Dave Meredith won the NZ Am Title in Pukekohe, defeating Russell Robinson by 785 to 705, a match, it was said, marred by excessive safety. Meredith had previously eliminated the current holder, Brian Kirkness.
Mike Russell and Bob Close won pro-Ams. Russell won at Huntingdon defeating Tony Mackinder by 403 to 217. Close won at Rugby beating Foldvari in a close match, 272 to 266. Foldvari knocked out Russell in the Qtrs. With breaks of 281 and 144
Two further pro-Ams. Gilchrist beat Close in Widnes by 336 to 226, and best performance of the day by Herbert Beetham at age of 74 defeated Dagley by 238 to 229 in an earlier round. In the pro-Am at the Willie Thorne Centre, Dagley beat Gilchrist by 334 to 195. In an earlier round Russell had a high of 261, and a promising newcomer Mark Hirst had an unfinished 126 in defeating Joe Jordan form Slough.
Ian Williamson won the Strachan UK Professional Billiards title in Marton in Middlesbrough, defeating Robbie Foldvari by 7-3 in the 150 format. He eliminated Dagley in the Qtrs. by 4-2 and Russell in the semis by 4-2 also. Foldvari eliminated Ferreira 4-1 in the first round, and Close in the semi’s by 4-1. Best runs were Close with a 154 unfinished and Foldvari with 148 unfinished against Close. It was said that the venue attracted good crowds, not least because Teeside has a “healthy enough Billiards following to command large, knowledgeable crowds”. Let’s all move to Middlesbrough.
In another pro-Am at Harrogate Tony Done emerged victorious defeating Dick Watts from the West Country by 306 to 213, Dick defeating his travel companion Bill Andress in the Qtrs. by 331 to 319. (Dick probably paid the petrol to get home!)
In the Dudley pro-Am David Rees beat Ken Shirley by 276 to 172, running out with 86 unfinished. Ferreira defeated Dagley in second round by 487 to 146, while Jim McCann eliminated Mike Russell by 311 to 192 in the Qtrs. while Shirley defeated Ferreira in a high scoring game, Ferreira running out of time with an unfinished 130 to lose by 23.
Dagley wins the pro-Am at Royston, defeating Peter Gilchrist by 450 to 193, running out with 199 unfinished. Dagley had five other centuries on the day, while Gilchrist had 3. In the semis, again in a high scoring game Gilchrist overcame Russell by 411 to 397.
The year also when a young man called Ronnie O Sullivan, aged 12, ran a total clearance of 142. Didn’t the boy do good, eh?
Peter Gilchrist wins the CIU title defeating David Edwards by 1201 to 724, with 3 century breaks to one by Edwards. Gilchrist scraped over the line in his semi against Alf Nolan, winning by only 14.
Bob Close wins the pro-Am In Bradford beating Jim McCann by 310 to 149, having previously knocked out both Russell and Gilchrist. Smokey lost to McCann in the semis, as did Watts to Close. As usual in these open tournaments the draw is blind, leading to some unusual pairings. Never heard any moans about that arrangement in the past, even from the top geezers.
Mike Russell, professional for a year wins the BCE Euro Proff Title defeating Norman Dagley by 7-4 in the 150 up format, becoming the youngest ever winner of a professional title, superseding William Cook who was 21 when he won the World Proff title in 1870. Russell, a product of the Teeside billiards hotbed won because of his “ability to run out” at the first opportunity. He ran game against Close in the decider of their match with 30 when Close needed 15, and an unfinished 132 to tag Dagley back to 3-3, before going clear to 7-4. Dagley ran two games to 150, Foldvari one, and Russell two.
Norman Dagley suffers a collapse with a suspected Stroke, and seemed to have recovered a few days later, but having to cancel a trip to India to play in an Invitation tournament in Delhi
The WPBSA has graciously donated £250 towards the cost of a Headstone for the grave of John Roberts in the Ilford Cemetery. Roy Bacon is given credit for his endeavour in this regard, as well as those of Mark Wildman.
