Despite the fact that billiards is very popular on American television, networks have not taken it seriously. Billiards was not popular enough to be shown on television for many decades. But it got a little more attention after the 1961 release of The Hustler. The movie had a profound impact on the popularity of pool and organized billiards was booming by the end of the 1960s.
The Hustler, which starred Jackie Gleason in the role of Minnesota Fats, was a huge success. Billiards halls in the United States doubled in size following the release of the movie. The movie also had a big impact on the popularity organized billiards. By late 1960s, billiards had appeared on television.
Ten-Twenty became the first television show to feature billiards. Frank Oliva, a billiards evangelist, developed the game. It was a variation to the classic 14-1 straight game of pool. The game was played in a timed fashion. Each player could score ten points per inning. 100 points was the ideal match score. There were eight innings of play. In the eighth innings, players could score another 20 points.
Frank Oliva founded Ten-Twenty, an billiards game program, in the early 1960s. The show featured professional billiards players as well as celebrities competing against one another. The timers were set and the scores were determined by how well each snooker player 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.
The show was a huge hit, and billiards started to be popularized on television. The popularity of billiards on TV declined in the late 1970s. There were no billiards game programs by 1980. Ballbreakers, which was launched in 2005, made billiards on TV a huge hit again. The one-year run of Ballbreakers was a failure. 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. Jimmy O'Connor, a cheerful host, hosted the show. It was a very old show but it had charm. Numerous celebrities were featured on the show, 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. In 1954, he set a world straight pool record. He won the World Straight Pool Championship 15 times.
A number of celebrities were seen playing billiards on television, including Sid Caesar and Bill Cosby. A $1000 charity prize was also included in the show.