John Williams (snooker referee)

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John Williams (born 8 June 1937, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales) is a retired Welsh snooker referee.

Williams was well educated and passed his 11-plus at the age of nine and when he left school, he had obtained seven O-levels. He got a job in the local steel works and passed up the chance of becoming a professional footballer. He was invited to join Bolton Wanderers as an amateur, but declined their offer because he worked on Saturday mornings.

After nearly 20 years in the steel industry he quit and joined the civil service as an executive officer in the Department of Employment and during that time he displayed his all round sporting versatility by turning out regularly for the Wrexham civil service cricket team.

Williams then started a career in snooker refereeing during the mid 1960's and became the referee in the 1973 World Snooker Championship quarter-final match between Fred Davis and Alex Higgins at the Manchester Exhibition Hall when rain stopped play. There was no TV coverage and Granada TV cameras got an interest in this unusual event and brought fame to John Williams himself. He retired from his role at the civil service in 1981 to become a full time referee.

Williams then went on to referee 10 World Snooker Championship finals between 1976 and 2002 including the famous 1985 final between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor which Taylor won at 12.20am.

He became the referee in Pot Black after Sydney Lee's retirement in 1981 and did so for the remainder of the series and the revivals from the 1990s.

He was suspended for a while in 1982 by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Referees' Association following a brief skirmish with the law.^[clarify] He was reinstated in time to officiate at the 1983 World Championship which he had refereed Cliff Thorburn's 147 break against Terry Griffiths.

He retired from refereeing in 2002 after the World Championship final in which Peter Ebdon beat Stephen Hendry in a 18–17 decider.

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