Hyatt was also financially backed by a syndicate of investors led by Marshal Lefferts, a retired Civil War general. There were complaints about Hyatt’s exploding collodion-covered balls from saloon owners, one of whom reported that “every time the balls collided, every man in the room pulled a gun.” These days pool and snooker balls are made from a plastic called phenolic resin, and celluloid is only used for making one type of ball: the table tennis ball.
