By Elliott West
Introduction
Snooker has been blessed with many excellent snooker players over the years and a large number of them have come from a place where they sing ‘Land of My Fathers’, Wales. One such prominent example is Terry Parsons, a player who had an impressive record in the game, winning five Welsh National snooker championship titles and an Amateur World Championship title during his career. He won the Welsh National Championship in 1961, 1965, 1969, 1982 and 1984. He also won the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1982 at the age of 47.
The Red Dragon Breathes Fire
Born 1935 in Trealaw, Glamorgan, Wales, Terry Parson first set the Welsh baize alight when he won his first title in 1961, defeating John Price in the final with a comfortable win 6-2. He then won his second Welsh Amateur Championship title in 1965 with a 6-2 win in the final against Bob Berryman and in 1969 he won his third Welsh Amateur title with a 6-1 victory over John Prosser.
After a twelve-year hiatus, Terry returned to the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1981, where he reached the quarter-finals. However, he was outplayed on the day by one of the finalists, Elwyn Richards. However, the tide would turn the following year, notching up a fourth title in this championship with a 9-7 win over Mario Berni.
The next stop for Parsons was Calgary, Canada, where the Welshman competed in the 1982 World Amateur Championship. Knocking out Malcolm Bradley and Wayne Jones along the way, Terry won his first title in this event, beating Canada’s Jim Bear 11-8 despite trailing 7-1 in the first session. This win meant that would become the fourth Welsh snooker player to win the tournament after Gary Owen, Doug Mountjoy and Cliff Wilson. Not bad for someone who suffered badly with homesickness when away from his beloved Wales.
Parsons also took part in the 1984 World Amateur Championship, held in Dublin due to him being the reigning champion. His string of victims included Glen Wilkinson, Chris Archer but went on to lose against India’s Omprakesh Agrawal in the final 11-7.
Terry also won the 1985 WPBSA Pro Ticket Series 87-88 for professional tour qualifiers but was knocked out at the last 16 stages of the 1985 Welsh Amateur Snooker Championship, losing to Bob Dorkins 3-4.
Life Outside Snooker
Away from snooker, Terry Parsons worked as a postman in the Rhondda Valley. When he wasn’t sorting and delivering peoples’ letters and parcels, Parsons spent most of his time in the Pen-y-Graig Labour Club, steering the club towards seven CIU finals and four titles. He also attained the highest break of 138, a record that still stands jointly in the competition’s history. In 1998 he won the Welsh Over 40’s snooker championship and continued to excel in snooker on the Welsh amateur scene until his sixties.
Summary
A player who was known to have a game plan and a rock-solid all-round game, his only downfall was his problem with dealing with homesickness and he ultimately stopped him from becoming a professional, ending up playing as an amateur until the end of his career. Terry passed away in 1999 shortly after being diagnosed with leukaemia and a failed attempt to stop it with chemotherapy. A cruel disease that also took my dear friend Willie Thorne in recent years. However, Terry’s name is still a familiar one in Wales and in 2007, his local social club, the Pen-y-Graig Labour Club, organised a tournament in his memory.
