Sporting and Athletic Records

B I L L I A R D S BILLIARD RECORDS are in a somewhat unsatisfactory state owing to the diversities of tables used and of rules of play followed. Once in the days when the Billiard Championship was formally contested, Messrs. Cox and YEMAN built a so-called championship table, the chief point about which was that the pockets were so constructed and the spot so placed that the spot stroke was almost impossible. The pockets were only Jin. wide and the spot was I2 1 /4in. from the top cushion. However desirable it may be considered, in the interest of the "gate," to rule out the spot stroke, it is obviously futile to contest the cham­ pionship of a game under conditions at variance with that game as usually played. Again, according to the laws of billiards the so-called push stroke is clearly a foul. These and other matters have to be borne in mind in dealing with records at billiards. Further it is im­ possible to tabulate world's records because American Billiards, with several varieties, is a different game from English Billiards or spot- barred billiards, or any form of the game usually played in England. The dimensions and measurements of a standard table were fixed by the Billiard Association in 1891, and are as follows:— Height of table 2ft. 9'/sin. to 2ft. loin. Size of slate 12ft. X 6ft. i^sin. Playing surface between cushions 11ft. gin. X 5^- lo'/jin. 27