Ronald Gross (1932 – 25 December 2005) was an English professional

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 won the

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 ...

three times before turning professional

Career

Gross was born in 1932. When he was seven, he was partially paralysed after being hit on the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

in a playground accident, and spent 11 months in hospital. After his recovery, he required the support of a metal brace on one leg. He started playing snooker in about 1946 on a scaled-down table belonging to a family member, and then at a billiard hall in Ealing from the age of 15. In 1956, he won the Home counties championship of English billiards, playing in what the Billiard Association and Control Council's journal ''The Billiard Player'' termed a "revolutionary" style where most of the scoring was from the red rather than from or . He was already the home counties snooker champion. He first won the

in 1957, with an 11–6 defeat of Stan Haslam in the final, followed by further title wins in 1960 (11–4 against John Price) and 1962 (11–9 against Jonathan Barron). In the 1962–63 Television Tournament, a pro–am event, receiving a start of 18 point per frame, he defeated professional Fred Davis 3–0 and was runner-up in the tournament, losing the final 3–4 to Jonathan Barron. In 1963 he reached the English Amateur final again, this time losing 3–11 to Gary Owen. He turned professional in 1970. His first professional match was in March 1971, against Alex Higgins in the first qualifying round of the

1972 World Snooker Championship The 1972 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between March 1971 and 26 February 1972, as an edition of the World Snooker Championship. The final was played at Selly Park British Legion from 21 to 26 F ...

, resulting in a 4–11 loss. Gross had not played competitively for several years before the match, and admitted that he was out of practice and "played very poorly." Gross' next three professional competitions all ended with defeats in his first match. In the

1973 World Snooker Championship The 1973 World Snooker Championship (also known as 1973 Park Drive World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 28 April 1973 at the City Exhibition Halls in Manchester, England. The sc ...

, Gross lost 2–9 to

Perrie Mans Pierre "Perrie" Mans (born 14 October 1940) is a retired professional snooker player from South Africa, who first won the South African Professional Championship in 1965, and won the event 20 times. Mans won the Benson & Hedges Masters in 1979 ...

, and at the

1973 Norwich Union Open The 1973 Norwich Union Open was an invitational snooker tournament which took place between 24 and 29 November 1973 at the Piccadilly Hotel in London. It was open to both professionals and amateurs and featured 24 players. John Spencer won 8–7 ...

he was eliminated 2–4 by Barron. At the

1974 World Snooker Championship The 1974 World Snooker Championship (also known as 1974 Park Drive World Snooker Championship for sponsorship reasons) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 25 April 1974 at the Belle Vue in Manchester, England. It was ...

he lost in the against David Taylor, 8–9. An 8–5 win over Maurice Parkin at the

1976 World Snooker Championship The 1976 World Snooker Championship (also known as the 1976 Embassy World Snooker Championship for sponsorship purposes) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place at two venues. This was the first world championship to be spon ...

was followed by a 4–8 loss to

Jim Meadowcroft Jim Meadowcroft (15 December 1946 – 25 September 2015) was an English professional snooker player who latterly was a coach and a commentator on the game. His most successful years were during the 1970s; he was ranked number 12 in the world in ...

in the next round. In 1977, he was reinstated as an amateur at his own request, saying that with the fees and expenses associated with being a professional player, it was necessary to "beat at least two really good players to get in the money at all". At the time, the prize money on the amateur circuit was growing. Snooker historian Clive Everton has suggested that Gross might have achieved much more as a professional if he had made the transition some years earlier than he did. Gross had worked as a betting shop manager whilst an amateur. In 1973, he opened the Ron Gross Snooker Centre in

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 ( Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Har ...

, and advised young players including

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 ...

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 ...

and Neal Foulds. Gross died on 25 December 2005, aged 73, from cancer. His friend Patsy Fagan had nursed him full-time for a year before this.

Career highlights

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Ron 1932 births 2005 deaths English snooker players