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Not long ago, my daughter, Angie, and her husband, Chad Hill, were given an antique pool table to house in their historic North Wheeling home for a family friend that had no room for the large item in their own home.
Not knowing much about pool tables, I decided to investigate and feature the beautiful antique in my column today.
This particular billiard table is a doozy. Beautiful details include fancy, fringed pockets and an elegant wood finish. Made of oak, it is a heavy table with a slate top, covered in green felt.
It once belonged to Wellsburg resident Charles "Shorty" Kull, who was a pool legend in the tri-state area. Kull was known in the many leagues that existed in the area before he died in 2000 at age 77.
Kull was a retired Koppers employee, an Army veteran of World War II and a recipient of a Purple Heart. His widow, Mary Jo Kull (known simply as Jo Kull), today resides in the Welty Apartments in Wheeling.
Their daughter, Debby Koegler of Wheeling, said her father wanted to buy a nice table for himself and her brother when they lived in Wellsburg, and so he bought it. When he died, the table went to Debby and her husband, Bill, who are happy to see it in a historic Wheeling home now.
But back to the antique table, it's a Brunswick pool table, labeled Balke Collender Co., circa 1912, with all the original oak intact. Back in 2004, it was valued at about $5,500, but since values go up and down, that estimate may be down a bit today.
The era of this table was the boom years for Brunswick Billiards. According to its website, it was founded by Swiss immigrant John Moses Brunswick in 1845 in Cincinnati. The company grew into a global brand that is still known in the world of billiards.
The popularity of billiards grew around the turn of the 20th century as the game became more acceptable and the players grew in fame, eventually taking on a sport-like image.
It is amazing the number of antique pool table variations that you can find on the Internet and the many companies that do professional restoration of the lovely old tables. I also learned that a pocket billiard table (pool table) has six pockets and use standard stripes and solid balls, whereas a pure billiards table has no pockets and uses only three balls.
This table actually has the original ivory set of balls for playing the game, too.
Whether you play or not, the wooden tables give an air of elegance like the set of an old Hollywood movie. Of course, the slow and careful setting up of shots and the game itself invites conversation and friendship.
But the size and weight of the tables can be intimidating to homeowners, especially in smaller homes. After all, these antique tables are 8 or 9 feet in length and weigh 600 or more pounds! So you really have to love the game to house one of these elegant reminders of yesteryear.
For comments or suggestions on local treasures to be featured in Antique of the Week, Maureen Zambito can be reached via email at zambitomaureen@hotmail .com or by writing in care of this newspaper.