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Joe Davis

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For other people named Joe or Joseph Davis, see Joe Davis (disambiguation).

Joe Davis
OBE
Joe Davis.jpg
Davis c. 1920
Born(1901-04-15)15 April 1901
Whitwell, Derbyshire, England
Died10 July 1978(1978-07-10) (aged 77)
Hampshire, England
Sport country England
Professional1919–1964
Tournament wins
World Champion

Joseph Davis OBE (15 April 1901 – 10 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is now played, such as break-building. With equipment manufacturer Bill Camkin, he drove the creation of the World Snooker Championship by persuading the Billiards Association and Control Council to recognise an official professional snooker championship in 1927. Davis won the first 15 championships from 1927 to 1946 and remains the only undefeated player in World Snooker Championship history. He scored the championship's first century break, in 1930.

Davis was a professional English billiards player from the age of 18 and was World Billiards Champion four times between 1928 and 1932. He was the first person to win world titles in both billiards and snooker. After his 1946 World Snooker Championship victory, Davis no longer played in the World Championship but participated in other tournaments and exhibition matches until 1964, winning four News of the World Snooker Tournament titles. He also continued to wield considerable influence over the professional game through his chairmanship of the professional players' association, his co-ownership of the venue Leicester Square Hall, and his negotiation of television contracts. His younger brother Fred Davis was the only person to beat Joe Davis in a competitive snooker match without receiving a start.

In 1955, Davis was the first player to make an officially recognised maximum break. He collapsed whilst watching Fred play Perrie Mans in the semi-final of the 1978 World Snooker Championship. Whilst convalescing, Davis contracted a chest infection that led to his death on 10 July that year.

Early life[]

Joseph "Joe" Davis was born at Low Pit Lane in Whitwell, Derbyshire, on 15 April 1901,[1] and baptised on 9 May 1901.[2] He was the eldest of the six children of coal-miner Fred Davis and his wife Ann-Eliza.[a] Joe's brother Fred, who also became a professional snooker player, was the youngest of the six children.[3][4] His father became a publican by the time Joe Davis was two years old. The family had moved to Whittington Moor, where the elder Fred Davis had taken over the management of the Travellers Rest pub. As a young child, Joe Davis was sent to live with his maternal grandparents Thomas and Sarah Clark who lived in Newbold, Derbyshire.[1] Davis started playing English billiards at the age of eleven.[5] From the age of 12[6] he took lessons from Ernest Rudge, a billiards player turned entrepreneur, who lived in Chesterfield and had recently opened a billiard hall in the town. The lessons took place at Rudge's private billiard room at the bottom of his garden.[7] Davis would later manage billiard halls that were owned either by his family or by Rudge.[3] He scored his first century break in billiards at the age of 12 in an exhibition game against J.D.Dickens.[5][6]

Rudge arranged professional matches at his billiards hall in Chesterfield. In December 1913[8] a week long match was played at Chesterfield between the Australian billiards player George Gray, and Claude Falkiner from Featherstone. It went on in afternoon and evening sessions. Davis was allowed afternoons off from School to act as "spot boy" for this match. It also gave him the chance to view the technique of professionals. At one point during that week, Rudge asked Gray to give his opinion of Davis while watching him play. Gray played in a stance sighting with both eyes centrally over the cue, and the cue running in the middle of his chin. But because he could not focus with his right eye, and his left eye was stronger, Davis played sighting in a stance with his left eye along the cue, with his cue coming to rest just to the left of his chin.[9] Gray said of Davis's technique: "The boy will never be a good player until he alters his sighting."[7] Davis was at first despondent about Gray's comments. For some time Rudge tried to change the technique and stance of Davis to get him to play "two-eyed." But he found he could not play this way naturally, and the decision was made not to try and alter this natural aspect of his style.[7]

On 3 December 1914 at the age of 13, against J.D.Dickens who was also the holder of the title, Davis won the Chesterfield and District Amateur Billiards Championship.[6] The final score was 1,500 – 1,229 to Davis. It was played over three evenings at the Victoria Billiard Hall, Chesterfield. He was given a trophy, a gold medal and a set of billiard balls for making a break of 115, the highest in that tournament.[7][10]: 108–110 [11]

