Stephen Hendry Plays With The World's Oldest Snooker Cues
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- This week we take a step back in time, as Stephen plays with the world's oldest snooker cues, balls and chalk! Our expert, Ben Sizer, brilliantly explains the stories behind the old equipment and how they've changed over time to where we are today. We hope you learn a thing or two and enjoy this interesting snooker history episode!
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This is the type of content that makes this one of the best channels on UA-cam. I had no idea they even used sticks like that in the beginning of this video.
I did know because I have a picture of this in one of snooker history books. But it's ever so nice to see Stephen featuring this type of content on the channel.
Stephen is so heavy handed with it all as well 😂
I know, he's like a child. :D
I had to laugh at the decision to use the consumable historic peice of chalk. I think Ben might have died a little inside.
Stephen: "That's made from ivory, isn't it?"
Ben: "Yep. Natural ingredients."
The Elephant:
🤣
Very good! This is the most I've laughed for quite a while!
"so, Ben, why is your snooker nickname Jumbo? Is it your heavy scoring?"
@@juchetony1910 or your windmill impression
That guy was in panic mode the whole video while Hendry was like a bull in a China shop lol
A trip to aramith where snooker balls are made, would be a great video
Yeah!!
My bit of snooker history I own is a copy of Joe Davis book "How I Play Snooker" signed by Joe in 1953. Underneath that it is also signed by Steve Davis in 2016, which he signed for me in Sheffield at the world championships a few days after he retired, when he'd just done a BBC interview talking about how he learned the game from that book.
Whoop.
Beauty!
Shut up. No one asked dude.
@@samuelgarrod8327no one asked for your input either, my guy.
Very nice indeed
I'm 67 and began playing at aged 11. There were cues in the rack of the Memorial Hall in Burry Port, South Wales, weighing and stamped with 22 ounces on them. Even when playing with the old melanite balls and on cloths thicker than a duffel coat, they were too heavy. I recall the day when Idwal, the hall attendant, pulled out the one remaining set of genuine billiard balls from a small box, one white, a white with spot and a red. They were so heavy, they felt like they'd been made from the centre of the Earth's core. There were also aluminium cues that were absolute shite.
that reminds me of Dennis Lillee's aluminium cricket bat.
Thanks for that memory, amazing! You made me feel like I was there.
lol, My current cue is a 22oz John Parris. I love it, tremendous power! I built it to that weight on purpose. Although, more than 10 frames, your arm does start to get a bit tired! Right arm is bigger than left! (it's the cue!)😂
@@colindavid2078 🤣
Memorial hall in Burry port was stunning back in the day 😊
very cool to see a world champion use this old equipment
i shouldn't have done a shot every time ben says 'absolutely' i'm completely hammered
Fancy seeing you here my sexy snooker live chat brethren
I love how Stephen just grabs, lol. The impulse mind takes over.
No, "may i" just, "i wanna touch, I'm touching," lol.
i reckon the lad was a bit shocked when he saw Hendry use that chalk on his cue.
My heart was in my mouth when he was whacking those ivory balls around. The bloke who loaned them out must have been soiling himself.
I mean stephen hendry himself was considered as GOAT in 90s... i would rather let him use, coz it will just make it worth more....
@@ginjaedgy49 Or they discussed it prior to shooting. Like most people that make videos.
Brilliant episode. I was secretly hoping that one of the balls was going to explode into a cloud of dust when hit.
and a genie pops out and grants Stephen three wishes.
😂
@@juchetony1910Maybe he could wish to play as well as he did in his prime.
The next video I want to see is Stephen smashing a ball with a hammer to see what's inside.
I want to use a chainsaw would be able?
here's an idea: transparent snooker balls with the top 22 players' faces inside. Number 1 is the white, down to number 7 as the black, then 8-22 the reds. Different collector's set for each year.
If anyone makes this, please can I have a cut of the profit for thinking it up?
@@juchetony1910 I wouldn’t worry about anyone stealing that idea mate
@@JeatBunkie what about if the tiny men inside rolled around after the ball stopped? Or they made an "ouch" sound as you hit the ball in their own voices?
With special guest Lincoln from the What's Inside? channel.
Thank you Ben Sizer - you are fantastically knowledgeable!!
Kudos to Ben, for sure!! A fine job
I was worried he was going to use Joe Davis' chalk and then he did.
The way he handles the ball cases as well, what a moron
@spitsmuis4772 it's just some balls and chalk, calm your tits lads.
