MovieChat Forums > Tombstone (1993) Discussion > Billiards

Billiards

posted 8 years ago by bobbiekaye69
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In the Goofs section, someone said that "pocket billiards as we know it today (using striped, numbered object balls) would not have been played in the American West of the 1870s, having only been developed in the early decades of the twentieth century; the immediate forerunner of pocket billiards (using solid-colored, unnumbered balls) wasn't invented until around 1900."

Okay, what sort of billiards game would Morgan have been playing with Bob Hatch when he was assassinated? What pool games did they play in the Old West in the 1880s?

Serious question, I'm curious.

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[–] A_Real_Hip_Dude 8 years ago

I just realized this post never got a reply...not even from Corky. I've read a bit about the history of pool, as well as boxing, but dont remember much about pool at all. I'm pretty sure they played pocket games in the old west days, but it wasnt the typical 8-ball games we see today. If you've ever noticed pool tables with numbers strung along the top of the table, I believe it was for keeping score of which balls you sunk, and building to a higher score than your oppenent. If I'm recalling correctly then this is what would've evolved into 8-ball, and the scoring strings eventually done away with.

So in the movie, seeing the guys playing pocket games would not indicate a goof. It would have to be known how they were scoring, and/or determining a winner, to declare it a mistake.

Keep in mind I'm open to fact checking on this, as I may be off a bit.

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Anyone know the reference?