By Elliott West
Introduction
Maurice Parkin was a professional snooker player from 1972-1992. Born in Sheffield and an accomplished amateur player, Parkin won the English Amateur Championship in 1955, defeating Alf Nolan 11-7. A player who reached his highest ranking of 91 in the 1985-1986 season, his best performance was in the 1974 and 1978 World Championships, where he reached the last 24.
Snooker Career
Maurice Parkin turned professional in 1971, entering the 1972 World Championship that season. He won his first qualifying match, beating Geoff Thompson 11-10 but was defeated in the next round by a rising star, Alex Higgins 3-11. Higgins went on to win his first World Championship with a victory against John Spencer in the final.
In 1973, Parkin lost 3-9 to Warren Simpson in the last 24, exiting the 1974 tournament at the same stage, 5-8 to Marcus Owen. In 1978, Maurice won his first match in six years, defeating Bernard Bennett 9-4 to set up a last 24 meeting with Bill Werbenuik, which he lost 2-9.
Maurice never won another match, notably being whitewashed by John Virgo in qualifying for the 1979 World Championship. The closest he came to another victory was in the last 128 at the 1987 British Open; there, he led John Hargreaves 4-2, but lost 4-5.
Parkin’s last match was one of the most symbolic of his career. He managed to qualify for the 1990 World Championship but he then lost 0-10 to a nineteen-year-old Barry Pinches. Having been ranked 91st in the world rankings for the 1984-1985 season, he had fallen to 135th by this time, and although he remained on the tour as a non-active member until 1992, Parkin left the professional game in 1990.
