by elliott west
Len Ganley was one of the most recognised referees in snooker’s history. His broad frame, thick Northern Irish accent and Brylcreem’d hair were instantly recognisable and was a man who every snooker player respected and revered. Not even the great Alex Higgins would mess with Len and he was someone you looked up to in more ways than one. Ganley was one of 11 children and grew up in Lurgan, County Armagh and first experienced work as a chimney sweep. He literally swept this job aside and decided to seek his fame and fortune in England, moving to Burton on Trent in Staffordshire where he had jobs as a milkman and bus driver.
Len first donned the white gloves in 1976. A keen player himself he took up the challenge when the booked referee at a Ray Reardon exhibition had to withdraw at the last minute, after which Ray suggested that he should take it up as a career and the rest as they say is history. Reardon’s advice was to have a seismic effect on Ganley’s career and it wasn’t very long before Len was overseeing some of the greatest matches of the 1980s. However, his ethos was that a referee should shun the limelight, a balance that he was very good at achieving. Len said of his stance :
“If a player asks who reffed afterwards, that’s good because it means you have been out of his road all night. Someone who wants the limelight players just don’t want to know about.”
Len Ganley
Ganley was to take charge of four major finals but probably his best and favourite was the 1983 UK Championship final when Alex Higgins made a major comeback from 7-0 down to beat Steve Davis 16-15. He also oversaw O’Sullivan’s fastest 147 and Hendry’s 147 against Jimmy White in 1995. Len’s thought process was decisive and once when a player challenged his decision, believing that he should be awarded a “free ball” after his opponent fouled. Ganley saw this decision differently but the player demanded a second opinion to which Len replied “Sure”. Len then studied the position of the balls and came back and said “No free ball”.
Aside from his referee career, Ganley will also be remembered for his Carling Black Label advert in 1984 when he crushed a snooker ball with his gloved hand giving him the nickname “Ball Crusher”. Ironically a condom was used to make the trick look real and was filled with sand. He was also the subject matter of a song called “The Len Ganley Stance” by a band called Half Man Half Biscuit who described Ganley on the notes of their record sleeve as the “Godfather of Punk”.
Len retired as a referee in 1999 but kept a close tie to snooker, setting up his own coaching sessions and could often be seen behind the scenes at major snooker tournaments. When asked by The Observer in 1983 what his pet hates were when refereeing a match, he replied that the following was a distraction :
“Basically crisps. Someone rattling a bag as a player’s doing a shot and there’s always a whispering Ted Lowe in the audience – you can hear him in the breaks”.
Len Ganely
Len was also a tireless campaigner for charities, regularly collecting for Muscular Dystrophy and Spina Bifida. His work was recognised in 2000 when he was awarded an MBE. Unfortunately, he suffered from diabetes and this was a major cause of his latter ill health. He passed away in 2011 but his name and legacy will always be remembered by the snooker world. A man who loved and breathed snooker and whose creativity continues in his son Michael who is the World Snooker tournament director.
