The origin of Snooker, unlike that of
Billiards, is well documented. Its history is recorded in articles
written in 1939 by Compton MacKenzie and in 1941 by Colonel Sir Neville
Chamberlain who, as a young officer served on the staff of Field Marshal
Earl Roberts in India between 1881 and 1890. During this time the game
spread throughout the British military stations. In addition to Billiards,
two other very popular games were played on the Billiard table, namely
Pyramids and Life Pool. Snooker is based on a combination of these
two games. In the timeframe of sporting history, snooker is a modern
game. In fact, if by definition, a sport is born once its rules have
been officially formalised, snooker was 100 years old on the 11th December
2000. For it was on that date in 1900, at the offices of the Billiards
Association at 140 Fleet Street, London, that the draft rules of ‘Snooker’s
Pool’, were passed by the committee of the governing body.