By Elliott West
Introduction
The year was 1977, a year when Abba’s hit song Name of the Game spent four weeks at the top of the chart, the United Kingdom celebrated the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth Il and punk fashion was all the rage. Meanwhile, thanks to the work of Mike Watterson, the roving World Championship found a new home at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, sponsored by the cigarette manufacturer, Embassy.
Although instantly recognisable by the same style of seating and sparkling lights on the ceiling, this was definitely the tournament in its infancy, a time when the partition wall looked more like a garden fence, a sliding scoreboard kept the score and the tables had club-style canopies.
A New Era
The Qualifiers
It all began at the World Championship qualifiers that March, an event split between the Hounslow Civic Centre and Fisher’s Snooker Centre, Acton. The aim of the game was to produce eight qualifiers to compete against the top eight seeded players from the 1976/77 snooker rankings. In round 1, John Virgo was victorious, beating Roy Andrewartha 11-1 and in round 2, Patsy Fagan beat Jim Meadowcroft 11-9, John Virgo defeated John Dunning 11-6, Willie Thorne beat Bernard Bennett 11-4, John Pulman got a walkover in his scheduled match against Maurice Parkin due to his opponent being ill, David Taylor whitewashed David Greaves 11-0, Cliff Thorburn thrashed Chris Ross 11-0, Dennis Taylor whitewashed Jack Karnehm 11-0 and Doug Mountjoy defeated Jackie Rea 11-9.
The Tournament
This was a World Championship that by today’s standards shows how far snooker’s standard of play has improved and advanced. There were only six centuries in the entire tournament, the highest being a 135 break by John Spencer, he additionally got a 105 break. There were also high breaks from Cliff Thorburn who attained 111 and 100, Eddie Charlton 105 and Doug Mountjoy who got a 102 break.
Last 16
By the time this tournament reached the last 16 stages, it was the big guns of the period that prevailed. Ray Reardon dispatched Patsy Fagan 13-7, John Spencer prevailed against the dominant qualifier, John Virgo 13-9, Graham Miles brushed aside Willie Thorne 13-4, there was a close battle between Fred Davis and John Pulman the victor, winning 13-12, Eddie Charlton beat David Taylor 13-5, Rex Williams lost to Cliff Thorburn 6-13, Dennis Taylor defeated Perrie Mans 13-11 and Alex Higgins narrowly lost to Doug Mountjoy 12-13.
Quarter-Finals
Played over the best of 25 frames in three sessions, Ray Reardon couldn’t manage to get past his rival John Spencer and never went ahead in the match, eventually losing 6-13. Whereas a jubilant John Pulman managed to get past a dogged Graham Miles, winning the match 13-10 and it would be John’s first semi-final in this tournament since 1970.
Meanwhile, Cliff Thorburn was drawn against the gritty Australian, Eddie Charlton who was always a tough and determined opponent. On this occasion, both players picked off the frames with frames drawn at several stages, 3-3, 7-7, 10-10 and 11-11. Charlton won the 23rd frame on the final black but then faded as his Canadian opponent took the next two frames to win 13-12. A jubilant Dennis Taylor also prevailed against Doug Mountjoy. The Welshman won the first three frames but then lost the next five with the Northern Irishman winning the match 13-11.
Semi-Finals
Held over four sessions and the best of 35 frames, John Pulman was up against John Spencer. Pulman took the first three frames but Spencer pulled the match back to 3-3. John compiled the highest break of the tournament in frame six with a 135 clearance but then the other John surged ahead into a 7-3 lead. Spencer wasn’t in the mood for defeat and took the next four frames, going on to lead 13-9 and 16-12 before eventually winning the match 18-12. This would be the first time Spencer would reach the final since 1972.
In the other semi-final, Dennis Taylor was up against his good friend Cliff Thorburn. Cliff led 4-3 before the match went to 7-7. Thorburn recorded a 100 break, which included a cocked-hat double on the final red ball. The match lasted four sessions, then went 12-9 to Thorburn and then 14-14 and 16-16. Cliff produced a 111 break in the 33rd frame and took the required 34th frame with a 98-30 scoreline, to win the match 18-16.
The Final
Refereed by the former London Underground tube driver, John Smyth, John Spencer faced Cliff Thorburn in the final. A match that was the best of 49 frames and played over two days at the end of April. Spencer led 4-2, winning the first three frames and extended his lead to 5-2. Thorburn fought back to take the next five frames to go 6-6 and then 9-9 with Spencer making a 105 break in the eighteenth frame.
In the fourth session, Thorburn gained a 13-11 advantage and extended this to 15-11 but Spencer won the next four frames to make it 15-15. A match that went into the final day 18-18. On the final day, Spencer won the first three frames with Cliff winning the next two. John took the 42nd frame with a break of 67, to lead 22-20 and Cliff pinched one back to take the scoresheet to 21-22 to Spencer. John then motored and took the next three frames to win the match 25-21. The first player to win the title with a two-piece cue.
