Women's Professional Billiards Championship

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Women's Professional Billiards Championship
Tournament information
Established1930
Organisation(s)Women's Billiards Association[1]
Final year1950
Final champion(s)Thelma Carpenter

The Women's Professional Billiards Championship was an English billiards tournament run by Burroughes and Watts in 1930, and from 1931 to 1950 by the Women's Billiards Association. Joyce Gardner won the tournament on seven of the fourteen times that it was held.

History[]

Margaret Lennan beat Joyce Gardner 1000-960 at Hull in September 1928 in a match billed as the British Championship. Billiard cloth manufacturers Howard and Powell provided a silver rose bowl for the winner.[2] This match is omitted from records in the handbooks of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council. Lennan did not take part in the tournament established in 1930, until the 1935 championship.

In 1930, the cue sports company Burroughes and Watts organised the British Women's Billiards Championship,[3] also known as the Burwat Billiards Cup. The following year, 1931, the Women's Billiards Association was formed, and it was agreed that the Association would take over the running of the competition as a world championship, with the same trophy used in 1930.[4][5]

Joyce Gardner was champion each year until 1934, when Ruth Harrison won the first of her three titles.

1934 saw the first century break in the competition, a 100 by Gardner.[6] Margaret Lennan made two centuries, 113 and then 153 in the 1936 competition.[7] Ruth Harrison's break of 197 in 1937 remains a women's record in competitive billiards.[8][9]

Thelma Carpenter won her first title in 1940, and was champion again when the tournament was next held in 1948. In 1950, she was watched by her 10-year-old son as she beat Joyce Gardner to win her fourth title.[10] This was to be the last women's professional championship to be held to date, effectively making Carpenter the professional champion from 1940 to the present day.[1]

Although the tournament was billed as a "World Championship," no players from outside the United Kingdom participated. The World Women's Billiards Championship is viewed as a continuation of the Amateur championship rather than of the Women's Professional Billiards Championship.[11]

Finals[]

Year Winner Runner-up Final score Venue
1930[12] England Joyce Gardner England Eva Collins 1500-727 England Burroughes Hall, London
1931[13] England Joyce Gardner England Eva Collins 2000-1185 England Burroughes Hall, London
1932[14][15] England Joyce Gardner England Ruth Harrison 2000-1713 England Burroughes Hall, London
1933[16] England Joyce Gardner England Ruth Harrison 2000-1306 England Burroughes Hall, London
1934[6] England Ruth Harrison England Joyce Gardner 2000-1608 England Burroughes Hall, London
February 1935[17][18] England Ruth Harrison England Joyce Gardner 3000-2708 England Burroughes Hall, London
November 1935[7] England Joyce Gardner Scotland Margaret Lennan 3000-2872 England Thurston's Hall, London
1937[9][19] England Joyce Gardner England Ruth Harrison 2223-2204 England Thurston's Hall, London
1938[20] England Joyce Gardner England Thelma Carpenter 2313-1824 England Thurston's Hall, London
1939[21] England Ruth Harrison England Joyce Gardner 2559-1792 England Burroughes Hall, London
1940[22] England Thelma Carpenter England Ruth Harrison 2184-1641 England Thurston's Hall, London
1941–1947 No tournament held
1948[23] England Thelma Carpenter England Joyce Gardner 2659-1670 England Leicester Square Hall, London
1949[24] England Thelma Carpenter England Joyce Gardner 3120-2518 England Leicester Square Hall, London
1950[25][10] England Thelma Carpenter England Joyce Gardner 1978-1374 England Leicester Square Hall, London

Statistics by player[]

Rank Name Nationality Winner Runner-up
1 Joyce Gardner  England 7 6
2 Thelma Carpenter (billiards player)  England 4 1
3 Ruth Harrison (snooker player)  England 3 4
4 Eva Collins  England 0 2
5 Margaret Lennan  Scotland 0 1

Tournament Details[]

British Women's Billiards Tournament (1930)[]

Sources: The Scotsman, 1 April 1930;[26] Sheffield Independent, 2 April 1930;[27] The Billiard Player, May and August 1930.[28][29]

There were four entrants.

Semi-finals

Final: Joyce Gardner 1,500–727 Eva Collins. (3 April 1930) Gardner made a break of 96.

