Despite the popularity of billiards on television, the US networks have not looked kindly on it. For many years, billiards was not a popular game to be played on television, but with the advent of The Hustler movie in 1961, it began to get a bit more attention. The movie had a huge impact on the popularity, and organized billiards started to flourish in the late 1960s.
The Hustler starred Jackie Gleason as a fictional character called Minnesota Fats, and became a hit. The movie made it possible for billiard halls to double in size after its release. The movie had a huge impact on organized billiards' popularity. In fact, by the mid-60s, billiards was on television.
Ten-Twenty was the first television billiards show. Frank Oliva was the original inventor of the game. It was a variation on the classic 14-1 straight pool game. The game was scored by a timer, with each player scoring 10 points per innings. 100 points was the perfect match score. There were eight innings of play. The players had the option to shoot for 20 more points in the eighth inning.
Frank Oliva created Ten-Twenty in the early 1960s as a way to get pool out from the basement of local pool halls. In this show, professional billiards players and celebrities would compete against one another. Each player was timed and scored based upon the amount of snooker played.
Cisero Murphy and Joe Diehl were among the billiards players. Joe Procita, Nick Oliva, Mike Eufemia and Mike Eufemia were also featured. The show also featured amateur "pool sharks" like "Cowboy" Jimmy Moore, Jimmy Caras, and Dennis Orcollo.
The show was a major hit, and billiards on television began to become popular. But the popularity of billiards on television waned in the late 1970s, and by the 1980s, the number of billiards game shows had diminished. Ballbreakers was the only time that billiards had a significant impact on television. Ballbreakers lasted one year, and made a lot of mistakes. The show was more amateur-style comedy than a reality show because they limited the number of contestants who could participate. But the show fell apart and was eventually cancelled.
Pick Pockets, a billiards show that aired in the mid-1970s made a huge impact. The show featured a jovial host named Jimmy O'Connor. Although the show was old-fashioned, it had charm. Numerous celebrities were featured on the show, including Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney and Little Joey Canton. Willie "Mr. Pocket Billilliards" Mosconi was the show's star. He is considered to be the greatest pool player ever. He set the straight pool world record for 1954. He also won the World Straight Pool Championship fifteen times.
The show also featured a number of celebrities playing billiards on TV, including Sid Caesar, Bill Cosby, and Buddy Hackett. One $1000 charity prize was also available on the show.