The first coin-operated billiard table was patented in 1903. The cost of a game on the first pay-for-play table: one penny.

Before the invention of celluloid and other new-age plastics, billiard balls were made out of ivory. The elephants can thank their present existence on the invention of plastics. Because billiard balls had to be cut from the dead center of a tusk, the average tusk yielded only 3 to 4 balls.

"The Fox and the Fly" may sound like one of Aesop's fables. But the actual story is true, and is probably one of billiards' most often-told tales. In 1865, Louis Fox and John Deery competed in a $1,000 match in Detroit. The 23-year-old Deery was handsome, athletic, and reputed to be totally fearless at the table. Fox, as him name implied, was a crafty veteran, known for driving his opponents crazy with his antics at the table. After a nail-biting struggle, Fox finally threatened to close out the match. In the midst of his surge, according to the legend, a fly took a liking to the cue ball, and continued to swarm around it, returning the moment the Fox took his stance. Efforts to shoo it away proved futile, and Fox, clearly rattled, missed his next shot. Deery proceeded to run the balls needed for victory, leaving the beaten Fox fuming in defeat. (Flies were actually a common problem in the mid 1800's. Most pool halls were lit with open flames from gas jets. This attracted the pests to the table, where they ultimately burned and fell onto the cloth.) So incensed was Fox over the constant interruptions, he literally blew after losing the match. He left the hall and plunged himself into the Detroit River. His body wasn't recovered for almost a year.

A 1987 survey of pool participation estimated that women—once virtual strangers to the game—accounted for nearly 1/3 of America's pool-playing population.

There were few, if any, women's tournaments in the early 1900's. Whatever titles there were, were local, and usually self-proclaimed. Until, of course, Frances Anderson came along. The Indiana native merely proclaimed herself Champion of the World, and offered $5,000 to any woman who could beat her at pocket billiards. Anderson toured the country, playing both men and women. Legend has it, she went undefeated for 25 years against her female competitors. She was paid handsomely for her appearances throughout the 1920's, taking on challengers and giving exhibitions, in both America and Europe. She followed this up with a well-publicized announcement that shocked the pool-playing world. Her real name was Orie (from Kansas), not Frances—and she was actually a he!

The term "scratch," as applied to a pocketing of the cue ball, was derived from the penalty assessed for such a foul. In pool's early days, the score was often kept on a chalkboard. When a player pocketed the cue ball, his opponent "scratched" a point off the shooter's score.

The Hustler was based on a novel by Walter Tevis. The novel, however, was based on a short story he had earlier submitted to Playboy. Well before The Hustler was released, the old "Philco TV Theater" aired an episode called "Goodbye, Johnny," which bore an uncanny resemblance to the Playboy short story. In it, Cliff Robertson portrayed the cocky young hustler, making Robertson—not Newman—the original "Fast Eddie" Felson.

Charles Goodyear—the inventor of vulcanized rubber, which revolutionized billiard cushions and countless industries—died a virtual pauper. His company failed, he was imprisoned for debt, and he profited little from his breakthrough invention.

The world's largest billiard hall was built during billiards' "Golden Age." "The Recreation," a mammoth seven-story health spa, was a bustling Detroit business in the 1920's. It featured 103 tables, 88 bowling lanes, 20 barber chairs, three manicuring stands, 14 cigar stands, a lunch counter on each floor, a restaurant that could seat 300, and an exhibition room with theater seating, that could accommodate 250 spectators.

Captain Mingaud, the inventor of the leather cue tip, was imprisoned for political reasons during the French Revolution. With the help of a fellow prisoner, he was able to have a billiard table installed in his cell. It was during his incarceration that he became obsessed with the game, that he devised and perfected his invention. His obsession became so intense, that at the end of his prison term, he actually asked for a longer sentence, so that he could complete his study of the game!

Johnny Kling may well have been the first multi-sport superstar. The standout catcher on the famed "Tinkers-to-Evans-to-Chance" Cubs, Kling sat out the 1909 season over a contract dispute. So what did he do to while away the time? He played a little pool—beating Charles "Cowboy" Watson to win the 1909 World Pocket Billiard Championship!

Marquetry—the art of making pictures or designs with thin slices of wood, shell or other materials—has long enhanced the beauty of tables and cues. The artform is hardly a recent development. It has been practiced in Egypt and the Orient, for more than 3,000 years.