In February 1915 a match took place at Chesterfield, organised by Rudge, between Tom Reece, and Willie Smith. Reece played Davis on the afternoon of 11 February 1915, because Smith had a business engagement elsewhere. Davis defeated Reece 1,000 – 785, after being given a start of 650. Davis's highest break in the match was 52.[12]

On 24 March 1915, at the opening of the Victoria Billiard Hall in Hasland, Davis played the ex-Yorkshire champion F.W. Hughes of Leeds in an exhibition match of the first to 600 points. Davis, receiving a start of 200, defeated Hughes 600 – 370, concluding with an unfinished break of 99.[13] In an exhibition match at Chesterfield against Claude Falkiner on 14 September 1916, he lost 232 – 400, after being given a 150 start. His highest break in this match was 50.[14]

Professional billiards career[]

Davis became a professional billiards player in 1919 at the age of 18.[15][16]: 30  Joe's first professional billiards match was against Albert Raynor of Sheffield. It was a week long match of the first to 8,000 points and was played at Brampton Coliseum, just outside Chesterfield. Albert conceded 1,000 points to Davis from the start. The match finished on 14 February 1920 and resulted in a victory for Davis by 145 points. Davis's best breaks in the final session of that game were 120, 106, 93 and 92. His highest of the match was 160.[17] By the end of March 1920, Davis's highest recorded break in billiards was 468.[18] He beat the Midlands champion Fred Lawrence at Chesterfield on 27 March 1920 in a week long match of the first to 8,000 points. Fred conceded 1,000 points to Davis from the start. He won the match by 506 points (8,000 – 7,494), and made 23 breaks over 100, with his best being 262. Joe was given very positive reviews for his performance in this match.[18][19] On 29 November 1920, he began a week long match of the first to 8,000 points, against Arthur.F. Peall at the Victoria Billiard Hall in Chesterfield. Joe received 1,000 points before the game by Peall. He lost the match 7,785 – 8,000. But Peall gave some very complimentary remark's about Joe's game afterwards.[20]

On 24 March 1921, he lost 302 – 400 to Fred Lawrence in the semi-final of an invitational professional tournament at Thurston's Hall held in aid of the St. Dunstan's after care Fund.[21] In his first match of that tournament against the Scottish champion Tom Aiken on the way to the semi-final he made a break of 147.[22][6] He also lost to Lawrence in the final of his first open professional championship, the 1921 Midlands Counties Billiards Championship which concluded on 16 April. The winning margin for Fred Lawrence in the final which was a match of the first to 7,000 points, was 866.[23][16] Davis lost to Tom Tothill of Bury, the northern billiards champion, at Manchester in a level match of the first to 15,000. The match ended on 30 April 1921 with a final score of 15,000 - 13,208 to Tom.[24] In this match on 29 April 1921 Davis made a break of 495, with 480 of this being scored off the red ball.[25] After being given a start of 1,500 in a week long match at Thurston's, Joe Davis recorded a 8,000 – 7,412 win over Arthur.F. Peall. The match concluded on 17 September 1921. Peall had achieved 13 consecutive victories over opponents prior to this.[26]

On 16 January 1922, he started a level game of the first to 7,000 points against the Welsh billiards champion Tom Carpenter at Cardiff.[27] It was a very close game, and Joe ended up being the winner by just one point.[28] Davis won the 1922 Midlands Counties Billiards Championship, beating Tom Dennis 6,417–4,433 in the week-long final which finished on 25 February.[3][29] Later in 1922, a victory in the Second Division Championship, which included a win in the final over Arthur.F. Peall in March,[30] gave Davis an entry into the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC) Professional Championship.[3][16]: 54  According to The Birmingham Daily Gazette he was "outclassed" by Tom Newman in their professional championship match, which concluded on 15 April 1922, losing 5,181–8,000.[31]

