Ray Reardon was lucky that his heyday as a snooker player coincided with the advent of colour television. And he was lucky that snooker had as its star a champion with such easy-going charisma.
Reardon won the world title six times and dominated the 1970s. With floppy hair and canine teeth, he was famously known as “Dracula”, one of the most recognisable characters among the cast of larger-than-life characters who transcended snooker during its cultural heyday.
Reardon, an all-time great who later acted as a mentor to Ronnie O’Sullivan, died of cancer on Friday, aged 91.
Nowadays, players appear unshaven and without ties, but the old taco maker was always impeccably dressed. He was known as a man of wit, words, warmth and wisdom. Wherever he went, there was much laughter.
This paternal image made the 1984 exposure of his eight-year affair with Carol Covington, who would later become his second wife, a highly publicized scandal.
Snooker was fortunate to have a champion with such carefree charisma as Ray Reardon.
Reardon, an all-time great who later acted as a mentor to Ronnie O’Sullivan, died of cancer on Friday, aged 91.
Born in Tredegar, high in the Welsh valleys, he followed his father, Ben, into the mines. An accident a mile underground nearly cost him his life. A roof collapsed. The first thing he felt was a trickle of earth on his helmet. Alerted by the danger, he threw himself to the ground. A 3.6 metre beam fell and trapped him in a pile of rubble.
He recalled: “My ordeal left me feeling a bit like a dirty rag and as the blood began to rush through my numb legs I screamed in pain.” To pass the three hours he spent waiting to be rescued, he played imaginary marbles with his brother, Ron.
Experience taught him that potting 21 balls on a green table could never create pressure. By the time he turned professional at the age of 35 in 1969, he had also served a stint in the police force, PC 184 in Stoke-on-Trent.
He won two decorations for bravery, one for climbing onto a roof to arrest a burglar and the other for approaching a gunman, who intended to kill his daughter’s boyfriend, who had gotten her pregnant and was neglecting his responsibilities.
There was a sea of shoppers on the street when the message came over the walkie-talkie that the gunman was approaching. Reardon told everyone to move away. When he saw the suspect approaching, he realized he knew him, took off his helmet and said, “Jack, it’s me. Ray. I live on Bath Street, around the corner from your house. Don’t do it, Jack.” Reardon walked him to the police station.
Born in Tredegar, high in the Welsh valleys, Reardon began his career as a coal miner.
Reardon built his snooker reputation on the amateur scene before becoming a star of the sport.
At that time there were few professional players and Reardon made his name as a snooker player on the amateur scene. Colour television brought him further prominence when Pot Black premiered on the BBC in 1969. He was the first winner of the tournament. The snooker boom had begun.
His world championship successes came in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978, when he was 45 years and 203 days old. It was the first daily televised world championship and his only victory at the Crucible. Reardon was the oldest champion until O’Sullivan took the title in 2022, aged 46 years and 148 days.
It was fitting that the tactically astute Reardon coached the brilliant, restless Ronnie. He had known more unpredictable characters, for example Alex Higgins. “Jekyll and Hyde,” Reardon said of the volatile Irishman. “Nice as pie one moment, mean as one could be the next.”
The father of two children with his first wife, Sue, Reardon remained with Carol. He spent his last 40 years in Devon. He was a bon vivant whose tastes were not diminished by a stroke five years earlier. He continued to play snooker and golf, and became chairman of Churston Golf Club. He maintained a competitive spirit to the end.