New Balls Please

[vmax4steve]

Can anyone answer these questions,

Who was the first player to win the world title using crystalate balls ?

Who was the first and who was the last player to win the world title using super crystalate balls ?

Who was the first player to win the world title using phenolic resin balls ?

[Templeton Peck]

I don't know the answers to any of these, but I will hazard a guess that Joe Davis was the first world champion playing with crystalate balls. Was it ever contested with ivory balls - I would have thought the price of ivory would have been prohibitive for a set of 22 snooker balls??

The first world champion with super-crystalate balls was surely Reardon.

As for phenolic resin I haven't a clue, I will go with Hendry via the law of averages - it was probably the 1990s so I have a 70% chance of being right!

[1lawyer]

No Idea really.

Ray Readon Alex Higgins and John Spencer all won titles with both sets of composition balls though I think

I would guess. 1 Joe Davis these balls were introduced around 1928 29 and used by players like Willie Smith Davis dominated the era so I say Davis.
I would guess 2 Alex Higgins was the first in 1972 and Ray Reardon 1978 or (Spencer 1977) the last. I go for Reardon.
I would guess 3 Alex Higgins again 1982?

Probably all wrong but hey am I close?

[ADR147]

well i can say ivory balls were used until 1924/25 so its bound to be joe davis?

[noel]

From the web...
Different games require different cue balls, and they can vary from color, number, type, diameter, and pattern. The hardness of the ball, the friction coefficient and resilience are some very important ball qualities, since they play a huge role in the game play of various games.

The first cue balls invented were made out of wood, but then clay quickly took over and dominated for many years. Ivory cue balls were very popular for a long period of time, until it became realized that too many elephants were being slaughtered for material goods. Only about 8 balls could be made from each elephant, and the demand for cue balls was overwhelming. Because it became difficult to obtain ivory to make cue balls, another material had to be found.

John Wesley Hyatt invented cellulose nitrate, which is a composition material that became the first industrial plastic. This plastic was a good material at first, until problems in production occurred. Because the cellulose nitrate would sometimes explode during production, it became impractical and other methods were sought out.

Many other materials were tested for cue balls, including many synthetic materials and plastic compositions. Bakelite and Crystalate balls made from the crushed shin bones of cows were both tested, but were not able to fill all of the requirements that a cue ball needed. Cue balls require a material that is resistant to cracking and chipping, especially since a pool cue can provide a great amount of pressure on a cue ball. Super Crystallate balls were introduced in 1972. Currently, Saluc, which is a Belgium based manufacturing company, now manufactures cue balls out of PHENOLIC RESIN.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenolic_re...
Aramith and Brunswick Centennial are two of the brand names that Saluc manufactures, and they create products ranging from sturdy cue balls to the balls inside of certain computer mice. Other companies use different products, such as polyester resin or acrylic to make cue balls, but all are able to stand up to the force that hits the cue balls.

Just like many other inventions, the cue ball took many years to be perfected. Even though there are many different types of cue balls available, everyone has their own preference as to which material they like to play with. Some are harder than others, while some seem more accurate. Manufacturing companies are always looking for ways to improve their products, and the material of cue balls may be changed if something stronger is developed...


=o)

Noel

[vmax4steve]

I believe that Walter Lindrum won his first world billiards title with ivory balls and took the title back to Australia, whereafter he then used a composite ball (bonzoline I think) to defend the championship and remain unbeaten until he retired. The composite balls he used were much more uniform in size, shape and weight than ivory balls and contributed greatly to his proficiency at the game.
This was the end of ivory balls and the composite revolution started, but did the change from one ball to the next sound a death knell for certain players whose game was heavily adapted to the ball they had been using for years.

When we know for certain when the different balls came to be used we could maybe see a correlation between one players domination and/or demise with a change of composite of the balls.

Statman, can you help ?

[Templeton Peck]

I personally reckon that you can credit the success of snooker to non-ivory balls. A snooker ball set would cost about 7 times what a billiard ball set would cost, and ivory was never cheap. An ivory snooker ball set probably cost more than the actual table in those days.

[noel]

It takes leather phenolic resin balls to play rugby snooker !


=o)

Noel

[100-uper]

Can anyone answer these questions,

Who was the first player to win the world title using crystalate balls ?

Who was the first and who was the last player to win the world title using super crystalate balls ?

Who was the first player to win the world title using phenolic resin balls ?

Must agree with Templeton on this one.

The first World snooker championship in 1927 was played with composition balls. There were two main types in common use at this time, Crystalate and Bonzoline. The championship conditions didn't specify which type should be used, so presumably it was left to the players to agree. However, they did specify Crystalate for the Amateur billiards championship the following year, and the professional billiards championship the year after. So the answer to the first part of the question is likely to be Joe Davis, although I can't immediately confirm it as the press reports I have don't actually mention the maker of the ball (which is not unusual.)

Super-crystalate and phenolic resin are the same material as far as I can see, unless someone can point out the difference. These were introduced in 1972, and the old Crystalate was immediately withdrawn from sale. However, the World Professional Championship of that year (won by Alex Higgins) was played with the old Crystalate ball. Consequently, the first winner of the championship with the Supers was the 1973 champion, Ray Reardon.

Just regarding some other comments on this thread, although ivory snooker sets were available at this time, composition balls were always used for organised snooker competitions since the rules were formed in 1900. At least I have never seen any instance to the contrary.

Also, Walter Lindrum never played a billiards match with ivory balls. They were unusable in Australia because of climatic conditions, and they had been dropped from the professional game by the time of his first visit to England in 1929.

[Templeton Peck]

That makes fascinating reading. It's great to have some specific dates.

[moglet]

Super-crystalate and phenolic resin are the same material as far as I can see, unless someone can point out the difference. These were introduced in 1972

Yes as far as I can tell the material is phenolic for all these ball types since their first introduction. The only difference that might matter is that the UK made supers had a much thinner clear resin shell, the later Aramith SC's and TC's are the same in this respect but have much a thicker shell.

I understand that some phenolic balls are being made in the Far East, I think on the market, with the same specification, can't think why they would want to but maybe like so many things in the Far East now they may well be innovative and develop a ball that works, straight out of the box.

[vmax4steve]

Super-crystalate and phenolic resin are the same material as far as I can see, unless someone can point out the difference.Also, Walter Lindrum never played a billiards match with ivory balls.

They were unusable in Australia because of climatic conditions, and they had been dropped from the professional game by the time of his first visit to England in 1929.

Thanks for the info on Lindrum,
as for the difference between super crystalate and phenolic resin, about forty quid more for the supers, and there is certainly a marked difference in playability when using one or the other.

[moglet]

....., and there is certainly a marked difference in playability when using one or the other.

What would you say is the marked difference?

[RGCirencester]

You play better with a lighter wallet

[vmax4steve]

What would you say is the marked difference?

They are inconsistant with their reaction regarding playing with stun, screw, top and especially side. They kick at a ratio of one in three shots and it's this that has the marked difference over whether you can gain the position that you normally would when using super crystalates, or even actually pot the ball on.
I can't explain why, but my guess is that they are too elastic in nature, and that this elasticity varies within the balls as well as between them.
They remind me very much of cheap pub pool balls.