seamus dubhghaill

Promoting Irish Culture and History from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

Tag Archives: Steve Davis


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Birth of Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish Snooker Player

Dennis Taylor, former professional snooker player and commentator, is born on January 19, 1949 in Coalisland, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He is most well known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeats Steve Davis with the final ball of the 35th frame in the final to seal an 18-17 win. During his playing career he wears distinctive specially designed glasses manufactured for snooker, often described as looking upside-down, giving him a unique look on the circuit.

Taylor is the son of a lorry driver and has six siblings. As an amateur, he wins the 1968 British Junior Billiards Championship. He turns professional in 1972. That season he makes his debut in the World Snooker Championship debut in the 1973 event, losing 8–9 to Cliff Thorburn in the first round. Over the next few years, he reaches the semi-finals at the event in 1975 and 1977. Two years later he reaches the 1979 final, but loses 16–24 to qualifier Terry Griffiths. He reaches his highest world ranking for the following season, second behind Steve Davis.

Taylor reaches the semi-final for a third time in 1984, losing to Davis. His mother dies as he is beginning the new season at the 1984 Jameson International Open. He retires from the event before his quarter-final match against Silvino Francisco. However, he wins the first ranking event of his career at the 1984 Rothmans Grand Prix later that year defeating Thorburn 10–2 in the final.

Following his first ranking tournament victory, Taylor, seeded 11th, plays in the 1985 World Championship and reaches the final. In the final, he plays three-time winner and world number one Steve Davis. Never being ahead, he takes the match to a deciding frame with the scores tied at 17–17. Trailing 62–44 in the deciding frame with five coloured balls remaining, he pots a long brown ball, which he says is one of his best ever shots under pressure. He also pots the blue and pink to bring the score to 62–59 with one ball, worth seven points, remaining. Both players miss a shot on the black, but it is finally potted by Taylor to win the championship.

The final is considered by many to be the greatest snooker match in history and is broadcast to a peak audience of 18 million viewers in the United Kingdom. As of 2020 this is the highest viewership of any broadcast after midnight in the country, and a record for any programme shown on BBC Two. On his return to Northern Ireland, he is awarded the key to the city of Coalisland and receives a victory parade that 10,000 attend.

After the World Championship success, Taylor wins the invitational 1987 Benson & Hedges Masters defeating Alex Higgins 9–8 in the final. He makes the highest break of his career, a 141, at the 1987 Carling Challenge, which he wins defeating Joe Johnson in the final.

At the 1990 Snooker World Cup, Taylor teams with Alex Higgins and Tommy Murphy to form a Northern Irish team. After failing to win the tournament, Higgins threatens Taylor saying, “if you ever come back to Northern Ireland I’ll have you shot.” Shortly afterwards they meet in the quarter-finals of the 1990 Irish Masters, and a determined Taylor wins 5–2. In the next decade, his form drops and he falls out of the top 16 in the world rankings in 1995. He retires as a professional in 2000.

Following the end of his professional career, Taylor plays on the WPBSA World Seniors Tour and is featured as a commentator on BBC snooker broadcasts. He appears on the third series of Strictly Come Dancing, finishing eighth alongside dance partner Izabela Hannah. He currently lives in Llay near Wrexham, Wales.


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Death of Alex “Hurricane” Higgins, Snooker World Champion

alex-hurricane-higginsAlexander Gordon “Alex” Higgins, Northern Irish professional snooker player, who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game, dies in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 24, 2010. He is nicknamed “Hurricane Higgins” because of his fast play.

Higgins is born in Belfast on March 18, 1949.  He starts playing snooker at the age of eleven, often in the Jampot club in his native Sandy Row area of south Belfast and later in the YMCA in the nearby city centre. At age fourteen and weighing seven and a half stone (47.6 kg), he leaves for England and a career as a jockey. However, he never makes the grade because, in his youth, he drinks a lot of Guinness and eats a lot of chocolate, making him too heavy to ride competitively. He returns to Belfast and by 1965, at the age of sixteen, he has compiled his first maximum break. In 1968 he wins the All-Ireland and Northern Ireland Amateur Championships.

