1939/1940 Daily Mail Gold Cup

Last updated

Daily Mail Gold Cup
Tournament information
Dates16 October 1939 – 10 February 1940 (1939-10-16 – 1940-02-10)
Final venue Thurston's Hall
Final cityLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
FormatNon-Ranking event
Final
Champion Flag of England.svg Alec Brown
Runner-up Flag of England.svg Sydney Lee
← 1938/39
Last →

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.

Contents

Format

The 1939/1940 event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 16 October 1939 to 10 February 1940. Most of the matches were played at Thurston's Hall in London. There were 7 competitors and a total of 21 matches. Each match lasted six days and was the best of 61 frames, a reduction from the 71 frames played in previous years. The 7 included three competitors new to the event: Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson and Sydney Lee. The handicap system was the same as the previous year, each match having a separate handicap.

Joe Davis gave Sidney Smith 20, Alec Brown 25, Walter Donaldson 25, Fred Davis 30, Tom Newman 40 and Sydney Lee 45. Sidney Smith played level with Alec Brown and gave Walter Donaldson 10, Fred Davis 15, Tom Newman 20 and Sydney Lee 30. Alec Brown played level with Walter Donaldson and gave Fred Davis 10, Tom Newman 10 and Sydney Lee 25. Walter Donaldson played level with Fred Davis 15 and gave Tom Newman 10 and Sydney Lee 20. Fred Davis gave Tom Newman 10 and Sydney Lee 25. Tom Newman gave Sydney Lee 15.

Results

Joe Davis struggled with the harsh handicaps given against him and lost his first three matches. He then had a remarkable win against Sydney Lee. Conceding 45 points in every frame, Davis was 16–14 behind after three days play. He then won 16 of the 20 frames on the next two days to lead 30–20 and eventually won 35–26. Joe lost to brother Fred but won his last match against Sidney Smith. With a 20-point advantage, Smith led 29–26 but Davis won the first 5 frames of the final evening session to win the match and avoid the "wooden spoon".

[1]

WinnerScoreLoserDatesVenue
Fred Davis 40–21 Sidney Smith 16–21 October Thurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown 39–22 Joe Davis 23–28 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Walter Donaldson 32–29 Tom Newman 30 October–4 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Sydney Lee 37–24 Sidney Smith 6–11 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Fred Davis 32–29 Tom Newman 13–18 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Walter Donaldson 34–27 Joe Davis 20–25 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown 33–28 Sidney Smith 27 November–2 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Tom Newman 35–26 Joe Davis 4–9 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Fred Davis 31–30 Sydney Lee 11–16 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Sidney Smith 33–28 Walter Donaldson 18–23 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown 36–25 Tom Newman 1–6 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Sydney Lee 39–22 Walter Donaldson 1–6 January Burroughes Hall, London
Joe Davis 35–26 Sydney Lee 8–13 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown 35–26 Fred Davis 8–13 January Manchester
Alec Brown 35–26 Walter Donaldson 15–20 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Tom Newman 32–29 Sidney Smith 15–20 JanuaryBurroughes Hall, London
Fred Davis 35–26 Joe Davis 15–20 JanuaryHouldsworth Hall, Manchester
Sydney Lee 37–24 Tom Newman 22–27 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
Walter Donaldson 37–24 Fred Davis 29 January–3 FebruaryThurston's Hall, London
Sydney Lee 37–24 Alec Brown 29 January–3 February Hayes, Middlesex
Joe Davis 31–30 Sidney Smith 5–10 FebruaryThurston's Hall, London

Table

PosPlayerPldMWFW
1 Flag of England.svg Alec Brown 65202
2 Flag of England.svg Sydney Lee 64206
3 Flag of England.svg Fred Davis 64188
4 Flag of Scotland.svg Walter Donaldson 63179
5 Flag of England.svg Tom Newman 62174
6 Flag of England.svg Joe Davis 62167
7 Flag of England.svg Sidney Smith 61165

The positions were determined firstly by the number of matches won (MW) and, in the event of a tie, the number of frames won (FW).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Donaldson (snooker player)</span> Scottish snooker and billiards player

Walter Weir Wilson Donaldson was a Scottish professional snooker and billiards player. He contested eight consecutive world championship finals against Fred Davis from 1947 to 1954, and won the title in 1947 and 1950. Donaldson was known for his long potting and his consistency when playing, and had an aversion to the use of side. In 2012, he was inducted posthumously into the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's World Snooker Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Lindrum</span> Australian snooker and billiards player

Horace Lindrum was an Australian professional player of snooker and English billiards. Lindrum won the 1952 World Snooker Championship defeating New Zealander Clark McConachy. The tournament is disputed, as it had only two participants, and other players boycotted the event to play in the 1952 World Professional Match-play Championship. Lindrum won the Australian Professional Billiards Championship on multiple occasions, first winning the event in 1934.