Davis failed to qualify for the 1923 professional championship, losing to Lawrence in the Second Division semi-final at Chesterfield on 24 February in that year.[32][33] On 11 October 1923 at the Burroughes Hall in Piccadilly in a match again against Fred Lawrence, he made the highest break of his career to that point, finishing on 599.[34] The final score in this match was 14,000 – 10,743 to Davis.[35]

He became Midlands champion for the second time by defeating Fred Lawrence 14,000 – 12,263 in the final, which ended on 2 February 1924 at Chesterfield.[36] On 28 February 1924 at Cardiff in the semi-final of the Second Division Championship, Joe had a break of 980 against Tom Carpenter.[37] Davis beat Carpenter 14,000 – 10,240. This got him into the final where he met Fred Lawrence in a game that began on 17 March at Sheffield for a week.[38] The second stage of this final commenced on Monday 24 March at Chesterfield.[39] He won the Second Division Billiards Championship, easily beating Lawrence in the final that year. The winning margin was 6,198 points with the final score being 14,000 – 7,802. Fred was out of condition during this game, following a serious illness from some time before, and the result was never in doubt from the early stages.[40] Although being eligible, Joe chose not to enter the professional billiards championship in 1924.

Tom Newman (pictured in 1930) and Davis played each other for the World English Billiards Championship each year from 1926 to 1930.

In 1926, Davis and defending champion Newman were the only entrants in the professional billiards championship,[41][b] which is now regarded as the world championship. Newman beat Davis 16,000–9,505,[42]: 212–213  with an average score of 82.9 per visit.[42]: 82  The final in that year took place at Holborn Town Hall. It began on 19 April[44] and finished on 1 May.[45]

He reached the final the next year and was again defeated by Newman.[42]: 83 It took place at Manchester and ended on 7 May 1927. In a match of the first to 16,000 points, Tom Newman's winning margin was 1,237.[46] Joe achieved his highest break ever in billiards of 2,501 on 27 April 1927 in this final. He used the pendulum stroke during this break. It had recently been introduced by Tom Reece.[47] This involved manoeuvring the object balls into the jaws of a corner pocket so they were touching each other, and scoring long runs of close direct cannons by tapping the cue ball lightly across them from one cushion to the other.[48] There were calls for this stroke to be limited or abolished because it was so tedious to watch.[47] On 9 August 1927, the Billiards Association Control Council decided to alter the rules to eliminate the big break made from ball-to-ball cannons alone. In relation to the pendulum stroke, the number of consecutive direct cannons allowed during a break was limited to 35 without the intervention of a hazard, an indirect cannon, or a direct cannon in conjunction with a hazard. The pendulum stroke was defined as being in the category of the direct cannon. This meant that the object balls had to be broken from the position over the pocket before the break could be continued after this amount of direct cannons, because between hitting the first and second object ball one or more cushions had to be struck.[49]

Joe made a break of 1,011 on 20 October 1927 in a match against Tom Newman at Thurston's.[50] This was the first 1,000 break made under the new rules.[51] His friend Willie Smith, had written an account of this break in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph. Davis beat Newman by 485 points in this match of the first to 16,000, after being given a 2,000 start.[52][53]

He defeated Newman in 1928 to become the world champion at English billiards for the first time, making sixty centuries in the last final to be played with ivory balls. It took place at Thurston's and the final score was 16,000 – 14,874 when it ended on 5 May.[42]: 84 [54] Davis thereby became the first player to hold the professional titles in both billiards and snooker, an achievement not matched until his brother Fred Davis won the billiards championship in 1980.[55]

Davis successfully defended his title for the next three years. In the 1929 final against Newman, Davis made 63 century breaks and his average score per visit to the table was 100.[42]: 86 The final ended on 20 April 1929 with a victory by 781 points for Joe Davis at Thurston's, with the score being 18,000 – 17,219. He won with a break of 128 unfinished. After his victory, the electric lighting system failed for a time before the presentation of the cup and medals could take place.[56]

In 1930, he set a new record average score-per-visit of 113.3. Davis again beat Tom Newman in the 1930 billiards final which ended on the 17 May. He won by 801 points with the final score being 20,918–20,117.[42]: 94 [57] On the 7th of May 1930 in this final Davis completed a break of 2,052. At that time this was a record for the championship under the existing rules, and the highest billiard break Joe Davis ever made after the rule change in 1927.[58][59]

The event was not held in 1931 as most of the leading professionals did not enter, mainly due to a disagreement with the BA&CC over the cloth to be used. The only entrant was Willie Smith, who was not declared champion.

