I agree with you on soccer being the most popular sport world-wide. Cricket and field hockey are certainly not that popular - outside of former British colonies they are almost unknown. I would rate basketball, Formula 1 and even golf way above those.
the history of the global pool scene
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I agree with you on soccer being the most popular sport world-wide. Cricket and field hockey are certainly not that popular - outside of former British colonies they are almost unknown. I would rate basketball, Formula 1 and even golf way above those.
I was there that year. The tournament was held at the Araneta Coliseum , the same place as the famous "Thriller In Manila" prizefight between Ali and Frazier. Some great safety play there and for Ralf to come with that shot on the five ball to win was something else, Souquet at his best! I also enjoyed listening to Jerry Forsyth and Bob Guerrero's commentary as well. They did a good job calling the action there!
Nice. Wish I'd been there, too!
A bit like the ladies that had to play against Fisher in the modern era, most were fighting for second.
Fong Pang Chao first won the world 9-ball in 1993....he’s the Godfather of pool in Taiwan.
Bit off topic, but a funny comment on Facebook I read a day or two ago was about "a lot of countries celebrate Independence Day, except England who many of those countries were celebrating independence from".
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Bringing together the early 1900s history and the 'European invasion' theme, I've been reading a few old books recently and there are occasional glimpses of the English champions playing America's top players. (Modern Billiards by John Roberts Jnr, dealing with the English game, and a Brunswick book that might also have been Modern Billiards, for the American game; both have details of major matches in that era.)
It's interesting because the British and American books of the era (the two mentioned and others) all seem to presuppose that their own champions are the best billiard players in the world.
I remember three 'intercontinental' matches, John Roberts Jnr and William Cook both playing and losing in America, and John Roberts Jnr losing in England (but in a game where his American opponent wedged two balls in the mouth of a corner pocket, then caromed off them repeatedly to essentially win the match in one long but simple innings - allowing the British to dismiss the victory as a farce).
From that evidence, there's maybe enough wiggle room for wishful thinking (I'm English) to theorize that the American equipment or home advantage might have made the difference in the two 'proper' contests, but 0 for 3 doesn't look good for the British champions!
(Hi Bob, I'm Huw, from the Mosconi cup a couple of years ago!)
It's interesting because the British and American books of the era (the two mentioned and others) all seem to presuppose that their own champions are the best billiard players in the world.
I remember three 'intercontinental' matches, John Roberts Jnr and William Cook both playing and losing in America, and John Roberts Jnr losing in England (but in a game where his American opponent wedged two balls in the mouth of a corner pocket, then caromed off them repeatedly to essentially win the match in one long but simple innings - allowing the British to dismiss the victory as a farce).
From that evidence, there's maybe enough wiggle room for wishful thinking (I'm English) to theorize that the American equipment or home advantage might have made the difference in the two 'proper' contests, but 0 for 3 doesn't look good for the British champions!
(Hi Bob, I'm Huw, from the Mosconi cup a couple of years ago!)
Hi Huw. Are you enjoying the snooker qualification rounds?
I think what John Roberts and company missed in the wedged cannon shot is that the rules were not yet complete. That is a lesson that keeps getting learned as we see now with the break at nine ball.
Another aspect of that is failure to pick up ideas from other disciplines/traditions/areas. I think far more cross fertilization could take place. In the US the problem is worsened lately by the fading of carom and snooker.
It does seem an odd combo, but I guess it depends how you define popularity perhaps? Both of those (I believe) are popular in India (and definitely cricket too in Pakistan, Bangladesh and now Afghanistan), so that's a large population of potential spectators and participants.
Formula 1 on the other hand is presumably watched by a lot, but only a handful of people can technically participate in it.
Golf and basketball seem reasonable call outs though, or even tennis, I would have thought that was played and watched more than hockey (and probably cricket)?
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Rules not yet complete is an interesting way of looking at it, I like that.
I suppose pool (or cue sports) keeps itself in constant transition - more so than most sports - with the variety of games, and their eras as the 'championship game'. In that sense you might think there should be more cross-fertilization, but I guess it's restricted by the different tables for 3-cushion and snooker. I imagine for a very talented pool player to try to take up snooker would be like learning a second language, you have to go right back to basics, and it would be a lot of work before you'd feel 'fluent'.
Well, availability on tv, played in schools, watched a lot by people who can't play it and so on ... ? In general I'd just say: people taking an interest in the sport, percentage-wise of the overall population ...
All of those were British colonies - actually one large colony
The Afghans were the buffer zone between Brits and Russians. Since they were fond of neither when I was there in the 70's twice, I am surprised they take an interest in cricket and field-hockey? But I wouldn't really know ... the people I got to know did not even have access to tv sets back then. And I never saw them play games, so ....
True. But it is a popular sport world-wide. Not so much in the US though, since there are other racing series there. Most people can't participate in soccer or American football, either. They are much better in "drowning the six-pack while watching game"
Yep. I agree. Locally, even pool is a very important and popular game -> Philippines. (Wrote that just not to be totally OffT
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Nah, I think you should stick with it. Everyone must know not to take anecdotes on the internet as absolute gospel, and if you caveat "If I remember correctly...", you've done more than most do to acknowledge possible mistakes.
