1957 – 58

There were very few reports saved of the Huddersfield Snooker Championship, which would indicate that Jack either didn’t enter or was eliminated at a very early stage. Jack’s team mate at Paddock Conservative Club, Frank Stringer, was a surprise winner over Clifford Percival in the final. Clifford has been one of Huddersfield’s leading snooker players for many years but Frank started his first final on form and won the first frame by 87 – 25. Clifford answered in the second frame by winning it 69 – 48 with the third frame going to Frank by the score of 57 – 26. It looked like a five frame final as Clifford lead 25 – 0 in the fourth frame but Frank, with crisp, clean potting which he displayed throughout the final, came back to win 58 – 33 and thus secure the win. That win created a record, for never before have the Billiards and Snooker Championship gone to the same club in the same year – and Jack also of Paddock had won the billiards.

It was reported early in the season that Oakes WMC, who had done well in past years in the snooker league, would be entering a team in the billiards league this season. Harold Burkinshaw would be playing for them after a year with Crosland Moor Liberal Club, along with John Boyle formerly of Kirkheaton Liberal Club. Jim Broadhead is also registered. If Jack, as was mentioned, joins them they will have the “Huddersfield Stars” that “assisted” Rastrick Constitutional in the Halifax Parish League a year earlier. We do not have any reports to show that Jack played in the Billiards League for anybody. It was later reported that Crosland Moor Liberal Club had registered Jack to play snooker with them in section ‘C’ but he must have changed his mind as he turned out for Paddock Conservative Club. This is not really surprising as he was living at Lower Brow Road and the club was only 100 yards from his house. It just goes to show that “fake news” isn’t necessarily a new thing invented by Donald Trump – it has indeed been around a lot longer than that.

There were eight sections in the billiards league and the winners of each section go into the quarter-final play-offs for the championship. It is a four man handicap league and if the frames are level then a fifth deciding frame is played. Paddock beat Linthwaite Hall in the quarter final and Bradley Mills WMC in the semi-final, with both games requiring the fifth deciding frame for them to complete a 3-2 win. Jack wasn’t playing with them last year and he has taken the place of G. White in this years competition. In last years final, against Newsome WMC, which also went to a fifth frame, White had the “honour” of playing the deciding frame and unfortunately lost on the pink, 70 – 55. Paddock gained ample consolation in this years final by beating Slaithwaite C & BC in the final at Moldgreen Conservative Club – again by 3 frames to 2. All of the Slaithwaite players received start from their Paddock opponents with Jack playing off scratch. Bill Yeoman was the hero despite losing his match to H. Lawton and being behind in the decider by 19, with only 22 left on the table. He took the brown, blue, pink and black, to win the frame and ultimately the match by the narrowest of margins. The trophy was presented by a Bentley and Shaw’s representative; the firm that had donated the trophy for the competition some 21 years earlier.

Gladney Hoyle started the campaign off with a shock defeat to C. Jackson of Ossett, despite breaks of 54 and 51, losing by two points. There was another shock in the next game as reported here on the right, and so with 2 points to each team and only 1 point difference in aggregate, it was up to Harold to settle match result. This he did with ease against a reserve brought in at the last minute. The snooker team also won on the night by 5 points to 2.

The ‘shock defeat’ was that of the billiards team that hadn’t lost for the past three years, and saw the first victory for Bradford. The ‘fine victory’ mentioned was the snooker team that inflicted Bradford’s first defeat of the season. Even in the first game, Harold struggled, but a break of 58 late on helped him over the line. As the report says, Jack was out of touch and in the last match Gladney was unable to settle.

This victory put Huddersfield back at the top of the table but they must win the last two matches to carry off the title once again. Gladney beat the Yorkshire Champion, George Emmott, and gave Huddersfield a good aggregate lead as well as a psychological advantage for the following players. Harold was not at his best but ensured victory for his side and Jack completed the sequence of victories.

Huddersfield are now favourites to win the league for a seventh successive time, after the grand 7-0 victory. Gladney got them off to a good start with an excellent win which included at break of 80, and Jack eased his way to a win that guaranteed them the aggregate. All that was left was for Cyril, standing in for the Harold who was ill, to win on his team debut, which he did comfortably.

As last year, Huddersfield would have to beat Leeds in the last game of the season to claim the title, but this year they were playing away at a new venue, Burley Liberal Club. After his debut win in the previous game Cyril, again deputising for the ill Harold, was up first. It looked as if he might be heavily defeated as his opponent had a lead of sixty. Cyril however gained confidence and started to play excellent billiards; in three visits to the table he scored over a hundred points. Later in the game he had the highest break of the night with a run of 76 to win comfortably. Huddersfield needed two wins to secure the title and Jack, playing second, won without extending himself, playing consistently throughout and thus making the Championship title a safe bet. Gladney could therefore play with freedom in the last game, which he did to complete a white wash – showing the second best side in the competition.