- Len Ganley
Len Ganley (born
April 27 1943 ,Lurgan , Armagh,Northern Ireland ) is a retiredsnooker referee . He visitedEngland in 1971 to spend a ten-day holiday with his sister inBurton-on-Trent – and stayed.He became a full-time referee after having jobs as a
milkman andbus driver when he first arrived in Burton. He also played snooker when he lived in Northern Ireland and won various local titles in Britain and Ireland. He claims a top break of 136.He refereed four
World Snooker Championship finals between 1983 and 1993, including 1990 whenStephen Hendry became the youngest World Champion. Another career highlight was the 1983UK Snooker Championship final betweenAlex Higgins andSteve Davis .Another famous match he refereed in his later career wasRonnie O'Sullivan 's fastest 147 V Mick Price in the 1997World Championship first round.He also appeared in a
Carling Black Label TV commercial in the early 1980s in which he crushed a snooker ball with his gloved hand in a match betweenTerry Griffiths and John Spencer, after Spencer had knocked the ball off the table.He was immortalized in the
Half Man Half Biscuit song "The Len Ganley Stance".He retired in 2000 and suffered a
heart attack in 2003. His sonMike Ganley is the WPBSA Tournament Director
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
