Back in 15th Century England, folks played a game of sliding a "groat" (a large British coin ofthe day worth about four pence) down a table. The game was called shove groat and/or slide groat. Later, a silver pennywas used and the name of the game became shove-penny and/or shovel-penny. The game was played by the young and old, andwas a favorite pastime in the great country houses of Staffordshire, Winchester and Wiltshire.
While our Founding Fathers were busy putting together the makings of this great country, there were big shuffleboardmatches being conducted throughout the colonies. Shuffleboard was popular among the English soldiers as well as thecolonists.
In his play, The Crucible," concerning the historic witch trials of Salem, Mass., Arthur Miller wrote: In 1692,there was a good supply of ne’er-do-wells who dallied at the shuffleboard in Bridget Bishop’s Tavern."That item provides a written record of the entrance of the game into the New World.
The fame of the game spread, and soon it came upon the public scene in more ways that one. In 1848, in New Hanover,Pennsylvania, a case of "The State vs. John Bishop" to decide the question, "Is shuffleboard a game ofchance or a game of skill?" Came up for trail. The judge ruled thus:
"Though the defendant kept a public gaming table, as charged, and though diverse persons played thereat and betspirituous liquors on the game, the game was not a game of chance, but was altogether a game of skill."
The game shed its crude beginnings when American cabinetmakers such as Hepplewhite and Duncan Phyfe turned out someof their finest inlaid cabinet work on shuffleboard game tables for the wealthy homes of New York City.
By 1897, table shuffleboard rated as much space in the metropolitan newspapers in the New York City area asprizefighting and baseball. Highly publicized tournaments played by such colorful characters as "Big Ed’Morris, Dave Wiley, Alex Scott, Ed Gardland, and George Lavender drew hordes of fans. The fans faithfully followed theplayers to tournaments in New York City, Newark, Paterson, Hoboken, Jersey City and Bloomfield, New Jersey, and eveninto Philadelphia. The fans included important figures of the business, theatrical, and political worlds.
Shuffleboard made its was across the country. In 1904, Gentleman Jim Corbett, an avid player, had a tavern ownernamed Croll install a table in his Alamedia, California, pub. "Doc" Croll, his son, claimed it was the firstshuffleboard in that part of the country.
World War II opened the "Swinging Forties" and shuffleboard really came into its own. The intrinsic appealof the game – skill, diversity, competitiveness, availability to young and old, strong and disabled, the seriousgame, the fun game, offered the kind of release needed in those turbulent years.
Hollywood climbed on the shuffleboard bandwagon and took it up, at first, as a source of good publicity. Then whenthe pin-up girls and bandleaders and actors discovered they really liked the game, shuffleboards found their way intothe studios and homes of the stars. People like Betty Grable, Harry James, Merv Griffin, Alan Ladd; all had their ownshuffleboards.
Shuffleboard grew to its greatest height in the 1950s. Most major shuffleboard manufactures sponsored nationwideshuffleboard tournaments. These were the biggest tournaments ever held; one had 576 teams participating.
Fierce competition among major manufactures and suppliers, lack of uniform rules and organization, the inability togain sponsorship of the sport, and general internal strife in all facets of shuffleboard, led to a demise of the gamein the ‘60s and ‘70s. Some feared it was damaged beyond "repair," but others invested their time,efforts and talents to breath life into the sport that they had loved. That dedication paid off, by the mid-‘80s,shuffleboard experienced a revival, a revival that has extended and strengthened in the ‘90s.
While organization, cooperation and communication have been key elements in the revival of shuffleboard; probablythe most important factor has been an almost universal realization in The World of Shuffleboard that new young shooterswill be the continued lifelines of the sport. Across the nation, established shooters have made it their top priorityto help novice players develop their talents and nurture their enthusiasm for league and tournament play. As long asthat remains a priority, shuffleboard will continue to grow.
One major accomplishment in this decade was the establishment of a National Shuffleboard Hall of Fame in 1995. Sincethen, several states have formed state or area shuffleboard Halls of Fame. Often, those who have been honored by theirrespective states are then nominated for induction into the National Hall of Fame.
To date, 12 people have been inducted into the National Hall of Fame: (California) PeeWee Ramos, Bob Miles, BillyChiles; (Oklahoma) Bill Melton, Glen Davidson; (New Jersey) Mickey Mickens, Sol Lipkin; (Texas) Earl Kelly; (Nebraska)Denny Busch; (Pacific Northwest) Jim Foran. Several others are currently going through the nomination process. It isthe NSHF’s goal to recognize excellence for all deserving participants in The World of Shuffleboard and tofinance a "home" for preserving the history of shuffleboard so that generation to follow will have aknowledge of and appreciation for that history.
*Information provided by the American Shuffleboard Company, The Phil-American Shuffleboard Company, and The Board Talk