1931 Women's Professional Championship[]

Source: Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 24 March 1931;[30] The Billiard Player, April 1931.[31]

There were three entrants.

Semi-finals

Final: Joyce Gardner 2,000–1,185 Eva Collins. Lady Wedgewood presented the winner's cup to Gardner.

1932 Championship[]

Source:The Billiard Player, March 1932.[32][33]

There were four entrants. The highest break was 83 by Joyce Gardner, in the final.

Semi-finals

Final: Joyce Gardner 2,000–1,713 Ruth Harrison

1933 Championship[]

Sources: Lancashire Evening Post, 15 February 1933;[34] The Scotsman, 23 February 1933.[35]

There were three entrants.

Semi-finals

Final: Joyce Gardner 2,000–1,306 Ruth Harrison

1934 Championship[]

Sources: Shields Daily News, 6 February 1934;[36] Leeds Mercury, 22 February 1934;[37] The Scotsman, 23 February 1934.[38]

There were four entrants.Joyce Gardner made a break of 100, a record for the championship.[39]

Semi-finals

Final: Ruth Harrison 2,000–1,608 Joyce Gardner

February 1935 Championship[]

Source: Billiards and Snooker, March 1935.[39]

There were five entrants.

Preliminary Round: Thelma Carpenter 1,000-699 Eva Collins

Semi-finals

Final: Ruth Harrison 3,000–2,708 Joyce Gardner. Harrison made two breaks of 101, the highest of the competition, and also a 99, during the final. Gardner's average score of 18.5 against Carpenter was a new Championship record.

November 1935 Championship[]

Sources: The Scotsman, 2 November 1935;[40] Coatbridge Express, 6 November 1935;[41] Aberdeen Press and Journal, 6 November 1935;[42] Sheffield Independent, 7 November 1935.[43]

There were five entrants.

First round: Margaret Lennan 1,000-466 Eva Collins

Semi-finals

Final: Joyce Gardner 3,000–2,872 Margaret Lennan

1937 Championship[]

Source: Billiards and Snooker, June 1937.[44] There were five entrants.

Heat 1: Ruth Harrison 1,178–469 Eva Collins

Semi-finals

Final: Joyce Gardner 2,223–2,204 Ruth Harrison (snooker player). Gardner made a break of 154.

1938 Championship[]

Sources:Lincolnshire Echo, 25 April 1938;[45] Dundee Courier, 10 May 1938;[46] Western Mail, 12 May 1938;[47] Aberdeen Press and Journal,14 May 1938.[48]

There were five entrants.

First Round

Semi-finals

Final: Joyce Gardner 2,313–2,872 Thelma Carpenter

1939 Championship[]

Source: The Billiard Player, June 1939.[49] There were five entrants.

Heat 1

Semi-finals

Final: Ruth Harrison (snooker player)2,559–1,792 Joyce Gardner

1940 Championship[]

Sources: Birmingham Daily Gazette, 27 January 1940[50] Liverpool Daily Post, 15 February 1940.[51]

There were four entrants.

Semi-finals

Final: Thelma Carpenter 2184-1641 Ruth Harrison

1948 Championship[]

Source: The Billiard Player, June 1948.[23] There were three entrants.

Semi-final: Joyce Gardner 1,256–1,037 Ruth Harrison (snooker player)
Final: Thelma Carpenter 2659-1670 Joyce Gardner

Carpenter averaged 11.92 to Gardner's 7.92 in the final, and made the highest break of the tournament, 90.

1949 Championship[]

Source: The Billiard Player, July 1949.[52]

Final: Thelma Carpenter 3,120–2,528 Joyce Gardner

(Cumulative scores after each session: 328–261, 619–567, 890–801, 1,275–1,002, 1,557–1,346, 1,992–1,531, ,2162–1,795, 2,484–1,986, 2,753–2,279, 3,120–2,528.)
Highest break: Joyce Gardner, 73.

1950 Championship[]

Sources: Birmingham Daily Gazette, 20 June 1950;[53] Dundee Courier, 21 June 1950;[25] Dundee Courier, 23 June 1950.[10]

There were only two entrants.

