I get the feeling that Jack, now at the age of 46 and having played Snooker and Billiards for over 20 years at a very high level, is no longer as competitive as he once was. I’m not saying that he doesn’t take it as seriously as he did, but I think the game is now more of a social pastime for him than a serious sport. He certainly doesn’t enter as many competitions as he did, and now seems content playing with Paddock Con. and his club mates, rather than traveling all over Yorkshire to pit his skills against younger and hungrier players. The words “been there, done that and got the t-shirt” spring to mind. Having said that, he still managed four century breaks, including the highest break in the Billiards League final at 149, and hit a break of 168 in the Champion of Champions semi-final. He may be slowing down, but he is still capable of producing the form that has won him so many titles.
Only Harold Burkinshaw entered the English Amateur Billiards Championship this year from Huddersfield, and he played the Earl of Mexborough. He beat him and went on to play last years Yorkshire representative in the championship proper, Jack Lunn of Leeds. With no reports to refer to, I have looked in the Billiard Player magazine for information and found these two snippets. I should perhaps refer to the 250 magazines that Jack saved more often, as they do report on county championships and English qualifying games. They not only give us the scores but also a small report of the game and the writers’ opinion of the players – which is not always complimentary.
Yorkshire continue with the zoning which was introduced two years ago, but they have changed it yet again. Huddersfield had 7 in their area though 3 were from Halifax; one being the well known Albert Birkby who Jack had played on many occasions at English, County and District level. Huddersfield would play two rounds to get down to 2 players going forward into the quarter-final draw. The other three zones would also play 2 rounds, but Bradford would have 3, Leeds 2 and South Yorkshire just the 1 in the draw.
Jack would play Clifford Percival in the first round with the first half of the game being played at Paddock Conservative Club. We have no results of the match but Jack went on to win and was in the second round draw which had him, yet again, playing his old rival from Halifax, Albert Birkby. Yet again, he must have beaten him, as Jack makes it through to play in the quarter-finals.
John Dunning the well known Morley snooker player, was his opponent and in the away leg Jack had a lead of only 14 after being over 150 points to the good at one point. Dunning was the better player in the early stages of the Paddock leg and it looked as if he would create a surprise. However, as time went on Jack came more into his own and played the type of billiards for which he is known. With the help of a well constructed break of 125 he passed Dunning and went on to win by 800 – 690.
Jack’s semi-final opponent is the Wharfedale champion George Emmott who he had played twice in the Yorkshire league with honours even, so it should be a really close game. There seems to be a lack of interest from Jack when he loses now, as we don’t have any reports of this semi-final – besides the fact that Emmott won. Emmott now meets the young Halifax player Peter Tasker, who beat last year’s four time winner, G. W. Lockwood in his semi-final at Primrose Hill WMC. Tasker went on to win the final by the narrowest of margins, 1000 – 987, becoming the youngest player to do so and be entered into the English Amateur Championship next year.
I didn’t think that Jack entered the Yorkshire Snooker Championship last year and with a report of the full draw we know he hadn’t entered it this year either. This backs up my thinking of him beginning to ease up as he gets older.
In his end of year round up , which he did every year, Leonard Oldham mentioned that the Yorkshire Champion of Champions competition had been discontinued. The news of that wouldn’t be greeted with any joy from Jack as he had played in the final for the past two years. He was narrowly beaten in the first final by Clifford Drake and easily beaten in the second by Geoff Lockwood.
In the Huddersfield Billiards Championship Jack had a good victory over Norman Sims to reach the last eight of the competition, but with no further reports we do not know who he played. However, as he isn’t in the semi-final, we do know that whoever he played was able to beat him. The league handbook tell us that winner was Harold Burkinshaw for the second consecutive year.
Jack Mellor 