1947 World Snooker Championship

October 2024 1947 World Snooker Championship 1947 01 20 1947 10 25 y yes Leicester Square Hall London England Billiards Association and Control Council Fred Davis ENG (135) Walter Donaldson SCO Fred Davis ENG 82–63 1946 1948 The 1947 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 20 January to 25 October 1947. The final was held at the Leicester Square Hall in London, England, from 13 to 25 October. The semi-finals were completed in March, but the final was delayed due to building works at the venue, which had been bombed in October 1940. Walter Donaldson won the title by defeating Fred Davis by 82 frames to 63 in the final, although he reached the winning margin earlier, at 73–49. Davis made the highest break of the tournament with a 135 clearance in frame 86 of the final. The 1947 event was the first to be played since the retirement of Joe Davis who had won all 15 of the previous Championships since it was inaugurated in 1927. Davis had announced in October 1946 that he would no longer play in the competition. A qualifying competition for thirteen entrants at Burroughes Hall in London from 2 January to 8 February 1947 was won by Albert Brown, who then joined seven other players in the main competition. The quarter-finals and semi-finals took place from 20 January to 15 March at various venues in England. Background The World Snooker Championship is a professional tournament and the official world championship of the game of snooker.Snooker championship Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 11 May 1927 12 March 2019 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19270511/425/0020 20 British Newspaper Archive subscription The sport was developed in the late 19th century by British Army soldiers stationed in India.Hayton Eric Dee John 2004 The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History Rose Villa Publications 978-0-9548549-0-4 1 Professional English billiards player and billiard hall manager Joe Davis noticed the increasing popularity of snooker compared to billiards in the 1920s, and with Birmingham-based billiards equipment manager Bill Camkin, persuaded the Billiards Association and Control Council (BACC) to recognise an official professional snooker championship in the 1926–27 season.Everton Clive 23 September 2004 Davis, Joseph [Joe] https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 10.1093/ref:odnb/31013 11 May 2020 subscription https://web.archive.org/web/20190903050418/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 3 September 2019 live In 1927, the final of the first professional snooker championship was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament by beating Tom Dennis in the final.Morrison Ian 1987 The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker Hamlyn Publishing Group London 978-0-600-55604-6 27–30 The annual competition was not titled the World Championship until the 1935 tournament,Billiards – Professional title Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 3 November 1934 24 November 2015 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19341103/342/0007 7 British Newspaper Archive subscription Canadian's bid for Snooker title Dundee Courier 20 October 1934 20 January 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19341020/167/0009 9 British Newspaper Archive subscription but the 1927 tournament is now referred to as the first World Snooker Championship.Everton Clive 1993 The Embassy Book of World Snooker Bloomsbury London 978-0-7475-1610-1 11–13History of snooker – a timeline https://wpbsa.com/about-us/history/ World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association 29 May 2021 Davis had also won the title every year from 1928 to 1940, after which the tournament was not held again until 1946 due to World War II.Everton Clive 1986 The History of Snooker and Billiards Partridge Press Haywards Heath 978-1-85225-013-3 50–52 The World Championship was the first to be played since the retirement from the competition of Joe Davis who had won all 15 of the previous Championships.Joe Davis https://wst.tv/players/joe-davis/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200112181156/https://wst.tv/players/joe-davis/ dead January 