| Born | 18 April 1927 Morley, West Yorkshire, England |
|---|---|
| Died | 11 September 2009 (aged 82) Morley, West Yorkshire, England |
| Sport country |  England |
| Professional | 1970–1997 |
| Highest ranking | 11 (1976/1977) |
| Best ranking finish | 3rd |
John Dunning (18 April 1927 [1] – 11 September 2009 [2] ) was an English professional snooker player from Morley, West Yorkshire.
Dunning joined the Royal Navy aged 18, and served for two years. He later managed a newsagent's shop and was also a window cleaner. [2] Having been Yorkshire amateur champion on eleven occasions, and the CIU Championship in 1963, 1966 and 1969, Dunning turned professional in 1971 at the age of 45. He played his first World Championship match in 1972, when he lost to John Pulman in the first round, after beating Pat Houlihan and Graham Miles in qualifying. He produced his best performance in 1974, when he reached the quarter-final, subsequently losing his match against Miles 13–15. Dunning's final appearance in the main stages of the event came in 1982. [1] [3]
In 1977, he reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural UK Championship, losing 0–5 to Alex Higgins. [1]
Dunning reached the final of the International Masters in March 1984. The tournament, played on a three-man-group round-robin basis, saw Dunning start as a 7–1 outsider to qualify from his first group. He beat Tony Knowles 2–1 in the opening game, he became favourite, before comfortably winning his next match against Les Dodd. In his semi-final match, he played against Australian Warren King and Terry Griffiths of Wales. Dunning lost to King, but beat Griffiths, [4] which earnt him a place in the final, in which he met Dave Martin and the reigning World Champion and world number one Steve Davis. He lost both matches, finishing third, with Davis winning the title, but received a cheque for £6,000. He became the oldest-ever finalist in a major snooker event, aged 56 years and 11 months. [3]
Dunning played his last match as a professional in 1997 at the age of 69. [2] His highest world ranking was 11th, in the 1976/1977 ranking list. [5]
He died in Morley, West Yorkshire, on 11 September 2009, aged 82. [2]
Steve Davis is an English retired professional snooker player. He is best known for dominating the sport during the 1980s, when he reached eight World Snooker Championship finals in nine years, won six world titles, and held the world number one ranking for seven consecutive seasons.
Anthony Christian Meo is a retired English snooker player. He won the 1989 British Open by defeating Dean Reynolds 13–6 in the final, and was runner-up to Steve Davis at the 1984 Classic. He won four World Doubles Championship titles, partnering Davis, and the 1983 World Team Classic representing England alongside Davis and Tony Knowles.
Raymond Reardon, is a Welsh retired professional snooker player. He turned professional in 1967 at the age of 35 before going on to dominate the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship on six occasions, and more than a dozen other tournaments. He was world champion in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978, and runner-up in the 1982 event. He won the inaugural Pot Black tournament in 1969, the 1976 Masters and the 1982 Professional Players Tournament.
Terence Martin Griffiths is a Welsh retired professional snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. In his second professional tournament, he became world champion when he won the 1979 World Snooker Championship. He was the second qualifier to win the title after Alex Higgins achieved the feat in 1972; only Shaun Murphy has done it since, winning the title in 2005. Griffiths defeated Dennis Taylor by 24 frames to 16 in the final. Nine years later, in 1988, Griffiths reached the final of the competition again. He was tied with Steve Davis at 8–8, but lost the match 11–18.
John Spencer was an English professional snooker player who won the World Professional title at his first attempt, was the first winner at the Crucible Theatre, was the inaugural winner of the Masters and Irish Masters, and was the first player to make a 147 break in competition. This is regarded as an unofficial maximum break as the event used non-templated tables. He was born in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester.
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John Stephen Parrott, is an English former professional snooker player and television personality. He was a familiar face on the professional snooker circuit during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for fourteen consecutive seasons.
Herbert John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who was the World Snooker Champion from 1957 to 1968. He 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, and he was runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1970. He never reached the final again, although he was a losing semi-finalist in 1977.
Anthony "Tony" Knowles is an English former professional snooker player. He won the 1982 International Open and the 1983 Professional Players Tournament, and was a three times semi-finalist in the World Professional Snooker Championship in the 1980s. His highest world ranking was second, in the 1984/85 season.
Clifford Wilson was a Welsh professional snooker player who reached the highest ranking of 16, in 1988-89. He was the 1978 World Amateur Champion and won the 1991 World Seniors Championship. He was a successful junior player, known for his fast attacking snooker and potting ability, and won the British Under-19 Championship in 1951 and 1952. In the early 1950s both Wilson and future six-times World Professional Champion Ray Reardon lived in Tredegar, where they played a succession of money matches that attracted large enthusiastic crowds.
Clive Harold Everton is a sports commentator, journalist, author and former professional snooker and English billiards player. He founded Snooker Scene magazine, which was first published in 1971, and continues as editor as of September 2021. He has authored over twenty books about cue sports since 1972.
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The 1988 World Snooker Championship, also known as the 1988 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 April to 2 May 1988 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), it was the sixth and final ranking event of the 1987–88 snooker season and the twelfth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament there having taken place in 1977.
The 1984 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place between 21 April and 7 May 1984 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. The event was organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, and was the eighth consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible since the 1977 event. The event featured 94 participants, of which 78 players competed in a qualifying event held at the Redwood Lodge in Bristol from 1 to 13 April. Of these, 16 players qualified for the main stage in Sheffield, where they met 16 invited seeds. The total prize fund for the event was £200,000, the highest total pool for any snooker tournament at that time; the winner received £44,000.
The 1983 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 16 April and 2 May 1983 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. This was the third and final world ranking event of the 1982–83 snooker season following the 1982 Professional Players Tournament. Sixteen seeded players qualified directly for the event, with an additional sixteen players progressing through a two-round qualification round held at the Romiley Forum in Stockport, and Redwood Lodge in Bristol. The winner of the event received £30,000, and the tournament was sponsored by cigarette company Embassy.
The 1981 World Snooker Championship, also referred to as the 1981 Embassy World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament which took place between 7 April and 20 April 1981 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.
The 1979 World Snooker Championship was a ranking professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 28 April 1979 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. Organised by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), it was the third consecutive World Snooker Championship to be held at the Crucible, the first tournament having taken place in 1977.
Fred Davis was an English professional player of snooker and English billiards. He was an eight-time World Snooker Championship winner from 1948 to 1956, and a two-time winner of the World Billiards Championship. He was the brother of 15-time world snooker champion Joe Davis; the pair were the only two players to win both snooker and English billiards world championships, and Fred is second on the list of those holding most world snooker championship titles, behind Joe.
The 1982 Embassy World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 30 April and 16 May 1982 at the Crucible Theatre, located in Sheffield, England. It was the 19th event of the 1981–82 snooker season and the only one that carried world ranking points. Embassy, a British cigarette company, sponsored the tournament, and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) handled the organisation for the event. It had a prize fund of £110,000, with the winner receiving £25,000.
Sid Hood (1933–2006) was an English former professional snooker player. He was the runner-up at the 1970 World Amateur Snooker Championship.
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