Patrick Houlihan (7 November 1929 – 8 November 2006https://wst.tv/the-greatest-snooker-player-you-never-saw/) was an English

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 ...

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 Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the List of tallest buildings in the British Empire and the Commonwealth, tallest man m ...

during the 1965

English Amateur Championship The English Amateur Championship, an annual snooker competition, is the highest-ranking and most prestigious amateur event in England. It is also the oldest and longest-running snooker tournament in the world, having been established in 1916, a ...

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 The IBSF World Snooker Championship (also known as the World Amateur Snooker Championship) is the premier non-professional snooker tournament in the world. The event series is sanctioned by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation. A nu ...

in Karachi, but the tournament was postponed due to the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

. 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 Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

for four months for his involvement in the

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

of a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

. His move to becoming a professional had been stymied by world champion turned snooker star,

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 ...

, who was responsible for selecting new professionals and disapproved of amateurs such as Houlihan who had played matches at various snooker clubs for money. During his professional career his highest position in the world rankings was 18th, which he reached in 1979. He played in the main stages of the

World Snooker Championship The World Snooker Championship is the longest-running and most prestigious tournament in professional snooker. It is also the wealthiest, with total prize money in 2022 of £2,395,000, including £500,000 for the winner. First held in 1927 Wor ...

twice: in 1973 when he lost 3–16 to then defending champion

Alex Higgins Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" because of his fast play, he was Wor ...

, and at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's m ...

in 1978 when he lost 8–13 to

Cliff Thorburn Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn (born 16 January 1948) is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Nicknamed "The Grinder" because of his slow, determined style of play, he won the World Snooker Championship in 1980, defeating Alex Hi ...

in the first round. He retired from professional snooker in 1993.

Jimmy White James Warren White (born 2 May 1962) is an English professional snooker player who has won three seniors World titles. Nicknamed "The Whirlwind" because of his fluid, attacking style of play, White is the 1980 World Amateur Champion, 2009 ...

once referred to Houlihan as "the greatest nookerplayer I've ever seen", and Houlihan's style is seen as an influence on White's own attacking style of snooker.

References

External links

Guardian Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houlihan, Pat Snooker players from London 1929 births 2006 deaths People from Deptford Sportspeople from the London Borough of Lewisham Place of death missing English snooker players Sportspeople convicted of crimes People convicted of burglary