Alec Brown (snooker player)

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Alec Brown
Born27 May 1908
London, England
Died3 September 1995 (aged 87)
Plymouth, Devon, England
Sport country England
Professional1936–1955
Tournament wins
Non-ranking4

Alexander Edward Brown (27 May 1908 – 3 September 1995) was one of the leading professional snooker players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s.[1] Brown was a former speedway driver.[2]

He was born in London,[1] the son of Alexander Brown, a professional billiards player.

The official rules of both snooker and billiards state that "A cue shall be not less than 3 ft (914 mm) in length and shall show no change from the traditional tapered shape and form, with a tip, used to strike the cue-ball, secured to the thinner end."[3] This rule was introduced following an incident on 14 November 1938 when Brown was playing Tom Newman at Thurston's Hall in the 1938/1939 Daily Mail Gold Cup. In the third frame, Brown potted a red, after which the cue ball was left amidst several reds, with only a narrow way through to the black, the only colour not snookered, and which was near its spot. Playing this with conventional equipment would have been awkward. To the surprise of spectators, Brown produced a small fountain pen-sized cue from his vest pocket, chalked it, and played the stroke. Newman protested at this.[4][5]

The referee, Charles Chambers, then inspected the implement, a strip of ebony about five inches long, with one end having a cue tip. Chambers decided to award a foul, and awarded Newman seven points. In response to questions, the referee quoted the rule that said all strokes must be made with the tip of the cue, so he did not regard the "fountain-pen cue" as a valid cue. Eight days later, the Billiards Association and Control Council, which owned the rules, met and decided to introduce a new rule, which has been developed into today's version: "A billiards cue, as recognised by the Billiards and Control Council, shall not be less than three feet in length, and shall show no substantial departure from the traditional and generally accepted shape and form.[4][5]

Performance and rankings timeline[]

Tournament 1935/
36 		1936/
37 		1937/
38 		1938/
39 		1939/
40 		1945/
46 		1946/
47 		1947/
48 		1948/
49 		1949/
50 		1950/
51 		1951/
52 		1952/
53 		1953/
54 		1954/
55
Daily Mail Gold Cup[nb 1][nb 2] NH A 4 1 1 Tournament Not Held
Sunday Empire News Tournament[nb 1] Tournament Not Held A Tournament Not Held
News of the World Snooker Tournament[nb 1] Tournament Not Held LQ 1 8 5 ? ?
Sporting Record Masters' Tournament[nb 1] Tournament Not Held A Tournament Not Held
World Championship SF QF QF SF QF QF QF QF QF QF A A Not Held
Professional Matchplay Championship Tournament Not Held QF QF SF SF
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R/N lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(N = position in round-robin event) 		QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
  1. ^ a b c d Round-robin handicap tournament
  2. ^ Billiards event before 1936/37 season

Tournament wins[]

No. Event Ref.
1. 1938/1939 Daily Mail Gold Cup [2]
2. 1939/1940 Daily Mail Gold Cup [2]
3. 1950/1951 News of the World Tournament Qualifying Event [6]
4. 1950/1951 News of the World Tournament [7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Alec Brown". The Times. 9 September 1995. p. 21.
  2. ^ a b c Lowe, Ted (1984). Between frames. London: A & C Black. p. 41. ISBN 0713624469.
  3. ^ "Official Rules of the Games of Snooker and English Billiards" (PDF). wpbsa.com. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b "News of the month". The Billiard Player. December 1938. p. 7.
  5. ^ a b Clare, Norman. Billiards and Snooker Bygones. Shire Publications. ISBN 9780852637302.
  6. ^ "Alec Brown wins by odd frame". Aberdeen Journal. 9 October 1950. p. 4.
  7. ^ "£1,500 snooker placings". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 22 January 1951. p. 3.
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