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1981 English Professional Championship
The 1981 John Courage English Professional Championship was a professional non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place in March 1981 at Haden Hill Leisure Centre, Old Hill in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, England. Steve Davis won the title by defeating Tony Meo Anthony Christian Meo (born 4 October 1959) 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 Cham ... 9–3 in the final. Main draw References {{Snooker season 1980/1981 English Professional Championship English Professional Championship English Professional Championship English Professional Championship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Hill
Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. Initially a separate village it is now part of the much larger West Midlands conurbation. History Old Hill was historically in the urban district and later county borough of Rowley Regis, in the county of Staffordshire. However, local government reorganisation in 1966 saw it become part of the new County Borough of Warley, and transferred into the county of Worcestershire. This arrangement lasted until 1974, when it became part of the borough of Sandwell in the newly-created West Midlands county. Old Hill's commercial centre was by-passed with the construction of a new single-carriageway road (Heathfield Way) which opened on 7 December 1990, relieving the centre of some of its heavy congestion. A rerouted section of Highgate Street, completed in 1988, formed the first phase of the by-pass. General Facilities Old Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard Bennett
Bernard Bennett (31 August 1931 – 12 January 2002) was an English former professional player of snooker and English billiards, whose career spanned twenty-six years between 1969 and 1995. Bennett was a stalwart of professional snooker and billiards throughout the 1970s and 1980s, but his success, especially at the former, was limited. He entered every World Snooker Championship from 1969 to 1995, with the exception of the November 1970 Championship, which was held in Australia, and that of 1993. Aside from his playing career, Bennett played an important but largely-overlooked role in the development of snooker and billiards during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was known more as an organiser, supporter and promoter of both games than as a player. Playing career Bennett was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey and was introduced to snooker by his elder brother John. Bennett worked as a carpenter and in 1965 moved to Southampton where he set up in the building trade. Bennett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1981 In Snooker
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán Department, Morazán and Chalatenango Department, Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity (Polish trade union), Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican City, Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is First inauguration of Ronald Reagan, sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DMC DeLorean, DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. * January 24 – An 1981 Dawu ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Taylor (snooker Player)
David Taylor (born 29 July 1943) is an English former professional snooker player. He won the World and English Amateur Championships in 1968, before the success of those wins encouraged him to turn professional. He was nicknamed "The Silver Fox" because of his prematurely grey hair. Career left, Taylor (left) with Alex Higgins at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast, 1968">Queen's_University_Belfast.html" ;"title="Alex Higgins at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast">Alex Higgins at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast, 1968 Taylor reached three major finals, but lost them all. The first was the 1978 UK Championship in 1978 (he lost to Doug Mountjoy 9–15). Then, in 1981, he lost to Steve Davis in the 1981 Yamaha Organs Trophy, Yamaha Organs Trophy (later the British Open) 6–9, and he lost 6–9 to Tony Knowles in the 1982 Jameson International. The last of these was his only ranking event final; the others would be ranking events in the future but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Thorne
William Joseph Thorne (4 March 195417 June 2020) was an English professional snooker player. He won one ranking title, the 1985 Classic. He also reached the final of the 1985 UK Championship, losing 16–14 to Steve Davis after leading 13–8. He was noted for his break-building, and was among the first players to compile 100 century breaks. He earned the nickname "Mr Maximum". After retiring as a player, Thorne became a snooker commentator, primarily for the BBC. Career Thorne was born on 4 March 1954 at the family home in Anstey, a village located near Leicester, to Bill Thorne, a Desford Colliery miner, and his wife Nancy. He had two brothers. Thorne was educated at the Thomas Rawlins School in Quorn, and played multiple sports but excelled the most in snooker. He began playing snooker while holidaying in Eastbourne at the age of 14. He left school at age 15 and became an estimator for a glass factory while practising snooker in Loughborough and then Leicester's snooker ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sid Hood
