How did you get into snooker?

Cloud Strife wrote:

Badsnookerplayer wrote:Dennis Taylor now speaking on Talksport

Yeah I'm listening to it now. He's talking about the 1985 final, you'd be surprised to know.

Did he mention golf?

My Dad was the manager of a snooker club before i was born, heard the story a million times now of him working there the night Dennis Taylor won the World Title, Gone midnight, the place absolutely packed, Everyone stops playing to gather around a tiny TV to watch the final frame, This all happening less than 20 miles away from where Dennis was born, That story hooked me, Although nowadays Taylor as a commentator grates on me a bit. That story is still brilliant to me.

After me being born he continued to watch Snooker religiously and eventually when i started getting old enough to understand it i watched it too, My earliest memory of watching was the 2000 World Final, Williams vs Stevens i was 9 years old and being in complete shock over how Stevens ended up losing. Just like with him and Taylor i was a sucker for the underdog too and it's why to this day i still support Stevens. I have watched every single Masters, UK & World final since, and just as he saw Davis win 6 & Hendry win 7, I have been lucky enough to see Ronnie win all 6 (so far) of his World Titles.

So yeah i got into it through my dad.

ImSnookered wrote:My Dad was the manager of a snooker club before i was born, heard the story a million times now of him working there the night Dennis Taylor won the World Title, Gone midnight, the place absolutely packed, Everyone stops playing to gather around a tiny TV to watch the final frame, This all happening less than 20 miles away from where Dennis was born, That story hooked me, Although nowadays Taylor as a commentator grates on me a bit. That story is still brilliant to me.

After me being born he continued to watch Snooker religiously and eventually when i started getting old enough to understand it i watched it too, My earliest memory of watching was the 2000 World Final, Williams vs Stevens i was 9 years old and being in complete shock over how Stevens ended up losing. Just like with him and Taylor i was a sucker for the underdog too and it's why to this day i still support Stevens. I have watched every single Masters, UK & World final since, and just as he saw Davis win 6 & Hendry win 7, I have been lucky enough to see Ronnie win all 6 (so far) of his World Titles.

So yeah i got into it through my dad.

Nice post that

Cheers lads.

I remember sitting in the school playground as a kid and not being able to understand why the lads all ran frantically after a Tennis ball, ( biggest ball you were allowed to use for football...lol) Didnt interest me, I had two left feet!! Cricket was ok, tests were too long though and you could wait and hour before anything interesting happened, Dad watched both, but i knew he used to play snooker one night in the week at his WMC. Some Saturday nights me and my sister would get taken to the club and my Dad would pop upstairs to the snooker room for a frame or too. The mystery of it was overwhelming to me and one night he pulled a few strings so that I could come up and take a look, it was amazing, the dark room, the green baize and the coloured balls, and of course in those days the smoke filled haze and nicotine stained ceilings!!

From there, it went to watching on TV and seeing, what was an old farts game transformed into Jimi Hendrix style of cool by a dude called Alex "Hurricane" Higgins. He had me on the edge of my seat ooohing and ahhing over shots he was potting but also missing... at that time I had never really cheered on any sportsman, but found myself totally rooting for this flamboyant Irishman, who seemed to have a flair and panache that others didn't possess. I was too young then to know about his faults, he was my first hero just for the way he played the game. I was hooked.

Aged 10 I got a Pot Black 6x3 table for Xmas, so did a couple of mates and we all played at each others houses, until we were allowed to go the snooker hall in Romford and play the big game, we queued outside to get in, then still had to put your name down on a list and wait for table, we learned quick you had to get up early!! That was a great club but very expensive for young lads so as soon as I was 14 (I think) I started to play in my Dads working mans club, in this particular one in Barking, three tables were set around a corner bar area where all the local ship rights used to stand drinking a hard earned beer, it was noisy environment, but never bothered me.

I became the young up start, who potted balls like Alex and all the old timers wanted to avoid playing. I found my game in life and it still gives me as much pleasure today.

Great posts, Cue Crafty and ImSnookered!

Great post CueCrafty , so funny we played in the same area at the same time .
I loved those old billiard halls of that time like Barkingside.