By Elliott West
Introduction
Joe Davis is considered by many to have been the father of modern snooker and dominated the game in the pre-war years. However, his prevalence overshadowed a number of other talented players of the period and one of these was Fred Lawrence. Fred, who played both billiards and snooker, was spotted for his skill at an early age and despite suffering from chronic rheumatism, managed to overcome his illness and return to these games after a brief absence. A player who reached the final of the 1928 World Championship and narrowly lost to Joe Davis 13-16.
Career
Early Life and Billiards Career
Frederick William Lawrence was born in Birmingham on 18 June 1887 and was the oldest son of Frederick John Lawrence and his wife Elizabeth (née Bristow). His mother died in 1899 and his father then remarried a woman called Nellie Wybrow the same year. Fred started playing billiards at the age of 13, highly influenced by his father owning a billiards hall and by the age of 15, made his first hundred break. This had multiplied by the time he had reached 16, making more than twenty breaks over a hundred and by 1905 this figure had reached more than 87 breaks of hundred or over.
Described in the newspapers as “the boy champion”, Lawrence received a glorious commendation from the veteran billiards player John Roberts Junior in the Birmingham Daily Mail and Fred would later beat Roberts in a match, one where he was given a 700 start and won the game by 48 points. A game that was determined by the winner being the first to reach 1,500.
By the time Fred reached the age of 21, he was already a professional billiards player (1906) and had played 638 matches, winning 523 of them and had made 700 breaks, ranging from 100 – 363. However, this surge was briefly put to bed when he had to withdraw from playing professional billiards in 1912 due to ill health. Neuritis and a long-standing rheumatic condition plagued him for the next couple of years and caused him to be rejected by the recruiting officers when he attempted to enrol to fight in the First World War.
However, by 1916, Fred had made a full recovery and started to play again in local exhibitions to raise money for charities during the war. As a result, he started to practice more and by 1919, he had managed to get his former form back and subsequently won a tournament at Thurston Hall, defeating Tom Carpenter by 4,000 -2,515.
Lawrence carried on this winning streak by winning the Midlands Counties Billiards Championship in 1920, held in Derby, defeating E.C. Breed in the final 7,000 – 6,134. He also won the championship again in 1921, this time beating Joe Davis 7,000 – 6,134 but Joe got his revenge the following year when he played Fred in the semi-finals of the same tournament, winning 7,000 – 6,809, an event that was held in Chesterfield.
He also reached the final of the tournament in 1923 after defeating Joe Davis in the semi-finals by 14,000 – 13,751 but tragedy struck in his final against W.J. Peall. Lawrence fell ill with pneumonia and pleurisy and despite advice by his doctor, Fred decided to play on but ended up having to withdraw when he reached Camkin’s Hall in Birmingham. The title was therefore awarded to his opponent.
Lawrence was told to rest and not to compete until the Autumn and a compensation fund was set up to recompense him for his loss of earnings due to cancelled engagements. Thankfully, Fred recovered and started playing again. A highlight being when he played Joe Davis at Burroughs Hall in Piccadilly in 1923 and made his highest break in billiards, a break of 662. A personal best that topped his break of the previous day of 599. Lawrence also reached the finals of the Midland and Second Division in 1924, losing both to Joe Davis.
Snooker Career
Fred Lawrence entered the World Championship on six occasions. His first attempt in 1927, led to a quarter-final exit, losing to Tom Dennis 7-8. He went on to reach the final in 1928, losing narrowly to Joe Davis 13-16.
In the 1929 event and this time reached the semi-finals after defeating Alec Mann 13-12 and so set up another meeting with Joe Davis. Joe got the better of him again and won the match 13-10.
This trend carried on into the 1930 World Championship when he again beat Mann by two frames at 13-11 but lost again to Davis with a thumping defeat in the semi-finals 13-2. It would be sixteen years before he would take part again and in 1946, he didn’t get past the first round, losing to Kingsley Kennerley 9-22. His last appearance came in 1947 where he bowed out in his opening match to John Barrie 10-25. He subsequently retired as a professional in 1947.
Summary
Fred Lawrence passed away in 1964, a player who helped modernise both billiards and snooker but always lived in the shadow of his rival Joe Davis. However, he displayed courage and skill to take Davis on and things could have been completely different had he won the 1928 World Championship. Despite this fact, Lawrence should be remembered for being a very good player and one that brought his amateur success into his professional game. Someone whose career may not be remembered so clearly now but whose success remains evident in the record books.
