By Elliott West
Introduction
One of the most talented and colourful snooker players to come out of London has to be Tony Meo. Tony, the son of Italian parents, spent his youth in the company of his lifelong friend, Jimmy White, spending hours in the legendary Zan’s snooker club in Tooting, a place where some of the shadiest characters hung out but probably one of the safest when their trust was gained. Meo or ‘The Cat’ as he was later nicknamed, also accompanied White in a black London cab across the country, driven by a man dubbed the name ‘Dodgy Bob’. Bob drove them to pubs and snooker clubs that the pair had chosen by closing their eyes and sticking a pin in a map but the hair-brain scheme worked, earning them large sums of cash in their money games despite only getting a twenty percent cut of the winnings.
Moving up the Ladder
After learning the ropes in the thick of it, Tony was taken under the wing of Henry West, a manager who signed up Jimmy White and Patsy Fagan as well on his books. This was in the late 1970s and it wasn’t long before the full force of Meo shone through, making his first 147 break at 17 and the following year, he won the 1977 Pontins Junior title, defeating Jimmy White and the Warner’s Pro-Am, beating Doug Mountjoy 5-4 in the final. He also won the British Under-19 in 1978, knocking the reigning champion, Ian Williamson off the top spot with a 3-1 victory and came very close to claiming the 1978 Canadian Open, eliminating Alex Higgins in the semi-final and in the final led Cliff Thorburn 10-6 before losing the match 15-17.
Turning Professional
After winning the Warners Open for a second time in 1979, defeating Jimmy White 5-2, Meo turned professional in the June of that year. His first outing as a professional was at the 1979 Canadian Open, played at the Canadian National Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Tony managed to reach round 7 of the event and narrowly lost to Jim Wynch 8-9. He also lost to the eventual champion of the 1979 UK Championship in the last 16, John Virgo, 7-9. A running that was greatly improved in 1980 when he reached the quarter-finals, eventually losing to Steve Davis 5-9.
In his debut at the 1980 World Championship, Tony raced through the qualifiers, beating both Jimmy Van Rensburg and Pat Houlihan 9-1 before coming unstuck against Alex Higgins in the first round. In the match, it looked like Tony was going to win after taking the first session 9-8 and a frame away from victory but the Irishman came back and took the last two frames with breaks of 77 and 62 to steal the match 10-9.
The Matchroom Days
Tony Meo was one of a number of players, including Terry Griffiths and Willie Thorne, who signed up to Barry Hearn’s Match in 1982. Playing in lucrative tournaments and promoting various products including the Matchroom aftershave, Tony was part of the group that accompanied Chas and Dave on the highly successful Snooker Loopy single in 1986, reaching a high of number six in the charts and the not so successful Romford Rap a year later.
Later Career
Playing during the height of popularity of the sport in the 1980s, Tony Meo reached the final of the Lada Classic in 1984, losing in the final to Steve Davis. A match that Tony should have won but was distracted by a heckler in the audience whilst playing the final colours. The audience member shouted “Come on, Tony” when he was down on the shot and Meo missed. A disturbance that caused the player to call for an audience ban on alcohol.
The Londoner won his only ranking title in 1989, victorious in the British Open, defeating Dean Reynolds 13-6 in the final, being a 200-1 outsider at the start of the tournament but he will also be remembered for his success in the World Doubles, winning four titles in 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986, all partnered by Steve Davis.
The Final Years
Meo’s last fling at success came in 1989 when he reached the semi-finals of the World Championship, losing 16-7 to John Parrott. From then on, he slid down the rankings and by the 1996-1997 season was ranked 160th. He decided to retire from the tour in 1997 after a fairly successful career, reaching a high of 10th in the world rankings.
Tony decided to turn his back on snooker and move on to something completely different. He now runs a jewellery shop in central London, describing himself as a wristwatch consultant. A player who was exceptionally good in his youth, amateur and professional career, Meo is a very underrated player and should be remembered as being part of a driving force that helped the snooker boom in the 1980s.
