Ruth Harrison (10 May 1909 – 1991) 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 ...

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 ...

and billiards player. She won the

Women's Professional Snooker Championship The Women's Professional Snooker Championship was a snooker tournament run from 1934 to 1950 by the Women's Billiards Association. The event was the world championship for female players during this time. Ruth Harrison was the most successful pl ...

each year from its inception in 1934 to 1940, and again when it was next held, in 1948. She also won the

Women's Professional Billiards Championship The Women's Professional Billiards Championship was an English billiards tournament held from 1930 to 1950. The tournament was first organised by Burroughes and Watts in 1930 and 1931, before the WBA ran the event until its conclusion in 1950. ...

three times.

Biography

Harrison was born on 10 May 1909 in

Lintz Burnopfield is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated north of Stanley and Annfield Plain, close to the River Derwent and is 564 feet above sea level. There are around 4,553 inhabitants in Burnopfield. It is located 7 miles from ...

and was a coalminer's daughter (as was her fellow leading player

Agnes Morris Agnes L. Thomas Morris (March 8, 1865 – June 25, 1949), known professionally as Mrs. Robert Carlton Morris, was an American writer and clubwoman, the national president of the War Mothers of America in 1918. As president of the Ohio Shakespeare ...

) and learnt to play at the institute in her village in County Durham. She entered the 1931

World Ladies Billiards Championship The World Women's Billiards Championship is an English billiards tournament, first held in 1931 when organised by the cue sports company Burroughes Hall, Burroughes and Watts then run from 1932 by the Women's Billiards Association (WBA). It is c ...

, which was the first time she had played against women, and won the tournament. She turned professional straight afterwards. When the

Women's Billiards Association The Women's Billiards Association (WBA), founded in 1931 and based in London, United Kingdom, was the governing body for women's English billiards and snooker, and organised the Women's Professional Billiards Championship and Women's Professi ...

was formed in 1931, Harrison was one of the four professional players appointed to a committee to organise the professional championships, along with

Margaret Lennan Margaret Lennan was a Scottish snooker and billiards player. She was runner-up in the 1936 Women's Professional Billiards Championship. Biography Lennan started playing billiards at the age of 17, and received coaching from Alec Donaldson, ...

Eva Collins Eva Collins was an English snooker and billiards player. She was runner-up in the 1930 British Women's Billiards Championship, and in its successor tournament, the Women's Professional Billiards Championship in 1931. Early life and billiards c ...

and

Joyce Gardner Joyce Gardner (1910–1981) was an English professional English billiards player. She was the Women's Professional Billiards Champion from 1931 to 1933, and from 1935 to 1938. Early life Joyce Winifred Frances Gardner was born on 24 August 1910 ...

. She won the

each year from its inception in 1934 to 1940, and again when it was held after an interval of several years, in 1948. Harrison also won the

three times, in 1934, 1935, and 1939. Her break of 197 in the 1937 championship is still the women's world record break in competition.World Ladies Billiards Champions
World Billiards. Retrieved 19 August 2019. She received coaching from Willie Smith and Sidney Smith. Harrison qualified as a referee for billiard and snooker in 1937. She died in 1991, aged 82.England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007. Newcastle-on-Tyne; Volume: 2; Page:875. Via Ancestry.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

Titles and achievements

Snooker Billiards

References

External links

Sportshots No. 9 – Billiards – For Ladies!
British Pathe film segment featuring Harrison. {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Ruth English snooker players 1909 births Female snooker players Female players of English billiards English players of English billiards World champions in English billiards Year of death missing Sportspeople from County Durham People from Burnopfield