Posts tagged Dennis Taylor

Snooker legend Alex Higgins passes away

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552 days
by in Uncategorized

Two-time world champion Alex Higgins passed away on Saturday at the age of 61 after 12 hard-fought years battling against throat cancer.

Born in Belfast, “Hurricane” Higgins burst onto the professional circuit at the age of 22, and won his first world championship at his first attempt in 1972, beating John Spencer 37-31 in the final. His quick style of play accompanied with flair and flamboyancy around the table caught the eye of the public, who were seeing someone different to the traditional snooker player.
With an unorthodox technique, Higgins revolutionised snooker throughout the 1980s, packing out audiences whenever he played and making the sport extremely popular. In 1982, he would beat Ray Reardon 18-15 in the world championship final at the Crucible, lifting his second world title.

His life was plagued with controversy both on and off the snooker table. He once punched a World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) official, head-butted a tournament director and threatened to have fellow Northern Irishman Dennis Taylor shot. As well as a heavy drinker and smoker, and an excessive gambler, he had divorces from two women, Lynn and Cara, and was stopped from seeing his two children Lauren and Jordan.

Towards the end, Higgins’ health rapidly deteriorated. He only weighed around six stone, and resorted to eating baby food because he had no teeth. Money had been raised so he could have teeth implants, but that will now be used to pay for Higgins’ funeral.

WPBSA chairman Barry Hearn said: “He was one of snooker’s great champions and one of its great characters. He did so much to make snooker popular and drag it out of the doldrums in the early 1970s. He didn’t always see eye-to-eye with the authorities, but there is no doubt that the sport owes him for where it is today. He will be sadly missed by the players who knew him and of course his friends and family.”

Higgins beat Jimmy White in the semi-finals 16-15 en route to his second world crown, and produced one of the greatest breaks in snooker history, a 69 clearance when he was 15-14 down and the score at 59-0. The passing of a snooker great has saddened White. “I was crying all yesterday [on Saturday]. I’m absolutely devastated. I was in awe of him. I didn’t always agree with what he did but I loved him. I have lost a friend and I will remember him forever. Alex took snooker in the 1970s to the heights which it reached in the 1980s – that was all down to him.”

Even though Taylor felt the full force of one of Higgins’ diatribes, he insists all is in the past. “The argument between us is history now. We had a lot of good times together as well. Alex and I go back many years. We are virtually the same age so we came up through the snooker ranks together. Alex was a complete one-off, a special talent. There will never be another Alex Higgins.”

Three-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan revealed the reason why he picked up a snooker cue was because of the Hurricane. “Alex Higgins was one of the real inspirations behind me getting into snooker. He is a true legend and should be forever remembered as being the finest ever snooker player.”

Steve Davis felt Higgins was “a breath of fresh air” which brought the public to watch snooker. “To people in the game he was a constant source of argument, he was a rebel. He was an inspiration to my generation to take the game up. I do not think his contribution to snooker can be underestimated. He was quite a fierce competitor – he lived and breathed the game, very much a fighter on the table.”

The original “People’s champion” , Hurricane Higgins has left his mark on the green baize.

Cue outrage for snooker’s ne’er-do-wells

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764 days
by in Uncategorized

“Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you…”

While the bad boys of snooker aren’t particularly dangerous, their many deeds still shock people. Because snooker is a gentlemanly sport, the acts of the bad boys are perhaps looked upon more severely compared to, let’s say, boxing.

So what is the worst action ever committed by a professional snooker player? Well, there are quite likely a few things that never reached the public and that will be forever buried in the past.

There are also a lot of different categories, most of which involve match-fixing. Australian Quinten Hann might be the worst case ever revealed. He agreed to lose a match with Ken Doherty in the 2006 China Open in return for money, but gave himself away during an interview with an undercover journalist. He ended up with a £10,000 fine and an eight-year ban which has probably marked the end of his career.

There was a similar incident involving Peter Francisco who was banned for five years after being found guilty of match-fixing in a World Championship match against Jimmy White. His uncle, Silvino Francisco was accused of match-fixing as well, but was never found guilty.

There have also been a few cases of drug use throughout the years. The 1980 world champion Cliff Thorburn was banned from two ranking tournaments after having taken cocaine. Bill Werbeniuk, who suffered from essential tremor, used to drink eight pints of beer before every match. Alex Higgins is another infamous example of a heavy drinker. Ronnie O’Sullivan was tested positively for marijuana after having won the 1998 Irish Masters against Ken Doherty. The title was taken away from him and given to Doherty who, however, refused to accept the trophy.

Spats are another quite frequent occurrence in this context. Hann once wanted to go outside to fight with Andy Hicks after a match, and O’Sullivan has sure had his arguments with other players and referees. But the most violent player has to be Higgins, who once punched a referee in the face and threatened to have Dennis Taylor killed.

The most harmless of all the bad boys of snooker is probably Tony Knowles. Knowles was a lover, not a fighter. The women admired him and Knowles had no intention of disappointing them. He eagerly shared passionate stories about his bedroom activities with those who wanted to hear and those who didn’t. Eventually he went over the line and was fined for bringing the game into disrepute.

Bad boys are a distraction from the game and mostly a bad one. But one has to admit that some of these stories – like the ones about Tony Knowles – do add a certain spice to the sport.

Davis v Taylor still the mother of all finals

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770 days
by in Uncategorized

Ask people about the most memorable moment in snooker history and it’s pretty safe to say that you will get ”the 1985 World Championship final” from the majority of them.

Yes, even from those who were too young to watch it. The historic moment of the last black ball waiting to be potted by either Steve Davis or Dennis Taylor proved just how exciting the sport can be. It opened up the eyes of a lot of people who weren’t previously interested in snooker but who immediately became fans.

Modern technology has enabled parts of this classic final to be put up on Youtube. Watching it you can’t help smiling. Both players fought so incredibly hard and were so focused. Davis’s nervousness was more noticeable than Taylor’s who could hide his feelings behind huge spectacles. He was probably just as agitated, however.

Was this snooker’s peak? Will there never be a bigger moment? Maybe all sports have these peaks, events that can never ever be topped? Even if you weren’t there watching in real time, the stories are passed on by one generation to the next.

The excitement of the 18.5million people who saw the match is not hard to imagine. So, what do we need to get really excited about snooker today?

More ranking tournaments, players like the old Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, more World Championship finals ending on the last black ball? Or isn’t there anything that can make us thrilled anymore?

Maybe people just need to attend more live matches. Let’s hope that the WPBSA and new chairman Barry Hearn can revive the old snooker spirit next year and provide us with more tournaments and more quality moments.

New memories need to be created.

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