“I love snooker, it was a hobby and a past time but it’s like food really.”
Ray Reardon
Introduction
As the snooker family mourns the passing of one of the true greats of snooker, Ray Reardon, at the age of 91 after a private battle with cancer, let’s take a moment to celebrate the life of this Welsh icon who juggled his careers of being a miner and then a policeman with his lifelong passion of being a snooker player. Ray was in a class above the rest. His jovial character masked his ruthless desire to win. Coming from an era of snooker where you played for the love of the game and not the financial return, Cliff Wilson, his great rival in his early years, joked that Reardon came from the posh end of Tredegar. To this end, electricity flowed freely and avoided the hiss and flicker of gas lamps. Ray was an entrepreneur of the game, caked in coal dust by day and scrubbed clean by carbolic soap by night. Someone who was prepared to put in the arduous hours of flitting between working men’s clubs, holiday camps and a handful of tournaments to lift the trophies and the small amount of cash that snooker offered at the time. This wasn’t for the faint-hearted, and Reardon was a Welsh dragon who breathed fire.
A Unique Mindset
Anyone who played Ray Reardon will tell you he became a snooker tiger when the lights went on, and the atmosphere was set. His knowledge of the game was second to none. It was an era where the balls were heavy, the cloth thick, and the chalk ploomed off your tip in a dense green cloud. This player had nerves of steel and, like a dog with a bone, wasn’t prepared to throw in the towel until the scoreline won the day. Yet, Reardon could do no wrong for a large section of his career. He managed to keep the hungry Alex Higgins at bay as he attempted to storm the snooker stage.
With John Spencer as his only other rival, Reardon dominated the snooker scene in the 1970s, winning the World Championship in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978. John Spencer took the title in 1971, Alex Higgins in 1972, Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Alex beat Ray in the final in 1982. His favourite was his 1975 win against Eddie Charlton in Australia, and his least favourite was winning against a drunk Alex Higgins in 1976, who conceded the match. A bitter-sweet win that Ray felt wasn’t a decisive win. Ranked number one in the world rankings from 1976-1981 and 1982-1983, Reardon won the Masters in 1976, beating Graham Miles and was a continual presence in Pot Black, winning in 1969, runner-up in 1970, 1972 and 1980 and winning the title for a second time in 1979. He also won a string of non-ranking titles ranging from the 1967 South African Challenge to the 1983 International Masters.
A Game Changer
Ray Reardon’s contribution to snooker was immense. With new kids on the block like Alex Higgins and Jimmy White, he helped drag the game from being a fading light to a dominant force. The staid and drab conditions of poor venues, small audiences and painfully long matches gave way to a new era that Reardon experienced more as the father of the game rather than a dominant force. Yet his dominance in the 1970s helped seal the deal, and I find it unbelievable that so many players don’t rank him in their all-time list of top players.
If it hadn’t been for Ray’s mentoring of Ronnie O’Sullivan at the 2004 World Championship, he may not have won the title that year. The two became lifelong friends, and Reardon would say that Ronnie was like a son to him. A unique and very touching relationship that was shown in the recent BBC Wales interview where the two had a heartfelt video call. The two catching up when they could in Ronnie’s busy schedule. Ray brought that necessary calm and focus to O’Sullivan’s game and tweaked his game to near perfection. Reardon had that killer instinct that few had prepared to go down to the last balls to win a match and always signed off with a wry smile to the audience. His departure from this world leaves a significant hole in the snooker ether. Still, he will be remembered for his cheerful character and as a survivor who evaded a pit collapse and dominated the snooker stage—a champion in his own right and a Welsh force who signalled change.