I was worried when he was fumbling taking the reds out of the wooden box 😂
I am sure the owner of the chalk/balls had agreed to let the items be used in advance. Having Stephen using them probably adds to their story/value.
@@Garbage_Pail_Kidyea imagine telling ppl that Stephen played with your balls 👀😂😂😂
Two years ago, I played against someone at snooker and billiards who was using his great grandfather’s cue. From what I know, it was manufactured in 1916. It didn’t even have a ferrule on it and the tip on it was 60 years old alone.
Was the tip leather? Or felt?
Mark Williams would be putting up 147s with the one handed cue 😂 2:35
Dominic Dale would have enjoyed being involved in this episode
I'm sure he already has Ben on Speed-dial
I can picture Dale in 1890s garb, yep.
@@MicahScottPnD 1890s garb?! Why, I say, that's just his usual attire for a professional snooker match, old boy! 😉
When he said that he had sold a lot of his old snooker collection, this was probably it😂
Surely that mace is designed for pushing the ball rather than striking it?
I feel like such a nerd for enjoying this episode!
thats a good point lol
The mace was used to shove the cue ball, rather than strike it.
I've wondered that before too, but striking is correct I'm pretty sure. My impression is that it's more in line with the physics of the game as originally intended.
The mace itself had a process of evolving. At one point in the game's history, you could use either end - the flat end (mace) or the pointy end (cue).
Very interesting to see how the game was actually played years ago and what equipment they used has a cue...Stephen Hendry was the king in the 1990s but seeing him go back to 1890 was epic.
Very interesting episode, thanks Stephen & Ben.
1:16 - you can see a rest of this kind in the Tom & Jerry cartoon "Cue ball Cat"
very unexpected and very welcome! great idea, awesome stuff! thank you, Sir!!
I have met Horace Lindrum on the P&O Liner Arcadia in 1973 when he and his family were traveling back home to Sydney after a visit to Canada I guess. The ship's passage originated in Vancouver where I was from but missed the boat there and got it later at Honolulu. My cousin Kate became very good friends with their daughter, Tammy. Mr. Lindrum showed one of his movies in the ship theater that showed him doing trick shots across several tables. My Aunt and Uncle who I was traveling with and staying with in Sydney had dinner with them. I just remember them as really nice people. I was 17 at the time and not into snooker or pool yet. Horace Lindrum is one of the most outstanding snooker players in Australian history as well as going to England to play the best there.
You definitely need to make a video on how snooker balls are made!
Great idea, i'm sure Aramith would be happy to guide the 7 time World Champion around and explain the process.
Get it done Stephen!
It must feel nice for Hendry to go back to his childhood.
to be fair, rural Scotland in the 1990s was like the 1890s in London. Probably.
Me: "Don't use Joe Davis' chalk, don't use Joe Davis' chalk, don't use Joe Davis' chalk"
Stephen: Uses Joe Davis' chalk
🫠
Joe Davis chalk just went up in value and story.
He just had to didn't he.
In those days, they would have chalked the cue with a square of asbestoes.
The owners of these collentions must have been ill watching this! I bet they handle them balls and chalk with gloves 😂
😂😂 yep panic attack and gritting teeth with every strike,
imagine if one broke in half or chipped fragile with age,
owner would be rushed to accident and emergency nearest hospital 😂😂😂😂
5 pints with Jimmy, followed by a juggling session and snorting the chalk.
Spent the whole video worrying that Stephen was going to break the irreplaceable balls
😂😂😂... now that would have been funny, the look on the guys face lol
I feel like a complete set with one broken by Hendry would probably add value...
Fascinating stuff, Stephen, thanks for that
You could see how much Stephen was loving this
The first club I played at still had ivory billiard balls and heavy napped cloth although they had moved onto crystallite snooker balls. It made you appreciate many of the shots Alex Higgins played because it could be pretty hard work playing uphill.
Always great to learn about history love the video
6:32 Straight in there, Stephen, no messing...
Played with ivory balls, on snooker tables, sized 4×8, 5×10, 6×12, in the sixties in Toronto Ontario, different world back then, in life there is always advancement, lovely sport.
I grew up in the Toronto area and remember the ivory snooker balls back in the early 70’s.Totally different feel to what is used in the modern game.I refer to the ivory balls as ‘the dead ball era’.Played at ‘Silver Tips’ on Highway 10 in Mississauga Ontario back in the early 80’s as well.
Best video yet, so fun and informative! Great ideas and Hendry giving it 100% every time, hehe.. Top stuff, lads!
This channel is superb I'm so glad he started this.
That was a very pleasant watch.
