Baizewick guide
A short history of snooker
Snooker began in the 1870s, when British Army officers in India added coloured balls to billiards. It took a world championship and colour television to make it the sport we know.
From billiards to snooker
Billiards is much older than snooker. It grew out of lawn games like croquet, brought indoors onto a table. That is one reason the cloth is green: it stood in for grass.
By the 19th century, English billiards was hugely popular. Players also enjoyed pool games played with more balls, such as black pool and life pool.
India, 1875
The usual story is that snooker was invented in 1875 by British Army officers in Jubbulpore, India. Neville Chamberlain, an army officer and not the later Prime Minister, is usually credited with adding coloured balls to a pool game.
“Snooker” was slang for a first-year cadet at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Chamberlain is said to have used it for a player who got into a difficult position, and the name stuck to the game.
Joe Davis and the world championship
The first world snooker championship was held in 1927. Joe Davis won it, and kept winning until 1946: fifteen titles in a row. Davis also helped shape the rules and the way the game was played at the top level.
Snooker gradually overtook billiards in popularity during the 1930s.
Pot Black and colour television
Snooker’s modern boom came with television. In 1969 the BBC launched Pot Black, a snooker programme designed to show off colour television. A game built around coloured balls was ideal for it.
Since 1977 the World Championship has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
Key dates
- 1875Snooker is said to have been invented by army officers in Jubbulpore, India.
- 1927The first world snooker championship. Joe Davis wins.
- 1946Davis wins his fifteenth consecutive world title.
- 1969The BBC launches Pot Black.
- 1977The World Championship moves to the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.
What it means for a home table
The full-size table, the baulk line, the D and the spots all come from this long history. Smaller home tables scale the same layout down. Our snooker rules guide explains how the game works today.