Walter Lindrum (pictured in 1934, playing a shot) defeated Davis twice for the World English Billiards Championship.

Joe Davis took part in a match with Walter Lindrum at Thurston's which began on 18 January 1932. It was a fortnight's match under time limit conditions and Davis was given a start of 7,000.[60] On the second day Walter began a break in the afternoon. By the end of the day the break was unfinished on 3,151.[61] Lindrum narrowly missed a difficult cushion cannon with the rest and the break ended at 4,137 on 20 January 1932.[62] This beat Walter's previous record of 3,905.[63] Davis responded finishing the afternoon session on 1,131 unfinished. His break continued in the evening session and finished on 1,247. Joe considered this break in many ways to have been his finest.[63] This was the first time that opponents in a billiards game had made four figure breaks in consecutive visits to the table.[64]

In 1932, Davis faced New Zealander Clark McConachy in the final. McConachy had won three of their four warm-up matches but in the championship itself, Davis won 25,161–19,259, scoring over 11,000 of his points through a series of runs of "close cannons", in which the three balls are kept close together for consecutive cannons.[42]: 96–100 [65] Davis contested the final again in 1933 and 1934, losing on both occasions to Australian Walter Lindrum.[42]: 212–213 

The UK Professional English Billiards Championship was first contested in 1934, and for some years after that was regarded as the premier event of the billiards season in the UK, in the absence of any contests for the world championships.[66][67] Davis won the inaugural UK title with a 18,745–18,309 defeat of Newman.[68] After Lindrum had won the World Championship 1933, he had insisted that the competition should be held in Australia for his defence. The Billiards Association and Control Council agreed to this, and Davis travelled to Australia for the 1934 Championship, where he was disappointed by the lack of planning for the tournament, and found it hard to raise the money for his return to the UK. Lindrum retained the world championship in 1934, and it was not contested again until 1952.[42]: 105–107 [66] Davis defeated Newman in each annual UK championship final up to 1939. The tournament was not held from 1940 to 1945, during World War II.[66] Davis also took the first post-war UK title, with a walkover over John Barrie.[69][67]

Snooker career[]

Coinciding with Davis' peak as a billiards player, public interest in billiards was waning because the top players were becoming so proficient the game was seen as boring for spectators.[15] By 1924, amendments to the rules to make high breaks more difficult were discussed but breaks of over 1,000 became increasingly common.[42]: 81–86  As a billiard hall manager, Davis noticed the increasing popularity of snooker and with Birmingham-based billiards equipment manager Bill Camkin, persuaded the BA&CC to recognise an official professional snooker championship in the 1926–27 season.[3] In 1927, the final of the first snooker world championship was held at Camkin's Hall; Davis won the tournament by beating Dennis 16–7 (20–11 after "dead frames" were played to take the total to the agreed 31 frames) in the final, for which he won £6 10s.[70][71]: 27–30 [72]

Davis won the world championship every year until 1940,[73] and made the tournament's first official century break in 1930.[71]: 16–17  In 1929, the final was held in the back room of a pub owned by the losing finalist Dennis;[10]: 49  in 1931 and 1934, the tournament was twice contested only by Davis and another player.[74]: 1  In 1934, Davis travelled to Australia to play Horace Lindrum in an invitational match, The World Snooker Challenge, which some called an unofficial world championship. Davis beat Lindrum by 46 frames to 29. From 1935, the championship became more remunerative for players.[10]: 49  The 1940 final was contested between Joe Davis and his brother Fred; Joe took an early lead but Fred won 11 frames in a row to take a 20–14 lead. Eventually Joe won the match 37–35, with Fred winning the dead frame that took it to 37–36.[72]

