As I have said before, there is really only the Huddersfield Billiards Championship to talk about for this particular year. Of course, given his past success, this was nothing new for Jack, though for others it would have marked and been celebrated as a fine achievement.
Only the one report to look at for this year, as Jack tries to win his eleventh Huddersfield Billiards Championship. I figured, as there’s only one report, you might as well read it in its entirety.
I do not have a report of the second nights’ play, but we do know the result. This would be Jack’s last appearance in the final, and alas he couldn’t go out on a high as Tommy Donlan won. How fitting that the student should beat the teacher to scoop his first title, and that he would then go on to win it ten times as a teacher himself. One great champion bows out as another takes the stage.
I wonder if Tommy’s children are as proud of their Dad as I am of mine?
Longevity isn’t a word used very much in these modern days of instant fame and fortune, but it’s a word that very much applies to a man who loved his game, with all its rivalries and the life long friendships that were made. The first appearance Jack made in a final was against Victor Muff in 1946, which means that, with his last one against Tommy Donlan, he has been in 14 of the 26 finals which have occurred during his active years. Appearing in over half of the finals between his first and last must be a record. It’s possible that Tommy appeared in more, but it was only 14 years between his first and last win and I don’t have any records to show that. Go back further to 1940 when he won the first of snooker titles and that’s a span of 30 years until his last billiards title. That fact is not a record, as Brian Cousen has that honour, winning his first snooker title in 1965 and his last billiards title in 2000, 36 years.
Beyond this, there are no more reports of Jack’s playing days, but even after he has given up gracing the green baize with his skills, there are still mentions of him occasionally in the Huddersfield Examiner. I’ll finish this story with those newspaper reports, some that Jack saved and some that I’ve saved myself, as a fitting tribute to a “star” of the past. A player of the past that is remembered with great esteem by players of the present.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the following, as Jack was more than just a billiards player. After 35 years of enjoying his beloved game, his second love (and I make no apologies for saying that) who was his wife and my Mum, passed away on the 23 July 1971, aged just 46. I have said this before and really, there isn’t a more appropriate saying: behind every great man is a great women.
Miriam Ruth Mellor gave Jack the freedom to play, without the fear of him ever becoming a bad husband. Believe me, he wasn’t. Our family life was full of love and joy, and Jack‘s success was part of that enjoyment for us all. If Jack‘s diminishing skill as he aged hadn’t already limited his ability to win championships, then I think the loss of his beloved wife put the tin lid on it.
The first picture is around 1947/8 as Jack and Miriam enjoyed the early days of courtship. The second is on the 17th July 1971, enjoying the wedding of my brother, Royston, just six days before Mum passed away.
Jack Mellor 