Born to be Wild

By Elliott West

“You’re only young once and you can’t buy youth”

Joe O’Boye

Introduction

Sport can sometimes be accompanied by its vices , none more so than alcohol. Often used as a stimulant to quell the nerves and to improve performance, many players have been entangled in the arms of this potent liquid. One such player was the former professional from the Republic of Ireland, Joe O’Boye. A carefree character, who never let bad publicity phase him, Joe led his life as a player with his heart on his sleeve. When he turned up, he was on fire and could demolish his opponent but like so many, this budding talent was quickly swallowed up by his own persona. Tipped by the likes of Peter Ebdon and Willie Thorne to be a natural, Joe quickly exited the door that he first entered from but with no regrets.

Background

A talented amateur, O’Boye spent many an hour at the infamous King’s Cross Snooker Club and it wasn’t long before he won the English Amateur Championship in 1980, beating Dave Martin, 13-9. In his 1986 book, “Pocket Money”, the author Gordon Burn described him as “tall, blond, brittle-thin, with a face that seems to glow in the dark, thanks to a classic case of what is known as night-club pallor”. Despite have a love for alcohol and the buzz of going out on the town, Joe soon became a professional player, competing in his first major tournament, the 1988 UK Championship where he lost to Dennis Taylor, 4-9 in the second round. He reached the last 32 again the next year, losing to Brady Gollan, 5-9. In the 1989 Snooker World Championship he defeated Danny Fowler and Barry West to reach the last 32. He however went on to lose to Silvino Francisco, 6-10. He also reached the last 32 of the Grand Prix in 1985 and 1986 and the last 128 0f the Welsh Open in 1992.

The Road to Defeat

Joe’s professional career came to a close at the end of the 2003-4 season where he was unable to make an impression in the World Championship. Banned from a previous World Championship and the Mercantile Credit Classic for his behaviour, O’Boye rapidly started walking down the road to obscurity. Rather like his 9-0 drubbing in the 1990 UK Championship by Tony Drago, Joe had spent 13 seasons as a professional. His ranking had dipped from its height of 35 to 315. He played a total of 202 matches, won 95 and lost 107, playing 1670 frames in total. A fantastic force in snooker but brought to an early end by years of high living.