Timeline of different games

[hang-the-9]

Anyone know when the modern games started being played?

9ball
8ball
7ball
10ball
one pocket
rotation
banks
straight
3-ball (well, I guess this is not much of a game, but eh..)

I'm curious if games such as one pocket and banks are newish to the scene.

 

[Cameron Smith]

One pocket I believe has been around since the 30's.

Straight pool 1910. Continuous - 1888.

The others I'm fuzzy on. I'm pretty sure 9 ball has been played since the 20's.

I think Rotation goes back to the beginning of the 20th. of course it's hard to put specific dates on these

 

[Measle Ball]

I read somewhere that the rules for eight-ball were originally written in 1945 but it's likely the game is notably older than that.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

If I may add one to your list, a game called 'Corners' was popular during the 30's, 40's, and 50's. The table was a standard size Brunswick, but had only two corner pockets located at the foot of the table. The game was played like we would play One Pocket today, and is said to have been very popular throughout the midwest.

 

[Pushout]

Eight Ball derived from a game called B.B.C. Co. Pool, standing for Brunswick-Balk-Collender Company. The game remained B.B.C. Co. Pool as late as 1925. It was not added to the official rule book as Eight Ball until after 1940.

One Pocket has been described in print as early as 1869 but supposedly derived from a much earlier game called Bar-Hole-Game. Bar-Hole-Game was a form of English Billiards in which one pocket was barred to a player, meaning he could make no Hazards into that pocket. The first printed rules for One Pocket appeared in 1967 but the game had been popular with hustlers for years preceding the Johnston City, Illinois Hustlers' Jamboree tournaments.

The origins of Nine Ball are very obscure. Nine Ball racks were sold in the 1920s. The rules first appeared in the official rule book in 1967.

Rotation was mentioned in print as long ago as 1888. It derived originally from the way the balls were arranged in the game called Chicago.

All the above from "The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards" by Mike Shamos.