John Williams (snooker referee)
- John Williams (snooker referee)
John Williams (born 8 June 1937, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales) is a retired Welsh snooker referee.
Williams was well educated and passed his 11-plus at the age of nine and when he left school, he had obtained seven O-levels. He got a job in the local steel works and passed up the chance of becoming a professional footballer. He was invited to join Bolton Wanderers as an amateur, but declined their offer because he worked on Saturday mornings.
After nearly 20 years in the steel industry he quit and joined the civil service as an executive officer in the Department of Employment and during that time he displayed his all round sporting versatility by turning out regularly for the Wrexham civil service cricket team.
Williams then started a career in snooker refereeing during the mid 1960's and became the referee in the 1973 World Snooker Championship quarter-final match between Fred Davis and Alex Higgins at the Manchester Exhibition Hall when rain stopped play. There was no TV coverage and Granada TV cameras got an interest in this unusual event and brought fame to John Williams himself. He retired from his role at the civil service in 1981 to become a full time referee.
Williams then went on to referee 10 World Snooker Championship finals between 1976 and 2002 including the famous 1985 final between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor which Taylor won at 12.20am.
He became the referee in "Pot Black" after Sydney Lee's retirement in 1981 and did so for the remainder of the series and the revivals from the 1990s.
He was suspended for a while in 1982 by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Referees' Association following a brief skirmish with the law.Clarifyme|date=February 2008 He was reinstated in time to officiate at the 1983 World Championship which he had refereed Cliff Thorburn's 147 break against Terry Griffiths.
He retired from refereeing in 2002 after the World Championship final in which Peter Ebdon beat Stephen Hendry in a 18–17 decider.
References
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
John Higgins — Infobox Snooker player Name = John Higgins Caption = Born = birth date and age|1975|5|18 Birthplace = Wishaw, North Lanarkshire Nationality = flagicon|Scotland Scottish Nickname = Wizard of Wishaw Professional = 1992 ndash; present High ranking … Wikipedia
Snooker — infobox sport imagesize = 300px caption = Snooker player playing a shot with a Cuegloss|Rest|rest union = World Snooker Association first = 19th century category = Cue sport ball = snooker balls olympic = NoSnooker is a cue sport that is played… … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 1988 — The World Snooker Championship took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield between the 16th April to the 2nd May 1988. Notable Moments * Terry Griffiths made his second world final 9 years after his victory against Dennis Taylor but loses 18 11 … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 2002 — The 2002 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place between 20 April and 6 May 2002 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England. Ronnie O Sullivan looked to defend his world title which he won in 2001, but the final winner was Peter Ebdon,… … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 1985 — The event = The Embassy World Snooker Championship took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield between 12 and 28 April 1985. It included one of the most famous finals ever, between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor, in which their… … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 1996 — The event = The 1996 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield between the 20th April to the 6th May 1996. Notable Moments * The first round match between Ronnie O Sullivan and Alain Robidoux is remembered… … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 1991 — The event = The 1991 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield between 20 April and 6 May 1991. John Parrott took the title, beating Jimmy White 18 11 in the final. It was the third time that White had lost… … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 1981 — The event = The 1981 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield between the 6th and 20th April 1981. Notable Moments * Steve Davis, who had only won the UK Championship 5 months previously, won the… … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 1973 — The 1973 Park Drive World Snooker Championship competition took place at the City Exhibition Hall, Deansgate, Manchester between 16th and 28th April 1973.The competition was scheduled to take a fortnight, rather than the months it had taken to… … Wikipedia
World Snooker Championship 1994 — The 1994 Embassy World Snooker Championship took place at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, between the 16th April to the 2nd May 1994. Notable Moments * The final between Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White turned out to be the best of their 4 World… … Wikipedia