Well, availability on tv, played in schools, watched a lot by people who can't play it and so on ... ? In general I'd just say: people taking an interest in the sport, percentage-wise of the overall population ...
All of those were British colonies - actually one large colony
The Afghans were the buffer zone between Brits and Russians. Since they were fond of neither when I was there in the 70's twice, I am surprised they take an interest in cricket and field-hockey? But I wouldn't really know ... the people I got to know did not even have access to tv sets back then. And I never saw them play games, so ....
True. But it is a popular sport world-wide. Not so much in the US though, since there are other racing series there. Most people can't participate in soccer or American football, either. They are much better in "drowning the six-pack while watching game"
Yep. I agree. Locally, even pool is a very important and popular game -> Philippines. (Wrote that just not to be totally OffT
Not sure about field hockey tbh, but Afghanistan are a decent cricket side on the World Stage now, they have qualified for the World Cup, have beaten top teams and have players in the biggest league on the planet (the Indian Premier League). They massively punch above their weight, however in terms of domestic viewing I have absolutely no idea how many people watch it!
My point about cricket was really that although yes it is only played in former British colonies, the combined population of those is potentially quite large.
That said when people talk about popularity of sports its all very confusing as I've heard people say tenpin bowling is one of most popular participation sports and Stand Up Paddle boarding too. Both statements might be correct, but both probably have limited spectator interest (I know in the US there is some interest in the PBA, but not sure how global that is).
In China we're often told snooker gains 300 million viewers or something crazy like that, but there's no clarity in how any of this is actually measured (for example I suspect that number means across an entire tournament like the World Championships, not at any given point).
I'm pretty sure they were suggesting the last Mosconi Cup before covid had something like 60 million viewers globally, but again, no idea how they calculated it!
@vjmehra : I might be totally wrong and you may well be right, according to this website:
www.worldatlas.com
Cricket 2.5 billion and Hockey 2 billion fans? Now, the numbers for Hockey are dubious because they include Ice Hockey. Which I would never consider to be the same sport. Almost like combining Table Tennis and Tennis.
Well, I don't know how correct that is. But, considering the amount of people in India alone ... hmm. That would also explain why Table Tennis is at No. 6, more popular than Basketball. Because China will make up for about >80% of that number, I suppose.
The Most Popular Sports In The World
The most popular sports in the world include basketball, cricket, hockey, and tennis, which all have millions of devoted fans.
www.worldatlas.com
Cricket 2.5 billion and Hockey 2 billion fans? Now, the numbers for Hockey are dubious because they include Ice Hockey. Which I would never consider to be the same sport. Almost like combining Table Tennis and Tennis.
Well, I don't know how correct that is. But, considering the amount of people in India alone ... hmm. That would also explain why Table Tennis is at No. 6, more popular than Basketball. Because China will make up for about >80% of that number, I suppose.
@vjmehra : I might be totally wrong and you may well be right, according to this website:
The Most Popular Sports In The World
The most popular sports in the world include basketball, cricket, hockey, and tennis, which all have millions of devoted fans.
Cricket 2.5 billion and Hockey 2 billion fans? Now, the numbers for Hockey are dubious because they include Ice Hockey. Which I would never consider to be the same sport. Almost like combining Table Tennis and Tennis.
Well, I don't know how correct that is. But, considering the amount of people in India alone ... hmm. That would also explain why Table Tennis is at No. 6, more popular than Basketball. Because China will make up for about >80% of that number, I suppose.
Its funny isn't it, we sort of have an idea based on the sports we watch, but forget that a huge part of the world may (and seemingly do) have very different viewing trends.
It does seem very strange to group Ice Hockey with (field) hockey though, as you say, totally different games, by that logic they may as well group cricket and baseball!
Yes. But adding to that, we all live in different universes. I have never heard anybody talk about, for example, cricket, much less watch it. Living in Germany since 1976. My US and Brazilian friends never did, either. I practically never watch soccer, either. But I know that a significant proportion of my non-US friends consider it to be overly important.
I think that even the social status/race/traveling habits might skew one's view. I would expect African-Americans to take a significantly higher interest in basketball than their white counterparts, for example. Rich people over here in Europe take definitely more interest in golf - because playing golf over here is still extremely expensive (at least if you want to play the decent golf courses). Someone who travels frequently to the UK or India might not have been mistaken as I have been wrt cricket.
My own perception of the popularity of pool/snooker/billiards is probably skewed, too. Because I prefer pool places, and notice a pool table in a bar every time I see one. Others might just miss the existence of such a pool table if they don't play. So, I am more likely to over-estimate the popularity of pool, I suppose.
Yep very fair points, especially the last one, I have definitely over estimated the popularity of cue sports!
A lot of sports tend to be popular where the empires have been.
I go sometimes to an Ethiopian coffee bar in my area, ‘cause they have two bocci tables.
Like the Italians, they might use a cue or throw the ball by hand...couple good players there.
The Italians invaded Ethiopia at one time...hence the billiard game they play.
Lotta world class 3-cushion players in Vietnam...it used to be French Indochina
I go sometimes to an Ethiopian coffee bar in my area, ‘cause they have two bocci tables.
Like the Italians, they might use a cue or throw the ball by hand...couple good players there.
The Italians invaded Ethiopia at one time...hence the billiard game they play.
Lotta world class 3-cushion players in Vietnam...it used to be French Indochina