1937 World Snooker Championship

[Cyril]

Cuetracker doesn't mention that the News of the World tournament matches were all handicapped. Joe Davis could receive anything upto 35 points per frame. He ususally only played Fred off level, or received one black.

Be great to some day get all the NOTW scores and century breaks on there though.

[Cyril]

Question for 100-uper. Have you any knowledge of the "American Tournament" listed on Cuetracker for the years 1907 to 1911? The players all appear to billiard professionals of that time but I've never before heard of such an event.

[100-uper]

Question for 100-uper. Have you any knowledge of the "American Tournament" listed on Cuetracker for the years 1907 to 1911? The players all appear to billiard professionals of that time but I've never before heard of such an event.

I'm very impressed by whoever puts together the stats for this website. This one is about as obscure as it gets.

Basically, William Cook returned from America in 1874 with a new system of tournament playing on the "round-robin" principle. This was immediately dubbed the "American" system, as opposed to the traditional straight knock-out then in vogue, which became known as the "English" system. The term "American" became generic for any round-robin competition.

Immediately after this "discovery," Burroughes & Watts, who were closely linked with Cook at this time, then started what would become an annual event, principally as a billiards tournament. However, in the 1907-08 season they introduced a snooker "championship" for the first time. This ran in parallel to the billiards with a single frame played at the end of each of the 12 sessions which comprised the week-long 8000 up match.

[DeanH]

I'm very impressed by whoever puts together the stats for this website. This one is about as obscure as it gets.

Basically, William Cook returned from America in 1874 with a new system of tournament playing on the "round-robin" principle. This was immediately dubbed the "American" system, as opposed to the traditional straight knock-out then in vogue, which became known as the "English" system. The term "American" became generic for any round-robin competition.

Immediately after this "discovery," Burroughes & Watts, who were closely linked with Cook at this time, then started what would become an annual event, principally as a billiards tournament. However, in the 1907-08 season they introduced a snooker "championship" for the first time. This ran in parallel to the billiards with a single frame played at the end of each of the 12 sessions which comprised the week-long 8000 up match.

Great information as usual

ps I shall pass on your compliments to the person who found all this old information

[Cyril]

Thanks! Amazing to think they played snooker so early.

[100-uper]

Thanks! Amazing to think they played snooker so early.

Professionals didn't play snooker much earlier than this, although it was extremely popular at amateur level. The first reference I have to snooker being played in a major professional contest in England was a match between Charles Dawson and Walter Osborne in October 1906, when a frame was played at the end of each session of their week-long billiards engagement. This was essentially the same format that was used in the Burroughes & Watts tournament the following year. In fact, from this date, Dawson included snooker as a regular feature of his billiards exhibitions, and may well have been instrumental in Burroughes & Watts adopting the idea.

However, there are earlier references from Australia, where the game seems to have been more popular as a public spectacle. Both John Roberts (1901) and Harry Stevenson (1903) during their respective tours of that country are recorded as having played the game against amateur opponents. It's strange that they didn't think it worthwhile to do the same in England.

[szaboss]

This is probably where we need to get people like Rex Williams and Ray Reardon interviewed about the life and times of being a professional in the times when Snooker was developing, get them to talk about their experiences with the players that have since passed and get a better light in to their character. This is your life or a documentary of sorts would be good.

[VillaGuy]

There's very short video of this available now, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_6Yr4cxjHc Amazing how things have changed. There's some footage of Horace practicing on his home table too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRoC-SYWK4U

[Dan-cat]

This is a great thread. Thank you.

[Cue crafty]

Joe Davis was total class, I feel sure with his talent if he was time ported to present day, give him a day or three on a star table and he'd adapt very well and contend. You certainly wouldn't hear him complain about the condition.

Enjoyed reading this - cheers.

[Big Splash!]

There's very short video of this available now, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_6Yr4cxjHc Amazing how things have changed. There's some footage of Horace practicing on his home table too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRoC-SYWK4U

He doesn't look that much of a player tbh. Yellow to Green isn't great, then he plays the green plain ball without side, getting too close to the brown. Ronnie would have stunned round the two angles to get on it properly. WL seems to play most stuff plain ball. Bit of a whacker! lol

[itsnoteasy]

Modern day pros would start crying if they had to play with those balls on those cloths on those conditions. Jeez they want new balls every forty minutes and new cloths every day, and say it's damp if the table heater is down a few degrees.

[Big Splash!]

Modern day pros would start crying if they had to play with those balls on those cloths on those conditions. Jeez they want new balls every forty minutes and new cloths every day, and say it's damp if the table heater is down a few degrees.

That's also true tbf, not easy conditions.

[narl]

Modern day pros would start crying if they had to play with those balls on those cloths on those conditions. Jeez they want new balls every forty minutes and new cloths every day, and say it's damp if the table heater is down a few degrees.

I think the old time players would adapt to the modern game and equipment much quicker than players of this era would to the older game and equipment. I think Judd Trump would break his little arm at the prospects of not being able to do yet another pointless length of the table screw shot that comes to nothing.

[VillaGuy]

I aint anything like a modern day pro or a 19th century pro I'd struggle to clear up with two balls remaining.