Edward FrancisCharlton (31 October 1929 – 7 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and billiards player.[2] He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title. He later became a successful marketer of sporting goods, launching a popular brand of billiard room equipment bearing his name.
He was involved in numerous other sports during his youth: he was a first-grade footballer and played in the Australian First Division Football (soccer) for ten years; he was a champion surfer, and played state-level rugby league and competitive cricket; he also excelled in speed roller skating, rowing, boxing and tennis.[3] In 1956, he was chosen to carry the Olympic torch on part of its journey to the Melbourne Games.[2]
Charlton worked as a coal miner until the age of 31. After winning four amateur snooker titles, he decided to turn professional in 1963 on the advice of Fred Davis.[3] His brother Jim was also a professional snooker player but never joined the world ranks.
Career
Charlton became a professional player in 1963 at the age of 34 and won his first Australian Professional Championship the following season.[4] For the next ten years he won the title annually and made at least the semi-finals in every subsequent meeting through its last edition in 1988.[citation needed] He unsuccessfully challenged Rex Williams for the World Billiards Championship title in 1974 and 1976. His third appearance was in 1984 when he lost by a handful of points to Mark Wildman. Four years later, he lost to two-time champion Norman Dagley in his last World Billiards final.
Charlton was the most successful Australian snooker player until the emergence of Neil Robertson. From the first year of the snooker world rankings in 1976/77, he was ranked number three in the world for the next five consecutive seasons.
Charlton, who was known for his focused and dogged performances, challenged for the World Championship in 1968 and was the runner-up in the final of the World Championship in 1973 and 1975, losing the 1975 world final by just one frame (30–31) to Ray Reardon.[5] He won the BBC's Pot Black competition in 1972, 1973 and 1980.[5] He also recorded the first century break (110) on Pot Black.[5]
In the final of the 1973 World Snooker Championship, played as the best-of-75-frames, Charlton led Ray Reardon 10–5 and 12–10, before the pair were on level terms at both 12–12 and 13–13.[6] Reardon moved into a 17–13 lead, and was 27–25 up after seven sessions of play.[7] At the start of the eighth session, Reardon was affected by the bright lighting that had been installed for the purposes of television coverage, and he lost the first three frames. He complained about the lighting, and two large lights that were focused on the audience were switched off. From 27–28 behind, Reardon won four of the next five frames in the session, and sustained the momentum for an eventual 38–32 victory.[7] According to snooker historian Clive Everton, "Charlton's dogged consistency proved no match for Reardon's flair and wider range of shots."[8]
Charlton faced Reardon in the final of the 1975 World Snooker Championship in a match of 61 frames.[9] Reardon led 16–8, but Charlton then won the next nine frames to take the lead.[10] Reardon was ahead at 22–20, but Charlton won nine of the following ten frames to lead 29–23.[10] Reardon produced a seven-frame winning streak to leave himself needing one further frame at 30–29, then Charlton won the 60th frame.[10] In the deciding frame , Reardon made a 62 break, and secured his victory at 31–30.[10]
He reached the final of the 1991 World Seniors Championship and was a frame away from clinching the title when he led Cliff Wilson 4–2. According to the match report in Snooker Scene magazine, Charlton then "started to falter in a fashion all too familiar with his failures on the brink of other world titles", and he lost 4–5.[11]
His last major achievement at the World Championship was his 10–9 first-round win over Cliff Thorburn at the 1989 World Championship. He qualified for the 1990 and 1991 World Championships but lost in the first round on both occasions. Charlton's final appearance at the Crucible came in 1992, where he was defeated 10–0 by defending champion John Parrott in the first round, the only recorded whitewash in the World Championship until 2019.[12]
Charlton was known for playing with a very straight cue action and rarely hitting the ball with any sidespin , when a less conservative approach might have paid dividends.[2] In retirement from professional snooker Charlton often commentated during the BBC's world championship coverage.[13]
Personal life
Always active in the organisation and promotion of the game, Charlton was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1980. He formed the Australian Professional Players Association and was responsible for bringing many of the top players to play in Australia. He released a 30-minute beginners' instructional video, Eddie Charlton's Snooker, Pool & Trick Shots, in PALVHS format. In 1993 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[14] He stopped competing in 1995 and died in Palmerston North, New Zealand on 8 November 2004 following an operation.[15]
Charlton appeared in a comedy sketch in a 1992 episode of ABC Television's The Late Show, alongside Mick Molloy.[17] The sketch begins with Charlton, as himself, competing in a televised professional snooker game, then being interrupted by a comically boorish Molloy, behaving as if it were a casual eight-ball game in an Australian pub, demanding to play against Charlton and insisting the game be played according to "pub rules". The game proceeds, with Molloy heckling and interfering so much that Molloy wins the game with Charlton failing to pocket a single ball. At Molloy's suggestion, in accordance with unwritten rules of Australian pub pool, Charlton proceeds to drop his trousers and run a lap of the table.
Everton, Clive (1993). The Embassy Book of World Snooker. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN978-0-7475-1610-1.
Everton, Clive (2012). Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN978-1-78057-568-1.
Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. ISBN978-0-9548549-0-4.
Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker (Reviseded.). Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN978-0-600-55604-6.
Morrison, Ian (1988). Hamlyn Who's Who in Snooker. London: Hamlyn. ISBN978-0-600-55713-5.
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