1904.
San Francisco (Café Waldorf) Tournament. December, 1903, to February, 1904. Won by Mitchell (George), with Pellage second, in a field of eleven.
Billiard Club Championship. N. Y. City, tournament of eleven contestants, ending April 19th.—Winner, F. R. White, who lost not a game. E. O. Presby, second, was beaten by White only.
An Amateur Average of 1.03 in 50 Points. Tournament at W. P. Mussey’s Room, Chicago, April and May.—Won by James Shea, who in one game scored his 50 in 49 innings, although his best run was but 7. Tieing Riley for second and third prizes, Henry W. Avery lost the play-off. Charles Morin won fourth prize.
Professional Tourney in Los Angeles, Cal. Begun at W. H. Berry’s Room, May 2d, contestants being Arthur Seymour, George Kenniston, Walter Johnston, Robert Upton, and Joseph W. Carney, who finished in that order. On the 13th, Seymour scored his 40 points in 40 innings, an average of 1 flat. His general average we figure as .628, or not far short of two-thirds of a point to an inning, and the average of the whole tournament was almost half a point. As in Shea’s case, table was a 5 × 10.
Other Notable Averages. In an amateur handicap tournament at A. M. Clarke’s Room, Chicago, Charles F. Conklin, defeating Kasey by 30 to 12 in the final regular game, September 2d, averaged 1.07. This made a tie for first prize among himself and Hyatt (30 each), John Daly (scratch at 35), Scovil (25), and Kasey (20), the five having severally won seven times and lost thrice; and Daly, in defeating Hyatt in the play-off, was reported in Chicago newspapers as having run 17, 7 and 5, and averaged 1.25. The run especially needs verification.
In November, in a tournament at Hauser’s room, St. Louis, the press of that city credited G. Gundaker with running two 6’s and two 4’s and averaging 1.20 in defeating Coon by 30 to 13. There a 4½ × 9 table was liable to have been used.
About the same time, it reached here through Duluth, Minn., papers that Wm. F. Hatley, in playing an amateur in that city, averaged 1.03 in 150. Here, too, a 4½ × 9 table was peculiarly liable. Moreover, the length of the game suggests that it was an exhibition of two or more sessions. Considering the number of points, the average is phenomenal. It is not known to us that Hatley has ever claimed it.
In October, 1905, in Davenport, Iowa, Lloyd Jevne, in playing Louis Magnus, was reported as having scored a game of 50 points in 41 innings, which is an average of 1.22. There was no higher run than 7, which each player made.
Team Tournament. W. P. Mussey’s, Chicago, November 28th to January 10, 1905, playing in pairs.—Messrs. Sayles and Jones, who had led almost from the start, won by defeating Messrs. Wesseling and Short in the final game by 50 to 39.
Down-town Amateur Handicap. Keyser & Garraty’s Room, N. Y. City, beginning February 6th and ending March 31st in the success of W. “Goodday” (20) after tieing T. French (40, scratch) and F. “Shawt” (34) in a tally of 7—2. The highest run (6) was made by both “Shawt” and Roux, and up to the last regular contest the best winning average (.67) was by “Larry Dooley” (34). In his first and last games, however, French averaged .63½ against Stone (30) and 1.03 against “Goodday,” who had won his first seven games straight, lost his eighth to “Dooley,” and now lost his ninth. The 1.03 is the best average to date in a tournament in the East. The general averages of the three leaders were: French, .48; “Shawt,” .42; “Goodday,” .25. In playing off the ties, April 4th, French lost to “Goodday” by 7 and to “Shawt” by 1, and “Shawt” to “Goodday” by 8. Wallace (21) won fourth prize. The other contestants were Freeman (32) and “Professor Turnero” (21).
Team Tourney at Mussey’s, Chicago. Ended week of June 3d, Shea and Howe (45) tieing Morin and Burdick (50), and outscoring them in the play-off by 45 to 44.
Single-handed at Bensinger’s, Chicago. Week ending June 3d, Lawrence won by defeating Huey by 45 to 24. Ball won second prize, and Huey third.