ID Old Pool Table "Mueller's Billiard & Bowling Supplies" St. Louis, MO

8/28/2023 5:46:02 PM

ID Old Pool Table "Mueller's Billiard & Bowling Supplies" St. Louis, MO

I'm trying to date when this older pool table was from. It has been in the family for generations.

There is nothing on the pool table itself except for a nameplate, which lists a company that no longer exists. The nameplate says:

Mueller's
Billiard & Bowling Supplies
No. 11 S. Broadway
St. Louis, MO

The back of the name has a number 10823, then with some sort of brand stamp with letters "R B W". Would 10823 be a date code for October 8, 1923?

Any help?

user1693259161

ID Old Pool Table "Mueller's Billiard & Bowling Supplies" St. Louis, MO

Replies & Comments

billiardsforum on 10/5/2023 8:18:08 PM
That's interesting, I've not seen a Mueller's nameplate like that before.

Have you looked underneath the pool table for any other markings, names, logos, or symbols?

This doesn't directly answer your question, but might help with your research a bit:
- The company's legal name in Missouri was MUELLER'S BOWLING AND BILLIARD SUPPLIES, INC. (company id 00067381), incorporated before 1957 - but the corporate records aren't available online.
- I believe Mueller's moved to 5626 Gravois Ave in St. Louis, MO eventually, and later, 6929 Hampton Ave.
- It is possible (probable) that they didn't actually make pool tables, but rather, just repaired and serviced them. Shockingly, it was common practice on those days for service companies to replace the manufacturer's nameplate with their own.
- There is a Mueller's Billiard & Dart Supplies of today (website says est. 1955), and based out of Iowa (with a satellite location in Nebraska due to their purchase of Cornhusker Billiard Supplies. I wonder if they're related? The corporate name of this entity is Mueller Recreational Products, Inc.. They incorporated in Nebraska in 1989. I am pretty sure they're related in some way.
I could find almost nothing about the "old" St. Louis, MO Mueller's, other than the following newspaper articles:
1. The Mt. Vernon Register-News, from Mt Vernon, Illinois, in the Friday, August 30, 1957 issue (page 5), had an article about a new bowling alley grand opening, "Kelley's Bowl", and companies who helped built it were mentioned:
  
  [...]
  
  14 AMF lanes, INSTALLED BY Mueller's Bowling and Billiard Supplies, Inc. St. Louis
  
  [...]
2. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri, in the Friday, April 12, 1957 issue, mentioned the company in an article about a fire in the building:

ID Old Pool Table "Mueller's Billiard & Bowling Supplies" St. Louis, MO

Title: ID Old Pool Table "Mueller's Billiard & Bowling Supplies" St. Louis, MO
Author: user1693259161 (Tom O'toole)
Published: 8/28/2023 5:46:02 PM
Last Updated: 10/5/2023 8:48:48 AM
Last Updated By: billiardsforum (Billiards Forum)