I've always been a big history buff in general, and I like being able to look into the history of pool as a part of that. It's difficult because I don't think there has always been great record keeping in pool for a variety of reasons, and a lot of the history seems to be passed down in stories.
In all the things I have read there is one thing that continues to bother me that I cannot figure out. I'm hoping some of the great minds on here can help me. I've always read that the game of 8 ball was invented around the turn of the century by Brunswick and was originally called BBC Co Pool (Brunswick Balke Collender Co). They introduced it with 7 reds, 7 yellows, and a black similar to English 8 Ball or the "casino" sets we're all probably familiar with. What I always wondered about this is if this game was invented with reds and yellows then how did pool balls get their solid and stripe configuration? Were they styled this way before 8 ball was invented? If so why? There doesn't seem much reason to have stripes and solids if you're not using them for a game of some sort. If not then what did pool balls look like before stripes and solids were adopted?
In all the things I have read there is one thing that continues to bother me that I cannot figure out. I'm hoping some of the great minds on here can help me. I've always read that the game of 8 ball was invented around the turn of the century by Brunswick and was originally called BBC Co Pool (Brunswick Balke Collender Co). They introduced it with 7 reds, 7 yellows, and a black similar to English 8 Ball or the "casino" sets we're all probably familiar with. What I always wondered about this is if this game was invented with reds and yellows then how did pool balls get their solid and stripe configuration? Were they styled this way before 8 ball was invented? If so why? There doesn't seem much reason to have stripes and solids if you're not using them for a game of some sort. If not then what did pool balls look like before stripes and solids were adopted?