Final: Thelma Carpenter 1,978–1,374 Joyce Gardner

(Cumulative scores per day: 716–359, 1,368–792, 1,978–1,374)

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker – The Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 154–156. ISBN 0851124488.
  2. ^ Holt, Willie (January 1931). "Letters: Women's Billiards Championship". The Billiard Player. p. 31.
  3. ^ "Midland Girl's Billiards Title". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 4 April 1930. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Women and Billiards". Uxbridge & West Drayton Gazette. 18 September 1932. p. 18.
  5. ^ "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 18 September 1932. p. 10.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Billiards – Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 46688. 26 February 1934. p. 7.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Miss Gardner Wins Women's Championship". The Times. No. 47218. 11 November 1935. p. 6.
  8. ^ World Ladies Billiards Champions Archived 16 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine World Billiards. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 47682. 12 May 1937. p. 4.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Thelma still champion". Dundee Courier. 23 June 1950. p. 5.
  11. ^ "World Ladies Billiards Champions". world-billiards.com. World Billiards Ltd. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Billiards – Women's Tournament". The Times. No. 45479. 4 April 1930. p. 7.
  13. ^ "Women's Championship". The Times. No. 45781. 26 March 1931. p. 6.
  14. ^ "Billiards – Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 46061. 19 February 1932. p. 6.
  15. ^ "Women's Professional Championship". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail. 13 January 1932. p. 7.
  16. ^ "Billiards – Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 46379. 27 February 1933. p. 4.
  17. ^ "Billiards – Women's Professional Championship". The Times. No. 46997. 25 February 1935. p. 7.
  18. ^ "Women's Championship". The Observer. 25 February 1935. p. 2.
  19. ^ "(Untitled Article)". The Observer. 12 May 1937. p. 4.
  20. ^ "Miss Gardner Wins Women's Championship". The Times. No. 47997. 18 May 1938. p. 5.
  21. ^ "Women's Championship". The Times. No. 48305. 15 May 1939. p. 6.
  22. ^ "New Women's Billiards Champion". The Observer. 18 February 1940. p. 16.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b "A Really Grand Finale!". the Billiard Player. June 1948. p. 8.
  24. ^ "Still Champion". Western Morning News. 13 June 1949. p. 6.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b "Untitled article". Dundee Courier. 21 June 1950. p. 4.
  26. ^ "Women's tournament". The Scotsman. 1 April 1930. p. 15.
  27. ^ "Billiards". Sheffield Independent. 2 April 1930. p. 10.
  28. ^ "Untitled article". The Billiard Player. May 1930. p. 30.
  29. ^ "Here and there notes". The Billiard Player. August 1930. p. 23.
  30. ^ "an eight stroke by a girl". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 24 March 1931. p. 9.
  31. ^ "Here and there notes". The Billiard Player. April 1931. p. 24.
  32. ^ Young, Patience (March 1932). "Women's Billiards". The Billiard Player. p. 14.
  33. ^ "Women's Championship Results". The Billiard Player. March 1932.
  34. ^ "Women's Professional Billiards". Lancashire Evening Post. 15 February 1933. p. 12.
  35. ^ "Women's Professional Title". The Scotsman. 23 February 1933. p. 15.
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  38. ^ "Women Professionals". The Scotsman. 23 February 1933. p. 15.
  39. ^ Jump up to: a b Carpenter, Thelma (June 1937). "Billiards for Women". Billiards and Snooker. p. 4.
  40. ^ "Miss Lennan leads in first round of ladies' title". The Scotsman. 2 November 1935. p. 21.
  41. ^ "Billiards". Coatbridge Express. 6 November 1935. p. 2.
  42. ^ "Glasgow player's easy victory". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 6 November 1935. p. 4.
  43. ^ "Women's Billiards". Sheffield Independent. 7 November 1935. p. 8.
  44. ^ Carpenter, Thelma (June 1937). "Billiards for Women". Billiards and Snooker. p. 4.
  45. ^ "Phone girl's bid for women's title". Lincolnshire Echo. 25 April 1938. p. 6.
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  47. ^ "Women's Billiards". Western Mail. 12 May 1938. p. 4.
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  49. ^ "Woman". The Billiard Player. June 1939. p. 19.
  50. ^ "Women's billiards". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 27 January 1940. p. 7.
  51. ^ "Women's billiards title". Liverpool Daily Post. 15 February 1940. p. 8.
  52. ^ "Women's Professional Billiards and Snooker Championships". The Billiard Player. July 1949. pp. 3–5.
  53. ^ "Women's billiards title". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 20 June 1950. p. 6.
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