John Spencer was an English professional snooker player. One of the most dominant players of the 1970s, he won the World Snooker Championship three times, in 1969, 1971 and 1977. He worked as a snooker commentator for the BBC from 1978 to 1998 and served for 25 years on the board of the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), including a stint as chairman from 1990 until his retirement from the board in 1996.
Herbert John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who was the World Snooker Champion from 1957 to 1968. He first won the title at the 1957 Championship and retained it across seven challenges from 1964 to 1968, three of them against Fred Davis and two against Rex Williams. When the tournament reverted to a knockout event in 1969, he lost 18–25 in the first round to the eventual champion John Spencer. After finishing as runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1970, Pulman never again reached the final, although he was a losing semi-finalist in 1977.
Desmond Rex Williams is an English retired professional billiards and snooker player. He was the second player to make an official maximum break in snooker, achieving this in an exhibition match in December 1965. Williams won the World Professional Billiards Championship from Clark McConachy in 1968, the first time that the title had been contested since 1951. Williams retained the title in several challenge matches in the 1970s and, after losing it to Fred Davis in 1980, regained it from 1982 to 1983.
Gary Owen, MBE was a Welsh, and later Australian, snooker player. Winning the 1963 English Amateur Championship qualified him to compete for England at the inaugural World Amateur Snooker Championship in Calcutta that year. He won all four of his matches in the round-robin competition and took the title. He became world amateur champion for a second time in 1966, beating John Spencer, who was the runner-up, in the decisive match.
The 1927 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament held at several venues from 29 November 1926 to 12 May 1927. At the time, it was titled the Professional Championship of Snooker but it is now recognised as the inaugural edition of the World Snooker Championship. The impetus for the championship came from professional English billiards player Joe Davis and billiard hall manager Bill Camkin, who had both observed the growing popularity of snooker, and proposed the event to the Billiards Association and Control Council. Ten players entered the competition, including most of the leading English billiards players. The two matches in the preliminary round were held at Thurston's Hall in London, and the semi-finals and final took place at Camkin's Hall in Birmingham. The players involved determined the venues for the quarter-finals, resulting in matches in London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Liverpool.
The 1974 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 25 April 1974 at the Belle Vue in Manchester, England. It was the 1974 edition of the World Snooker Championship, established in 1927. The 1974 tournament was promoted by Snooker Promotions, and sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive. The event attracted 31 entrants and carried a prize fund of £10,000. Seven qualifying matches were held; the seven winners of these joined the other 17 players in the main tournament.
The 1973 World Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 28 April 1973 at the City Exhibition Halls in Manchester, England. The scheduling was a change of practice from championships in the preceding years, which had taken place over several months. The tournament was the 1973 edition of the World Snooker Championship established in 1927. The 1973 tournament was promoted by Peter West and Patrick Nally, and sponsored by tobacco brand Park Drive, with £8,000 prize money. There were 24 entrants, which was a new championship record.
The 1972 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between March 1971 and 26 February 1972, as an edition of the World Snooker Championship. The final was played at Selly Park British Legion from 21 to 26 February. Alex Higgins won his first world title, defeating defending champion John Spencer 37–31 in the final. Higgins also made the highest known break of the tournament, 133. In all, he won six matches to secure the title, including a 31–30 deciding frame victory over Rex Williams in the semi-final after Williams had missed an attempt to pot a blue ball. Higgins became the first qualifier to win the World Championship, and, aged 22, the youngest champion until Stephen Hendry in 1990. Higgins's win led to increased interest in snooker from the media and sponsors.
The 1969 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament. It was the first World Snooker Championship in a knock-out format since 1957, following a series of challenge matches from 1964 to 1968. John Spencer won the title, defeating Gary Owen by achieving a winning margin at 37 frames to 24 in the final. Spencer had earlier eliminated defending champion John Pulman from the competition, in the quarter-finals.
The 1970 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 October 1969 to 11 April 1970, as an edition of the World Snooker Championship. The final was held at Victoria Hall in London from 6 to 11 April 1970. The championship was sponsored by Player's No.6 for the second and last time.
John Joseph Rea was a Northern Irish snooker player. He turned professional in 1947 and was the leading Irish snooker player until the emergence of Alex Higgins and held the Irish Professional Championship almost continuously from 1952 to 1972.
The 1928 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held at various venues from 28 December 1927 to 17 May 1928. It was the second staging of the World Snooker Championship. It was played on a challenge basis with the other six entrants playing off for the right to challenge defending champion Joe Davis in the final. The final was held at the Camkin's Hall in Birmingham, England, with three of the other matches contested there, and one each played in Leamington Spa and Nottingham.
The 1933 World Snooker Championship, known at the time as the Professional Championship of Snooker, was a snooker tournament held between 23 March and 16 June at various venues in England, with the final beginning on 12 June 1933 at Joe Davis's Saloon in Chesterfield, England. It was the seventh edition of the championship, and Joe Davis won his seventh title by defeating Willie Smith by 25 frames to 18 in the final. The highest break of the tournament was 72, compiled by Davis in the fortieth frame of 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 1948 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 9 March to 1 May 1948. It was an edition of the World Snooker Championship first held in 1927. A qualifying event with eight participants was held from 1 to 13 December 1947 at Burroughes Hall and was won by John Pulman, who joined seven other players in the main event.
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.
The 1951 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament held from 30 October 1950 to 24 February 1951. John Barrie won the qualifying competition for three of the ten entrants at Burroughes Hall in London and joined the other seven players in the main draw. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were held at various venues in England and the final was held at the Tower Circus in Blackpool, England from 16 to 24 February 1951.
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 1967–68 snooker season, the last season before the modern era of snooker, was a series of snooker tournaments played between July 1967 and June 1968. The following table outlines the results for the season's events.
The 1964 Television Tournament was an invitational amateur snooker tournament held at the National Liberal Club in London, UK, as a series of matches starting on 15 February 1964 and with the final held on 23 May 1964. The competition was organised by the Billiards Association & Control Council and shown on ITV in the United Kingdom.
Gary Owen (WAL), 80
John Dunning (ENG)