Pete Gilchrist wins the Eng. Am title defeating David Edwards by 3379 to 1854. In the Qtrs. Edwards beat John O Neil by 2258 to 861; Steve Crosland beat Peter Shelley by 1091 to 988; Roy Bacon beat Des Heald by 998 to 985 (whew!) and Gilchrist beat Seddon my 1464 to 1169. In the semis both Edwards and Gilchrist won easily against Crosland and Bacon respectively.2398-1413 and 2394- 1362. In the semis Edwards had 3 centuries and a double while Gilchrist had 6 centuries and a double. In the final Gilchrist cut loose with four doubles and 6 singles. Edwards in his Qtr. match against John O Neill had 2 doubles and 6 singles. Gilchrist is the second youngest player along with Sydney Lee and Joe Earlham to win the Eng. Am in their 21st year. Laurie Steeples is the youngest, at 18
On personal note I knew and played with John O Neil in the Windsor area and played many a match with him in the old Karnehm and Hillman South of England league. John, like Joe Jordan hailed from Belfast. The last I heard of him was that he emigrated with wife to Spain. If anyone knows if he still alive, do let me know. He was a fearless all round player reminiscent of the style of Bill Andress from the West Country.
Close wins the Grimsby pro-Am defeating Peter Gilchrist 271 -216, while in Holt, Russell wins the pro-Am there beating David Rees by 453 to 193.
Reg Wright died at the age of 73, runner up in the Eng. Am and regarded as one of the best players never to win the Eng. Am
Peter Gilchrist defeats Robbie Foldvari in the Huntingdon pro-Am by 493 to 223. In earlier rounds Russell was edged out by Dick Watts by 2, and in the plate was again upended by Terry Colby by 5. That’s painful. It was said that the floodgates opened with century breaks flowing like a river. Foldvari had 6 on the day, Gilchrist had 2, as did Joe Jordan and David Rees weighed in with a 200 in defeating Joe Jordan who made a 124 in their match.
In the Britvic Corona Tournament in Leeds, Mike Russell came good by defeating Bob Close by 526 to 299. Russell avoided defeat in an earlier round, by 30 in his match against Des Heald. Bill Watson, his next opponent suffered as Russell rolled out a 101, 362 and a 148 unfinished, the combined scoring for that match, in an hour was 934, par for the course in an hour’s play when De Man cuts loose. I recall being on the end of a similar annihilation from MR in a pro-Am once, when in the Qtrs, I had the temerity to be winning by a small lead, whereupon he steamrolled over me with breaks of 526, 178. At Least I got a few bob for getting to the Qtrs.
Leslie Driffield has died at the age of 76. He was winner of the World Am in Calcutta in 1952 and in Colombo in Ceylon in 1967. It was said that “consistency, concentration and tenacity” were the hallmarks of his game, eschewing TOT, his game reflected a kind of relentless hazard play. It was further said that he occupied the table with the same “obduracy as his fellow Yorkshireman Geoff Boycott at the cricket crease”. In his match in the World Am in Calcutta in 1952, the title eluded him then when he was defeated by Wilson Jones of India, when Driffield was 660 in front with 90 minutes to go. It was said that the level of partisan crowd noise disturbed Driffield’s game to such an extent that his game fell apart in that 90 minutes.
In his Colombo win he was behind in his match with Mannie Francisco of South Africa, by 500. He then weighed in with 74, 127 and a 351 to win that match by 162 and go on to win the title. He was by any standards a formidable opponent with, I believe, 3 thousand practise breaks to his name.
Robbie Foldvari came good at the pro-Am at Dudley defeating Mike Russell by 393 to 157. Foldvari sometimes noted for his slow play (it was once said that such was his concentration that an exploding grenade nearby couldn’t break his focus) was seen to run round the table in his match against Mark Hirst. Hirst, trailing by over 100 ran 85 and 41 to go 2 in front with seconds left. Hence Robbie’s haste to clatter in a monstrous two break to tie the match, necessitating a further 10 minutes to conclude the match in Foldvari’s favour. Nerve shredding stuff. Don’t we love it? In his match with Foldvari, Russell faced a series of double Baulks before Foldvari broke the deadlock with a breaks of 145 and 77 to effectively shut out the match in his favour.
Phil Tarrant retained the Oz Am title beating Joe Millen in a 6 hour final by 1570 to 1364, his fourth time of winning the title.
