How Snooker Originated in Ooty, India: Stories from the British Raj
- Editorial Team
- Aug 11, 2024
- 2 min read
Isn't it interesting how some of lifes discoveries happen completely by chance? Let's talk about snooker for instance. This sophisticated cue sport didn't have its beginnings in a London club as one might assume. No it was actually conceived out of boredom in a corner of India.
Imagine this; It's 1875 and you've got a group of officers confined to their barracks during the monsoon season. They're going a bit stir crazy you know. After consuming their share of gin they found themselves seeking forms of entertainment.
Enter Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain. Not the Chamberlain mind you; this is a fellow altogether. Neville and his companions were experimenting with the billiards table to liven things up. They had been playing games like 'pyramids with balls and 'black pool', with balls.
One day after indulging in one too many drinks old Neville has a stroke of genius. Why not merge the two games together?. Lo and behold it turned out to be a stroke of brilliance!They began playing this game and absolutely enjoyed it.
Now here's where it gets interesting. One of the guys misses a shot and Chamberlain as can be playfully calls him a "snooker." It was a term used in the army to refer to a rookie. Chamberlain found it amusing and jokingly labeled them all "snookers" in this game. The nickname caught on like that. As these gentlemen were transferred around India they brought the game along, with them. It gained popularity at a venue known as the Ooty Club. But then only British officers had access to the snooker table—it was an affair for the upper crust.
The game might have remained their secret if not for an encounter. In '85 during dinner with a Maharaja Chamberlain meets John Roberts, a figure in billiards circles. Roberts learns about this game. Thinks to himself "I could do something with this back home."That's how snooker embarked on its journey from a pastime on days, in India to becoming the global sport we know today. The world works in ways doesn't it?
The next time you tune in to watch snooker, on TV just think about how it originated from a group of Brits a rainy day and some playful teasing. That's quite a piece of history isn't it?
Amazing how snooker started as a rainy-day pastime in Ooty and grew into a global sport. Today, the gaming culture in India has expanded far beyond cue sports—platforms like Zuplay bring that same spirit of competition into the digital era, offering a dedicated site for casino and betting fans to test their luck and skill in modern formats.
Reading about how snooker was born in Ooty during the British Raj made me realize how deeply sports evolve from simple leisure into global traditions. It’s fascinating how something invented in a colonial officers’ mess turned into a worldwide passion that still thrives today. I’ve always enjoyed exploring sports history and strategy — and even when checking modern platforms like betting sites bangladesh, I notice the same love for precision, analysis, and fair play that shaped games like snooker. The site actually offers a well-researched list of the best online betting sites in Bangladesh, along with verified insights and rankings that help users understand odds and make safer choices. I think learning about a game’s origins and its evolution into…
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