Thankyou Ben for the knowledge you passed on and thankyou Stephen for getting Ben on.
The guest was good. “Frame winning opportunity” with the old cue 😂
My goodness! The whole time I’m thinking, Stephen is treating the memrobilia like it’s just nothing. But to then use the chalk! Come on mate!!!
The chalk bit killed me😂
This is without a doubt the best UA-cam channel for snooker.
Absolutely.
Indeed.
Hi Stephen We have talked before when I was doing an exhibition of antique billiard memorabilia in Hull, and I met you years beforehand. Regarding the mace you wouldn't hit the ball it was used to push, also there was a right and left hand one, when you looked along it the end would kick either left or right. I do have earlier versions of this, also I have butt cues from the 1840s. Hope this helps Andy.
do I want to know what a "butt cue" is?
Really interesting. Ben is very knowledgeable and presents well.
Absolutely.
I think this is one of your best ever videos, Stephen! Fascinating to see the old cues and balls😁
Stephen love the content you are doing all the time! Huge thanks to the collectors for letting you do a video on these and also using the balls themselves!
Give the tough table challenge a go 😂
3 days later ......i'm on a break of 9
We need to see an episode with Ben and Dominic Dale - a snooker and billiards history geek-out! 😅 (Having said that, if you go back and read match reports from the 1930s, you'll see that players were playing deep screws, potting the blue to go into the pack at high pace, and using left and right-hand side as well as frequently screwing back...the myth that they didn't know or play these shots is only that, a myth!)
I think they got a bit confused about the timeline. He said that the ivory balls were out of use by the 1920s, but then they seemed to be under the impression that Joe Davis used ivory balls for practically all his career.
@@beeble2003 Yeah, I can't blame them for getting things a bit mixed up to be fair, it was a long time ago! But, I mean...the idea that these guys were still using maces as cues in 1890...but then, I know Ben was probably being vague about some of these things because Stephen's not really one for history, and Stephen also has to appeal to casual viewers, who might not care any more than he does for it! On the ivories, weren't they obsolete (at the highest level) even by the time Joe turned professional? I'm pretty sure he'd have spent his whole career playing with the newer ones. Anyway, I guess Stephen could say 'hey, what's the point of learning history when you can just make your own?' and there'd be no answer to that... 😅
Stephen: So regardless of whatever I ask, you'll say the same thing?
Ben: 'Absolutely'.
Only knew snooker was started with balls made with ivory, but never actually seen how it was played back in the days, thank you Stephen for showing that to us!
ive deffo seen a video or 2 of old snooker games being played with this equipment, great content to bring to your channel stephen that puts into context how the game has evolved over time. as i was watchng this i had an idea of something else you could do.... how about a visit to a factory where they make the current day competition balls so we can actually see how they are made! i feel like there must be plenty of tech involved to ensure each ball is perfectly balanced so there is no 'swing' on them. i think it would make great content for the channel!
Great job Ben as well for giving us your knowledge of these historical pieces!
That was so so interesting. Class video. One of the best of the channel imo
Really interesting to see how snooker evolved. I was surprised that these items were not under lock and key. I cringed when you put Joe Davis chalk near your tip.
Great video thanks.
Fantastic episode! There is really a lot of amazing history back there, about table sports. This was amazing to get to see items not only in picture but put to use, to see and hear how they behave ❤
This is better than Shaun Murphy's channel
This was awesome to see, thanks for this !! :)
A fantastic guest- so informative. Richard Osman's twin brother!
Great content yet again. Thank you Stephen for this history lesson.
Great episode, and thought Ben was excellent. Really enjoying the variety of this channel lately
I was genuinely amazed and affraid throughout the whole video. Amazed because of the historical value and the whole demonstration, and affraid because I imagined something breaking every time Stephen tried something out. Great video, thank you for this unique experience.
Really interesting! Also potentially deadly viewing: drink every time that Ben says "absolutely"
A perk of being a GOAT. It must have been so interesting for Stephen & a lot of fun.
Was
Brilliant that. Ben was an absolute gentleman too.
Some cracking old stuff. 👏🏻 👏🏻
That was really interesting. Thank you!
Great informative video as per usual. Thanks champ 🏆
“This is a real historic piece”
Then right after Hendry just uses it on his cue 😂
Loved that, very interesting episode. I’m not sure Ben expected Stephen to hit those rare balls so hard though 😬. That thumbnail pic is fantastic too 😂
‘How a cue ball is made’. Sounds like a video for the future. I’m sad enough to want to see that!
