Tom Newman (23 March 1894 – 30 September 1943) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional player of

English billiards English billiards, called simply billiards in the United Kingdom and in many former British colonies, is a cue sport that combines the aspects of carom billiards and pool. Two (one white and one yellow) and a red are used. Each player or team us ...

and

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

. He was born Thomas Edgar Pratt in

Barton-upon-Humber Barton-upon-Humber () or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is s ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. He always appeared under the name Tom Newman when playing billiards or snooker and changed his name formally in 1919, shortly before his marriage that year. He established himself as the best billiards players of the 1920s, appearing in every

World Professional Billiards Championship The World Billiards Championship is an international cue sports tournament in the discipline of English billiards, organised by World Billiards, a subsidiary of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). In its various forms ...

final between 1921 and 1930, and winning the title six times. In the last five of these finals he met

Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game i ...

, winning twice (1926 & 1927) and losing three times (1928, 1929 & 1930). Newman was a great break builder at billiards, and was a master of the cannon shot. His first century break at the "three ball game" came when he was 11 years of age; and in the 1930–31 season he made 30 breaks of 1000. During this season, on 5 March 1931, he made his personal highest break of 1,827 in a match against

Walter Lindrum Walter Albert Lindrum, OBE (29 August 1898 – 30 July 1960), often known as Wally Lindrum, was an Australian professional player of English billiards who held the World Professional Billiards Championship from 1933 until his retirement in 1950 ...

at the Foresters' Hall, Dundee. Like many players of that era he regarded snooker as the less "serious" of the two sports, but nevertheless he made an officially recognized record snooker break of 89 in 1919. In

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

he was one of two entries for the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, the other being defending champion

. Davis won 25–22, although at one stage Newman led 14–13. He was the proprietor of Newman's Club, opened in 1924 and primarily a

billiard hall A billiard, pool or snooker hall (or parlour, room or club; sometimes compounded as poolhall, poolroom, etc.) is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve ...

. It was located at 3 Circus Road,

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

, London. Newman died at his home in

Tufnel Park Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of Islington and Camden. The neighborhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line. History Origins and boundary ;Medieval and later manor Tufnell ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on 30 September 1943 aged 49. He had had throat trouble for several years. He was buried at the City of London Cemetery, Ilford, his playing cue being placed in the coffin with him. He left a wife and daughter.

Tournament wins

: 1921, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 *

Daily Mail Gold Cup 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 tourna ...

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

Snooker performance and rankings timeline

Snooker finals

Non-ranking event finals: 1

References

English players of English billiards English snooker players 1894 births 1943 deaths World champions in English billiards People from Barton-upon-Humber {{billiards-bio-stub