Due to World War II, the world championship was not held again until 1946.[72] Davis successfully defended his title, his 15th consecutive win, and thereby held the title for 20 consecutive years. As of 2020, he had won more world championships than any other player.[70] Davis retired from the event following this victory, having won the title at all 15 events from 1927 to 1946, making him, as of 2020, the only undefeated player in the history of the world championships.[75][76] Davis remained the best player until his retirement in 1964; his brother Fred came closest to Joe's standard during this time.[10]: 50–51  According to snooker historian Clive Everton, Joe Davis' retirement from the world championship reduced its prestige, a view that is shared by snooker journalists and authors and .[10]: 50 [77]

With the exception of the world championship, tournaments were played on a handicap basis; Davis would concede a set number of points in each frame to his opponents, for example beginning each frame from 0 points whilst his opponent started from 14.[10]: 50–51  He won the News of the World Tournament on three occasions during the 1950s,[71]: 27–29  whilst his brother Fred and future world champion John Pulman each won it twice.[78] In 1959, Davis attempted to popularise a new version of the game called snooker plus, which had two extra colours—an orange and a purple—and was used for the 1959 News of the World Snooker Plus Tournament.[71]: 123  According to Everton, "the public rejected the game for the gimmick it was".[79]

Davis scored the first officially recognised maximum break of 147 on 22 January 1955 at Leicester Square Hall in an exhibition match against Willie Smith.[80] Because the match had taken place under the rules used by professionals that included the "play again" rule under which the opponent can require a player who has made a foul shot to play the next shot as well, the BA&CC initially refused to recognise the break because it was not made under their own version of the rules. The BA&CC recognised the break in April 1957, shortly before the "play again" rule was incorporated into their own rules for amateur players.[10]: 50 [81]

In 1962, at over 60 years of age, Davis made a televised break of exactly 100 on his first visit to the table in the first frame of a match against the sitting World Champion John Pulman; the break consisted of seven blacks, two pinks and five blues, and came to an end when Davis missed a long red into the top right hand pocket. The missed shot was the only time during the break when Davis was faced with a difficult pot, such was the quality of his positional play.[82]

Davis was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1963.[81] He continued to play professionally until 1964.[10]: 50  Davis died on 10 July 1978,[4] two months after becoming ill while watching his brother Fred play Perrie Mans in the 1978 World Snooker Championship semi-final. The day after the match, he collapsed in the street and required a lengthy operation. He died from a chest infection he contracted whilst recuperating from the operation.[10]: 48–51 [83]: 67 [84] The house in Whitwell where he was born bears a plaque commemorating him.[71]: 27–30 

Legacy[]

Joe Davis won four world billiards championship titles and 15 World Snooker Championship titles over a 20-year period during which he was undefeated. Other than in handicapped matches in which he conceded a start, he lost only four times, all of which came towards the end of his career and were against his brother Fred.[3] Everton has said of Davis' influence on the game in the early 1920s;"In those days, the prevailing idea was to pot a red or two, a couple of colours and play safe but in the time he could spare from billiards Davis devoted considerable thought and practice to evolving the positional and breakbuilding shots, sequences and techniques which are taken for granted today".[10]: 49–50 

Fred Davis, the second person to become a world champion at both snooker and billiards,[85] said his brother Joe was "a very good player before anyone else knew how to play the game".[10]: 49 

Joe Davis was not able to focus with his right eye; he played with his cue to the left of his chin.[7][15] Coach , in his book Frank Callan's Snooker Clinic, compared the most successful player at the time, Steve Davis to Joe Davis and concluded Joe Davis was the better player. Callan also stated; "many players who tried to emulate Joe's stance (which was unusually off-centre due to left eye striking) simply gave up the game when they found they couldn't play like that".[86]

Steve Davis was heavily influenced by Joe Davis's book How I Play Snooker when learning to play.[75][77] Ronnie O'Sullivan said of one of Davis's coaching books; "2007-8 … was one of my best years and it was all because I was reading the Joe Davis book".[87] O'Sullivan again paid tribute to Joe Davis following his sixth world title in 2020.[88]