Higgins turns professional at the age of 22, winning the World Snooker Championship at his first attempt in 1972, against John Spencer winning 37–32. Higgins is then the youngest ever winner of the title, a record retained until Stephen Hendry‘s 1990 victory at the age of 21. In April 1976, Higgins reaches the final again and faces Ray Reardon. Higgins leads 11–9, but Reardon makes four centuries and seven breaks over 60 to pull away and win the title for the fifth time with the score of 27–16. Higgins is also the runner-up to Cliff Thorburn in 1980, losing 18–16, after being 9–5 up. Higgins wins the world title for a second time in 1982 after beating Reardon 18–15 (with a 135 total clearance in the final frame). It was an emotional as well as professional victory for him. Higgins would have been ranked No. 1 in the world rankings for the 1982-1983 season had he not forfeited ranking points following disciplinary action.

Throughout his career, Higgins wins 20 other titles, one of the most notable being the 1983 UK Championship. In the final he trails Steve Davis 0–7 before producing a famous comeback to win 16–15. He also wins the Masters twice, in 1978 and in 1981, beating Cliff Thorburn and Terry Griffiths in the finals respectively. Another notable victory is his final professional triumph in the 1989 Irish Masters at the age of 40 when he defeats a young Stephen Hendry, which becomes known as “The Hurricane’s Last Hurrah.”

Higgins comes to be known as the “People’s Champion” because of his popularity, and is often credited with having brought the game of snooker to a wider audience, contributing to its peak in popularity in the 1980s. He has a reputation as an unpredictable and difficult character. He is a heavy smoker, struggles with drinking and gambling, and admits to using cocaine and marijuana.

First diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, Higgins is found dead in bed in his flat on July 24, 2010. The cause of death is a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, and a bronchial condition. Higgins’ funeral service is held in Belfast on August 2, 2010. He is cremated and his ashes are interred in Carnmoney Cemetery in Newtownabbey, County Antrim.


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Birth of Snooker Champion Alex “Hurricane” Higgins

Alexander Gordon “Alex” Higgins, Northern Irish professional snooker player, who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the game, is born in Belfast on March 18, 1949. He is nicknamed “Hurricane Higgins” because of his fast play.

Higgins starts playing snooker at the age of eleven, often in the Jampot club in his native Sandy Row area of south Belfast and later in the YMCA in the nearby city centre. At age fourteen and weighing seven and a half stone (47.6 kg), he leaves for England and a career as a jockey. However, he never makes the grade because, in his youth, he drinks a lot of Guinness and eats a lot of chocolate, making him too heavy to ride competitively. He returns to Belfast and by 1965, at the age of sixteen, he has compiled his first maximum break. In 1968 he wins the All-Ireland and Northern Ireland Amateur Snooker Championships.

Higgins turns professional at the age of 22, winning the World Snooker Championship at his first attempt in 1972, against John Spencer winning 37–32. Higgins is then the youngest ever winner of the title, a record retained until Stephen Hendry‘s 1990 victory at the age of 21. In April 1976, Higgins reaches the final again and faces Ray Reardon. Higgins leads 11–9, but Reardon makes four centuries and seven breaks over 60 to pull away and win the title for the fifth time with the score of 27–16. Higgins is also the runner-up to Cliff Thorburn in 1980, losing 18–16, after being 9–5 up. Higgins wins the world title for a second time in 1982 after beating Reardon 18–15 (with a 135 total clearance in the final frame). It was an emotional as well as professional victory for him. Higgins would have been ranked No. 1 in the world rankings for the 1982-1983 season had he not forfeited ranking points following disciplinary action.

Throughout his career, Higgins wins 20 other titles, one of the most notable being the 1983 UK Championship. In the final he trails Steve Davis 0–7 before producing a famous comeback to win 16–15. He also wins the Masters twice, in 1978 and in 1981, beating Cliff Thorburn and Terry Griffiths in the finals respectively. Another notable victory is his final professional triumph in the 1989 Irish Masters at the age of 40 when he defeats a young Stephen Hendry, which becomes known as “The Hurricane’s Last Hurrah.”

Higgins comes to be known as the “People’s Champion” because of his popularity, and is often credited with having brought the game of snooker to a wider audience, contributing to its peak in popularity in the 1980s. He has a reputation as an unpredictable and difficult character. He is a heavy smoker, struggles with drinking and gambling, and admits to using cocaine and marijuana.

First diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, Higgins is found dead in bed in his flat on July 24, 2010. The cause of death is a combination of malnutrition, pneumonia, and a bronchial condition. Higgins’ funeral service is held in Belfast on August 2, 2010. He is cremated and his ashes are interred in Carnmoney Cemetery in Newtownabbey, County Antrim.