John Dunning (snooker player)

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John Dunning
birthday April 18, 1927
place of birth Morley
date of death 11th September 2009
(age 82)
Place of death Gildersome
nationality EnglandEngland England
professional 1971 - 1997
Prize money £ 22,160
Highest break 132 ( World Cup qualification 1981 )
Century Breaks 3
World rankings
Highest WRL place 11 ( 1976/77 season )
Best results
Ranked tournaments Quarterfinals ( World Snooker Championship 1974 )
Other professional tournaments Final
( International Masters 1984 )
Amateur tournaments 5th qualifying round of the English Amateur Championship (1952 & 1961)

John Dunning (born April 18, 1927 in Morley , West Yorkshire , † September 11, 2009 in Gildersome ) was an English snooker player who played a total of 26 years on the professional tour between 1971 and 1997.

Career

Born in Morley , Dunning attended Bridge Street School and was already interested in numerous sports such as wrestling and football , but above all in snooker. At the age of 18, he joined the Royal Navy where he served for two years. Shortly afterwards he met his future wife Sylvia in a club, whom he married 18 months later in St. Paul's Church and with whom he had two children.

In the years that followed, Dunning ran a newspaper kiosk in Morley with his brother Geoff and worked as a window cleaner in town. In 1973 the couple moved to Gildersome and Dunning was working at a snooker supplies company when he began to play snooker professionally.

Beginnings as an amateur

Dunning first appeared in 1951 when he qualified for the English Amateur Championship and lost 3-2 to Geoffrey W. Lockwood in the fourth round. This defeated Dunning a year later in the fifth round, as Dunning had previously defeated John Caine 3-0. After several years of abstinence, there was another participation in 1960, in which he lost his opening game in the fourth qualifying round against Alan Firth. A year later, Dunning benefited from the non-fight abandonment of JH Lunn before losing again to Alan Firth in the fifth round. Almost ten years later, Dunning became a professional player for the 1971/72 season.

During his snooker career, Dunning has won the Yorkshire Championship eleven times.

First years on the professional tour

In the absence of tournaments, Dunning only took part in the World Snooker Championship during his first professional season , where he defeated Pat Houlihan and Graham Miles and lost to John Pulman in the third round . The next season , Dunning also took part in the Park Drive 1000 , but lost his opening game against John Spencer . Even at the Snooker World Championship he did not get over his opening game, which he lost 4: 9 to David Taylor . In the 1973/74 season he reached the second round of the Norwich Union Open after defeating Jim Meadowcroft and lost to John Spencer. He then defeated David Greaves , David Taylor and Eddie Charlton at the World Snooker Championship before losing to Graham Miles in the quarterfinals.

The following season began for Dunning with an elimination in the third qualifying round for the Watney Open against Sid Hood , before he lost his opening game at the Norwich Union Open against Bill Werbeniuk . At the end of the season he lost his opening game against Gary Owen at the World Snooker Championship . Subsequently, a so-called Order of Merit - the forerunner of today's snooker world rankings - was drawn up for the first time , on which Dunning took twelfth place. Also in the 1975/76 season Dunning lost his opening game at the Snooker World Championship against Ray Reardon, before he failed at the Canadian Club Masters against John Pulman at the start.

First years on the world rankings

With the 1976/77 season a snooker world ranking was introduced, on the first version of which he took eleventh place, which remained the best world ranking for the rest of his career. During the season he lost his opening games at both the World Professional Matchplay Championship against Perrie Mans and at the Snooker World Championship against John Virgo . As a result, he lost five places on the world rankings.

The following season Dunning took part in the first edition of the UK Championship , where he defeated Maurice Parkin and John Pulman and lost to Alex Higgins in the round of 16 . At the end of the season he lost his opening game at the World Snooker Championship against the winner of the UK Championship Patsy Fagan , which made him 20th in the world rankings the following season.

