Alex Higgins 1949-2010

Wild

did u listen to the Radio 5 thing at 9pm with Hearn and Everton?

to be honest it was nothing i hadnt heard a million times before. Would have been nice to have had a few calls from the general public to hear there views too since he was the Peoples Champion.

Im gutted,Im not surprised ,Just amazed at his determination to live for as long as he did with all his accumulated problems.

I respect the man as much for this as i do his snooker ability.

What a man.And definitely a man of the people,And his legacy is all around snooker to this day.

I wiil miss the great Alex Hurricane Higgins my snooker idol,And so will most as he was a working class guy who was an enigma in the snooker world and one of the people to us working class people,That is why we took him to our hearts.

What a man ,The like of which we will never see again,A legend who will never be forgotten.

RIP Alex.

Witz78 wrote:Wild

did u listen to the Radio 5 thing at 9pm with Hearn and Everton?

to be honest it was nothing i hadnt heard a million times before. Would have been nice to have had a few calls from the general public to hear there views too since he was the Peoples Champion.

i missed it but im gonna listen back in a bit

FAVOURITE ALEX QUOTE

Press reporter "How would you survive without snooker?"
Alex - "How would snooker survive without me?"

FAVOURITE ALEX CONTROVERSY
Downing all the vodka after the 90 WC defeat to Steve James then smacking the WPSBA official and delivering the legendary post match retirement interview that led to a years ban from the game. Who can blame Alex for flipping?



FAVOURITE ALEX MATCH

Beating Hendry 9-8 in the 1989 Irish Masters final - his last ever maj0r title against the up and coming legend.



FAVOURITE ALEX MEMORY

Him and Jimmy playing doubles in the Mosconi Cup, this was pretty much Alexs swansong as far as professional cuesports went and the bond and friendship between him and Jimmy was clear for all to see. The 2 peoples champions had the crowd in raptures as they taught the Yanks a lesson at their own game with an array of showboating and exhibition shots (whilst drunk!)

Great stuff!

I tuned in to the radio special it was a good listen. They talked about how back then we had Reardon, Spencer and Charlton and the likes and the game was crying out for something different which they found in The Hurricane. They made lots of references to George Best also. Clive Everton explained how Alex once threatened he would do something to him with a red hot poker after Clive had wrote an article about Higgins which he didn’t like. It was mentioned on the show that maybe they should be a statue built of Alex outside of the Crucible. What do you guys think about this idea?

Witz78 wrote:an array of showboating and exhibition shots

and yet when ronnie does it everyone disses him

you do got a point however they come over different Alex did it to entertain and you could see that in him he was feeding off the crowd like electricity through power points Ronnie comes across sometimes when he does it he looks bored and not interested in anything or anyone.

Did anybody ever read his book?

SnookerFan wrote:Did anybody ever read his book?

I did.

Me too and it did not help me to sympathise with him I'm afraid. There is no doubt about his influence on the game success, it was massive. There is no doubt he was an exciting player and a great crowd puller. But as a human being he was pretty poor and he never learned. He's exhausted the efforts of many who tried to help him.

Monique wrote:Me too and it did not help me to sympathise with him I'm afraid. There is no doubt about his influence on the game success, it was massive. There is no doubt he was an exciting player and a great crowd puller. But as a human being he was pretty poor and he never learned. He's exhausted the efforts of many who tried to help him.

the Frank Sinatra song "My Way" could have easily be written about Alex Higgins he did it his way.

wildJONESEYE wrote:

Monique wrote:Me too and it did not help me to sympathise with him I'm afraid. There is no doubt about his influence on the game success, it was massive. There is no doubt he was an exciting player and a great crowd puller. But as a human being he was pretty poor and he never learned. He's exhausted the efforts of many who tried to help him.

the Frank Sinatra song "My Way" could have easily be written about Alex Higgins he did it his way.

Of course it would have to be the Sid Vicious cover version for it to be more apt to Alex

N_Castle07 wrote:I tuned in to the radio special it was a good listen. They talked about how back then we had Reardon, Spencer and Charlton and the likes and the game was crying out for something different which they found in The Hurricane. They made lots of references to George Best also. Clive Everton explained how Alex once threatened he would do something to him with a red hot poker after Clive had wrote an article about Higgins which he didn’t like. It was mentioned on the show that maybe they should be a statue built of Alex outside of the Crucible. What do you guys think about this idea?

I mentioned that suggestion on here within hours of the sad news actually, id definetly be in favour of that.

I know from reading the website of the Belfast Telegraph that Alex has actually divided opinion in his native land as to what sort of scale of memorial and lasting tribute should be given to him.

Monique wrote:Me too and it did not help me to sympathise with him I'm afraid. There is no doubt about his influence on the game success, it was massive. There is no doubt he was an exciting player and a great crowd puller. But as a human being he was pretty poor and he never learned. He's exhausted the efforts of many who tried to help him.

The footage of him on Youtube at the auction / tribute night in Manchester 2 months ago sums up Alex. Its pretty grim viewing as hes on stage with a mic who can barely make out what hes saying as he describes some of the things from his career hes auctioning to raise cash for the teeth he so badly needed. After a heartfelt plea for buyers of the stuff he then remarks to someone "Now can someone get me a bloody fag" not realising the mics still on and everyone hears it and roars with laughter.

Anyone else but Alex and youd say they said it to raise a laugh and make light of the situation but with Alex you know he really did want a fag.

I can see your point Monique but despite these undoubted flaws in his personality, the public still loved him for it. As Hearn said last night on the radio, Alex was very immature and wanted attention and to be loved, and some of these antics were merely cries for help.