Davis's influence on the game was such that, according to Callan, "his word was law".[86] Everton said following his retirement from the world championship, Davis "through his force of personality … controlled the game", being the pre-eminent player, chairman of the professional players' association, a co-owner of the Leicester Square Hall, the main venue for professional matches, and the negotiator for television contracts.[3][83]: 9–10 

Personal life[]

Joe Davis married Florence Enid Stevenson (b. 1898/99) in 1921 and they had two children. The marriage was dissolved in 1931. In 1945, he married Juanita Ida Triggs (b. 1914/15), who was a singer performing under the stage name June Malo.[3]

Snooker performance timeline[]

Tournament 1926/
27 		1927/
28 		1928/
29 		1929/
30 		1930/
31 		1931/
32 		1932/
33 		1933/
34 		1934/
35 		1935/
36 		1936/
37 		1937/
38 		1938/
39 		1939/
40
Daily Mail Gold Cup[nb 1][nb 2] Tournament Not Held 1[89] 1[90] 4[91] 6[92]
World Championship[10]: 54–55  W W W W W W W W W W W W W W
Tournament 1945/
46 		1946/
47 		1947/
48 		1948/
49 		1949/
50 		1950/
51 		1951/
52 		1952/
53 		1953/
54 		1954/
55 		1955/
56 		1956/
57 		1957/
58 		1958/
59 		1959/
60
Sunday Empire News Tournament[nb 1][78] Tournament Not Held 1 Tournament Not Held
News of the World Snooker Tournament[nb 1][nb 3] Tournament Not Held 1[71]: 91  3[93] 7[94] 1[71]: 91  2[71]: 91  2[71]: 91  1[71]: 91  5[72] 5[95] 2[96] 1[71]: 91 
Sporting Record Masters' Tournament[nb 1][74]: 4  Tournament Not Held 1 Tournament Not Held
World Championship[10]: 54–55  W A A A A A A Tournament Not Held
Performance Table Legend
W won the tournament #R/N lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(N = position in round-robin event) 		A did not participate in the tournament
  1. ^ a b c d Round-robin handicap tournament
  2. ^ Billiards event before 1936/37 season
  3. ^ Snooker Plus event in 1959/60 season

Career finals[]

Snooker world championship finals: (15 titles)[]

[10]: 54–55 [72]

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1 1927 World Snooker Championship  Tom Dennis (ENG) 20–11
Winner 2 1928 World Snooker Championship  Fred Lawrence (ENG) 16–13
Winner 3 1929 World Snooker Championship  Tom Dennis (ENG) 19–14
Winner 4 1930 World Snooker Championship  Tom Dennis (ENG) 25–12
Winner 5 1931 World Snooker Championship  Tom Dennis (ENG) 25–21
Winner 6 1932 World Snooker Championship  Clark McConachy (NZL) 30–19
Winner 7 1933 World Snooker Championship  Willie Smith (ENG) 25–18
Winner 8 1934 World Snooker Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 25–22
Winner 9 1935 World Snooker Championship  Willie Smith (ENG) 25–20
Winner 10 1936 World Snooker Championship  Horace Lindrum (AUS) 34–27
Winner 11 1937 World Snooker Championship  Horace Lindrum (AUS) 32–29
Winner 12 1938 World Snooker Championship  Sidney Smith (ENG) 37–24
Winner 13 1939 World Snooker Championship  Sidney Smith (ENG) 43–30
Winner 14 1940 World Snooker Championship  Fred Davis (ENG) 37–36
Winner 15 1946 World Snooker Championship  Horace Lindrum (AUS) 78–67

Other snooker tournament wins: (9 titles)[]

