Cliff Wilson was a Welsh

Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

 professional 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 :...

 player. He managed to get to into the world's top 16 in 1988 at the age of 55; a remarkable feat for someone with very poor eyesight and a number of other ailments.

Amateur years

Wilson was a talented amateur snooker player who grew up in the same town, Tredegar

Tredegar

Tredegar is a town situated on the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in south-east Wales. Located within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the Industrial Revolution in South Wales...

, as his friend and snooker rival Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon, MBE is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade...

. He won the National Under-19 Championship in 1952 and 1953 and the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1956.

Giving up the game

Snooker's popularity was on the wane during the 1950s and it was extremely difficult to join the small, closed professional circuit. Wilson became disillusioned with the game and gave up snooker completely for fifteen years. During this time he worked at the steelworks at Llanwern

Llanwern

Llanwern is an electoral ward and community in the urban-rural fringe of the City of Newport, South Wales. Llanwern ward is bounded by the M4 and Langstone to the north, Ringland, Liswerry and the River Usk to the west, the River Severn to the south and the city boundary to the east...

.

Turning professional

Wilson's interest in the game rekindled in the early 1970s and, after winning the IBSF World Amateur Championship in 1978, he finally turned professional the following year at the age of 45. He broke into the top sixteen for one season, 1988/89, a remarkable achievement for someone aged 55. He later went on to win the last ever World Seniors Championships in 1991 (beating Eddie Charlton 5–4 in the final), at the time picking up a cheque for £16,000, his highest prize winnings.
His popular exhibitions went under the banner "You've never seen anything like it!"
He was known as a fast player and a dangerous potter; but, although he played in the World Championship on eight occasions, he never progressed beyond the first round - a record he shares with Rex Williams

Rex Williams

Rex Williams , son of Minnie Roberts and William Williams, is a retired English professional snooker and billiards player.Williams was an excellent junior player in both snooker and billiards. His professional career began in 1951, during a period of decline in snooker...

.
He played a young 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...

 in the 1992 UK championship

UK Championship (snooker)

The UK Championship is a professional ranking snooker tournament. It is the second biggest ranking tournament after the World Championship and is one of the Triple Crown events.-History:...

, winning 9–8 against the then 16-year-old who won the championship the following year.
The highest break of his career was 138.

External links

• Cliff Wilson biography