1954/1955 News of the World Snooker Tournament

News of the World Tournament
Tournament information
Dates 6 September 1954–15 January 1955
Venue Leicester Square Hall
City London
Country United Kingdom
Format Non-Ranking event
Total prize fund £1500
Winner's share £500
Highest break England Joe Davis (146)
Final
Champion Northern Ireland Jackie Rea
Runner-up England Joe Davis
← 1953/54
1955/56 →

The 1954/1955 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by Jackie Rea who won all of 8 matches. He finished ahead of Joe Davis who won 6 matches. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959 but this was the last to be held at Leicester Square Hall, which closed soon after the end of the tournament.

Format

The 1954/55 event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 6 September 1954 to 15 January 1955. All matches were played at Leicester Square Hall in London. There were 9 competitors and a total of 36 matches. The competitors were Joe Davis, Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson, John Barrie, Albert Brown, Alec Brown, John Pulman, Jackie Rea and qualifier Kingsley Kennerley. Each match lasted three days and was the best of 37 frames.

Each match was separately handicapped. Joe Davis played level with Fred Davis and gave Walter Donaldson and John Pulman 14, Albert Brown 18, Alec Brown 23, John Barrie 24, Jackie Rea and Kingsley Kennerley 25. Fred Davis gave John Pulman 10, Walter Donaldson 12, Albert Brown and John Barrie 14, Alec Brown 16, Jackie Rea 18 and Kingsley Kennerley 21. Walter Donaldson played level with John Pulman and gave Albert Brown and John Barrie 12, Alec Brown 14, Jackie Rea 16 and Kingsley Kennerley 18. John Pulman gave Albert Brown 5, Alec Brown 10, John Barrie 14, Jackie Rea 16 and Kingsley Kennerley 18. Albert Brown played level with Alec Brown and John Barrie and gave Kingsley Kennerley 12 and Jackie Rea 14. John Barrie played level with Alec Brown 0 and Jackie Rea and Kingsley Kennerley 7. Alec Brown gave Jackie Rea 5 and Kingsley Kennerley 12. Jackie Rea gave Kingsley Kennerley 7.

Results

Joe Davis made a break of 146 on 7 December, the second day of his match against Albert Brown. He potted a pink after his fourth red. The break equalled Davis's own record break, set on 1 March 1950.[1]

Jackie Rea won all his 8 matches, clinching victory after his 19–18 win against John Barrie on 15 December.[2]

The match between Joe Davis and his brother, Fred was the last competitive match played at Leicester Square Hall before it closed. Joe won the match 19–18 and made a 137 clearance on the final day.[3][4] The following Saturday, Joe Davis compiled the first officially recognised maximum break in a match against 68-year-old fellow Englishman Willie Smith.[5] The match between Davis and Smith was played as part of a series of events marking the closure of the hall.

Winner Score Loser Date
Jackie Rea 22–15 Kingsley Kennerley 6–8 September
Kingsley Kennerley 21–16 Albert Brown 9–11 September
Albert Brown 25–12 John Barrie 13–15 September
Walter Donaldson 21–16 John Barrie 16–18 September
Jackie Rea 22–15 Alec Brown 20–22 September
Jackie Rea 23–14 John Pulman 23–25 September
Fred Davis 20–17 Alec Brown 27–29 September
Fred Davis 19–18 Walter Donaldson 30 September–2 October
Joe Davis 22–15 Walter Donaldson 4–6 October
Joe Davis 24–13 John Pulman 7–9 October
Jackie Rea 26–11 Albert Brown 11–13 October
Fred Davis 19–18 Albert Brown 14–16 October
Jackie Rea 21–16 Joe Davis 18–20 October
Kingsley Kennerley 19–18 John Barrie 21–23 October
Kingsley Kennerley 22–15 John Pulman 25–27 October
Fred Davis 19–18 John Pulman 28–30 October
Joe Davis 19–18 Alec Brown 1–3 November
Alec Brown 21–16 John Barrie 4–6 November
Jackie Rea 21–16 Walter Donaldson 8–10 November
Walter Donaldson 23–14 Kingsley Kennerley 11–13 November
John Pulman 20–17 Albert Brown 15–17 November
John Barrie 25–12 Joe Davis 18–20 November
Fred Davis 22–15 John Barrie 22–24 November
Jackie Rea 20–17 Fred Davis 25–27 November
John Pulman 21–16 Alec Brown 29 November–1 December
Joe Davis 28–9 Kingsley Kennerley 2–4 December
Joe Davis 23–14 Albert Brown 6–8 December
Alec Brown 20–17 Walter Donaldson 9–11 December
Jackie Rea 19–18 John Barrie 13–15 December
Kingsley Kennerley 19–18 Alec Brown 16–18 December
John Pulman 20–17 John Barrie 27–29 December
Albert Brown 22–15 Walter Donaldson 30 December–1 January
Kingsley Kennerley 19–18 Fred Davis 3–5 January
Albert Brown ?–? Alec Brown 6–8 January
Walter Donaldson 20–17 John Pulman 10–12 January
Joe Davis 19–18 Fred Davis 13–15 January

Table

Pos Player Pld MW FW Prize
1 Northern Ireland Jackie Rea 8 8 174 £500
2 England Joe Davis 8 6 163 £300
3 England Fred Davis 8 5 152 £200
4 England Kingsley Kennerley 8 5 138 ?
? Scotland Walter Donaldson 8 3 145 ?
? England John Pulman 8 3 138 ?
? England Alec Brown 8 2 or 3 ? ?
? England Albert Brown 8 2 or 3 ? ?
9 England John Barrie 8 1 137 ?

The positions were determined firstly by the number of matches won (MW) and, in the event of a tie, the number of frames won (FW). The result of the match between Albert Brown and Alec Brown is not known. Albert Brown led 15–9 after the second day.[6]

Qualifying

The qualifying tournament was held from 6 to 15 May 1954. These matches were also played at Leicester Square Hall in London. There were 3 competitors: Kingsley Kennerley, Sydney Lee and Harry Stokes. Like the main event, each match lasted three days and was the best of 37 frames. Kennerley won both his matches to qualify.[7][8] Stokes beat Lee in the other match.[9]

Broadcasting

The BBC showed three short, 30 minute, TV programmes during the matches between Joe Davis and John Pulman on 8 October,[10] between John Pulman and John Barrie on 28 December,[11] and between Walter Donaldson and John Pulman on 12 January.[12] The commentator on each occasion was Sidney Smith.

References

  1. ↑ "Joe Davis equals record break – One short of 'possible'". The Glasgow Herald. 8 December 1954. p. 4.
  2. ↑ "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 16 December 1954. p. 2.
  3. ↑ "Snooker and billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 17 January 1955. p. 7.
  4. ↑ "Joe beats Fred for second place". Dundee Courier. 17 January 1955. Retrieved 30 November 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "Maximum Snooker Record". The Times. 24 January 1955. p. 12.
  6. ↑ "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 8 January 1955. p. 2.
  7. ↑ "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 13 May 1954. p. 4.
  8. ↑ "Professional Snooker". The Times. 17 May 1954. p. 10.
  9. ↑ "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 10 May 1954. p. 11.
  10. ↑ "BBC Television – 8 October – Snooker: Joe Davis v. John Pulman". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "BBC Television – 28 December – Snooker: John Pulman v. John Barrie". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "BBC Television – 12 January – Snooker: Walter Donaldson v. John Pulman". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
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