Something similar could be said of Ronnie too now?

SnookerFan wrote:Did anybody ever read his book?

Yes i did but i think i will re-read it over the next week again to refresh my memory.

Also have the other Hurricane book from about 8 years ago, it was a biography rather than an autobiography.

Yes I read it, but I preferred the first, it was a little more honest. Still that was Higgins, permanently in denial.
Terrific on his day to watch but the posts on here 'what a man!!' I can't really agree with. I'm still upset with myself that I was at the time delighted that Alex beat Jimmy in the 1982 semi.

gallantrabbit wrote:Yes I read it, but I preferred the first, it was a little more honest. Still that was Higgins, permanently in denial.
Terrific on his day to watch but the posts on here 'what a man!!' I can't really agree with. I'm still upset with myself that I was at the time delighted that Alex beat Jimmy in the 1982 semi.

Evening gallant,

I was on Jimmy in '82 @ 33's. Everyone & their Mother's (including my own) in Ron Gross SC (RIP too) was on him.

How's trix fella? Hope your still hitting them? Tonsils style my end with work, gotta travel Canary Wharf style soon, but when I'm back, I'm back. Over 40's here I come.
If the lunatic's funeral is this week, I'm in good company going to it. Lovely send off lets give the man. All said & done, he played eh?

Worth a mention & a mental point of note. Treat people well when they're about, you don't know them when they're gone. Respect fella.

With you on the send off John.
Alex got me excited about snooker of that there's no doubt. That's why I was on him in 82.
Just don't really go with the 'messiah' bit

Still hitting them mate, but my partner is away on a beano for a couple of weeks so a couple of hours on a friday is about me lot at the minute.
Buzzing about the way the game is going under Hearn though.
Sorry to go off topic. Higgy would be pleased to see snooker healthy too..

gallantrabbit wrote:Yes I read it, but I preferred the first, it was a little more honest. Still that was Higgins, permanently in denial.
Terrific on his day to watch but the posts on here 'what a man!!' I can't really agree with. I'm still upset with myself that I was at the time delighted that Alex beat Jimmy in the 1982 semi.

Dont begrudge Alex his '82 title. It would have been a travesty if he hadnt won the WC at the home of snooker given he was the man responsible for getting it a permanent home and a place on TV for 17 days annually.

Plus that was Alex's last chance virtually wheras Jimmy was just 19/20 then so had his entire career and plenty of opportunities ahead ( ) to win it.

I do reckon had Jimmy seen out that 30th frame ( he must have been about 1/1000 to make the semis just before he missed that virtual frame ball with the rest) hed have disposed of Reardon in the final and then with the weight of a World Title already under his belt at such a young age hed have challenged Davis throughout the rest of the 80s and Hendry in the early 90s probably nicking a title or two of each of them leading to him almost being at the top of the tree as far as modern era WC title tally is.

No Witz I don't begrudge Alex the 82 title. In hindsight his name was on the trophy that year as soon as Gorgeous Tony put the Nugget out, reinforced when Griff also fell.
As for would haves and should haves with Jimmy that's another story...

Does anyone have news on Alex's Wake or Funeral yet?


=o|

Noel

Noel wrote:Does anyone have news on Alex's Wake or Funeral yet?


=o|

Noel

Not yet, ive just been scouring all over the net for any info. Apparantly there is public demand in Belfast now for Alex to be given a state funeral send off like George Best did.

With the qualifiers for Shanghai taking place from next Monday onwards but a lot of current players will be keen to attend so ideally this Saturday would be the best day for it.

When is it possible to have a best day for a funeral ?

wildJONESEYE wrote:When is it possible to have a best day for a funeral ?

you know what i mean

wildJONESEYE wrote:When is it possible to have a best day for a funeral ?

Before the tears and booze dry up and the body starts stinking?


=o\

Noel

Monique wrote:Me too and it did not help me to sympathise with him I'm afraid. There is no doubt about his influence on the game success, it was massive. There is no doubt he was an exciting player and a great crowd puller. But as a human being he was pretty poor and he never learned. He's exhausted the efforts of many who tried to help him.

I agree with you. He even admitted to beating his wife at one point in his book. He we honest enough to say in the book it was unforgivable. It was. I am too young to have watched Alex Higgins in his prime. I am old enough to perhaps watch him towards the end of his career, but I'd only have been about 10, and wasn't much interested in sport at the time. So I don't remember Alex much at the time, nor do I remember his controversy. To me is an iconic figure, who I have on a T-Shirt, but not one who I remember in the same way I did Paul Hunter when he died.

Saying that, I'm under no illusion as to how much he influenced the sport. More so then any other player. There were shots that he invented. Literally invented, people didn't even know you could play those shots/pots. His bad boy antics wouldn't have been my cup of tea, nor would I probably be a fan if he played today. But he brought in fans in droves. It is inescapable the impact he made on the sport, probably more so then anybody else. People play his style now more often then not. The style Higgins played was popularised by players more successful then him, but invented by him. Youngsters may have grown up watching Hendry be successful with that style, but without Higgins there may well have been no Hendry. In turn Ronnie might not have realised his natural gifts, if it wasn't realised you could play in the way the Hurricane did.

I am not a fan one jot of his personality. Not one bit. But I am too young to remember a lot of his bad times, and emotional collapses, so I feel I can appreciate what he did for the sport, and how it certainly wouldn't exist in the form it did today, if at all, if it wasn't for Alex. That's my tribute, and why I mourned. His personality was certainly questionable, and remains so. His impact on the game is not.

Alex funeral scheduled for Monday

Yes in a cat-teed-ral