12, 2020 World Snooker Tour 24 September 2022 He had announced in October 1946 that he would no longer play in the World Championship.The Times 7 October 1946 8 Billiards and Snooker – J Davis retires Format The closing date for entries for the 1947 championship was 23 November 1946.Sports in brief The Times 9 November 1946 8 The entry fee was five guineas per player, with five per cent of gate receipts to be paid to the BACC. This was reduced to two guineas, and the same percentage of gate receipts, after representations to the BACC by the Professional Billiard Players Association.Davis meets McConachy Birmingham Daily Gazette 30 November 1946 5 Twenty players entered; thirteen of them were placed in "Section B", which was to produce one qualifier to join the other seven players in "Section A", the main competition. The "Section B" matches were held at Burroughes Hall in London from 2 January to 8 February 1947, all played across 35 frames.World Snooker Championship The Billiard Player Billiards Association and Control Council January 1947 10 The quarter finals and semi finals were played at different venues in England, across 71 frames, except for two of the quarter-finals which were across 73 frames. The final was played over 145 frames from 13 to 25 October 1947 at Leicester Square Hall. Dates and venues of matches Match Dates Venue, city Ref. Reference(s) Fred Davis v Clark McConachy 20–25 January 1947 Clifton Hotel, Blackpool World Snooker Championship (advertisement) Lancashire Evening Post – 11 January 1947 2 Sidney Smith v Alec Brown 27 January1 February 1947 Burroughes Hall, Newcastle Horace Lindrum v Albert Brown 10–15 February 1947 Burroughes Hall, London Walter Donaldson v Stanley Newman 10–15 February 1947 Palais de Danse, Wellington, Shropshire Fred Davis v Sidney Smith 17–22 February 1947 Houldsworth Hall, Manchester Fred Davis in final Dundee Courier 24 February 1947 4 Walter Donaldson v Horace Lindrum 10–15 March 1947 St George's Hall, Liverpool Walter Donaldson v Fred Davis 13–18, 20–25 October 1947 Leicester Square Hall, London Tournament summary Quarter-finals and semi-finals Fred Davis took a 6–0 lead in the first session of his match against Clark McConachy.Fred Davis leads McConachy Birmingham Daily Gazette 21 January 1947 4 McConachy only won the 15th frame during the first three sessions, and Davis led 17–1 as they started the fourth session, during which McConachy took the 22nd fame. Davis finished the second day 22–2 ahead.Brown's 20–4 snooker win Birmingham Daily Gazette 22 January 1947 5 Each player won three frames in the fifth session; McConachy recorded an 85 break, the highest of the match to that point.High speed snooker Birmingham Daily Gazette 23 January 1947 4 Davis secured his progress to the next round at 37–7, with two days of the match still remaining. During the dead frames, McConachy compiled a break of 132;McConachy's snooker quest fails Birmingham Daily Gazette 24 January 1947 4 the final score was 53–20 to Davis. Sidney Smith achieved a 106 break in the fifth session against Alec Brown; by taking five of that sessions six frames, Smith led 23–7, and he increased his advantage to 27–9 during the following session.Kennerley enters snooker semi-final Birmingham Daily Gazette 30 January 1947 3 After reaching a winning margin at 37–22, Smith won 44–29 following dead frames.Kobylecky John 2019 The Complete International Directory of Snooker Players – 1927 to 2018 Kobyhadrian Books 978-0-9931433-1-1 223 After Horace Lindrum built a 5–1 lead in their first session, Albert Brown won four successive frames in the next session and finished the first day at 5–7.Fine recovery by Albert Brown Birmingham Daily Gazette 11 February 1947 4 Brown took the lead by adding the first three frames of the third session, but was four frames behind at 10–14 by the close of the second day's play.Brown four frames in arrears Birmingham Daily Gazette 12 February 1947 4 The eventual score was 39–34 to Lindrum.Brown fights hard but Lindrum wins Birmingham Daily Gazette 17 February 1947 4 Donaldson practised intensively in preparation for the Championship, using a billiard table in a neighbour's attic. He won both of the first two sessions by a 4–2 margin against Stanley