Al Murray TV - Clive Everton - Jimmy White - Ray Reardon - Alex Higgins - Articles & Commentaries TV - Alex Higgins: The People’s Champion TV - Ted Lowe - David Vine - Steve Davis - Terry Griffiths - Allan Taylor - The Rack Pack TV - Sporting Greats TV - The Gods of Snooker TV - Big Fat Gypsy Gangster 2011 -
43,649. Snooker saved this country. (Pub & Snooker) Al Murray: The Pub Landlord: My Gaff, My Rules, London’s Playhouse Theatre
88,716. Alex Higgins was the best player drunk that I ever saw. Clive Everton
88,717. The 1972 world final was about as different from what we’d expect at the Crucible as it is possible to imagine. It took place in a down-at-heel British Legion now demolished on the outskirts of Birmingham. The only lighting was the upturned trough-type shade over the table. The tiered seating was on beer crates. Clive Everton
88,718. There was almost a sense of threat in the air when we were in Alex’s company. And particularly when he lost. Clive Everton
88,719. The public decides who its heroes are going to be. And Alex was one of them. Clive Everton
88,720. That’s why he [Alex Higgins] was the jewel in the crown for so long. He was the sort of guy that everyone wanted to watch. Barry McGuigan
88,721. He [Alex Higgins] loved his gambling. He loved his smoking. He loved his drinking. He loved everything. He loved everything. He must have worn out two bodies. Easy. He will be missed. Ray Reardon
88,722. You can shove your snooker up your jacksy. Alex Higgins
88,723. I like all things that a fellow at twenty-five likes including my wine, women and song. And I don’t think I should be deprived of that sort of thing just because I play snooker. Alex Higgins
88,724. This time I’m in the top two. After next week in Birmingham I think I’ll be the top one. Alex Higgins, Nationwide, interview 1972
88,725. Alex In Headbutt Fury. News sports article
88,726. They call him Hurricane. Hurricane Higgins. A quite man. A confident man. You’d never notice him in a crowd. But in his own twilight world Hurricane Higgins is almost a god. Commentary c.1970s cited Alex Higgins: The People’s Champion, BBC 2010
88,727. It was his first year as a professional, his first world championship, and here he was in the final. Alex Higgins: The People’s Champion
88,728. The prize money for the world championship of 1972: £400. And this was the only tournament in town. ibid.
88,729. Snooker was about to be re-launched in a brand new vehicle: colour television. ibid.
88,730. In the new age of snooker there would soon be a fresh crop of outrageous talents. Cue Jimmy White and the semi-final of the world championship of 1982 when the Whirlwind met the Hurricane. ibid.
88,731. Matchroom was clean-cut corporate-friendly snooker and no player was better at it than Steve Davis. ibid.
88,732. The fire still burned but consistency was the new mantra. The champion of inconsistency [Higgins] lost more frequently. His frustrations grew and so did his addictions to gambling and drinking. ibid.
88,733. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998 ... ibid.
88,734. Can Bill Webenuik be the second Canadian to rewrite the history books? Ted Lowe
88,735. This young man Jimmy White celebrated his 22nd birthday literally four days ago. Ted Lowe
88,736. And Griffiths has looked at that blue four times now, and it still hasn't moved. Ted Lowe
88,737. That’s inches away from being millimetre perfect. Ted Lowe
88,738. Steve, with his sip of water, part of his make-up. Ted Lowe
88,739. He’s completely disappeared. He’s gone back to his dressing room; nobody knows where he has gone. Ted Lowe
88,740. 99 times out of a 1000 he would have potted that ball. (Snooker & Ball) Ted Lowe
88,742. And it is my guess that Steve Davis will try to score as many points as he can this frame. Ted Lowe
88,747. All square all the way round. Ted Lowe
88,749. Jimmy White has that wonderful gift of being able to point his cue where his is looking. Ted Lowe
88,741. The match has gradually and suddenly come to a climax. David Vine
88,743. Suddenly Alex Higgins was 7-0 down. David Vine
88,748. Ray Reardon, one of the great crucible champions, won it five times, when the championship was played away from the Crucible. David Vine
88,750. 10-4, and it could mean exactly what it means. David Vine
88,745. No-one came closer to winning the title last year than the runner-up Dennis Taylor. David Vine
88,744. When you start off it’s nil-nil. Steve Davis
88,746. I’ve always said the difference between winning and losing is nothing at all. Terry Griffiths
88,751. And now snooker, and Steve Davis has crashed out of the UK Billiards Championship. Allan Taylor
98,192. I am an entertainer. The Rack Pack, BBC 2016, Alex
98,193. I’m a snooker player. In the end you’re on your own. ibid. him to her
98,194. Bigger even than wrestling. ibid. Hearn to Davis
98,195. It’s magic innit. ibid. White with Hearn & Davis et al, re Alex
98,196. We need to create an aura of invisibility about you. ibid. Hearn to Davis
98,197. They’ll think you’re a total asshole. And that is what we want. ibid.
98,198. But at least I miss with style. ibid. Alex to Hearn
98,199. You know what the people want? Me. ibid.
98,200. Before me it was just old farts taking it in turns to miss. ibid. Alex
113,326. ‘The snooker players became pop stars.’ Sporting Greats: Steve Davis, Sky Sports 2017, Steve
113,327. Dominating the sport of snooker Steve Davis would rise to fame in the 1980s. ibid.
113,328. ‘Almost unbeatable.’ ibid. Barry Hearn
113,329. In 1989 Davis claimed his sixth and final world championship. ibid.
138,711. ‘I would like to announce my retirement from professional snooker. I’m finished with snooker … You can stuff your snooker up your jacksie. I’m not playing no more.’ (Snooker & Retirement) Gods of Snooker I, BBC 2021, Alex
138,712. This is the story of how for a remarkable period in the ’80s the game of snooker became a national obsession. Its unlikely heroes a golden generation of players the likes of which the world had never seen. Their almost supernatural talent outmatched only by the intensity of their rivalry. And a Kamikaze willingness to test their own limits. ibid.
138,713. Growing up in a working-class part of Belfast in the ’60s, Alex would gamble his school dinner money against grown men in his local snooker club which was called the The Jam Pot. ibid.
138,714. ‘Pot Black is such an important part of snooker history.’ ibid. Steve Davis
138,725. I would say that was the biggest bollock we ever dropped. Gods of Snooker II, Steve Davis re appearing at Conservative rally with the line, ‘I didn’t realise how important it was to pot reds then’
138,726. Kirk Stevens confessed to being a cocaine addict. ibid. news
138,727. The police came round trying to find Alex and he had pulled a gun. ibid. Rex Williams
138,728. He was like Tiger Woods of his day. He was some player. ibid. Gary Lineker
138,729. Higgins v Davis: After the first session Higgins found himself trailing 7-0 … ibid. commentary
138,730. You need somebody on your side … People like that [Higgins] probably do need someone to protect them not only from the outside world but from themselves. ibid. Steve Davis