John Spencer (18 September 1935 – 11 July 2006) was an English professional snooker player. One of the most dominant players of the 1970s, he won the World Snooker Championship three times, in 1969, 1971 and 1977. He worked as a snooker commentator for the BBC from 1978 to 1998 and served for 25 years on the board of the sport's governing body, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA), including a stint as chairman from 1990 until his retirement from the board in 1996.
Born in Radcliffe, Lancashire, Spencer started playing snooker on a full-sized table at age 14 and compiled his first century break aged 15. He was conscripted for National Service at age 18 and lost interest in playing snooker for over ten years before taking it up again in 1964. He reached the final of the English Amateur Championship for three years in a row, claiming the title at his third attempt in 1966. He turned professional in 1967—the same year as his amateur rivals Gary Owen and Ray Reardon—and won the world title as a debutant at the 1969 World Snooker Championship, which was staged as a knockout tournament for the first time since 1957, following a series of challenge matches from 1964 to 1968. Spencer defeated Owen 37–24 in the final to become the first World Champion of snooker's . His title defence in 1970 ended with a 33–37 loss in the semi-finals to Reardon, the eventual winner.
He secured his second world title at the 1971 World Championship in Sydney, Australia, defeating Warren Simpson 37–29 in the final to become the first player to win the world title at a knockout event staged overseas. He reached the final again in 1972 but lost 31–37 to Alex Higgins. He won his third world title in 1977, beating Cliff Thorburn 25–21 in the final to become the first player to win the World Championship at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, where the tournament has been staged annually ever since. Spencer's other notable victories include the inaugural Masters in 1975, where he defeated Reardon on a in the of the final, the inaugural Irish Masters in 1978 and three editions of the BBC's Pot Black series. In 1979, he became the first player to compile a maximum break at a professional tournament, although it was not recorded as an official maximum because the on the table had not been measured against the required specifications.
One of the first major professional players to use a two-piece , Spencer was noted for his unusual cue action and immense . His later career was severely affected by the ocular version of myasthenia gravis, which was first diagnosed in 1985 and had symptoms including double vision. He made his last Crucible appearance at the 1986 World Championship, losing 7–10 to Higgins in the first round. His last notable achievement in professional play was reaching the quarter-finals of the 1987 British Open at age 51, where he lost 3–5 to Jimmy White. He retired from professional competition in 1992 because of ill health, but continued to perform in exhibition matches and served as chairman of the WPBSA for another four years. Diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2003, he died in a hospice near Bolton on 11 July 2006, aged 70. The trophy for the World Seniors Masters tournament was named in his memory in 2018.
Early years and amateur snooker career John Spencer was born on 18 September 1935 at Bealey Maternity Home in Radcliffe, Lancashire, the youngest child of William Spencer, a night watchman and bookkeeper's runner, and his wife Annie, née Bleakley. He attended Stand Grammar School for Boys in Whitefield. He first played snooker on a makeshift table using tape for cushions and nails to mark out the pockets, before being introduced by his father to playing snooker on a full-sized table when aged 14. He compiled his first century break at age 15. He was conscripted to National Service at age 18.
After completing three years of compulsory service in the RAF, Spencer tried out various jobs, including labourer, van driver and betting shop settler, and showed no interest in playing snooker for over ten years. Reintroduced to the sport by an old friend, he opted to take up snooker again at the age of 29. His first tournament was the 1964 English Amateur Snooker Championship, where he finished runner-up to Ray Reardon; the following year, he lost to Pat Houlihan in the final of the same event. Spencer lifted the trophy at his third attempt, in 1966, after an 11–5 victory over Marcus Owen in the final.
He married Margot Sawbridge in 1969. The couple separated in the 1980s, but did not divorce and remained good friends for the rest of Spencer's life.
Professional snooker career 1967–1971: First two world titles Spencer took on professional status in February1967, becoming the first UK player to do so since Rex Williams in 1951. Spencer was encouraged to turn professional because of the income he could expect to earn from performing regular exhibition matches for the National Spastics Society at £14 a time (), and at Pontins holiday camps during the summer season for a weekly fee of £20, to be increased to £50 a week the following year. His amateur rivals, Gary Owen and Reardon, turned professional in September and December1967, respectively.
