By Elliott West
Introduction
George Scott was a true legend of the Liverpudlian snooker circuit with a snooker career that spanned from the 1950s until the mid-1990s. A player who won the Merseyside Open Snooker Championship, an incredible thirteen times as an amateur, a record that will be very hard to beat. As both an amateur and professional, George displayed true grit and a style of play that often obliterated his opponent.
Career
Born in 1928, George Scott was a self-taught snooker player and started playing the game as a small child, combating his height by the use of the aid of standing on a beer crate to reach the table. George mainly played in a working men’s club which was run by his Dad and later in the local snooker clubs in the area. He loved to hustle and always enjoyed a money bet on either billiards or snooker and loved going over to Manchester to play at Pot Shots Snooker Club in the late 1970s with the likes of John Virgo and Paul Medati with gambling always on the agenda.
Scott’s roll of honour is impressive, being Merseyside Open Champion in 1951,1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1977. He also won the Merseyside Champion of Champions in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1977 and 1980 and was North-West Open Champion in 1967.
Turning professional in 1981, George first major outing was in the 1982 Bass and Golden Leisure Classic where he reached the last 16 and was eventually defeated by Rex Williams 1-3, who went on to defeat Ray Edmonds in the final 4-1. Scott or ‘Scotty’ as he became known, went on to reach the last 32 of the International Open, losing 1-5 to Cliff Thorburn in the last 16 and the last 16 of the 1983 event where he defeated Pat Houlihan 5-0, Matt Gibson 5-3, and Bill Werbenuik 5-3. He went on to be whitewashed by Terry Griffiths 5-0.
In the 1984-1985 snooker season, George’s best performance came in a run to the last 32 of the Classic, eventually losing to the tournament runner-up Cliff Thorburn 1-5. Scott also had several last 32 finishes in the 1985-86 season, losing 1-5 to Willie Thorne in the 1985 Matchplay Trophy, 3-5 to Cliff Wilson in the Grand Prix and 1-9 to Tony Meo in the English Professional Championship, having earlier beaten Bernard Bennett by the same scoreline.
George went on to reach the latter stages of the 1988 Canadian Masters, defeating Clive Everton, Ray Edmonds and Rex Williams before losing to Steve Davis 1-5 in the last 32. Scott last played professionally in 1993 and passed away in September 1998, shortly before his seventieth birthday.
Great Memories
George Scott will also be remembered for being a lover of life, a lifelong Everton fan and a lover of horse racing, especially the Grand National. A man who had a long marriage to his wife Vi, despite the fact that he spent so much time playing snooker and his dream came true of wanting to own a snooker club when his wishes came true in 1983. Inspired to become a snooker player by the likes of Joe Davis and Walter Lindrum, George played snooker until his old age, playing his friend Sid Lane at billiards for a winning prize of £1.
Partial to a tipple, George loved to accompany his game with a Macky Mild or a Black and Tan (Guinness and Mild). He was a traditionalist and would be horrified if he had to have walk-on music like the players of today. Scott loved touring America and was a lover of western films, especially those featuring John Wayne and Clint Eastwood and when not travelling, his favourite snooker venue was the Albert Hotel in Lark Lane, Liverpool where he played many of his finals. A true Merseyside legend and part of that era of snooker players that included Cliff Wilson.