Newman, and despite losing both sessions on the third day, was 21–15 ahead afterwards.60 From 25 to 19 ahead, he took the next eight frames,60 and went on to win 46–25. In the first semi-final, Davis held a 9–3 lead against Smith. During the sixth session, Davis made a century break, which was followed in the next frame by an 83 break from Smith. Davis won 39–32 after securing a win at 36–28.223 Donaldson whitewashed Lindrum 6–0 in their first session. In the next session, each player won three frames.Donaldson makes good start Birmingham Daily Gazette 11 March 1947 3 On day three, Donaldson moved ten frames ahead at 20–10, but Lindrum reduced the margin to six frames, at 20–15, by the end of the day.Horace Lindrum still in arrears Birmingham Daily Gazette 13 March 1947 4 Going into the last day, Donaldson was 32–28 up;Lindrum improves snooker position Birmingham Daily Gazette 15 March 1947 4 he secured a place in the final at 36–30.Frank Edwards' billiards win Birmingham Daily Gazette 17 March 1947 4 With dead frames, the final score was 39–32.Everton Clive 1985 Snooker: The Records Guinness Superlatives Ltd Enfield 978-0-85112-448-3 54–55 Final thumb|upright=0.75|alt=A silver cup-shaped trophy with a trumpet base, a Greek shepherdess finial on top, and two deco square-section handles at the sides with green sponsor ribbons tied to them; the trophy is sitting on a green cylindrical plinth|The World Snooker Championship trophy was presented to Walter Donaldson by John C. Bissett of the Billiards Association and Control Council. The final, held at Leicester Square Hall, was postponed for several weeks due to building works. Previously known as Thurston's Hall, the venue had been bombed in October 1940 during the Blitz,World snooker championship The Billiard Player Billiards Association and Control Council April 1947 3Billiards and Snooker The Times 18 September 1947 6 and it finally re-opened on 3 October 1947.Bissett John C. A memorable night – 3rd October, 1947 The Billiard Player Billiards Association and Control Council November 1947 3 In the meantime, Donaldson continued practising.Between frames Lowe Ted Butler Frank 1984 A&C Black London 978-0-7136-2446-5 96–99 The match was played over 145 frames. Donaldson led Davis 42 and 75 after the initial two sessions.Davis behind in snooker final Western Daily Press 4 October 1947 2 Later, from 1935 behind, Davis won six consecutive frames to reduce his deficit to ten frames at 2535.Fred Davis rallies Dundee Courier 18 October 1947 4 Donaldson secured victory at 7349 and finished the match at 82–63.Williams Luke Gadsby Paul 2005 Masters of the Baize Edinburgh Mainstream Publishing 978-1-84018-872-1 Walter Donaldson 27–32New snooker champion http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26431753 23 May 2012 The Mercury 27 October 1947 29 April 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210429235706/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/26431753 live His tactics during the championship involved compiling breaks of around 30 to 50 points and playing safety rather than attempting difficult pots. Davis became frustrated by the lack of scoring chances left for him and missed a number of difficult pot attempts, thus allowing Donaldson opportunities to score and win frames. Although Donaldson won the title by defeating Davis 8263,Turner Chris World Professional Championship http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html https://web.archive.org/web/20130416080933/http://www.cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/world.html 16 April 2013 cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk Chris Turner's Snooker Archive 9 February 2011 he had already reached the winning margin at 7349.New snooker champion http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26431753 23 May 2012 The Mercury 27 October 1947 The championship trophy was presented by John C. Bissett, chairman of the BACC.World snooker champion Donaldson The Billiard Player Billiards Association and Control Council November 1947 3 After the final, Donaldson celebrated at the Albany Club, where he had won the 1946 Albany Club Professional Snooker Tournament the previous year. Davis made the highest break of the