The town of Chécy is located at the junction of antique Roman roads linking Sens and Autun to Orleans.

If the legend is to be believed, the idea of inventing a game for the local House of Entertainment sprang to the mind of Chevillotus by watching Roman chariots coming at full speed, only to end their mad races in violent collision at the above crossroads.

The game could be played either on bare ground or grass. Balls were much bigger and heavier than the present ones and were hit by the players with long curved sticks.

Rules of playing also differed : for instance when the ball of a player touched two other balls, it cost a penalty of two points (From the First Treaty of Billiards 1588).

Billiards in Roman time

A young girl from Lorraine passing through Chécy (on wooden clogs! probably !) decided to import this new game to the King Court at Chinon. The very first billiard table, made from a slab of stone and covered with Elboeuf cloth, was built in 1429 for the Dauphin (future Louis XI) by the cabinetmaker Henri De Vigne,

Rapidly, it developed into a very popular game: from 150 tables found in the first clubs of Paris in 1630, there were already 900 in 1790 and more than 200 000 in the whole of France in 1880 !

The 3 Ball (or French) Billiards, in its actual condition, appeared around 1800 and was oil-lamp-heated. Until 1900 the playing platform was put upon a stone or marble support. Nowadays slate is the material most commonly used due to its superior quality.

The first Professional World Championship of 1873 saw the victory of Gamier (France) with a general average of 9.32 points (best serial : 113 points). In 1880, Vignaux (France) won the match against Slosson (USA) with a serial of 1531 points.

Serials became more and more important, in 1890, a stunning serial opposing Shaefer to Mc Cleery was won by the former with a spectacular 3000 points.

French billiards today