The Local Hero

By Elliott West

Introduction

Roy Andrewartha is probably a name that to some brings back fond memories. A professional player of yesteryear, Andrewartha was born in Rhymney, Wales in 1938 and was a professional from 1976-1984. He was also a self-employed industrial engineer. As an amateur, Roy represented England twelve times, qualifying on his father’s nationality. He reached the final of the 1976 English Amateur Championship and lost to Chris Ross, 7-11. He also travelled to South Africa later in 1976 and played in the World Amateur Snooker Championship, representing England, finishing third in his qualifying group and then lost to Terry Griffiths, 0-4 in an elimination game. Roy also took part in the Canadian Club Masters in the same year as an amateur and was beaten by Ray Reardon, 3-2.

Professional Career

Turning professional in 1976, Andrewartha first played in the 1977 World Championship qualifiers. He lost in round 1 to John Virgo, 1-11. The following year in 1978, he progressed further, whitewashing Jack Karnehm, 9-0. He was however beaten by Doug Mounjoy in round 2 of the qualifiers,3-9. In the 1978 UK Championship, Roy got past the qualifiers and into the first round. He won his first round match against Pat Houlihan, 9-3 and then against John Spencer, 9-8. He went on to the quarter-finals but lost to Doug Mountjoy, 4-9.

In 1980, Andrewartha played at the UK Championship again. He defeated Tony Knowles, 9-8 and John Pulman, 9-6 but lost to Ray Reardon in the last 16, 3-9. Roy competed in the Welsh Open but being Welsh didn’t seem to bring him any luck. Despite multiple attempts, he never won a match in the tournament. Between 1981-1984, he lost to Cliff Wilson, 5-6 in 1981, Doug Mountjoy, 3-6 in 1982, Ray Reardon, 3-6 in 1983 and Terry Griffiths, 1-6 in 1984.

Conclusion

After a brief gap in qualifying, Roy appeared again in the 1984 World Championship. Beating Eddie McLaughlin, 10-8 and Mark Wildman, 10-9 in the qualifiers. Progressing to the first round, he faced Eddie Charlton but lost his Crucible match, 4-10. This was the start of the Welshman’s decline and he only played two further matches. Both in 1984, he lost to 0-5 to Danny Fowler at the International Open and 2-5 to Dave Chalmers at the Grand Prix. Subsequently Roy resigned from the WPBSA in September 1984, citing a disillusionment with playing as a professional. A player who had a ranking high of 47 and played in the Wallasey League. He won the championship twelve times, the first in 1962-63 and his last in 1988-89 including winning in ten consecutive seasons. He held the highest break in twelve seasons including the first century break of 112 in the league in 1975-76. He earned career earnings of £4,700 and his highest pay cheque was when he qualified for the 1984 World Championship, rewarding him with £2,220. Roy Andrewartha passed away in 2020, aged 82.