Also in the 1978/79 season Dunning took part in the two tournaments, which are counted together with the Masters to the Triple Crown . In the UK Championship , Dunning failed to beat Fred Davis in the round of 16 after beating David Greaves and lost 9-2, while at the World Snooker Championship he lost to David Taylor after beating Jackie Rea in the round of 24 . On the ranking list, he finished 23rd in the following season.

Once again, Dunning only took part in the UK Championship and the World Snooker Championship during the following season and lost the former after another win over David Greaves against Steve Davis in the round of 24 and the latter in the round of 48 against Sid Hood out. On the world rankings he lost another place.

Crash out of the top 50

The 1980/81 season began with an opening defeat at the UK Championship before only in English Professional Championship reached the quarter-finals and end of the season in the World Snooker Championship , among others Patsy Fagan defeated and the last 24 in the round against Canadian Kirk Stevens lost. On the world rankings, he lost another place, so that he was led in the following season in 25th place.

The next season began with two four-round appearances at the International Open and at the UK Championship . He then retired at the International Masters in the qualifying group phase and lost to his compatriot John Spencer at the end of the season in the round of 32 of the World Snooker Championship . On the world rankings, he dropped five more places to 30th place. During the 1982/83 season , however, Dunning could not win a single game in five tournaments and so fell three more places.

Also in the following season Dunning lost four of six opening games, at the UK Championship he was eliminated after one win. In contrast, Dunning survived the first two group stages at the International Masters without a single defeat and also the semi-final group despite a loss to Warren King and with the help of a victory over Terry Griffiths . So Dunning was next to Dave Martin and Steve Davis as one of three players in the final group of the International Masters, which was due to the unusual number of 27 players. However, Dunning lost both games - 1: 4 against Davis and 2: 3 against Martin - so that he finished last in the group. Still, at 56, he became the oldest snooker player to play in a televised tournament final. In the world rankings, however, he finished 52nd due to the numerous defeats in the beginning and fell out of the top fifty places in the world rankings.

Crash to rank 103

The 1984/85 season started better than previous seasons with participation in the round of the last 64 of the International , and this upward trend continued with a move into the round of 32 of the Grand Prix . However, Dunning lost his opening games in the last two tournaments of the season, UK Championship and World Snooker Championship , so he lost twelve places again.

The following season began with a place in the round of 64, this time at the Matchroom Trophy . In the following, however, Dunning did not appear in five opening games and lost the last opening game of the season at the World Snooker Championship against Barry West . As a result, he slipped to 83rd place in the world rankings.

In the course of the 1986/87 season , Dunning went back to all games, but lost four opening games and did not get beyond the round of 96 in the other three tournaments. As a result, he lost another twenty places on the world rankings and finished 103rd in the world rankings in the following season.

Comeback into the top 100

Also in the 1987/88 season Dunning lost a total of four opening games and reached the round of 96 once, but in contrast reached the round of 64 at both the UK Championship and the British Open . This enabled him to move up to eleven Improve places so that he made an immediate return to the top hundred places in the world rankings.

With the following season , the number of opening defeats rose to six and the number of participations in the respective rounds of the last 96 to three. Only at the Canadian Masters he survived qualification before losing to John Parrott in the round of 64 . In addition, at the third event in the WPBSA non-ranking series, he made it into the last 48. On the world rankings this meant a loss of three places, through which he was able to place 95th in the following season.

Final farewell to the top 100

During the 1989/90 season , Dunning finally lost seven opening games and four times the round of the last 96. Only in the second event of the WPBSA non-ranking series was Dunning able to get out of the round of the last 96 with the help of a won game and was eliminated in the round of the last 32 against Graham Cripsey , but the tournament as a non-ranking tournament had no impact on the world rankings. So he once again slipped out of the top 100 in the world rankings and subsequently took 117th place.

In the following season , the number of Dunnings opening defeats rose again to eight, and he reached the round of the last 96 of the Grand Prix and the Dubai Classics with the only two games won in the season . On the world rankings he lost seven more places.

