Caras/Rudolph, April 1936 World Championship challenge.

[LApoolbum]

Thanks again to Mr. Ursitti for the invaluable information on his website.

Caras defended his title in this match which consisted of 6 blocks of 125 points played over 3 days. Here's the amazing part, they both averaged more than 10 balls per inning and the final score was 750-743.

To provide perspective, the top players typically averaged 5-7 balls per inning. I wish we had video of this match!

 

[Mr. Bond]

Thanks again to Mr. Ursitti for the invaluable information on his website.

Caras defended his title in this match which consisted of 6 blocks of 125 points played over 3 days. Here's the amazing part, they both averaged more than 10 balls per inning and the final score was 750-743.

To provide perspective, the top players typically averaged 5-7 balls per inning. I wish we had video of this match!

i agree - some of the matches back then would have been absolutely mind blowing to see... like that 400 ball run by jake jr....i bet the room went wild

 

[Mr441]

Thanks again to Mr. Ursitti for the invaluable information on his website.

Caras defended his title in this match which consisted of 6 blocks of 125 points played over 3 days. Here's the amazing part, they both averaged more than 10 balls per inning and the final score was 750-743.

To provide perspective, the top players typically averaged 5-7 balls per inning. I wish we had video of this match!

I find it a little hard to believe that the match could have ended with that score. If Caras ended up with 750 then he would have had to win all 6 matches (125 x 6 = 750) no problem there, but that would mean that for Rudolph to have gotten 743 points he would have had to lose 5 of the matches by 1 point! ( 125-124) and one match by 2 points (125-123) that's sounds almost impossibly close for 6 consecutive matches.

Or did they keep a running tally - first one to 125 and the first one to 250 etc. Then I can see it happening.

 

[LApoolbum]

I find it a little hard to believe that the match could have ended with that score.

I'm looking at the tournament notes on page 45 of the 1930s section.
It lists 5 sessions in the match, one each of the days Apr 22, 23, 24. There are two sessions shown for Apr25. It's odd because the format note specifically says '6 blocks of 125 points of 3 days' yet the score sheet only shows 5 blocks with scores that are much higher than 125. The session scores do total out to 750-743 though. It's almost as if the player was allowed to complete his run after he passed the 125 point threshold. If there is someone here who knows more details about how these events were run I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Edit:
I found this in a June 27, 1977 Sports Illustrated article about Larry Lisciotti. It describes a challenge match he played with Tom Jennings.

"The game that Lisciotti and Jennings played was 1,000-point catch-up, 200 points a block. Simply put, play on the first night would end when the leading scorer had sunk 200 balls. The second night, play would end when the leader had 400, and so on for five nights. In each block, the leader could advance by only 200 points, but the trailer could take the lead by making up his deficit and then sinking 200 balls before his opponent did. This format clearly favored a streak player—one specializing in long runs—over a consistent shooter, and it was designed to prevent a runaway. That way the bettors would stay interested."

I don't know if this is how the Caras/Rudolph match was run but it might explain why the session scores look the way they do in Mr. Ursitti's records.