Outcome Year Championship Runner-up Score Ref
Winner 1934 World Snooker Challenge  Horace Lindrum (AUS) 46–29 [97]
Winner 1936 Daily Mail Gold Cup  Horace Lindrum (AUS) Round-robin [89][78]
Winner 1938 Daily Mail Gold Cup  Willie Smith (ENG) Round-robin [90][78]
Winner 1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament  John Pulman (ENG) Round-robin [78]
Winner 1950 News of the World Snooker Tournament  Sidney Smith (ENG) Round-robin [71]: 91 
Winner 1950 Sporting Record Masters' Tournament  Sidney Smith (ENG) Round-robin [74]: 4 [98]
Winner 1953 News of the World Snooker Tournament  Jackie Rea (NIR) Round-robin [71]: 91 
Winner 1956 News of the World Snooker Tournament  Fred Davis (ENG) Round-robin [71]: 91 
Winner 1959 News of the World Snooker Tournament  Fred Davis (ENG) Round-robin [99][100]

Billiards world championship finals[]

[42]: 212–213 

Outcome No. Date Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1 May 1926 Billiards Association and Control Club Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 9,505–16,000
Runner-up 2 May 1927 Billiards Association and Control Club Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 14,763–16,000
Winner 1 May 1928 Billiards Association and Control Club Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 16,000–14,874
Winner 2 April 1929 Billiards Association and Control Club Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 18,000–17,219
Winner 3 May 1930 Billiards Association and Control Club Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 20,918–20,117
Winner 4 March 1932 Billiards Association and Control Club Championship  Clark McConachy (NZL) 25,161–19,259
Runner-up 3 May 1933 World Professional Championship of English Billiards  Walter Lindrum (AUS) 21,121–21,815
Runner-up 4 October 1934 World Professional Championship of English Billiards  Walter Lindrum (AUS) 22,678–23,553

UK professional billiards championship finals[]

The UK championship was instituted in 1934. It was not held from 1940 to 1946.[101]

Outcome No. Date Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1 1934 United Kingdom Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 18,745–18,309
Winner 2 1935 United Kingdom Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 21,733–19,910
Winner 3 1936 United Kingdom Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 21,710–19,791
Winner 4 1937 United Kingdom Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 22,601–18,321
Winner 5 1938 United Kingdom Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 20,933–19,542
Winner 6 1939 United Kingdom Championship  Tom Newman (ENG) 21,601–18,383
Winner 7 1947 United Kingdom Championship  John Barrie (ENG) walkover

Notes[]

  1. ^ The baptism register gives his date of birth as 15 April 1901. It states he was a son of Fred & Ann Eliza Davis of Low Pit Lane. His father was a Miner when Joe was born.[2]
  2. ^ Tom Reece and Tom Newman were the only two players who had entered that championship in 1925.[42]: 79–81 [43]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Davis, Joe (1976). The Breaks Came My Way – Autobiography. London: W. H. Allen. "Chapter 1: No meteors for me". Accessed from The Billiard Book Archive: EABA Online, via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Joseph Davis, 9 May 1901; Baptism, Whitwell, Derbyshire". Register of Baptisms Within The Parish of Whitwell, Derbyshire 1884 – 1904, register no.1211, p.152. Derbyshire Record Office. England, Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1537–1918, database with images, FamilySearch. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Everton, Clive (23 September 2004). "Davis, Joseph [Joe]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ a b The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (8 July 2019). "Joe Davis". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Winning Hazards". The Sporting Times, Saturday 19 November 1921, p.7 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 March 2021.(Subscription required.)
  6. ^ a b c d "Joe Davis. The Rise of A New Billiards Star. Chesterfield Lad's Promise". Sports Special ("The Green 'Un"), Saturday 02 April 1921, p.5 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 25 March 2021.(Subscription required.)
  7. ^ a b c d e Davis, Joe (1976). The Breaks Came My Way – Autobiography. London: W. H. Allen. "Chapter 3: The man from Normanton". Accessed from The Billiard Book Archive: EABA Online, via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Billiards. George Gray v C. Falkiner". Sheffield Evening Telegraph, Friday 19 December 1913, p.7 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 28 March 2021.(Subscription required.)
  9. ^ "A Young Cueman. Davis, of Chesterfield, Comes to Town". London Daily News, Wednesday 14 September 1921, p.7 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 30 March 2021.(Subscription required.)
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Bibliography[]

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