Sid Hood (1933–2006) was an English former professional snooker player. He was the runner-up at the 1970 World Amateur Snooker Championship. Career Hood began playing cue sports at the age of 14. He worked as a docker and, in 1970, said that apart from participating in tournaments, he did not spend much time practicing snooker. As an amateur player, he won the Grimsby Senior Snooker Championship title 11 times between 1957 and 1977, and represented England 30 times. In 1967 he reached the final of the English Amateur Championship, finishing as runner-up after being defeated 4–11 by Marcus Owen. He was a losing finalist again in 1970, to Jonathan Barron who won on the in the . For the 1970 World Amateur Snooker Championship, Hood was one of two English representatives. and qualified for the final by winning five of his six round-robin group matches. Fellow Englishman Barron defeated him 7–11 in the final. At the 1973 Norwich Union Open, Hood defeated professional J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graham Miles
Graham Miles (11 May 1941 – 12 October 2014) was an English snooker player. Career Miles turned professional in 1971. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Championship. Although he lost 12–22 to Ray Reardon, this turned out to be the highlight of his career. Despite his modest success in major tournaments, Miles became one of the best known players in Britain, in an era when there was little televised snooker other than the ''Pot Black'' series, because he won the event in consecutive years, in 1974 (after entering as a late replacement for Fred Davis, who withdrew because of illness) and again in 1975. Other notable moments in Miles's career included reaching the final of the 1976 Masters, where he again lost to Reardon. The 1978/79 season saw something of a purple patch for Miles. At the 1978 UK Championship he defeated Rex Williams 9–8 and then hammered Willie Thorne 9–1, which included what was then a championship record br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Virgo
John Virgo (born 4 March 1946) is an English former professional snooker player who has since developed a career as a snooker commentator and TV personality. Snooker career Early professional career (1973–1978) Virgo's first notable appearance in a major tournament was during the 1973 American Pool Tournament for The Indoor League where he lost in the semi-final. He turned professional in 1976, at a time when players such as Ray Reardon, John Spencer and Eddie Charlton were at the forefront of the sport. Although he had just turned 30 upon turning pro, Virgo was still among the youngest players on the circuit at the time. In 1977, he reached the semi-finals of the 1977 UK Championship losing to eventual winner Patsy Fagan by a single frame 8–9. UK Champion and Top 10 player (1979–1990) Virgo's snooker-playing fortunes peaked in 1979 when he reached the semi-final of the World Championship, and went on to win the 1979 UK Championship (though this was not a ranking eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Pulman
Herbert John Pulman (12 December 192325 December 1998) 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. Having won the English Amateur Championship in 1946, Pulman turned professional, and achieved three News of the World Snooker Tournament titles, in 1954, 1957, and 1958. He became a television commentator towards the end of his playing career, and retired from competitive play in 1981 after breaking his leg in a traffic accident. He died in 1998 after a fall down stairs at his home. Early life Herbert Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Davis (snooker Player)
Fred Davis (14 August 1913 – 16 April 1998) 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. Davis' professional career started in 1929 at the age of 15 as a billiards player. He competed in his first world snooker championship in 1937 and reached the final three years later, losing to Joe by 36–37. From 1947, Davis played in five straight finals against Scottish player Walter Donaldson, winning three. When the event merged into the World Professional Match-play Championship in 1952, Davis won five more championships, defeating Donaldson three times and then Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pat Houlihan
Patrick Houlihan (7 November 1929 – 8 November 2006https://wst.tv/the-greatest-snooker-player-you-never-saw/) was an English snooker player. He was born in Deptford, London. Houlihan turned professional in 1971 at the age of 42 after many years as an amateur including beating future world champion John Spencer 11–3 at Blackpool Tower during the 1965 English Amateur Championship final. Additionally, he lifted the BA&CC television tournament, one of snooker's first televised events. As English champion, Houlihan was due to compete in the 1965 IBSF World Snooker Championship in Karachi, but the tournament was postponed due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In 1966, Spencer, who by then had won the 1966 English Amateur title, rather than Houlihan, was the representative at the rescheduled IBSF tournament. In the meantime, Houlihan had been imprisoned for four months for his involvement in the burglary of a warehouse. His move to becoming a professional had been stymied by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Spencer (snooker Player)
John Spencer (18 September 1935 – 11 July 2006) was an English professional snooker player who won the World Snooker Championship title at his first attempt in 1969, the year that the event reverted to a knockout tournament. He won the world title for the second time in 1971, and was the first player to win the championship at the Crucible Theatre when it moved there in 1977. Spencer was the inaugural winner of both the Masters and the Irish Masters tournaments, and was the first player to make a maximum 147 break in competition, although this is not recognised as an official maximum because the pockets on the table did not meet the required specifications. Spencer was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire. He started national service when he was 18 years old, and did not then play snooker for 11 years. He won the English Amateur Championship in 1966, before turning professional in February 1967. He won over twenty tournaments in all, including three editions of ''Pot Black''. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
