The Women's Professional Billiards Championship was an

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 ...

tournament held from 1930 to 1950. The tournament was first organised by

Burroughes and Watts Burroughes Hall was an important billiards and snooker venue in Soho Square, London from 1903 until it closed in 1967. The hall was in the premises of Burroughes & Watts Ltd., who had been at 19 Soho Square since 1836. Burroughes & Watts opened a ...

in 1930 and 1931, before the WBA ran the event until its conclusion in 1950.

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 191 ...

won the tournament on seven of the fourteen times that it was held, and was runner-up six times; the only time that she was not in the final was the 1940 tournament. The other players to hold the title were

Thelma Carpenter Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie ''The Wiz''. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Fred and Mary C ...

who won four times, and

Ruth Harrison Ruth Harrison (; 24 June 1920 – 13 June 2000) was an English animal welfare activist and writer. Biography Harrison was born in London, the daughter of the author Stephen Winsten and the artist Clara Birnberg. She was educated at Bedfor ...

who took three championship titles. Harrison's of 197 in 1937 remains a women's record in competitive billiards. The first six tournaments were held at

Burroughes Hall Burroughes Hall was an important English billiards, billiards and snooker venue in Soho Square, London from 1903 until it closed in 1967. The hall was in the premises of Burroughes & Watts Ltd., who had been at 19 Soho Square since 1836. Burroughes ...

in London. Apart from in 1939, when it was again at Burroughes Hall, all the subsequent editions were played at

Thurston's Hall Thurston's Hall was a major billiards and snooker venue between 1901 and 1955 in Leicester Square, London. The hall was in the premises of Thurston & Co. Ltd which relocated to Leicester Square in 1901. The building was bombed in 1940 and reope ...

, which was closed due to bomb damage in 1940 and reopened in 1947 as Leicester Square Hall.

History

Although there were female players of

cue sports Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

since the games were invented, their progress in the game has been held back by

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

, with men typically not taking female players seriously, or claiming that the women were seeking male attention by playing. In the mid-19th century, few women played cue sports, but they became more popular among wealthy women across Europe towards the end of the century. In 1905, John Roberts Jr. announced that he would be promoting a "Madame Strebor" as a professional; Strebor played Eva Collins in an

series at Burroughes Hall in 1906. '' The Sporting Life'' commented that public matches between women were unusual enough that the series was likely to attract public interest, but that "many attempts have been made to popularise the game with ladies, with results anything but flattering". Margaret Lennan 1927 - Copy

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, ...

beat

1,000–960 at Hull in August 1928 in a 1,000-up (first to 1,000 points) English billiards match that was billed as the Ladies' Championship of England and Scotland. Billiard manufacturers Howard and Powell provided a silver rose bowl for the winner. In 1930, the cue sports company Burroughes and Watts organised a British Women's Billiards Championship, also known as the Burwat Cup. Another edition was held in 1931. In 1931, 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 Profes ...

(WBA) was formed at a meeting chaired by

Teresa Billington-Greig Teresa Billington-Greig (15 October 1876 – 21 October 1964) was a British suffragette who helped create the Women's Freedom League in 1907. She had left another suffrage organisation – the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) – as s ...

, with the aim of controlling the amateur and professional women's championships. It was agreed with the

Billiards Association and Control Council The Billiards and Snooker Control Council (B&SCC) (formerly called the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC)) was the governing body of the games of English billiards and snooker and organised professional and amateur championships ...

that the WBA would take over the running of the competition as a world championship from 1932, with the same trophy that was used in 1930 and 1932.

was champion each year until 1934, when

won the first of her three titles. The first

century break In snooker, a century break (also century, sometimes called a ton) is a of 100 points or more, compiled in one to the table. A century break requires potting at least 25 consecutive balls, and the ability to score centuries is regarded as a m ...

in the competition, 100, by Gardner was compiled in 1934. Lennan made two centuries, 113 and then 153 in the 1936 competition.

's of 197 in 1937 remains a women's record in competitive billiards.

won her first title in 1940, before the championship was suspended during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Carpenter was champion again when the tournament was next held in 1948, and retained the title in 1949. In 1950, she was watched by her 10-year-old son as she beat

to win her fourth title. This was to be the last women's professional championship to be held. The

World Women's 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 ...

is viewed as a continuation of the amateur championship rather than of the Women's Professional Billiards Championship.

Tournaments

In some years the match winner was the first to reach a pre-determined points target, and in other years the winner was the player to score most points in a set playing time.

Finalist statistics

Notes

References

{{Main world championships Recurring sporting events established in 1930 1930 establishments in England

Billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

Competitions in English billiards World championships in English billiards

History

Tournaments

Finalist statistics

See also

Notes

References