As a bit of a history buff myself, this was really interesting. Ben was great as well
Absolute snooker legend
As a teen, I was luckily to have used the old equipment in my Uncle’s House. They had a full size antique Billiard Room on the top floor of their Home. It is definitely a different game.
The Old cues were impossible to use, I think they were Possibly Maple or Pear Wood, but they were all like bananas.
Great to see a nice collection being used, not sure if I would have used the chalk though. Stephen should have at least played the shot to get a feel for it and give us some feedback from his point of view. Elk master tips are everywhere, but Joe Davis’s Chalk is certainly not.
now I want to watch "Shot in the Dark" again, the scene in the billiards room.
Amazing stuff, Can you do one on how balls are made. Also a nice in depth one on tables. Cheers lol
Really really cool episode, Stephen! One more idea here: you should try to play a game with an additional orange and purple ball between brown and blue/blue and pink for 8/9 as they tried to implement for a very short period of time! Playing a frame like that would be so much fun to watch!
What a great idea of a video. Love it.
Если бы вы это сейчас не показали, я так бы и не узнал, что такое вообще было. Казалось что то что есть сейчас - было всегда. Очень интересное видео. Спасибо.
Great informative video. Ben's knowledge and ability on camera made it very engaging.
Absolutely!
Class episode! Well done to Stephen and Ben.
A fantastic bit of billiards/snoker history.
With a mace though, they didn't actually strike the cueball like Stephen did. It was more of an accellerating push/shove action with a long ball contact.
Anyway, great video.
Really interesting. Watched this with a big smile on my face... Totally loved it.
great video! really interesting insight from ben too
Very interesting! 👍
All time GOAT of quitters Stephen Hendry who shat his pants hen whitewashed 9-0 by Marcus Campbell is one of the biggest bottlers in professional snooker. That's a fact.
No one is even in Stephen Hendry's league in choking . The fraud of the sports bottle & greatness is a myth. We all know Ronnie O'Sullivan is the greatest then Mark Selby the 2nd greatest in snooker and Mark Selby is the GOAT of cue sports 🏆
@WayneAnthonyHolmes-s4i Here we go again. You not got anything better to do than troll Hendry videos looking for attention? What a sado you are!
Seek help honestly it's not good for your health!
@WayneAnthonyHolmes-s4i You gota be on meds or something. I've never met such an obsessed crack pot like yourself on here.
The "fact" you go on videos of someone you don't even like just to try and "prove" NOTHING with 50 million fake accounts is the biggest waste of time I've EVER seen on YT.
Mindbogglingly stupid. Desperate comes to mind and insecure AND totally INSANE!
My favourite one so far , brilliant.
I read something in a snooker history book some years ago where a lady was playing snooker using the mace. The balls were in such a position that she couldn't get to the white ball in the conventional way, so she turned the mace around and struck the white ball with the butt end. Apparently this was the fore runner to the modern cue.
I actually own a Horace Lindrum hand spliced cue which was given to me back in the 80's. I used other cues since but have gone back to the Horace Lindrum cue.
Breaking: Stephen Hendry looks menacing in best form of the decade……..
This was great 🙂
If your dad had bought you a snooker table back then, you'd sure have used it a lot. It would have been sooooooooooo expensive.
This is great, I've only ever seen pictures of these "cues" before, so seeing how they would've been used is fascinating :) Also a topic for another video - early on there used to be 2 other colour balls on the table between the pink and blue, and the blue and brown - I think they were purple and orange - but a video about that would be cool, like how it affects gameplay and trying to get a maximum break with 2 extra balls on the table, something like that :)
I love how Stephen did not hold back! 😅 Absolutely 💯
Brilliant video. Thank you.
From best snooker player ever to best UA-camr ever. Congrats.
Brilliant video.
If Hendry played with the world's oldest cue, and I played with my current John Parris...... I think I might take him out!?
Fascinating to watch. Loved this. Now please do a video on how the balls a made today 😁
Honestly the best I’ve watched
Great stuff Mr Hendry! Love the content!!!
Brilliant - really enjoyed this episode - be great to Vs other players using old balls/cues
Thank you stephen for this amazing episode thank you so much
Absolutely
That's so cool!
Fascinating insight 👍 thank you Stephen 😊
come on, we need a tournament with the old equipment, TABLES too. Lets see some of the top guys of today on 80s tables
I said this a while back: Stephen should go on tour with some snooker buddies, visiting important snooker places connected with history of all sorts, not just big venues, and do documentaries with a local historian while having a frame or two. Dennis Taylor went to the original home of snooker, so that sort of connection.