

Patent# 1,332,431 March 2, 1920 James W. Darras
Chalk Holder. Mr. Darras also ran a billiard room at 1159 N. Clark

News: March 14, 1920 Urge Olympic Billiards
Officials of the NAABP filed a resolution with the Olympic Committee
requesting that billiards be placed in future Olympic programs.

News: Oct 24, 1920 De Oro Plans Comeback
Ralph Greenleaf's first public appearance as a 3-cushion player. Also
mentioned: McAndless, Cannefax, Hoppe, Demarest, Mayer, Letzer

Patent # 1,361,930 Dec 14, 1920 Theodore R. Treiber (assignor to
J.C. McFarland) Gully Boot For Billiard Table.

www.whitehousehistory.org

The Brunswick "Adam" Special Order 1928

Brunswick "Arcadian" 1923 - 1926

The Brunswick "Artline" 1920

The Brunswick "Aviator" 1922-1924

Page 2 of article click here
Article from: Billiards Magazine June 1928 Charles Ursitti Collection
Louis Bensinger's death certificate can be seen here.

Patent# 1,682,201 Aug 28, 1928 George L. Thompson (assignor BBCC)
Gulley For Pocket Billiard Table.

Patent# 1,688,310 Oct 16,1928 John O. Miller (assignor BBCC)
Device For Chalking Cue Tips.

The White House Billiard Room Circa 1928

Edward Horemans

1922 s063391 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.

News: July 6, 1922 Girl Drops "Love Suit" Against Norman Bensinger.
Norm is alleged to have backed out on a marriage proposal.
You know what they say: Hell hath no fury....

News: Aug 13, 1922 Schaefer Sr.'s Silver Trophy Returned to Widow
Trophy to join son's Championship Medal. Players ask for composition balls in
tournament play (rather than ivory). Greenleaf vs Bennie Allen. Allen is partnered with
Johnny Kling, the former Chicago Cubs catcher.

News: Nov 22, 1922 Hoppe Regains World Title - Defeats Schaefer
A long narrative article describing details of the entire event.
" He kept scoring like a well-oiled machine.."

News: Dec 4, 1922 Sports News - Greenleaf Wins By Default
Dispute over the type of balls used, causes Arthur Church to forfeit.

Roger Conti James F. Peabody

1922 SDN-063125 1922 s063595
Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.

The Brunswick "Conqueror" 1928 -1931

The Brunswick "Cue Roque" 1928-1932

The Brunswick "Elizabethan" (custom) — 1926

The Brunswick "Federal" 1920

Courtesy Charles Ursitti Collection

The Brunswick "Junior Playmate" 1929

The Brunswick "Monroe" 1928 to 1930

The Brunswick "Medalist" 1926 to 1928

The Brunswick "Playmate" 1928

The Brunswick "Paragon" — 1928

The Brunswick "Royal Snooker" — 1928 to 1930

The Brunswick "Royal" 6 leg model, 1928 to 1930

The Brunswick "Regina" 4 or 6 leg 1922-1925

The Brunswick "Regina" 8 leg 1922-1923

The Brunswick "Sterling " 4 or 6 leg model, 1920 to 1924

The Brunswick "Vestal Steel" 1920

Brunswick "Wilmington" 1923 to 1928

New Chicago Billiard Commission and Billiard Room License Requirements
Excerpt from: The Chicago Municipal Code of 1922 Samuel A. Ettelson

A Biography of Billiard Champion Ora Morningstar
Very informative. (4 pages)
Excerpt from: The City of San Diego & San Diego County 1922 Clarence A. Mcgrew

634 Billiard Halls of Chicago
As listed in the 1923 Chicago Directory (click to see full size)

Billiard Table Companies of Chicago
As listed in the 1923 Chicago Directory (click to see full size)

CBM Map Project: The Billiard Rooms of Chicago 1928-29
Utilizing the Google Map system and a 1928-29 City Directory, we have compiled a
wonderful historic map of over 600 Billiard and Pocket Billiard Rooms in Chicago.

Click here to view the standard 'Google Map' version

Click here to view the 'Google Earth' version (recommended)

Below: The Chicago Billiard Room Listings from the 1928-29 Directory
(Left image is top half of page, Right image is bottom half of same page)

Billiard Table Companies of Chicago
As listed in the 1928-29 Chicago Directory

Way Back When: Evolution of Billiard Halls
In the late 1800s a new trend in billiard halls emerged. Hoping to improve billiard's
shady reputation and discourage undesirable patrons, the standard bar-room
atmosphere was abandoned by many businessmen. Instead they built fancy
multi-story "recreation" complexes that you and I might call a "super center" or a "mall".

Early on, these were "man-malls" where women were not expected to go. But as the
"times" changed, soon the recreation malls were catering to the ladies too.

Below are some examples of recreation centers from several major cities, offering an
amazing array of amenities including billiard tables, bowling lanes, soda fountains,
barber shops, lunch rooms and buffets, cigar stands, ice cream parlors, shoe shining
parlors, music shows, "ladies parlors", beauty shops, lockers and dressing rooms.

Images from Billiards Magazine 1923, 1918 Courtesy Charles Ursitti Collection

Image from Billiards Magazine 1929 Courtesy Charles Ursitti Collection

Images from: Billiards Magazine 1918 Courtesy Charles Ursitti Collection

Tom Foley "Father of Chicago Billiards & Baseball" Celebrates 84th Birthday.
Born in Cashel, Ireland Aug. 16 1842, Thomas arrived in New York in 1848 and then
Chicago in 1854. Read an interesting article about Tom Foley that was published in
Billiards Magazine in 1926 by clicking here.