Pool Ball Collecting.

[K2Kraze]

Would anyone happen to recognize this game and take a guess - based on the "custom set" of balls I put together just for this particular game? It has an interesting scoring element, and was submitted for a patent quite some time ago that never took off mostly due to exposure and lack of social media "back in the day" - I am guessing.


The numbered balls are the key. The solid reds are just the best color (I think) to represent "the unnumbered" balls in this set. Although, if you have them available, solid blacks, greens or blues play well and offer amazing contrast to the numbered balls - depending on your baize color of course.

K.


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No guesses, huh?




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[K2Kraze]

Had a family gathering on Memorial Day and the opportunity to play something different came up ---- and I thought "hey, I have just the ball set for that!"

After all, "team play" is just so close cliche - so typical, right?

Scotch doubles or one player shoots until missing? More decisions. And any way you suggest team pairings always ends up being one sided and unfair to the team not playing so good, right?

How about 4-MAN EIGHT BALL.

They loved it. Plus a little more challenging with 21 object balls on the table.




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[AlienObserver]

4-man 8 ball looks interesting!!
(or is it "4-man 6 ball? )

 

[K2Kraze]

4-man 8 ball looks interesting!!

(or is it "4-man 6 ball? )

I knew it didn't sound right


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[K2Kraze]

And this one for those times when all the guys think they need to play - at the same time.....

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[Rubik's Cube]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Mr Swearman's collection looking as great as always, K2K! You have me stumped on the earlier game with the numbers 1 to 18. The best I could guess would be something based on golf, or even Aussie rules football, perhaps?

 

[Rubik's Cube]

I just had a brief moment of inspiration. The rules of darts would lend themselves well for a crossover to the pool table. Using the number values, one could countdown from 501 (or possibly 101 for brevity) and finish on the requisite double (bank).

Did you know both games featured a spider? Over here in England we call a certain type of bridge a spider, the same name given to the wire frame on a dartboard.

 

[K2Kraze]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Mr Swearman's collection looking as great as always, K2K! You have me stumped on the earlier game with the numbers 1 to 18. The best I could guess would be something based on golf, or even Aussie rules football, perhaps?

Hello Rubik's!

The few "custom racks" of ball sets I've assembled for the 4 and 5-man play using 21 balls are all Aramith balls direct from Saluc. Not taking anything away from Jack's 29-ball set of course, but having a few cases of each Aramith ball color allows me unlimited options to pursue and put together custom games.

Having so many balls and ball sets collected earns me "a tad over the top" remark every so often and is hear often enough around my place that it could surely qualify for most anything -- but I say the line between passion and obsession is somewhat blurry - and dare I say quite a wide line at that! Like walking a tightrope line at that

The earlier game set I posted with the 8 reds and numbered balls 11 through 18 are for a game called BLAZZ (pronounced blaze) developed by a gentleman going by the name of Thomas J Wozniak. I believe his patent number is 5,350,171 for reference.

BLAZZ is a two-player SCORING GAME (think Rotation/Snooker/99, etc) with the objective to be the first player to score 63 points - since the total possible points available with all 16 balls being 124.

The balls are racked with a larger 9-ball type diamond rack that accompanies all 16 balls in a particular order and the general idea is that a red ball must be pocketed followed by the lowest numbered ball on the table. The complete rule set is somewhat extensive, but nonetheless has quite a few interesting strategic elements to challenge and captivate a player looking for new adventures and especially for the more "cerebral" player.

I've played many BLAZZ games and thought it worthy of its own dedicated ball set and tray. Plus, it uses the relatively rare balls from a baseball set which that alone gives it a cool factor

K.


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[Rubik's Cube]

My apologies regards Mr Swearman, sir. I should know better than to make such assumptions, especially about a collection as extensive as yours!

Blazz is another new one to me, it sounds as though it is snooker inspired so would be right up my street.

 

[Rubik's Cube]

And oranges from Aramith? You must have some friends in very high places!

 

[K2Kraze]

And oranges from Aramith? You must have some friends in very high places!

"A man shall treat those that posses nice balls with much kindness and regard" I've heard, which has served me well in my pursuit of such nice balls


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[Mr. Bond]

I just had a brief moment of inspiration. The rules of darts would lend themselves well for a crossover to the pool table. Using the number values, one could countdown from 501 (or possibly 101 for brevity) and finish on the requisite double (bank).

Did you know both games featured a spider? Over here in England we call a certain type of bridge a spider, the same name given to the wire frame on a dartboard.

Interesting that you say this....because I've played a game like that.
It was inspired by the old school game of "61", except that we extended the game to 150 points like unto 14.1

The cool part was having balls worth more than just a single point. It adds a certain ( ball value) stategy that 14.1 doesn't have and games are much shorter.

 

[K2Kraze]

This next set of balls in my playing collection is being marketed these days by McDermott Cue Mfg out of Menominee Falls, Wisconsin. I acquired this set through my good friend Albert out of Fort Worth Billiards, who called me down one day to see a few "new things". I couldn't resist.

They call these The Galaxy Series.

The metallic silver balls look quite interesting in all of the pictures you'll see online or through an Internet search. Moon surface like. They actually look fantastic in person and when rolling on the table, have quite a shimmer element to them - especially under LED lights I've noticed.

The numbers are slightly oversized and easy to distinguish from any distance, with the associated number and color standing out prominently against the metallic silver. Mine weighed in surprisingly within BCA limits and roll as true as any other "specialty" set I've run across.