The 1936 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament that was held at the Burroughes and Thurston's Halls in London, England from 23 March to 2 May 1936. There were 13 entries; a significant increase from five in the previous year and just two in 1934. Defending champion Joe Davis won the Championship for the tenth consecutive time, defeating Horace Lindrum in the final 34–27. Horace Lindrum became the first Australian to compete at the World Championship and made the only century break of the tournament, a 101 in his semi-final match against Stanley Newman.

The 1939 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at Thurston's Hall in London, England from 23 January to 4 March 1939. It was the thirteenth edition of the World Snooker Championship. Joe Davis retained the championship title that he had held since 1927. In the best-of-73-frames final against Sidney Smith, Davis won the match 43–30, securing the victory at 37-25 earlier in the match. Fred Davis set a new championship highest break by compiling a 113 in the 22nd frame of his 14–17 semi-final defeat by his brother Joe Davis.

The 1940 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held at Thurston's Hall in London, England from 22 February to 20 March 1940. It was the fourteenth edition of the World Snooker Championship. Joe Davis defeated his younger brother Fred Davis by 37 frames to 36 in the final, to retain the title that he had held since the tournament's inception in 1927. Joe Davis compiled a century break in the penultimate frame to win the match at 37–35 before a dead frame was played out. The only other century break of the tournament was 101 by Fred Davis earlier in the final.

The 1947 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 January to 25 October 1947. The final was held at the Leicester Square Hall in London, England, from 13 to 25 October. The semi-finals were completed in March, but the final was delayed due to building works at the venue, which had been bombed in October 1940. Walter Donaldson won the title by defeating Fred Davis by 82 frames to 63 in the final, although he reached the winning margin earlier, at 73–49. Davis made the highest break of the tournament with a 135 clearance in frame 86 of the final.

The 1950 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held from 12 December 1949 to 18 March 1950. The final was staged at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England. A qualifying competition was held at the Temperance Billiards Hall, known as the "Guild Hall", in Battersea, London from 17 October to 12 November 1949. Kingsley Kennerley won the qualifying competition and joined seven other players in the main draw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Lee (snooker player)</span> English billiards and snooker player

Sydney Raphael 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 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 1949/1950 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 with Sidney Smith finishing in second place. It was the first News of the World Tournament, a tournament that ran until 1959.

The 1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Sunday Empire News newspaper. Joe Davis won the event, with John Pulman finishing in second place. The tournament saw the re-introduction of the popular round-robin handicap format that had been used for the Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament before World War II. The home of the Daily Mail Gold Cup, Thurston's Hall, had re-opened in late 1947 when it was renamed the Leicester Square Hall. This was the only edition of the Sunday Empire News Tournament, although the same format was used for the News of the World Snooker Tournament from 1949 onwards.

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.

The 1954/1955 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by Jackie Rea who won all of his 8 matches. He finished ahead of Joe Davis who won 6 matches. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959 but this was the last to be held at Leicester Square Hall, which closed soon after the end of the tournament.

The 1950/1951 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by Alec Brown who won all his 7 matches, finishing ahead of John Pulman who won 5 matches. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959.

The 1953/1954 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by John Pulman who won 7 of his 8 matches and finished ahead of Joe Davis who won 5 matches. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959.

The 1946 Albany Club Professional Snooker Tournament was an invitational snooker tournament held at the Albany Club in London between 8 July 1946 and 20 September 1946, featuring the eleven players that had been eliminated before the final in the 1946 World Snooker Championship. Walter Donaldson won the title, defeating Alec Brown 20–11 in the final.

References

  1. ↑ "Snooker". The Times. 12 February 1940. p. 2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.