Barry Hearn
Encyclopedia
Barry Hearn is an English
sporting events promoter
, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport
. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C.
, and the Professional Darts Corporation
and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
(WPBSA). His involvement with the WPBSA continues in that, following a vote by the members (the world's top players) in June 2010, he has taken a directorship and controlling interest in the organisation's commercial arm, World Snooker Limited with a view to revitalising the game.
Through Matchroom, Hearn is also involved in many other sports, including pool
, tenpin bowling, golf
(see PGA EuroPro Tour
) and fishing
.
, East London
, and educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School
before qualifying as an accountant in 1970. His first business success came buying and selling a chain of snooker
halls.
, and Vic Harris before becoming, in 1976, manager of Steve Davis
, who went on to win the world championship six times.
Hearn prospered from the snooker boom of the 1980s when he formed Matchroom with players Davis and Tony Meo. Later Matchroom snooker players include Terry Griffiths
, Dennis Taylor
, Willie Thorne
, Neal Foulds
, Jimmy White
, Cliff Thorburn
and Ronnie O'Sullivan
. Hearn appeared alongside many Matchroom players in the video for "Snooker Loopy
", a hit for "rockney" pop rock
duo Chas & Dave.
in 1987, his first promotion being the Frank Bruno
versus Joe Bugner
bout at White Hart Lane
in October 1987. He has since promoted many leading British and Irish boxers, including Chris Eubank
, Nigel Benn
, Lennox Lewis
, Naseem Hamed
, Steve Collins
and Herbie Hide
.
Hearn withdrew his boxers Herbie Hide and Steve Collins from the High Noon in Hong Kong
event at the last minute, scheduled on 22 October 1994, when promoter John Daly
could not come up with the purses. Hearn said, "But to be honest I was very pleased with myself in Hong Kong. I stood my ground. How many others would have?"
In April 2008 Hearn introduced the Prizefighter series
, a knockout tournament featuring 8 different boxers in a sort of last man standing competition.
league club Leyton Orient since 1995. Prior to Hearn's takeover the club was facing a financial disaster due to the collapse of the then chairman Tony Wood's coffee business in Rwanda
at the time of the Rwandan Genocide
. Hearn's intervention and financial input assured the club's future. Although Hearn has been successful in stabilising the club financially his tenure has overseen the club's longest run in the bottom division (the fourth tier) of the Football League since its creation (in 1958).
At the culmination of the 2005–06 season, Orient earned promotion to the third tier of English league football (League One
), this being their first automatic promotion since the 1969–70 season.
since the world's leading players left the British Darts Organisation
in 1992. He has made several attempts to buy out the rival body, which would reunify the game, but has been unsuccessful.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sporting events promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport
Matchroom Sport is a sport event promotions company founded by the English entrepreneur Barry Hearn. It first came to attention in the sports of snooker and boxing and is also involved in pool, bowling, golf , fishing, darts and poker...
. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C.
Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...
, and the Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association
The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, often abbreviated to the WPBSA, founded in 1968 and based in Bristol, England, United Kingdom is the governing body of professional snooker and English billiards...
(WPBSA). His involvement with the WPBSA continues in that, following a vote by the members (the world's top players) in June 2010, he has taken a directorship and controlling interest in the organisation's commercial arm, World Snooker Limited with a view to revitalising the game.
Through Matchroom, Hearn is also involved in many other sports, including pool
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
, tenpin bowling, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
(see PGA EuroPro Tour
PGA EuroPro Tour
The PGA EuroPro Tour is a men's developmental professional golf tour. It was created in 2002 by the merger of two older development tours, the EuroPro Tour and the PGA Mastercard Tour. It is based mainly in the United Kingdom, with a few events in other countries...
) and fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
.
Early life
Hearn was born in DagenhamDagenham
Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...
, East London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
, and educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School
Buckhurst Hill County High School
Buckhurst Hill County High School, BHCHS, was a secondary school in Chigwell, Essex.-History:It opened on 15 September 1938. It was near to RAF Chigwell and the River Roding....
before qualifying as an accountant in 1970. His first business success came buying and selling a chain of snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
halls.
Snooker
He began promoting sporting events in 1974, working with little remembered snooker players Geoff Foulds, father of Neal FouldsNeal Foulds
Neal Foulds is a former English professional snooker player and is now a commentator on the sport.-Career:Foulds quickly climbed the rankings after turning professional in 1983, reaching no. 3 within four years. He won his first ranking tournament in 1986, the BCE International, beating Cliff...
, and Vic Harris before becoming, in 1976, manager of Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Steve Davis, OBE is an English professional snooker player. He has won more professional titles in the sport than any other player, including six World Championships during the 1980s, when he was the world number one for seven years and became the sport's first millionaire...
, who went on to win the world championship six times.
Hearn prospered from the snooker boom of the 1980s when he formed Matchroom with players Davis and Tony Meo. Later Matchroom snooker players include Terry Griffiths
Terry Griffiths
Terrence "Terry" Griffiths OBE is a retired Welsh snooker player and current snooker coach and pundit. He won the World Championship in 1979 at the first attempt, and reached the 1988 final. He also won the Masters in 1980 and the UK Championship in 1982, making him one of seven players to have...
, Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor
Dennis Taylor is a retired snooker player, and current BBC snooker commentator. Winner of two ranking events, he is best known for winning the 1985 World Championship, beating World number one Steve Davis on the final black in one of the sport's most memorable finals...
, Willie Thorne
Willie Thorne
William Joseph "Willie" Thorne , is a former English professional snooker player and now a sports commentator.Thorne became national under-16 champion at both snooker and English billiards in 1970...
, Neal Foulds
Neal Foulds
Neal Foulds is a former English professional snooker player and is now a commentator on the sport.-Career:Foulds quickly climbed the rankings after turning professional in 1983, reaching no. 3 within four years. He won his first ranking tournament in 1986, the BCE International, beating Cliff...
, Jimmy White
Jimmy White
James Warren "Jimmy" White MBE is an English professional snooker player. Nicknamed the "Whirlwind" and popularly referred to as the "People's Champion", White is a multiple World Championship finalist renowned for losing each of the six finals he contested.White's extensive list of achievements,...
, Cliff Thorburn
Cliff Thorburn
Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn CM, known as Cliff Thorburn is a retired professional Canadian snooker player...
and Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan , is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket". He has been World Champion on three occasions , and is second on the all-time prize-money list, with career earnings of over £6 million, behind only Stephen...
. Hearn appeared alongside many Matchroom players in the video for "Snooker Loopy
Snooker Loopy
"Snooker Loopy" is a humorous song which was released as a single in May 1986 and entered the UK Singles Chart, reaching #6. It was written and performed by Chas & Dave and featured snooker players Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne, Terry Griffiths and Tony Meo, as backing vocalists under...
", a hit for "rockney" pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
duo Chas & Dave.
Boxing
Hearn moved into boxingBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
in 1987, his first promotion being the Frank Bruno
Frank Bruno
Franklin Roy Bruno MBE is an English former boxer whose career highlight was winning the WBC Heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests...
versus Joe Bugner
Joe Bugner
József Kreul "Joe" Bugner is a Hungarian-born British-Australian former top heavyweight boxer. He holds triple nationality, being a citizen of Hungary and a naturalized citizen of both Australia and the United Kingdom where he learned to box and spent his peak years.Born in Szőreg, a southeastern...
bout at White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....
in October 1987. He has since promoted many leading British and Irish boxers, including Chris Eubank
Chris Eubank
Chris Eubank, Lord of the Manor of Brighton is a retired British boxer who held world titles at middleweight and super middleweight...
, Nigel Benn
Nigel Benn
Nigel Benn , known as "The Dark Destroyer", is a British former boxer who held world titles in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions....
, Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
, Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed
Naseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer.He is the former WBO, WBC, IBF, & Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion....
, Steve Collins
Steve Collins
Stephen Collins, more commonly known as Steve Collins, is a former professional boxer. Known as the "The Celtic Warrior", Collins is the former WBO middleweight and super middleweight champion....
and Herbie Hide
Herbie Hide
Herbie Hide is a British boxer of Nigerian heritage from Norwich currently fighting in the cruiserweight class...
.
Hearn withdrew his boxers Herbie Hide and Steve Collins from the High Noon in Hong Kong
High Noon in Hong Kong
High Noon in Hong Kong was a World Boxing Organisation sanctioned boxing event, it was to feature 4 fights: a heavyweight title fight between Herbie Hide and Tommy Morrison; Steve Collins versus American Lonnie Beasley for the WBO middleweight title; Billy Schwer would challenge Rafael Ruelas for...
event at the last minute, scheduled on 22 October 1994, when promoter John Daly
John Daly (producer)
John Daly was a British film producer.-Personal life:John Daly was born in South East London, a part of London which was badly bombed and damaged in World War II. He attended a Roman Catholic school. Daly was father to Jenny, Michael, Julian, and Timothy...
could not come up with the purses. Hearn said, "But to be honest I was very pleased with myself in Hong Kong. I stood my ground. How many others would have?"
In April 2008 Hearn introduced the Prizefighter series
Prizefighter series
The Prizefighter series is a knock out boxing tournament created by boxing promoter Barry Hearn and aired on Sky Sports. The format has an initial eight fighters, who compete in four quarter-finals of 3 x 3 minute rounds followed by two semi-finals and one final all on the same night...
, a knockout tournament featuring 8 different boxers in a sort of last man standing competition.
Football
Hearn has been chairman of the footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
league club Leyton Orient since 1995. Prior to Hearn's takeover the club was facing a financial disaster due to the collapse of the then chairman Tony Wood's coffee business in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
at the time of the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
. Hearn's intervention and financial input assured the club's future. Although Hearn has been successful in stabilising the club financially his tenure has overseen the club's longest run in the bottom division (the fourth tier) of the Football League since its creation (in 1958).
At the culmination of the 2005–06 season, Orient earned promotion to the third tier of English league football (League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
), this being their first automatic promotion since the 1969–70 season.
Darts
Hearn is the chairman of the Professional Darts Corporation, one of darts' two governing bodies, the sport having been splitSplit in darts
The split in darts refers to an acrimonious dispute between top professional darts players and the game's governing body which began in 1992 and resulted in the formation of a new organisation to arrange tournaments - including a second version of the World Professional Darts Championship...
since the world's leading players left the British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
in 1992. He has made several attempts to buy out the rival body, which would reunify the game, but has been unsuccessful.