Crash to rank 293

With the 1991/92 season , the professional tour was opened to all players, which meant that Dunning had to play through more qualifying rounds to reach a main round, and on the other hand, he automatically deteriorated in the world rankings due to the increased number of players with a world ranking position. So it happened that he did not win a single game during the season: He did not play seven games, he lost the remaining three with 1: 5 against Peter Ebdon , with 0: 5 against Dave Harold and with 5:10 against the Scot Simon Haggerty. In the coming season he was ranked 163rd in the world rankings.

In the following season , Dunning was able to win games again, but also lost eight opening games and also gave up another without a fight. In addition, he was able to win one or two games before the elimination in the second and third event of the Strachan Challenge . He managed another victory at the European Open before he was eliminated there. In the world rankings he lost over a hundred places, so that he was listed on rank 270 in the following season.

In the 1993/94 season , however, Dunning could not win a single game - he lost all eleven opening games of the season. As a result, he slipped to 293th place.

Last professional years

During the 1994/95 season Dunning again lost seven opening games, but was also able to survive two rounds at the UK Championship and one round at the Thailand Open . In the world rankings, he fell back to 348th place.

During the next season , Dunning again lost five opening games, but was also able to win one game in four tournaments and even two games at the UK Championship . As a result, he was able to improve to 301st place in the world rankings.

In the 1996/97 season Dunning could not win five opening games again. It was not until the last tournament of the season, the World Snooker Championship , that he managed a 5-0 win over Anthony Bridge, before losing 5-2 to Philip Seaton in the third round. This defeat was Dunnings last professional game. After 26 years as a professional, he ended his professional career at the end of the 1996/97 season, slipped to 357th in the world rankings, at the age of 70.

Dunnings devotion to professional snooker slackened when he had a heart attack at a tournament in Bristol . During a game he was already clutching his chair and still finished the game when he passed out in the foyer. In 1997 he was finally put on a bypass.

Further life

In 2007, Dunning was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. In the summer of 2009, the cancer spread to the spine and bones, and Dunning's health deteriorated. Dunning passed away on September 11, 2009 at his Gildersome home at the age of 82.

After his death, the six-time world champion Ray Reardon paid tribute to him with the following words:

“He was a fine player and an entertaining one, good at attacking and good on the tactical side. He was a charming man with a lovely northern accent. "

“He was a good and entertaining player, good at attack and good on the tactical side. He was a charming man with a beautiful northern accent. "

- Ray Reardon : Tribute to Dunnings Death in 2009

successes

output year competition Final opponent Result
Non-ranking tournaments
Third 1984 International Masters EnglandEngland Steve Davis Dave Martin
EnglandEngland 		1: 4
2: 3

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For John Dunning - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 14, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Tributes to snooker ace John Dunning. Morley Observer , September 28, 2009, accessed July 29, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1950-1951 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 14, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1951-1952 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 14, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1959-1960 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 14, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1960-1961 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 14, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1971-1972 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed July 18, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1972-1973 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed July 18, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1973-1974 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed July 18, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1974-1975 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed July 18, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Chris Turner: Historical World Rankings. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive, 2011, archived from the original on November 21, 2013 ; accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1975-1976 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed July 18, 2019 .
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Ron Florax: Ranking History For John Dunning. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 28, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1976-1977 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 28, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1977-1978 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 28, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1978-1979 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 28, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1979-1980 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 28, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1980-1981 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1981-1982 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1982-1983 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1983-1984 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1984-1985 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  23. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1985-1986 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  24. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1986-1987 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1987-1988 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1988-1989 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1989-1990 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1990-1991 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1991-1992 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1992-1993 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1993-1994 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  32. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1994-1995 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  33. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1995-1996 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  34. ↑ Ron Florax: John Dunning - Season 1996-1997 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Dunning, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English snooker player
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Morley
DATE OF DEATH September 11, 2009
Place of death Gildersome