By Elliott West
“He was prepared to sink or swim with me”.
Frank Callan
Introduction
The late Doug Mountjoy is probably one the most famous snooker exports from Wales. A professional from 1976, Doug was a reluctant champion, taking the glory but preferring to remain firmly away from the world of stardom. His career in the late 1970s was packed with success, winning the 1978 UK Championship, 1979 Irish Masters, achieving victory in the Welsh Professional Championship on four occasions, helping Wales win the World Cup in 1979 and 1980 and reached the final of the 1981 World Championship, losing to Steve Davis 18-12.
However as the decade turned and snooker entered the 1980s, the Welshman’s form suffered, only reaching the final of the 1985 Masters, defeated by Cliff Thorburn 9-6 and by 1988 his career had plummeted, dropping out of the top 16. Something drastic was required and it came in the form of the highly respected coach he turned to for help, the former fishmonger and accomplished amateur player, Frank Callan.
The Winning Formula
By the time the calendar had been flipped over to 1988, Doug Mountjoy’s career had nosedived with Doug’s routine of playing on instinct, finally catching up with him, revealing some very large cracks in his performance and well below the par of his natural ability. So it would take a seismic shock for that to change and that came in the form of Frank Callan. Frank had already transformed the snooker careers of Terry Griffiths, John Parrott and the women’s world champion Alison Fisher, producing form and results.
The wheels finally came off the Mountjoy train in the second round of the 1988 World Championship where Doug was badly beaten by Neal Foulds 13-1. At the point of no return, Doug had to do some serious soul searching and found some inspiration to pick up the telephone, calling Frank Callan. Then 64, Frank agreed and got to work straight away, working with the Welshman on his cueing action and address position, making sure his dominant right eye was over the cue ball. A tweak but the adjustment started to bear fruit as the season progressed. A journey that was full of potholes.
The first being at the 1988 Rothmans Grand Prix. Mountjoy started off well, defeating the reigning champion Stephen Hendry 5-1. However, in the last 16 and with a chance to compete in the last 8, Doug was dealt a painful sucker punch by Alain Robidoux, narrowly losing the match 4-5, a defeat that was definitely a bitter pill to swallow. Despite the defeat, there were clear signs that the Callan coaching magic was starting to work with Doug clearly starting to believe in himself and more importantly that he was capable of winning.
Hard Work pays Off
His Indian Summer would come in the 1988 UK Championship. Defeating Wayne Jones, Joe Johnson and Dean Reynolds was an achievement in itself, especially in the hallowed setting of the Guildhall in Preston. However, it wouldn’t all go his own way with John Virgo putting up a tough fight to come back from 8-3 down to win five frames in a row. A match that was saved by Virgo missing a black off the spot in the deciding frame.
Buoyed on by this nail-biting win, Mountjoy started to relax and the dividends started to mount up with Doug comfortably beating his fellow countryman Terry Griffiths 9-4 in their semi-final encounter. So relaxed that he fell asleep in his dressing room during the interval.
With the nerves washed away and his Clincher’s disease under control, Doug was ready for the growing force, Stephen Hendry. A final where he missed the frame ball to go 7-2 ahead and let the Scot claw back to 7-7 overnight. Perhaps Stephen thought he had the bull by the horns but what followed would knock him sideways. It was as if Mountjoy literally put everything he had been taught by Frank and incorporated it into the session, winning all seven frames.
With one final throw of the dice, Stephen battled but it wasn’t enough and it wasn’t helped by Doug producing a 131 break in the opening frame of the last session. Hendry did manage to win consecutive frames but by then the writing was on the wall for Stephen and Mountjoy went into cruise control to win the title for a second time at the age of 46, 16-12. An upset and amazing victory that the Welshman put down to his work with Frank Callan, expressing his gratitude in an emotional acceptance speech, saying of Callan:
“Without that guy I am nothing”.
Doug Mountjoy
Doug’s Indian Summer wasn’t quite over and he went on to win the 1989 Mercantile Credit Classic at the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool and would go on to win his fifth and final Welsh Professional Championship.
Summary
Doug Mountjoy’s doldrums were definitely reversed by Frank Callan. He was the catalyst that reinvigorated Doug’s career and brought back that magic that we knew and loved about him. A return to form that was also greatly helped by John Parris building Doug a new custom-made cue. He never cracked when in front of a viewing audience of 13.2 million, he produced the goods against Stephen Hendry, a winner’s prize of £80,000 and reaching a career-high of No5 in the rankings. A magical moment and a truly remarkable sportsman.
