Info needed on Jim Thorpe

[spike]

My memory of the famous push shot incident is that it was called against Dennis Taylor, in the 1981 World Championship against Kirk Stevens I think,

Yes your quite right, Kirk Stevens was leading 5-4 when Dennis Taylor played a push shot on the blue, which let Stevens back in to pot blue pink and black and take the frame..

[Pilling pig]

Hi Spike, Sorry I can confirm that Jim Thorpe ex snooker referee died in April this year and he was aged 78 and would have been 79 on august 31st this year, I have a static caravan on the same park as his brother Peter.

[Collette]

Hi spike, Jim was my grandad. If there's anything you'd like to know more about let me know...he was very passionate about snooker, and any sport for that matter but he was very proud to have refereed the first televised 147 x

[justf]

Hi Collette, did your grandfather keep any momentos of his refing days? Did he ever mention anything about higgins or any controversy?

[Patrick Wood]

The push stroke incident was in 1981 and although he was "sacked" from that particular World Championship that particular year he went on to become a "One-World-Final-Wonder", when he refereed his first and only World Final in 1984. He also referreed the final of the UK Championship in Preston later the same year, but soon after that he was never seen on tv again and there followed a 15 year period when the world final rotated between John Williams, John Street and Len Ganley. For some reason I don't think John Williams himself refereed in 1984. In 1985 I think Thorpe refereed one last year along with Len Ganley and the 3 Johns (Williams, Smyth and Street), but I think that was Thorpe's last year.