1959 – 60

Jack playing for Paddock Conservative Club in the Billiards League was defeated by the young Bryan Almond of YMCA, which was worth a mention in the paper. At the half way point of the season Paddock and Emley Reading Room WMC share the lead in section ‘B’. Paddock finished top of the section and meet the winners of section ‘A’ – Golcar Conservative Club – in the final at Moldgreen Conservative Club. Having had some success in the snooker league, Paddock are seeking their first honours in the billiards league and have put up some excellent performances considering Jack owes 100 in his games.

In the final Bill Yeoman lost the first game for Paddock but Jack levelled the match score by winning the second one. The report says that it is often the case that breaks generally are small but the exception was provided by Jack. Being 100 behind scratch and his opponent having 100 start he had to score 300 before his opponent scored 100. He did this with breaks of 33, 149, 41 and 50 as his opponent managed only 32, and so won 200 – 132. The break of 149 was the highest break made in a League final. Brian Redfearn lost his game giving Golcar a 2-1 lead and it looked as if Golcar might win their second title until Jim Norton, giving 65 start, won to level once again. With the game tied at 2-2 the deciding game was played by the reserve player, Graham White, who having a 10 point handicap advantage won by 11. As the report says this was Paddock Conservative’s first win in the Non-Political Billiards League.

The Huddersfield team had a shock before their first game of this season’s Yorkshire Inter-District League game, as reported in the newspaper clipping here. Gladney was well respected throughout Yorkshire and his retirement came as a surprise and a shock. He has won both the Huddersfield and Yorkshire Billiards and Snooker Championships, and as mentioned earlier represented Yorkshire in the English Amateur finals in London. It would appear as if his announcement affected the team on the night, as they suffered their heaviest defeat since the league was re-formed after the War. Jack recorded his lowest ever score for the team and Harold Burkinshaw didn’t do much better. Reserve Cyril Shackleton standing in for Gladney on the night also lost and Huddersfield will have to add a new player to the team for the rest of the season. That player will be Sid Burhouse of Berry Brow Liberal Club who has fully justified his inclusion for this season thanks to his excellent form.

Jack played C. Drake who had beaten him in the Champion of Champions final last season and made his lowest ever score for the team. Cyril standing for in Gladney didn’t have the debut he would have wanted and Harold playing last with the aggregate lost couldn’t salvage anything from the wreckage.

Things didn’t improve in the third game against Wharfedale for Jack, despite playing well, as he lost his third game in a row – though everyone in the team showed some improvement. The improvement continued into the next game against Bradford as they registered their first win. In the last game of the season against Wakefield ‘A’, with both teams having no chance of honours, there was no tension and therefore better play: though still no win. After dominating the competition for the past eight seasons it seems Huddersfield are at a rebuilding stage and a number of young players will have to be groomed for the side.