Despite the fact that billiards is very popular on American television, networks have not taken it seriously. 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, who played a fictional character called Minnesota Fats. The movie was a success. The number of billiards rooms in America doubled after the film was released. The movie also had a major impact on the popularity of organized billiards, and by the late 60s, billiards had made its debut on TV.
The first billiards game show on television was Ten-Twenty. Frank Oliva, a billiards pioneer, invented the game in 1959. It was an adaptation of the classic 14-1 straight-pool game. The game was played in a timed fashion. Each player could score ten points per inning. The perfect match score was 100 points. The game consisted eight innings. In the eighth innings, players could score another 20 points.
Frank Oliva, a pool player, decided in the 1960s to take the game out of the basement and start a billiards show called Ten-Twenty. Celebrities and professionals would play against one other on this show. The score was based on how the snooker players scored.
The billiards show featured players like Cisero Murphy, Joe Diehl, Nick Oliva, Mike Eufemia, Willis Covington, and Joe Procita. The show also featured amateur "pool sharks" like "Cowboy" Jimmy Moore, Jimmy Caras, and Dennis Orcollo.
It was a huge success and television began to be popular for billiards. In the late 1970s, television's popularity with billiards declined and there was a decrease in the number of billiards shows. Ballbreakers launched in 2005 and billiards again had a big impact. Ballbreakers lasted one year, and made a lot of mistakes. The show's decision not to allow contestants to take more than one shot made it look like a sketch comedy show. However, the show was ultimately cancelled.
Pick Pockets, a billiards game show, was a hit in the 1970s. Jimmy O'Connor was the host. It was a very old show but it had charm. The show featured several celebrities including Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, and Little Joey Canton. The show was also notable for its starring role by Willie "Mr. Pocket Billiards" Mosconi, the greatest pool player of all time. He set a straight pool world record in 1954. He also won the World Straight Pool Championships fifteen times.
There were also several celebrities who played billiards, including Sid Caesar, Bill Cosby and Buddy Hackett. There was also a $1000 charity prize.