tournament with a 135 clearance in frame 86 of the final, just one short of the championship record.The Times 22 October 1947 2 Professional Snooker – Big break by F Davis Donaldson's break of 98 against Newman in the 20th frame of the quarter-final was his highest at the championship.60 There were three century breaks during the final, all made by Davis. Joe Davis commented after the match that, "Donaldson's long potting at present is the equal of anything seen in snooker history"; his brother Fred Davis said "[Donaldson] is playing the best snooker I have ever seen". In his book Talking Snooker, first published in 1979, Fred Davis reflected that he had been "perhaps overconfident" and had not expected Donaldson's standard to have improved so much as a result of his many hours of practice.Davis Fred Talking Snooker 2nd 1983 18–19 978-0-7136-2409-0 A & C Black London This was the first of eight consecutive finals to feature the two players, between 1947 and 1954. Joe Davis won two challenge matches against Donaldson after the 1947 championship, reinforcing the public perception that the 15-time champion Davis was still the best player. Main draw The results for the main draw are shown below. Match winners are denoted in bold.Embassy World Championship http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=36 https://web.archive.org/web/20130124071753/http://www.snookerscene.co.uk/page.php?id=36 24 January 2013 Snooker Scene 9 May 2012Hayton Eric The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker 2004 Rose Villa Publications Lowestoft 978-0-9548549-0-4 144 170 Quarter-finals 71/73 frames Semi-finals 71 frames Final 145 frames Fred Davis ENG 53 Clark McConachy NZL 20 Sidney Smith ENG 43 Alec Brown ENG 28 Walter Donaldson SCO 46 Stanley Newman ENG 25 Horace Lindrum AUS 39 Albert Brown ENG 34 ENG Fred Davis 39 ENG Sidney Smith 32 SCO Walter Donaldson 39 AUS Horace Lindrum 32 ENG Fred Davis 63 SCO Walter Donaldson 82 Final Final: 145 frames. Leicester Square Hall, London, 13–18, 20–25 October 1947.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=y2dAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kJQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4899%2C2339479 World Snooker title The Glasgow Herald 4 14 October 1947 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zGdAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kJQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4038%2C2371125 Scot's Snooker lead The Glasgow Herald 2 15 October 1947 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zWdAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kJQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3389%2C2479292 World Snooker lead The Glasgow Herald 6 16 October 1947 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zmdAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kJQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4091%2C2513142 World Snooker title The Glasgow Herald 2 17 October 1947 Davis 10 behind Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 18 October 1947 18 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19471018/074/0003 British Newspaper Archive subscription The Times 20 October 1947 2 Professional Snooker Two century breaks by Fred Davis Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 21 October 1947 18 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19471021/070/0003 British Newspaper Archive subscription Davis just misses world record Western Daily Press 22 October 1947 18 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19471022/013/0002 British Newspaper Archive subscription Donaldson has winning lead Western Daily Press 23 October 1947 18 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19471024/024/0002 British Newspaper Archive subscription Donaldson – Two frames to win Western Daily Press 24 October 1947 18 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19471023/010/0002 British Newspaper Archive subscription Donaldson wins snooker title Aberdeen Journal 25 October 1947 18 March 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19471025/033/0003 British Newspaper Archive subscription Donaldson finished 19 frames ahead Birmingham Daily Gazette 27 October 1947 3 Walter Donaldson 