Isn’t it interesting how history becomes history. Take for example pay phones. When you were using them, you never thought about it and then they’re gone. Not just gone……totally gone. Then you see them 20 years later on ebay as relics from the past. Cigarette machines, fax machines, walkmans – you get the point. We found another one that we thought might be lost forever, but it’s not going away without a fight. We bring you the history and the current state the bar room shuffleboard table. A Jersey classic!
First – Where do you Play? Our New Jersey Shuffleboard Locator Map
It’s often difficult to remember what organization or bar has a shuffleboard. Is it a legal length or a short one? Well, thanks to Mr. Local History for building an interactive map of places that offer a shuffleboard table. There are two categories, organizations, VFWs, American Legion posts, Elks Lodges etc and the red icons are bars with a shuffleboard table. The map is interactive so you can use the box in the upper right hand corner to enlarge it and actually select a location, get info, directions to your phone and more.
If we missed one, or a table is no longer there, please drop a comment at the end of the post. We’ve found that there are hundreds of fans that jonze to spread a little “grated cheese” and sling a few pucks. And not to forget, if you have a shuffleboard in your establishment, I’ll bet it’s a pretty nostalgic place.
Table Shuffleboard History
Don’t get us wrong, I LOVE shuffleboard. Leveraging skill and drinking couldn’t be a more perfect sport surpassing golf in my opinion. It is a sport right? Unlike darts, pinball, and that dreaded ring toss game, shuffleboard is on another level, right up there with billiards. Shuffleboard has been a popular game for centuries. It originated in the 1500s in taverns and parlors in Great Britain. The earliest form of the game was called “shove a penny”. Players would slide a large coin, or “great”, down a table. The game was also known as “shovegroat” or “slide-groat”. The game was popular with the English aristocracy. Some country houses had elaborate, handcrafted boards. For example, the board at Chartley Hall in Staffordshire was over 30 feet (9 meters) long.
Shuffleboard was popular among the English soldiers as well as the colonists. In fact, Bridget Bishop, the first woman executed during the Salem Witch Trials, was sentenced because she allowed Shuffleboard in her tavern. 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 than one.
The game’s popularity began to decline in the early 20th century. Prohibition forced taverns and saloons to close, leaving shuffleboard tables unused. In the 20th century, shuffleboard tournaments were popular. But we’re smelling a nostalgic renaissance to the game and those establishments that share the game.
New Jersey Shuffleboard Roots
By 1897, table shuffleboard rated as much space in the metropolitan newspapers in the New York City area as prizefighting 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 the players to tournaments in New York City; Newark, Paterson, Hoboken, Jersey City and Bloomfield, New Jersey, and even into Philadelphia. The fans included important figures of the business, theatrical, and political worlds. Shuffleboard then made its way across the country. Check out the Shuffleboard Hall of Fame .
The American Shuffleboard Company was located at 210 Paterson Plank Rd, Union City, NJ 07087. In 1948, the company opened a new plant in Union Township, New Jersey, 13.5 miles from its original plant in Union City. The company was in its prime during the 1940s-60s.
David Lipkin posted for us on Facebook fan that his Uncle Sol Lipkin (from Jersey) is nicknamed the “Father of Table Shuffleboard”, who became a representative for the American Shuffleboard Company of Union City, New Jersey. Many believe that Sol established American Boards as the industry standard. Two of the most popular, quality shuffleboard tables were made by American and National, made in Union City and Orange, New Jersey respectively.
American Shuffleboard was a New Jersey company which produced quality shuffleboard tables. In its prime during the 1940s-6os they became the best selling shuffleboard table at a time shuffleboard became popular after WWII. In the ’30s, Sol Lipkin started his long career in shuffleboard as a salesperson for the National Shuffleboard Company, then became a representative for the American Shuffleboard Company in New Jersey. Competition between the shuffleboard manufacturers (National, American, Modern, Rock-Ola, Valley, etc.) was intense and many believe Sol established American Boards as the industry standard. American Shuffleboard no longer exists today having ending operations in the late 1990s.
Want to Play for Real?
