1950 Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament

Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament 1950 04 3 1950 06 10 y Leicester Square Hall London England Non-Ranking event £500 £270 ENG Joe Davis ENG Sidney Smith The 1950 Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Sporting Record newspaper. Entry was restricted to past finalists in the World Snooker Championship. The tournament was won by Joe Davis with Sidney Smith finishing in second place. It was the only time the tournament was held. Format The event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 3 April to 10 June 1950. All matches were played at Leicester Square Hall in London. Initially there were 5 competitors and a total of 10 matches were planned. The competitors were Joe Davis, Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson, Horace Lindrum and Sidney Smith. Each match lasted six days and was the best of 70 frames. Three points were available for each match, one for winner of the match, one for leader after the first 35 frames and one for the winner over the last 35 frames. Each player was given a handicap at the start of the tournament. The handicaps were: Joe Davis, Fred Davis and Donaldson: 0, Smith: 21 and Lindrum: 23. The player with the higher handicap received a start in each frame, being the difference between the two handicaps. Horace Lindrum withdrew from the event complaining about his overly generous handicap of 23 points which would give the public the wrong impression about his ability.Lindrum withdraws Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 4 April 1950 26 December 2015 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19500404/070/0003 British Newspaper Archive subscription It was also announced that Lindrum had retired from snooker but Lindrum later issued a statement stating that he had not retired "in any sense whatever."Mr Horace Lindrum Gloucestershire Echo 17 April 1950 26 December 2015 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000320/19500417/060/0006 British Newspaper Archive subscription His elder daughter Jan was born in London during the period when Lindrum should have been playing his first match.Mrs Horace Lindrum Aberdeen Journal 15 April 1950 26 December 2015 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19500415/064/0004 British Newspaper Archive subscription Results Winner Score Loser DatesJoe Davis 43–27 (19–16 & 24–11) Walter Donaldson 3–8 AprilFred Davis 41–29 (23–12 & 18–17) Walter Donaldson 17–22 AprilSidney Smith 46–24 (22–13 & 24–11) Fred Davis 1–6 MayJoe Davis 43–27 (21–14 & 22–13) Fred Davis 15–20 MaySidney Smith 37–33 (20–15 & 17–18) Walter Donaldson 22–27 MayJoe Davis 37–33 (17–18 & 20–15) Sidney Smith 5–10 June The original 10-week schedule was retained, despite Lindrum's withdrawal. This meant that there were 4 weeks when no match was played. The first match was played over 5 days rather than 6 because Good Friday fell on 7 April. The first 35 frames finished after the afternoon session on the Wednesday. After 5 days of the Sidney Smith/Fred Davis match Smith was leading 41–18 with a 19–5 lead in the second half of the match.Smith beats Fred Davis Aberdeen Journal 6 May 1950 26 December 2015 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19500506/062/0004 British Newspaper Archive subscription The final score for Sidney Smith versus Fred Davis was 46–24.The Billiard Player magazine June 1950. Table Davis and Smith seek big prize Dundee Evening Telegraph 5 June 1950 26 December 2015 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000563/19500605/082/0008 British Newspaper Archive subscription Pos Player Pld Pts Prize 1 ENG Joe Davis 3 8 £270 2 ENG Sidney Smith 3 6 £110 3 ENG Fred Davis 3 3 £65 4 SCO Walter Donaldson 3 1 £55 References 2 Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament Sporting Record Masters Snooker Tournament Category:1950 in sport in London