By Elliott West
Introduction
Every so often you come across a player who has fallen below the radar despite being a prolific player in their day. One such person is Jonathan Barron. Barron from Mevagissey in Cornwall, is a former amateur snooker player, who was lucky enough to play alongside the likes of Ray Reardon in a trip to South Africa in 1967 and was a English Champion on three occasions.
Early Life
Jonathan was born in 1937 and first started playing snooker at the tender age of ten. His father bought him a three quarter sized table which he put in the loft above his shop. His father was a keen billiards and snooker player and was also the first president of the St Blazey and District snooker league. Barron’s brother, Peter also played snooker to county standard.
In 1962, Jonathan was lucky enough to travel to London as a teenager and played at the Burroughs and Watts in Soho. A snooker paradise that was graced by the likes of the Davis brothers and Walter Lindrum. It was during this period that he competed in his local social club team, reaching county level and winning the championship six times in succession as a result.
In 1959, Barron took part in his first English Championship and qualified to play in London. Alas he lost in the first round to Mario Berni, 5-2. He then reached the final in 1962 . He led on the first day, 8-3 but then played badly on the second and ended up losing, 11-9, a loss that he put down to “not being able to close the deal”. However in 1970, he was victorious and beat Sid Hood, 11-10 in the final, beating his opponent on the final pink.
As a result of winning the English Championship, Barron automatically qualified for the World Championship in Edinburgh that year. He met Sid Hood again in the final and led, 8-2 but officials warned him that if he won another frame, they wouldn’t have much to show on Grandstand. He then lost four frames, not by choice, to have his lead narrowed to 8-6. In the end though, Jonathan won the match, 11-7 and spent an alcohol fuelled night on the town with his supporters. He then went on to make it a hat trick by winning the English Championship again in 1971 and 1972, beating Doug French, 11-9 and Ray Edmunds by the same score line. The 1972 win was even more special because it was held in Truro.
In 1962, Barron was lucky enough to be one of the semi-finalists from the English Championship to compete on ITV. Playing against four professionals, Fred Davis, Jack Rae, Rex Williams and Kingsley Kennelly, the amateurs were given eleven points per frame and Jonathan reached the final, beating Ron Gross. He won it again in 1965, beating Mark Berni.
In 1967, Barron travelled with Ray Reardon to South Africa, playing in a test series which they won, 2-1. This was the first time that he experienced playing against the likes of Manny Francisco and Jimmy Van Rensberg. Jonathan and the team won the series, 2-1. A trip that he was luck enough to go on seeing as he had only been married to his wife for eight months.
Conclusion
Barron went on to play in the Home Internationals in 1969 and carried on playing snooker until 2000. His last game was in the St Blazey league where he lost to D.Hill, 42-57. Jonathan had a marvellous amateur career, becoming Cornwall’s Youth Champion, four times, Cornwall Champion, thirteen times, Cornwall Pairs Champion, 3 times, English Champion, 3 times and a one time World Champion. A career first inspired by his father and a sheer love of the game, one that he must be very proud of.
