1908 American Tournament

The 1908 American Tournament was the name for professional English Billiards and snooker tournaments held from October 1907 to March 1908 at Burroughes Hall. Seven professional players participated in round-robin tournaments for each sport. Tom Reece won the billiards title after defeating Charles Dawson 8,000–6,010 in a play-off final after each of them had won five group matches. Dawson won the snooker championship, with Cecil Harverson the runner-up.

Participants

For the billiards matches, a handicap was applied, with the winner of each heat being the first player to reach 8,000 points. The snooker matches were not handicapped and were determined on aggregate score. The matches were held at Burroughes Hall.[1]

Player Handicap (points received)
 Charles Dawson (ENG)0
 Edward Diggle (ENG)750
 Cecil Harverson (ENG)1,750
 Tom Reece (ENG)2,000
 Tom Aiken (SCO)2,250
 Walter Lovejoy (ENG)2,500
 James Collens (ENG)2,750

Schedule

The schedule of matches and results was as follows.[1] Winning scores are denoted in bold.

Start Date Player Billiards Snooker Player Ref.
21 October 1907  Tom Reece (ENG) 8,000–7,544 642–570  Walter Lovejoy (ENG) [2]
28 October 1907  Edward Diggle (ENG) 8,000–7,804 590–550  Tom Aiken (SCO) [3]
4 November 1907  Walter Lovejoy (ENG)  James Collens (ENG)
11 November 1907  Charles Dawson (ENG)  Cecil Harverson (ENG)
18 November 1907  Tom Aiken (SCO)  Walter Lovejoy (ENG)
25 November 1907  Edward Diggle (ENG) 8,000–7,970 639–556  Tom Reece (ENG) [4]
2 December 1907  Tom Aiken (SCO) 8,000–5,925 546–657  James Collens (ENG) [5]
9 December 1907  Cecil Harverson (ENG) 7,394–8000 616–691  Tom Reece (ENG) [6]
16 December 1907  Charles Dawson (ENG) 8,000–5,963 609–576  James Collens (ENG) [7]
30 December 1907  Tom Reece (ENG)  Tom Aiken (SCO)
6 January 1908  Edward Diggle (ENG)  Cecil Harverson (ENG)
13 January 1908  Charles Dawson (ENG)  Walter Lovejoy (ENG)
20 January 1908  Tom Reece (ENG)  James Collens (ENG)
27 January 1908  Cecil Harverson (ENG)  Walter Lovejoy (ENG)
3 February 1908  Charles Dawson (ENG)  Tom Aiken (SCO)
10 February 1908  Edward Diggle (ENG)  Walter Lovejoy (ENG)
17 February 1908  Cecil Harverson (ENG)  James Collens (ENG)
24 February 1908  Charles Dawson (ENG)  Tom Reece (ENG)
2 March 1908  Edward Diggle (ENG)  James Collens (ENG)
9 March 1908  Cecil Harverson (ENG) 8,000–6,214 619–574  Tom Aiken (SCO) [8]
16 March 1908  Charles Dawson (ENG) walkover-withdrawn walkover-withdrawn  Edward Diggle (ENG) [8]

Final standings

The final standings for each competition are shown below.[8]

Billiards

Dawson and Reece, who both won five matches, held a play-off match to determine the overall winner. Reece won the prize for the highest proportionate aggregate.[8] The final started on 23 March 1908, with Reece (receiving 2,000 start) finishing the first day 3,000–1,228 ahead.[9] At the conclusion of the final on 29 March, Reece won the title by defeating Dawson 8,000–6,010.[10]

Position Player Handicap Matches won
1  Charles Dawson (ENG) 0 5
2  Tom Reece (ENG) 2,000 5
3  Cecil Harverson (ENG) 1,750 4
4  Edward Diggle (ENG) 750 3
5  Tom Aiken (SCO) 2,250 2
6  James Collens (ENG) 2,750 2
7  Walter Lovejoy (ENG) 2,500 0

Snooker

There was a prize of 25gns for the winner of the snooker competition.[1]

Position Player Points scored
1  Charles Dawson (ENG) 4,063
2  Cecil Harverson (ENG) 3,824
3  James Collens (ENG) 3,633
4  Tom Reece (ENG) 3,511
5  Walter Lovejoy (ENG) 3,416
6  Tom Aiken (SCO) 3,297
7  Edward Diggle (ENG) 2,556

References
  1. "Billiards: next season's tournament". The Sportsman. 26 August 1907. p. 1.
  2. "Billiards at Burroughes and Watts". The Sportsman. 28 October 1907. p. 8.
  3. "Billiards". Daily Telegraph & Courier. London. 4 November 1907. p. 4.
  4. "Billiards: the American tournament". The Times. London. 2 December 1907. p. 11.
  5. "Billiards: Aiken v Collins". Lincolnshire Echo. 9 December 1907. p. 4.
  6. "Billiards". The Tewkesbury Register, and Agricultural Gazette. 21 December 1907. p. 6.
  7. "C. Dawson v J.W. Collins". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 23 December 1907. p. 12.
  8. "Billiards: the American tournament". The Times. London. 16 March 1908. p. 7.
  9. "Billiards: C. Dawson v T. Reece". The Times. London. 24 March 1908. p. 11.
  10. "Billiards: The American tournament". The Times. London. 30 March 1908. p. 11.
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