Cliff Wilson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cliff Wilson

Born	May 10, 1934(1934-05-10), Tredegar, Wales
Died	June 1994
Nationality	Welsh
Professional	1979–94
Highest ranking	#16 (1988/89)
Highest break	138

Cliff Wilson (May 10, 1934 – 1994) was a Welsh professional snooker player. He managed to get to into the world's top 16 in 1988 at the age of 55; a remarkable feat for someone with very poor eyesight and a number of other ailments.

1 Amateur years
2 Giving up the game
3 Turning Professional
4 External links

[edit] Amateur years

Wilson was a talented amateur snooker player who grew up in the same town, Tredegar, as his friend and snooker rival Ray Reardon. He won the National Under-19 Championship in 1952 and 1953, and the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1956.

[edit] Giving up the game

Snooker's popularity was on the wane at this time. Wilson became disillusioned with the game and gave up snooker completely for fifteen years.

[edit] Turning Professional

His interest rekindled in the early 1970s, and he finally turned professional in 1979, aged 45. He broke into the top sixteen for one season, 1988/89, a remarkable achievement for someone aged 55. He later went on to win the last ever World Seniors Championships in 1991 (beating Eddie Charlton 5-4 in the final), at the time picking up a cheque for £16,000, his highest prize winnings. He was known as a fast player and a dangerous potter; but, although he played in the World Championship on many occasions, he never progressed beyond the first round. He played a young Ronnie O'Sullivan in the 1992 UK championship, winning 9-8 against the then 16-year-old. The highest break of his career was 138.