Joe Davis was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s. He won the first 15 World Championships from 1927 to 1946.
Horace Lindrum was an Australian professional snooker and billiards player. The dominant snooker player in Australia, he lived in Britain for long periods and played in the major British tournaments. From his arrival in Britain in 1935 he was regarded as the second best player in the world, behind Joe Davis. Lindrum contested three World Championship finals against Davis, in 1936, 1937 and 1946, losing all three to Davis but coming close to beating him on several occasions. Horace Lindrum won the 1952 World Championship which, because of a dispute between the governing body and the players' association, was only contested by himself and New Zealander Clark McConachy.
The 1927 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at various venues throughout the season. This was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was organised by Joe Davis and Bill Camkin. The final took place at the Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England with Joe Davis winning the title by defeating Tom Dennis. Originally called the Professional Snooker Championship, it did not become the World Championship until 1935.
Tom Newman was an English professional player of English billiards and snooker. He was born Thomas Edgar Pratt in Barton-on-Humber, Lincolnshire. He always appeared under the name Tom Newman when playing billiards or snooker and changed his name formally in 1919, shortly before his marriage that year.
The News of the World Snooker Tournament was one of the leading professional tournaments of the 1950s and widely considered as being more important than the world championship due to the involvement of Joe Davis. The event was sponsored by the Sunday newspaper News of the World. The highest break of the tournament was four times 140 or more, which was unusual at that time.
The 1935 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at the Thurston's Hall in London, England. The 1935 Championship introduced a number of significant changes. It was the first Championship to incorporate "world" in its name, being called the World's Professional Snooker Championship. There was also a change in the organisation of the event with the matches being played consecutively at the same venue. Previously the draw for the event was made early in the season and the players made their own arrangements about the dates and venue.
The 1936 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament mostly held at the Thurston's Hall in London, England. There were a record thirteen entries; a significant increase from the five in the previous year and just two in 1934. Joe Davis won the Championship for the tenth time in a row, beating Horace Lindrum in the final. The final signalled that snooker became a major game, with the Daily Mail Gold Cup switching from billiards to snooker and The Billiard Player changing its name to Billiards and Snooker in October 1936.
The 1937 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at the Thurston's Hall in London, England.
The 1939 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at the Thurston's Hall in London, England.
Sydney Lee was an English professional billiards and snooker player. He was four times a quarter-finalist in the World Snooker Championship during the first half of the twentieth century. He was a snooker referee on Pot Black. He was the game consultant for a 1970 episode of Steptoe and Son entitled "Pot Black" and, as well as performing a number of trick shots was the stand-in for many of the more difficult regular shots seen in the show.
The Daily Mail Gold Cup was an important professional cue sports tournament from 1935 to 1940. In the first two tournaments it was contested as a billiards event before becoming a snooker event. It was sponsored by the Daily Mail. The tournament was suspended following the 1939/40 event and not played again. The concept of a handicap snooker tournament was revived for the 1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament.
The 1935/1936 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional billiards tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. With 5 wins Melbourne Inman won the Gold Cup, winning five of his six matches, ahead of Sidney Smith who had four wins. It was the second Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, an event which ran from 1935 to 1940.
The 1936 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. Despite giving a handicap to all the other players, the cup was won by Joe Davis who won all his five matches. The Australian Horace Lindrum finished in second place in the final table. It was the third Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although the first two had been billiards events. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.
The 1937/1938 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. The cup was won for the second successive year by Joe Davis with Willie Smith finishing in second place in the final table. It was the fourth Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although only the second as a snooker event. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.
The 1938/1939 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. The cup was won by Alec Brown with Sidney Smith finishing in second place in the final table. It was the fifth Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although only the third as a snooker event. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.
The 1939/1940 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. The cup was won by Alec Brown with Sydney Lee finishing in second place in the final table. It was the sixth and last Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although only the fourth as a snooker event. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.
Thurston's Hall was a major billiards and snooker venue between 1901 and 1955 in Leicester Square, London. The hall was in the premises of Thurston & Co. Ltd which relocated to Leicester Square in 1901. The building was bombed in 1940 and reopened under a new name, Leicester Square Hall, and new management in 1947. The venue closed in 1955 and the building was demolished to make way for an extension to Fanum House. The Hall was used for many important billiards and snooker matches, including 12 World Snooker Championship finals between 1930 and 1953. It was also the venue of the first World Snooker Championship match in November 1926. The hall was sometimes referred to as "Thurston's Grand Hall". There was also a "Minor Hall" in the same building.
The 1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Sunday Empire News newspaper. The tournament was won by Joe Davis with John Pulman finishing in second place. The tournament saw the re-introduction of the popular round-robin handicap format had been used for Daily Mail Gold Cup before World War II. Thurston's Hall, the home of the Daily Mail Gold Cup, had re-opened in late 1947, although renamed as the Leicester Square Hall. It was the only time the tournament was held although the format continued with the News of the World Snooker Tournament.
The 1952/1953 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by Joe Davis who won all of 8 matches. He finished ahead of Jackie Rea who won 5 matches. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959.
The 1951/1952 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by Sidney Smith who won 6 of his 8 matches. He finished ahead of Albert Brown who also won 6 matches but won one fewer frame overall. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959.