A similar ball set was manufactured and marketed through Elephant Balls for many years and they called theirs the Lunar Rocks ball set, which I have owned. They supposedly were made exclusively to promote the Pluto Nash movie of years past. McDermott's update on the numbers and overall look has been an improvement I think, and are a fun diversion for any game really.

Playing with a black cue ball may take some getting used to for a few players, since we all are used to seeing "whitey" zooming around the table.

Time for a change perhaps

K.


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[Icon of Sin]

I'm not really a poolball collector, but I picked these up for 50 bucks recently.

Old set of Brunswick Centennials.

 

[K2Kraze]

I'm not really a poolball collector, but I picked these up for 50 bucks recently.



Old set of Brunswick Centennials.

Nice find!

They look like they are in great shape and judging from the coloring and dart style at first glance appear to be from the early 70's series of Centennials. I'd bet they polish up beautifully and will play as magnificent as they look. And sound of course

I love the old and relatively rare green ball tray as well. Those old trays polish up nicely by the way with a microfiber towel and the Aramith Ball Cleaner solution. 15 minutes working that tray and it will prove to be a perfect and equally shiny resting place for your new Cents.

Thanks for sharing part of your new collection with all of us ball fans!



K.


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[K2Kraze]

Just for comparison so you can see the somewhat subtle differences almost side by side with your vintage Cents, here is one of my Centennial sets - the very latest "generation".

Makes me wish I had a few of the older sets myself.

You just gave me an idea

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[WildWing]

Nice find!

They look like they are in great shape and judging from the coloring and dart style at first glance appear to be from the early 70's series of Centennials. I'd bet they polish up beautifully and will play as magnificent as they look. And sound of course

I love the old and relatively rare green ball tray as well. Those old trays polish up nicely by the way with a microfiber towel and the Aramith Ball Cleaner solution. 15 minutes working that tray and it will prove to be a perfect and equally shiny resting place for your new Cents.

Thanks for sharing part of your new collection with all of us ball fans!



K.


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I agree, very nice set of Centennials. I was wondering, Icon, do you know if this set is from the Albany, NY production, or the later Belgium Aramith? Early 70s could actually be from Albany. The old Albany sets are getting more scarce to see, but are nice to see in good condition.

All the best,
WW

 

[WildWing]

Just for comparison so you can see the somewhat subtle differences almost side by side with your vintage Cents, here is one of my Centennial sets - the very latest "generation".

Makes me wish I had a few of the older sets myself.

You just gave me an idea

K2, you just gave me an idea as well. Here is a set of Centennials I own, circa mid 80s. They were made in Belgium, for Brunswick, as the box shows. Notice the curved underlining of the 6 ball, and the 9 ball? It is straight underlining on the set that Icon Of Sin has shown above. I don't know for sure if that's a way of determining age, or whether that's one of the differences between Albany and Belgium production, but it's interesting to guess.

This part of the billiard ball collection has a sad ending, unfortunately. This set belonged to my best buddy, Steve Haag, whom many in the Frederick, Maryland area knew. Last summer he tore his aorta heart valve while cycling and died a couple weeks later. But many of his billiard items have a good home with me, including this pristine set of Centennials.

All the best,
WW

 

[K2Kraze]

K2, you just gave me an idea as well. Here is a set of Centennials I own, circa mid 80s. They were made in Belgium, for Brunswick, as the box shows. Notice the curved underlining of the 6 ball, and the 9 ball? It is straight underlining on the set that Icon Of Sin has shown above. I don't know for sure if that's a way of determining age, or whether that's one of the differences between Albany and Belgium production, but it's interesting to guess.

This part of the billiard ball collection has a sad ending, unfortunately. This set belonged to my best buddy, Steve Haag, whom many in the Frederick, Maryland area knew. Last summer he tore his aorta heart valve while cycling and died a couple weeks later. But many of his billiard items have a good home with me, including this pristine set of Centennials.

All the best,
WW

Very keen and astute observation, WW! And your ball set looks to be in pristine condition. Loving care for sure

That's one of the things I noticed as well, leading me to think early 70's. BUT ------ now that you've raised awareness on that one interesting design element, I think it warrants further study

1945, I believe, is the generally accepted introduction of the Centennial ball deign and I think that if someone focused on Centennials only following every design change and "series" since their inception, it would make for a wonderful collection. Off the top of my head without cracking open the books, I think we are up to version 6, possibly 7. A respectable collection size indeed.

Time to open the books and start looking for Centennial treasures.




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[Icon of Sin]

Nice find!

They look like they are in great shape and judging from the coloring and dart style at first glance appear to be from the early 70's series of Centennials. I'd bet they polish up beautifully and will play as magnificent as they look. And sound of course

I love the old and relatively rare green ball tray as well. Those old trays polish up nicely by the way with a microfiber towel and the Aramith Ball Cleaner solution. 15 minutes working that tray and it will prove to be a perfect and equally shiny resting place for your new Cents.

Thanks for sharing part of your new collection with all of us ball fans!




K.


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Thanks! When purchasing they said they were from 1965, but that wasnt a purchasing factor as I had no idea how to date them and I'm sure they didnt either. Since you seem to be the expert, I compared these to my Aramith Super Pros and they are slightly smaller. Is that how they were then or is that just from years of playing and cleaning?

I played a rack with them yesterday, I like them a lot.