Playing, Dimensions & Rules
Shuffleboard tables vary in length, usually within a 9–22-foot range (2.7–6.7 m), and are at least 20 inches (510 mm) wide. Tables are intended to be kept flat, but any given table may have its own slight concave or convex condition, adding an extra challenge. In order to decrease friction, the table is periodically sprinkled liberally with tiny, salt-like beads of silicone (often referred to as shuffleboard wax even though silicone is not a wax, or sometimes as shuffleboard sand, or shuffleboard cheese, due to its visual similarity to grated cheese). These beads act like ball bearings, letting a puck slide down the table a great distance with only a slight push.
Regulation size shuffleboard tables, also known as tournament tables, are 22 feet long by 20 inches wide. The rules are fairly simple, but you never know when a “Jersey Rule” pops up. Basically, each player slides a total of four pucks to complete a round. At the end of the round, only the player whose puck is closest to the edge of the table can receive points. For your puck to score points, it must be on the table, over the foul line, and closer to the end of the table than any of your opponent’s pucks. Games are typically played with 4 people, two on each team (like horseshoes).
Table Scoring
In shuffleboard, the scoring area is divided into three sections:
- Closest to the edge: Worth 3 points
- Short middle section: Worth 2 points
- Long middle section: Worth 1 point
A puck hanging over the edge of the table is worth 4 points.
At the end of a round, the score is totaled by counting the pucks closest to the end of the table that are of the same color. Only one player scores in each round. The player with the furthest puck is the only one who collects points for that frame. Any one of their pucks that are located between the furthest puck and the opponent’s closest puck is also awarded points according to the value of that particular weight on the board.
New Jersey Shuffleboard Manufacturers
New Jersey has been producing shuffleboard tables
- Sun-Glo -Founded in 1935 in Belleville, NJ, Sun-Glo is a leader in the shuffleboard accessories industry.
- American Shuffleboard -A New Jersey company that produced quality shuffleboard tables in the 1940s and 60s.
- Billiard Towne – Established in 1978, Billiard Towne is a showroom for pool tables and shuffleboard tables in northern New Jersey.
- Champion Shuffleboard – The world’s largest shuffleboard company, with corporate headquarters in Carlstadt, NJ.
- Shuffleboard Planet – A manufacturer of game tables in New Jersey.
The National Table Shuffleboard Hall of Fame
Yes my friends there IS a National Shuffleboard Hall of Fame –
One major accomplishment in 1995 was the establishment of a National Shuffleboard Hall of Fame in Clearwater, Florida. Since then, several states have formed state or area shuffleboard Halls of Fame. Often, those who have been honored by their respective states are then nominated for induction into the National Hall of Fame. The Clearwater (FL) Shuffleboard Club hosts the USA National Shuffleboard Association (USA-NSA) Hall of Fame and the International Shuffleboard Association (ISA) Hall of Fame
To date, 12 people have been inducted into the National Hall of Fame: (California) PeeWee Ramos, Bob Miles, Billy Chiles; (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 is the NSHF’s goal to recognize excellence for all deserving participants in The World of Shuffleboard and to finance a “home” for preserving the history of shuffleboard so that generation to follow will have a knowledge of and appreciation for that history. To the best of our knowledge, no one from New Jersey has been added to the National Hall of Fame.
Additional History with a Social Twist
Lynda Champaign
My uncle, Paul Cusano, founded American Shuffleboard Company in the 1940’s in Union City. After he passed away, his wife, my Aunt Mary, took over the reign of the company until sometime in the 1960’s. She was quite a female powerhouse for that day and time.
Robert Kaba
Our dad was Post 40 Commander American Legion in Ridgefield Park when I was a youngster. I remember playing with the shuffle board when we visited the post. Good memories!
Bob Jacko
Every VFW in the country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joseph Vashlishan
A great childhood memory. My Grandmother till she passed in 1977 lived at the trailer park on 35 in Eatontown. The Pinetree Tavern was a big bar in front on 35. They had a full length shuffle board table where she taught to play in the 60’s. We played every time I visted till she past in 77.