Many handicapped people have played the game of pool, but the story of "Handless George" Sutton is truly one of inspiration. Born in 1870, Sutton lost both hands in a sawmill accident at the tender age of eight. Despite his handicap (and long before the days of advanced prosthetics), he studied medicine and graduated from the University of Milwaukee. During his college years, he took up the game of billiards. He became so proficient, he set an 18.2 Balkline world record with a run of 799, in 1921. He took his playing skills on the road, touring the country and amazing audiences for nearly 35 years. He left an everlasting legacy—the resolve of the human spirit—upon his death, in 1938.

W.C. Fields, despite his slapstick persona, was an accomplished pool player (and hustler).

The demand for ivory balls, for nearly two centuries, led to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of elephants. Curiously, the concern at the time was never for the elephants, but for the safety of those who tracked them to their deaths.

Willie Hoppe was truly a legendary player. Yet, his most famous match strangely had more to do with a pen knife, than his unequaled wizardry of the game. In 1925, he met Robert Cannefax, the Three-Cushion champion. After several games, Cannefax, who preferred a fast cloth, asked to move the match to a different table. Hoppe, who was leading, said the cloth was just fine, and refused to allow a change. An incensed Cannefax drew a pen knife and savagely cut the cloth down the center of the table. Hoppe was immediately awarded the match, and Cannefax was suspended from competition for a year. Ironically, Cannefax never played another match. He toured vaudeville for several years, then died of meningitis, in 1928.

Ground billiards, from which the table game ultimately evolved, was actually very similar to golf and croquet.

Throughout most of the 1800's, the chalk used on the new leather cue tips was carbonate of lime—blackboard chalk.

Most chalk used today is comprised of fine abrasives—and does not contain a speck of chalk at all!

In 19th century America, the term "pool" referred to a collective bet or ante. The ugliness often associated with the word (and the game) strangely had more to do with gambling and horse racing, than the game of pool, itself. Back then, a "poolroom" was a betting parlor for horse racing. Pool tables were often installed in the parlors, so the patrons could amuse themselves in between races. Apparently, the two—the game of pool and the parlors—became connected in the public mind. And when pool inherited its name, the unsavory images associated with the parlors became attached to the game of pool. The name itself evoked images of betting, fighting, and shady characters in a dangerous world. And that reputation, unfairly or not, became synonymous with pool, from the day it was named.

The Church has long been a part of billiard history. From its earliest days, the game was often denounced as a sinful, dangerous, morally corrupt activity. In 15th century France, billiards play was forbidden, by the Church, as well as the King. In early American history, actual laws were passed (thanks to religious influences), outlawing the game in many parts of the land.

Until almost 1920, American billiards was dominated by the carom (pocketless) games. Pool (the pocket games) was a dead, or dying, sport. When the first championship pool tournament was held in 1878, the winner, and the event itself, all but went unnoticed.

The first 18.2 Balkline Championship was held in Paris, in 1913. It will probably be the only world championship in history ever decided by the courts. After six days of play, three contestants were tied for the first place. When a tie-breaking playoff was suggested, Maurice Vignaux, the French champion—and notorious whiner when things weren't going his way—scoffed at the suggestion. He insisted the title should be awarded based on the highest overall average (which he, of course, had at the time). Vignaux refused to continue, and the matter wound up in the French courts. (Which, of course, awarded Vignaux, their countryman, the title, after a delay of more than two months.)

No one knows exactly who, when or where the first billiard table was built. The earliest documented record of a billiard table was made in 1470. In an inventory of the possessions of King Louis XI of France, his table was said to have contained the following: a bed of stone, a cloth covering, and a hole in the middle of the playing field, into which balls could be driven.

Harvey Hendrickson probably made as much money as anyone, with his "limited" skills at the billiard table. He actually toured the country and amazed audiences. Not with his ability to run racks or pocket balls. But with his freakishly unique ability—to pick up and hold 15 billiard balls at once—using only one hand!

What the hell is billiard cloth made of? Amazingly, the main component of billiard cloth has remained unchanged for over 400 years. Wool was used in the 1500's, and remains the fabric of choice today. It has, of course, undergone some perfecting (and some wool/nylon blends are also produced).

The word "cue" is derived from the French queue, meaning tail. Before the cue stick was designed, billiards was played with a mace. The mace consisted of a curved wooden (or metal) head used to push the ball forward, attached to a narrow handle. Since the bulkiness of the mace head made shots along the rail difficult, it was often turned around and the "tail" end was used. Players eventually realized this method was far more effective, and the cue as a separate instrument grew out of the mace's tail.