By Elliott West
“I wasn’t really thinking of the 147 and then the water parted and there you go”.
Cliff Thorburn
Introduction
The year was 1983 and I was a mere 11 years old at the time. Great Britain was certainly a different place with Breakfast television only just launched and the Austin Metro was the best-selling car. It only seems like yesterday but unbelievably it was 40 years ago this year. At the time, snooker was the buzzword and was one of the most-watched sports that we had on the limited amount of channels that existed at the time. This was the year that a certain Canadian, who reminds me of a young Tom Selleck, Cliff Thorburn made Crucible history by being the first player to make a 147 break on the 23rd of April. A perfect break that began with a red that missed the intended pocket but came back and doubled another red into the opposite pocket. A maximum that Cliff had a dream about two months before making it, where he was in the world championship and potted the red and sliced the black in. The cue ball then hit the black ball cushion, jumped up and landed in the middle of the reds and they spread across the table. A dream that would play out before his very eyes in not so a dissimilar way after he traded a few safety shots with Terry Griffiths in their second-round match.
A Slow Burner
This maximum break which every snooker player dreams of was perfect bar the fluke that it started with. A break that contained several rest shots that Cliff had to overcome when he edged out of position. Thorburn wasn’t the best player with the rest but in those magical fifteen minutes managed to master this tricky snooker tool that at the time was much more cumbersome than it is today. Yet this so-called Grinder, became a a glider in his moment of glory, even pausing to wipe his nose so that it didn’t run at the end of the break.
Play Stopped Play
These were different times, both Cliff and Terry smoked at the time and so the referee, John Williams had the added task of having to empty the ashtray of cigarette butts at the end of this match. Not even John could stop the large frame of Cliff’s good friend, Bill Werbeniuk from moving across the partition as he paused his match against David Taylor to watch his buddy potting the remaining colours on the table. Even though Cliff was thinking “Bill not now!”. Everyone remembers the group hug between Cliff, Bill and Terry with David Taylor missing from the equation. The hug was needed not only because history had been made but also because of the simple fact that Cliff was in shock and had temporarily lost the sensation in his legs, turning to jelly for that split second. Thorburn went on to win the match 13-12 and would reach the final, losing to Steve Davis 6-18. His last stab at the title after beating Alex Higgins 18-16 in 1980, three years earlier. Although he was supposed to earn £18,000 for this break, made up of £10,000 for the highest break, £5,000 for a championship break and £3,000 for the highest break, the powers to be disallowed the £5,000 because Steve Davis won the tournament, winning £30,000 and it was deemed that Cliff couldn’t earn more than the champion. A decision that briefly upset Thorburn but he soon got over it as it was him that got the first Crucible maximum break.
Tinged with Sadness
A jubilant Cliff telephoned his wife Barbara after the match to tell her of his massive achievement and her first word to him was “sorry” to which her husband replied “sorry for what?”. To which he was given the heartbreaking news that his wife had lost the baby they had been expecting. News that no father wants to hear and one that Cliff would have swapped his 147 break to have this child that tragically denied. It is something I have never been through as a dad and can’t begin to imagine the pain and raw grief that people in that situation go through.
Afterthoughts
When Cliff Thorburn made this 147 break at the Crucible, maximum breaks were like gold dust. Now they are much more common and although still special, slightly lack that sheer spark that they once held. Cliff’s achievement elevated him to iconic snooker status and he is still regarded as a legend of the game despite retiring as a professional in 1996. This example of a 147 break was brilliant because it was controlled and almost textbook by a player who didn’t display any outward nerves. Cliff appeared calm and resolute in achieving his ultimate target, the holy grail of snooker. A memory that he and all that have watched it will never forget. The legend that is Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn.