Mike Russell wins the Strachan UK Proff. Title defeating Bob Close 7-0 in a 150 up format. Russell was in ruthless form beating Dagley 4-0 in the semi. And Foldvari 4-1 in the Qtrs. Gilchrist lost 4-3 to Dagley. Fred Davis now suffering from arthritis lost to Ian Williamson 4-1 in the first round
Mike Russell and Bob Close won pro-Ams. Russell won at Huntingdon defeating Tony Mackinder by 403 to 217. Close won at Rugby beating Foldvari in a close match, 272 to 266. Foldvari knocked out Russell in the Qtrs. With breaks of 281 and 144
Two further pro-Ams. Gilchrist beat Close in Widnes by 336 to 226, and best performance of the day by Herbert Beetham at age of 74 defeated Dagley by 238 to 229 in an earlier round. In the pro-Am at the Willie Thorne Centre, Dagley beat Gilchrist by 334 to 195. In an earlier round Russell had a high of 261, and a promising newcomer Mark Hirst had an unfinished 126 in defeating Joe Jordan form Slough.
Ian Williamson won the Strachan UK Professional Billiards title in Marton in Middlesbrough, defeating Robbie Foldvari by 7-3 in the 150 format. He eliminated Dagley in the Qtrs. by 4-2 and Russell in the semis by 4-2 also. Foldvari eliminated Ferreira 4-1 in the first round, and Close in the semi’s by 4-1. Best runs were Close with a 154 unfinished and Foldvari with 148 unfinished against Close. It was said that the venue attracted good crowds, not least because Teeside has a “healthy enough Billiards following to command large, knowledgeable crowds”. Let’s all move to Middlesbrough.
In another pro-Am at Harrogate Tony Done emerged victorious defeating Dick Watts from the West Country by 306 to 213, Dick defeating his travel companion Bill Andress in the Qtrs. by 331 to 319. (Dick probably paid the petrol to get home!)
In the Dudley pro-Am David Rees beat Ken Shirley by 276 to 172, running out with 86 unfinished. Ferreira defeated Dagley in second round by 487 to 146, while Jim McCann eliminated Mike Russell by 311 to 192 in the Qtrs. while Shirley defeated Ferreira in a high scoring game, Ferreira running out of time with an unfinished 130 to lose by 23.
Dagley wins the pro-Am at Royston, defeating Peter Gilchrist by 450 to 193, running out with 199 unfinished. Dagley had five other centuries on the day, while Gilchrist had 3. In the semis, again in a high scoring game Gilchrist overcame Russell by 411 to 397.
The year also when a young man called Ronnie O Sullivan, aged 12, ran a total clearance of 142. Didn’t the boy do good, eh?
Peter Gilchrist wins the CIU title defeating David Edwards by 1201 to 724, with 3 century breaks to one by Edwards. Gilchrist scraped over the line in his semi against Alf Nolan, winning by only 14.
Bob Close wins the pro-Am In Bradford beating Jim McCann by 310 to 149, having previously knocked out both Russell and Gilchrist. Smokey lost to McCann in the semis, as did Watts to Close. As usual in these open tournaments the draw is blind, leading to some unusual pairings. Never heard any moans about that arrangement in the past, even from the top geezers.
Mike Russell, professional for a year wins the BCE Euro Proff Title defeating Norman Dagley by 7-4 in the 150 up format, becoming the youngest ever winner of a professional title, superseding William Cook who was 21 when he won the World Proff title in 1870. Russell, a product of the Teeside billiards hotbed won because of his “ability to run out” at the first opportunity. He ran game against Close in the decider of their match with 30 when Close needed 15, and an unfinished 132 to tag Dagley back to 3-3, before going clear to 7-4. Dagley ran two games to 150, Foldvari one, and Russell two.
Norman Dagley suffers a collapse with a suspected Stroke, and seemed to have recovered a few days later, but having to cancel a trip to India to play in an Invitation tournament in Delhi
The WPBSA has graciously donated £250 towards the cost of a Headstone for the grave of John Roberts in the Ilford Cemetery. Roy Bacon is given credit for his endeavour in this regard, as well as those of Mark Wildman.
