Dave Gilbert (snooker Player, Born 1961)
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Dave Gilbert (born 15 August 1961) is an English former professional
snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...
player.


Career

Gilbert was introduced to snooker by his father Les. In January 1977,
Patsy Fagan Patsy Fagan (born 15 January 1951) is an Irish former professional snooker player. Having been runner-up in the 1974 English Amateur Championship, he turned professional in October 1976. He experienced early success with victories at the 1977 ...
hit the first
maximum In mathematical analysis, the maximum and minimum of a function (mathematics), function are, respectively, the greatest and least value taken by the function. Known generically as extremum, they may be defined either within a given Interval (ma ...
of his career, against Gilbert at the Clapton Bus Garage Social Club. He was later coached by Ron Shore at the Ilford Snooker Centre. In 1979, he defeated
John Parrott John Stephen Parrott (born 11 May 1964) is an English former professional snooker player who won the 1991 World Snooker Championship. He came to prominence in the mid to late 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 14 ...
to win the Pontins Junior title. In 1983, he beat Terry Whitbread in the final of the London Championship. He took up professional status in July 1985. In the final round of qualifiers for the 1986 Snooker World Championship he lost 10-5 to Dave Martin. He made his television debut in 1987, in a match in which Gilbert defeated
Cliff Wilson Clifford Wilson (10 May 1934 – 21 May 1994) was a Welsh people, Welsh professional snooker player who reached his highest Snooker world rankings, ranking of 16 in Snooker world rankings 1988/1989, 1988–89. He was the 1978 IBSF World Snooke ...
on the way to the last-16 of the
1987 International Open The 1987 International Open (officially the 1987 Fidelity Unit Trusts International Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between September and October 1987 at Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The last 6 ...
, before losing to
Stephen Hendry Stephen Gordon Hendry (born 13 January 1969) is a Scottish retired professional snooker player and a current Sports commentator, commentator and pundit. One of the most successful players in snooker history, he turned professional in 1985, ag ...
. He finished 1987 ranked 82 in the world, but rose to a world ranking of number 57 in 1988. He reached the last-32 of both the 1988 and 1989 English Professional Championship, losing to
Dean Reynolds Dean Reynolds (born 11 January 1963 in Grimsby) is an English former professional snooker player whose career spanned twenty years from 1981 to 2001. Early and personal life From Grimsby, Reynolds is a left-handed player and started playing ...
and Joe Johnson, in those respective years. He beat former World Champion
Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He turned professional in 1972 and won the 1985 World Snooker Championship, in which he lost the first eight frames of 1985 W ...
to reach the last-32 of the 1989 Asian Open. At the 1989 Snooker World Championship Gilbert lost 10-7 against
Doug Mountjoy Douglas James Mountjoy (8 June 1942 – 14 February 2021) was a Welsh snooker player from Tir-y-Berth, Gelligaer, Wales. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within t ...
in the final round of qualifying before the
Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city. ...
section of the tournament.


Personal life

He was born in
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...
, London to Les and Brenda. His father Les was a London Transport bus driver. Gilbert worked at Smithfield meat market, and as an engraver at Hatton Garden, prior to becoming a professional snooker player. In 1980, he was involved in a head-on collision on the M6 near Stafford following a snooker tournament in
Prestatyn Prestatyn (; ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085. Origin of name The name Prestatyn d ...
in which his sister Sue was killed and required him to have a steel plate inserted into his left arm, and prevented him from being able again to straighten that arm from the elbow.


Performance and rankings timeline


Career finals


Non-ranking finals: 1


Amateur finals: 2 (1 title)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Dave Living people 1961 births English snooker players Snooker players from London