82–63 Fred Davis Day 1: 42–88, 65–49, 77–29, 23–91, 65–51, 70–21, 26–72, 62–43, 13–113, 66–60, 40–86, 85–36Day 2: 88–31, 84–22, 33–50, 71–32, 49–71, 65–35, 63–65, 80–36, 73–56, 32–86, 87–48, 34–96Day 3: 73–44, 95–14, 64–50, 89–31, 79–23, 28–63, 70–38, 59–40, 30–55, 62–47, 28–82 (55), 38–86Day 4: 80–20, 52–82, 83–43, 13–144 (73), 65–36, 69–24, 99–24 (97), 100–24, 112–5, 78–45, 47–77, 62–61Day 5: 65–53, 12–112, 84–33, 77–24, 83–37, 25–94, 31–84, 50–71, 56–82, 37–64, 22–89, 32–80Day 6: 85–18, 72–45, 21–88, 60–46, 94–38, 70–39, 72–31, 90–11, 87–28, 46–70, 29–79, 74–51Day 7: 63–41, 116–8, 96–24, 8–111 (103), 65–59, 68–61, 16–106, 26–85, 19–119 (107), 56–69, 89–42, 97–12Day 8: 53–44, 0–139 (135), 97–32, 51–63, 67–37, 39–96, 57–36, 90–28, 32–75, 103–6, 65–73, 22–103Day 9: 40–67, 67–55, 30–94, 72–59, 82–21, 20–86, 95–51, 119–31, 51–93, 14–94, 55–64, 12–120Day 10: 51–56, 111–20, 95–31, 88–23, 91–6, 86–36, 28–80, 57–55, 73–53, 24–86, 65–55, 101–26Day 11: 68–66, 95–48, 77–38, 66–67, 68–23, 76–50, 72–53, 74–40, 44–82, 43–79, 4–114, 31–78Day 12: (one frame score is unknown) 55–65, 18–92, 77–47, 23–96, 26–75, 93–21, 18–93, 26–84, 6–112, 46–82, 104–33, 96–20 "Dead" frames were played. Donaldson won the match at 73–49. Qualifying Herbert Holt had withdrawn from the qualifying in early December.The Times 7 December 1946 7 H Holt The first match, between John Pulman and Albert Brown was a repeat of the final of the 1946 English Amateur Championship which Pulman had won. Brown led 14–9 after two days and took a winning 18–9 lead on the final day.The Times 6 January 1947 2 Professional Snooker Herbert Francis led Willie Leigh 14–10 after two days. Leigh levelled the score at 15–15 after the final afternoon session and eventually won 19–16.Sport in brief Western Daily Press 9 January 1947 12 January 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000513/19470109/025/0004 British Newspaper Archive subscription Sydney Lee beat Jim Lees 19–16 in the third match.The Times 13 January 1947 8 Professional Snooker In the last first-round match Kingsley Kennerley won easily against Conrad Stanbury, taking an 18–4 lead on the second evening.Missed his cue Western Morning News 15 January 1947 12 January 2016 http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000329/19470115/055/0005 British Newspaper Archive subscription Willie Leigh won all six frames of the first session, and all but frame nine in the second session, to establish an 11–1 lead against Sydney Lee. On the second day, he confirmed a win by taking the 19th frame with a break of 63, for a winning margin of 17–2.Willie Leigh's snooker win Birmingham Daily Gazette 25 January 1947 4 Kennerley reached a decisive margin of victory at 18–10 against Mann. In the semi-finals, Albert Brown secured his place in the last frame of the second day of his match against Barrie, at 18–6,Albert Brown's snooker bid Birmingham Daily Gazette 1 February 1947 5 and Kennerley prevailed 18–9 against Leigh.All-Birmingham snooker final Birmingham Daily Gazette 6 February 1947 4 Brown won the contest of the Birmingham-based players at 18–10, which meant he was scheduled to play Lindrum in the quarter-finals of the main competition.'Davis' week of snooker at Birmingham Birmingham Daily Gazette 10 February 1947 5 Qualifying results Results of the qualifying competition were as follows:World's Professional Snooker Championship The Billiard Player Billiards Association and Control Council February 1947 5 Championship Commentary The Billiard Player Billiards Association and Control Council March 1947 4 170 Round 135 frames Round 235 frames Round 335 frames Round 435 frames Albert Brown ENG 21 John Pulman ENG 14 Eric Newman ENG w/o Herbert Holt ENG w/d withdrawn Kingsley Kennerley ENG 23 Conrad Stanbury CAN 1921 12 Jim Lees ENG 16 Sydney Lee ENG 19 Willie Leigh ENG 19 Herbert Francis ENG 16 ENG Albert Brown 28 ENG Eric Newman 7 ENG John Barrie 25 ENG Fred Lawrence 10 ENG Kingsley Kennerley 23 ENG Alec Mann 12 ENG Sydney Lee 10 ENG Willie Leigh 25 ENG Albert Brown 24 ENG John Barrie 11 ENG Kingsley Kennerley 21 ENG Willie Leigh 14 ENG Albert Brown 21 ENG Kingsley Kennerley 14 References 1947 World Snooker Championships World Snooker Championships World Snooker Championship, 1947