Jackie Rea

Jackie Rea
birthday	April 6, 1921
place of birth	Dungannon
date of death	20th October 2013
Place of death	Cheadle Hulme
nationality	Northern Ireland
Nickname (s)	The Clone Prince of Snooker
professional	1948 - 87/88
Prize money	5775 ₤
Highest break	116
Century Breaks	2
Main tour successes
Minor tournament victories	1
World rankings
Highest WRL place	48 ( 92/83 )

John Joseph "Jackie" Rea (born April 6, 1921 in Dungannon , † October 20, 2013 in Cheadle Hulme ) was a Northern Irish snooker player . Before Alex Higgins started his snooker career, he was long the best Irish snooker player.

Career

Rea started playing snooker at his father Thomas Rea's club in Dungannon at the age of nine. He won the All-Ireland Snooker Championship in 1947 and the Northern Ireland Snooker Championship that same year.

Beginnings as a professional

In 1955 Rea was able to win the News of the World Championship against Joe Davis , two years earlier he had failed at this. Three years earlier, Rea defeated Jack Bates in the final of the Irish Professional Championship and was able to defend the title until 1972 .

When the Professional Matchplay Championship was established in 1952 , Rea took part. The first time he reached the semifinals, where he lost to Fred Davis . In the following years Rea often lost in the quarterfinals and in the semifinals against Fred Davis or John Pulman . When only four players took part in the 1956 World Snooker Championship , Rea lost again in the semi-finals. The following year Rea took part again in the tournament and moved into the finals after defeating Kingsley Kennerley . There he was defeated by John Pulman with 34:39.

Performance decrease

After that, Rea did not take part in snooker world championships for a few years , as these were only paused for six years and then continued in the form of challenge matches. After that time was over, Rea took part in tournaments again. In 1969 Rea lost to Gary Owen , in the same year he was one of the first eight participants in the Pot Black Cup . Nevertheless, Rea always failed early. As the Snooker Main Tour professionalized, Rea rarely got past the round of 32. Nevertheless, he remained a professional until 1988.

Rea often played in qualifications. Rea played his last match on the Snooker Main Tour at the 1990 World Snooker Championship . He lost in the round of 128 with 9:10 to Marcel Gauvreau.

After his active career, he took part in various trick-shot events. He was able to earn a reputation as an entertainer.

Private

Before he started his career as a snooker player, he worked in a shipyard and in the Royal Navy . Jackie Rea was a close friend of Alex Higgins. He encouraged him to go to England and try his hand at being a professional. When Alex Higgins married in 1980, Rea was one of the groomsmen.

Rea himself was married twice. The first marriage to Rosaleen Donnelly resulted in a son who died two weeks after giving birth. His second marriage resulted in a son and a daughter.

Dennis Taylor and Joe Swail attended Jackie Rea's funeral .

Web links

• Profile of Jackie Rea at CueTracker

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} The cheeky clown prince of snooker. Irish News, November 2, 2013, accessed May 10, 2018 .  
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For Jackie Rea - Professional Results. Cuetracker.net, 2018, accessed on May 10, 2018 .  
3. ↑ Dave H .: Jackie Rea dies. Snookerscene.blogspot.de, October 21, 2013, accessed on May 11, 2018 (English).  
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jackie Rea: Former Irish snooker champion dies aged 92. BBC, October 21, 2013, accessed on May 11, 2018 (English).  
5. ↑ Jackie Rea. Snookerdatabase, 2007, accessed May 10, 2018 .  
6. ↑ ^{a b} Ron Florax: Jackie Rea - Season 1989–1990 - Professional Results. Cuetracker.net, 2018, accessed on May 11, 2018 .