Willie Smith (pool player)

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Willie Smith
Willie Smith
birthday January 25, 1886
place of birth Darlington
date of death 2nd June 1982
Place of death Leeds
nationality EnglandEngland England
Active time 1901-1960
Success in snooker
World Championship 2 × finalist (1933, 1935)
Success in English Billiards
World Championship 2 × winners (1920, 1923)
Highest series 2,743 (1928)

Willie Smith (born January 25, 1886 in Darlington , † June 2, 1982 in Leeds ) was an English snooker and English billiards player.

Career

English billiards

Smith was one of the greatest talents and a great all-rounder in both English billiards and snooker . In 1920 and 1923 he took part in the World Championships in English Billiards, which he won. Disputes with the board of the BACC caused him no longer to take part in this tournament.

Smith was the first professional to play with a brass ferrule . Although brass ferrules had been manufactured since the 1880s, he was initially scorned and ridiculed by his colleagues. By 1930, however, all professional players had switched to it. In 1923, Smith had his cue equipped with a gold ferrule. As it turned out later; - not the best choice. In 1929, during a game against Walter Lindrum , it broke.

In addition to popularizing the brass ferrules, Smith contributed to the spread of heavier cues weighing 18 mit ounces (approx. 531.5 grams). Cues weighing 16½ – 17 ounces (approx. 467.7–481.9 g) were common and “recommended” at that time.

For the 1928/29 season the composite balls were introduced in England. Those balls made of Chrystalate ran better and so Smith was able to play 15 shots with more than 1,000 points this season . The highest recording he played against Tom Newman in November 1928 with 2,743 points. That was a new record. His second highest record with 2,030 points was on a tour in Australia in 1929 against Clark McConachy .

However, his skill level was more effective in free games than in official tournaments. He gave the six-time world champion Melbourne Inman a lead of 1,000 points in one game. After all bets were made, Smith caught up and won the game by 4,000 points. This rivalry culminated at the 1920 World Cup. Inman, who did not compete to defend his title from last year, declared himself the "undefeated champion". Smith commented, "Sure, if you don't compete, you can't be beaten."

snooker

For financial reasons and because of his disputes with the BACC , he began to play at snooker world championships in the late 1920s . In 1933 and 1935 they made it to the finals. There he had to admit defeat to Joe Davis . He was also at the table when Davis played the first official maximum break of 147 points in 1955 . He said at the time that he was happy to have been there and that this moment was one of the highlights of his career.

Smith made his last game in 1960 at the age of 75 in the Burroughs Hall of his lifelong sponsor Burroughes & Watts against Joyce Gardner . After the game, when asked for his opinion on snooker, Smith replied, "You should change the rules", "What rules?", "Everyone!"

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Willie Smith: The great all-rounder on EABA. Retrieved April 12, 2012
  2. ↑ Player profile on eNotes. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  3. ↑ Player profile on Cues n Views. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
  4. ^ A brief history about us , Burroughes & Watts. Retrieved April 13, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Willie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English snooker and English billiards player
DATE OF BIRTH January 25, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Darlington
DATE OF DEATH 2nd June 1982
Place of death Leeds