by elliott west
Sometimes as a snooker blogger, you come across a player that you haven’t heard of and I must confess that this was the case with the former, professional player, David Greaves.
Yesterday I was scrolling through social media and saw a black and white photograph of John Spencer with another player and so was intrigued to see who this mystery man was. Part of being a writer is the research and I always enjoy the detective aspect of blogging, delving into the archives and constructing a piece from a series of facts.
David Greaves was a professional snooker player from 1972 until 1993, playing in the golden era of snooker. With the highest ranking of 31, between 1980-1982 and a high break of 93, this Lancashire lad grew up mixing with players and dreamt of one day, following in his heroes’ footsteps and playing on the hallowed green baize.
I admire David because he came from the grassroots, playing snooker after college and in April 1977 he founded the Commonwealth Sporting Club and this was opened by the iconic maestro of the game, Joe Davis. Greaves was an innovator and was the brainchild of moving snooker clubs away from their dark and smokey image, one of misspent youth to a forum of learning and nurturing talent.
Boasting 25 full-size tables and an audience capacity of 200 spectators, the Commonwealth quickly became the place to watch the elite of the gameplay. John Spencer and Cliff Thorburn could be seen practicing there on table four that boasted the tightest pockets in the club. This was the place where the Amateur finals took place and gave players the chance to become a professional player. It reminds me a lot in the modern era of my good friend Suny Singh and his successful project to tun the dilapidated Dunstable Snooker Club into a now thriving club that boasts the best snooker tables and attracts professional players to practice and compete in. Most recently Ronnie O’Sullivan played an exhibition match there last night.
Greaves was less successful on the main tour, unfortunately coming across the best players of the time in the competition. His best run was in the World Championship in 1973 when he got to the last sixteen stage but came across Fred Davis, losing 1-16. Future runs were not so successful and he failed to qualify for the next seven World Championships before winning a preliminary match with a chance to get to the main stage again in 1981 only to be defeated by Willie Thorne, 3-9.
Whitewashes were to follow in 1984 and 1989 when he was beaten by Ray Edmonds and then Ian Graham, 10-0 in both clashes. The only other success was in 1988 when he reached the last 32 of the English Professional Championship, a non- ranking tournament, which earned him the highest prize money of his career, £563!
Greaves was eventually relegated from the main snooker tour in 1993 after falling down the rankings to 157th place. He sadly passed away in Blackpool Victoria Hospital on the 5th of October, 2019, aged 73 after a short illness. What a man and what a great innovator for the sport, a little known legend that I wish to praise!
