[Other Sport] RIP Ray Reardon

[Frutos]

BBC News - Six-time world snooker champion Reardon dies aged 91

Ray Reardon: Six-times world snooker champion dies aged 91

Former world snooker champion Ray Reardon has died after a battle against cancer at the age of 91.

www.bbc.com

 

[Is it PotG?]

Sad news, ex-copper and Dracula lookalike.
Set the precedent, RIP.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Good innings.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

RIP - When I was a kid I met him a couple of times when they used to do the snooker exhibitions at Pontins holiday camps and he was a very nice man.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Sad news.

 

[Sussexscots]

Very sad news. A real character from the earky days of Snooker on the telly.

Survived being trapped in a coal mine when a roof collapsed, became a copper and talked down a man with a shotgun.

A life well lived.

 

[Eeyore]

A name that resonates with many NSCers of a certain age. Always a gentleman and a fine snooker player. My favourite when I, badly, started to play the game as a kid.

RIP

 

[essbee1]

Top bloke. A gentleman. Look after yourself mate up there.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

One of the greats, staple of televised snooker when I was a lad.

He was making century breaks as recently as November, ridiculous to think a 90 year old could do.

RIP Ray.

 

[Official Old Man]

For those watching in black & white, Ray is wearing the red jacket.*

*you need to be a certain age.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Very sad news. A real character from the earky days of Snooker on the telly.

Survived being trapped in a coal mine when a roof collapsed, became a copper and talked down a man with a shotgun.

A life well lived.

RIP Ray. I miss the earky days too. Simpler times.

 

[dazzer6666]

One of the father figures of televised snooker and always seemed such a nice bloke too. RIP.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Great snooker player and was always came across as a lovely gentleman in interviews. RIP

 

[dangull]

He only turned professional at age 35. In his 20's he probably would have won many other world titles than the 6 he won in the 70's.
One of my earliest memories was the 1982 final where Alex Higgins beat him in the final. RIP Dracula

 

[Marxo]

Sad news indeed, I always associated him with my late grandfather, they looked very similar.

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

RIP - When I was a kid I met him a couple of times when they used to do the snooker exhibitions at Pontins holiday camps and he was a very nice man.

Yep, I did one of those sometime late 70’s when on a Pontins or Butlins holiday and got his book autographed. 91 is a good old age.

 

[jakarta]

Great hero of mine in the the 1970's, glad he batted so long.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

A proper legend, RIP one of the founders of modern snooker.

 

[Berty23]

This bloke was an absolute champion. I knew him reasonably well when I was a kid in the 90s because he was a member at the golf club I played at. He later became honorary president. He was such a nice chap. He had time for everyone and to all of us he was just Ray from the golf club. He was really generous with his time for the juniors (back in the 90s most golf clubs were dicks towards kids - we could not go in the lounge but he chatting to us out in the areas we were allowed).

We had an exchange with a Swedish side and he came along with us to a snooker hall. He obviously didn’t need to spend an evening with 20 teenagers who were more interested in drinking than being good at snooker but when he put on a demonstration we were in awe. He knocked in a century and it looked easy. This would have been 1995 so he was getting on.

He continued being a great bloke. A couple of years back we went up to the club with my mum (who is still a member in her 70s and knew Ray really well as she is a still single figures so well known up there), he popped over and asked if he could say hello to her grand kids - took a while to recognise me but got there, and my kids had no idea who it was. They asked who that nice man was as we got in the car (son aged 14 and girls 12) and I explained. My lad was annoyed I did not tell him at the time.

A lovely bloke. Great snooker player. Pretty average golfer. RIP

 

[essbee1]

My Dad passed away at the same age, was from South Wales and lived in Merthyr very
close to where Ray Reardon was born (Tredegar); he was called Ray too.
Seem t'was a popular name in the valleys around the 1930s.