In 1957, the professional world snooker title had passed to John Pulman, and he had retained it through a series of challenge matches from 1964 to 1968. After touring snooker clubs in promotion of the tobacco brand John Player, Pulman had secured sponsorship from the company for his world title challenge against Eddie Charlton in March1968. The good attendances for this match led to John Player's decision to sponsor the 1969 World Championship as a knockout format tournament. Four of the eight entrants—Spencer, Reardon, Gary Owen and Bernard Bennett—were World Championship debutants; the other four—Pulman, Williams, Fred Davis and Jackie Rea—had played professionally since at least the 1950s. For the entry fee, Spencer took out a bank loan of £100 (). He was drawn against Pulman, the defending champion, whom he had recently defeated 17–14 in a non-title challenge match. In November1968, Spencer eliminated Pulman 25–18 in the opening match of the tournament, before defeating Williams 37–12 in the semi-finals.
The best-of-73- final between Spencer and Owen was held at Victoria Halls in London, from 17 to 22 March 1969. Spencer developed a 6–2 lead in the first , but Owen took the next four frames to level the match at 6–6. The correspondent for the Birmingham Daily Post praised the players for bringing a "refreshing new look to the game, with bold attacking play, wonderful potting and a sprinkling of good-sized breaks". Both players missed easy at the start of the second day, sharing the first two frames for 7–7; Spencer won the next four to lead 11–7 by the interval, and added four of the subsequent six frames to extend his lead to 15–9. Maintaining his six-frame advantage, he ended the third day's play 21–15 ahead. Owen closed slightly to 19–23 on the fourth day, but Spencer then won four of the six frames in the evening session to end the day six frames ahead again, at 27–21. By the close of play on the fifth day, he was just one frame from victory at 36–24. Spencer took the opening frame on the final day to claim the world title with a winning margin of 37–24. His prize money was £1,780 ().
Snooker historian Clive Everton later wrote of Spencer's performance in the 1969 World Championship final:
At the 1970 World Championship, Spencer defeated the veteran Irish Professional Champion, Jackie Rea, 31–15, but then lost his semi-final 33–37 to Reardon, who claimed his first world title. The 1971 World Championship was in fact held in late 1970, and took place in Sydney, Australia. After surviving an incomplete round-robin stage, Spencer decisively eliminated Reardon 34–15 in the semi-finals before defeating Warren Simpson 37–29 in the final to regain the world title. During the final match, he compiled three century breaks over the course of four frames. Between 1969 and 1978, the only three players able to defeat Spencer in World Championship matches were Reardon, Higgins and Perrie Mans; and from 1973 to 1977, he did not lose a match at the World Championship by more than two frames.
Spencer gained some valuable TV exposure by appearing on the BBC's Pot Black series. He won the tournament in 1970—reversing his defeat by Reardon in the 1969 final—and again in 1971, when he beat Fred Davis in the final. He claimed the highest break prize in 1972, finished runner-up to Graham Miles in 1974, and won again in 1976, becoming the first three-time Pot Black champion. In 1971 and 1972, he appeared in four events sponsored by Park Drive cigarettes, known collectively as the Park Drive 2000. Each separate event featured four invited professionals who took part in a triple round-robin contest (playing nine matches each), and the top two players then competed in a final match. Spencer won three of the Park Drive events and reached the final of the fourth, narrowly losing 3–4 to Reardon. In 1971, he won the Stratford Professional with a 5–2 victory over David Taylor.
1972–1976: The resurgence of snooker in Britain The 1972 World Championship final was pivotal in the rise of snooker as one of Britain's most popular sports. Defending his second world title, Spencer eliminated Fred Davis 31–21 and Charlton 37–32, before facing championship debutant Alex Higgins in the final. Dominic Sandbrook wrote in 2019 that the final was contested under "risibly ramshackle conditions". The spectators were seated on wooden boards supported on beer barrels. There was a miners' strike in progress at the time, giving rise to power shortages; in the absence of normal power, the first evening session was conducted with reduced lighting provided by a mobile generator. The week-long final was closely balanced until Higgins won the Thursday evening session 6–0, creating a gap in the scores that Spencer seemed unlikely to overcome. Higgins proceeded to take the match 37–31.
Spencer made no excuses for his defeat, even though he was feeling exhausted and ill after a major tour of Canada, had been trapped in a lift ahead of one of the sessions, and involved in a minor car crash on the way to another. In his 2005 memoir, he pointed out that he thought Higgins had produced the better snooker in the 1972 world final and had won the match "fair and square". He was also willing to accept that Higgins's win had attracted more sponsorship and promotions, and a greater degree of media interest than if he himself had won the championship. Later the same year, Spencer relinquished another of his titles to Higgins, losing 3–6 in the final of the Stratford Professional tournament.