Pete Gilchrist wins the Eng. Am title defeating David Edwards by 3379 to 1854. In the Qtrs. Edwards beat John O Neil by 2258 to 861; Steve Crosland beat Peter Shelley by 1091 to 988; Roy Bacon beat Des Heald by 998 to 985 (whew!) and Gilchrist beat Seddon my 1464 to 1169. In the semis both Edwards and Gilchrist won easily against Crosland and Bacon respectively.2398-1413 and 2394- 1362. In the semis Edwards had 3 centuries and a double while Gilchrist had 6 centuries and a double. In the final Gilchrist cut loose with four doubles and 6 singles. Edwards in his Qtr. match against John O Neill had 2 doubles and 6 singles. Gilchrist is the second youngest player along with Sydney Lee and Joe Earlham to win the Eng. Am in their 21st year. Laurie Steeples is the youngest, at 18
On personal note I knew and played with John O Neil in the Windsor area and played many a match with him in the old Karnehm and Hillman South of England league. John, like Joe Jordan hailed from Belfast. The last I heard of him was that he emigrated with wife to Spain. If anyone knows if he still alive, do let me know. He was a fearless all round player reminiscent of the style of Bill Andress from the West Country.
Close wins the Grimsby pro-Am defeating Peter Gilchrist 271 -216, while in Holt, Russell wins the pro-Am there beating David Rees by 453 to 193.
Reg Wright died at the age of 73, runner up in the Eng. Am and regarded as one of the best players never to win the Eng. Am
Peter Gilchrist defeats Robbie Foldvari in the Huntingdon pro-Am by 493 to 223. In earlier rounds Russell was edged out by Dick Watts by 2, and in the plate was again upended by Terry Colby by 5. That’s painful. It was said that the floodgates opened with century breaks flowing like a river. Foldvari had 6 on the day, Gilchrist had 2, as did Joe Jordan and David Rees weighed in with a 200 in defeating Joe Jordan who made a 124 in their match.
In the Britvic Corona Tournament in Leeds, Mike Russell came good by defeating Bob Close by 526 to 299. Russell avoided defeat in an earlier round, by 30 in his match against Des Heald. Bill Watson, his next opponent suffered as Russell rolled out a 101, 362 and a 148 unfinished, the combined scoring for that match, in an hour was 934, par for the course in an hour’s play when De Man cuts loose. I recall being on the end of a similar annihilation from MR in a pro-Am once, when in the Qtrs, I had the temerity to be winning by a small lead, whereupon he steamrolled over me with breaks of 526, 178. At Least I got a few bob for getting to the Qtrs.
Leslie Driffield has died at the age of 76. He was winner of the World Am in Calcutta in 1952 and in Colombo in Ceylon in 1967. It was said that “consistency, concentration and tenacity” were the hallmarks of his game, eschewing TOT, his game reflected a kind of relentless hazard play. It was further said that he occupied the table with the same “obduracy as his fellow Yorkshireman Geoff Boycott at the cricket crease”. In his match in the World Am in Calcutta in 1952, the title eluded him then when he was defeated by Wilson Jones of India, when Driffield was 660 in front with 90 minutes to go. It was said that the level of partisan crowd noise disturbed Driffield’s game to such an extent that his game fell apart in that 90 minutes.
In his Colombo win he was behind in his match with Mannie Francisco of South Africa, by 500. He then weighed in with 74, 127 and a 351 to win that match by 162 and go on to win the title. He was by any standards a formidable opponent with, I believe, 3 thousand practise breaks to his name.
Robbie Foldvari came good at the pro-Am at Dudley defeating Mike Russell by 393 to 157. Foldvari sometimes noted for his slow play (it was once said that such was his concentration that an exploding grenade nearby couldn’t break his focus) was seen to run round the table in his match against Mark Hirst. Hirst, trailing by over 100 ran 85 and 41 to go 2 in front with seconds left. Hence Robbie’s haste to clatter in a monstrous two break to tie the match, necessitating a further 10 minutes to conclude the match in Foldvari’s favour. Nerve shredding stuff. Don’t we love it? In his match with Foldvari, Russell faced a series of double Baulks before Foldvari broke the deadlock with a breaks of 145 and 77 to effectively shut out the match in his favour.
Phil Tarrant retained the Oz Am title beating Joe Millen in a 6 hour final by 1570 to 1364, his fourth time of winning the title.
Mike Russell wins the Strachan UK Proff. Title defeating Bob Close 7-0 in a 150 up format. Russell was in ruthless form beating Dagley 4-0 in the semi. And Foldvari 4-1 in the Qtrs. Gilchrist lost 4-3 to Dagley. Fred Davis now suffering from arthritis lost to Ian Williamson 4-1 in the first round