Edward Francis Charlton (31 October 1929 – 7 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title. He later became a successful marketer of sporting goods, launching a popular brand of billiard room equipment bearing his name.
Early life Charlton was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and came from a sporting family. His grandfather ran a billiards club in Swansea, New South Wales, and Charlton began playing cue sports when he was nine years old. At the age of eleven, he defeated fellow Australian Walter Lindrum in a wartime snooker exhibition match, and he made his first century break when he was seventeen.
He was involved in numerous other sports during his youth: he was a first-grade footballer and played in the Australian First Division Football (soccer) for ten years; he was a champion surfer, and played state-level rugby league and competitive cricket; he also excelled in speed roller skating, rowing, boxing and tennis. In 1956, he was chosen to carry the Olympic torch on part of its journey to the Melbourne Games.
Charlton worked as a coal miner until the age of 31. After winning four amateur snooker titles, he decided to turn professional in 1963 on the advice of Fred Davis. His brother Jim was also a professional snooker player but never joined the world ranks.
Career Charlton became a professional player in 1963 at the age of 34 and won his first Australian Professional Championship the following season. For the next ten years he won the title annually and made at least the semi-finals in every subsequent meeting through its last edition in 1988. He unsuccessfully challenged Rex Williams for the World Billiards Championship title in 1974 and 1976. His third appearance was in 1984 when he lost by a handful of points to Mark Wildman. Four years later, he lost to two-time champion Norman Dagley in his last World Billiards final.
Charlton was the most successful Australian snooker player until the emergence of Neil Robertson. From the first year of the snooker world rankings in 1976/77, he was ranked number three in the world for the next five consecutive seasons.
Charlton, who was known for his focused and dogged performances, challenged for the World Championship in 1968 and was the runner-up in the final of the World Championship in 1973 and 1975, losing the 1975 world final by just one frame (30–31) to Ray Reardon. He won the BBC's Pot Black competition in 1972, 1973 and 1980. He also recorded the first century break (110) on Pot Black.
In the final of the 1973 World Snooker Championship, played as the best-of-75-frames, Charlton led Ray Reardon 10–5 and 12–10, before the pair were on level terms at both 12–12 and 13–13. Reardon moved into a 17–13 lead, and was 27–25 up after seven sessions of play. At the start of the eighth session, Reardon was affected by the bright lighting that had been installed for the purposes of television coverage, and he lost the first three frames. He complained about the lighting, and two large lights that were focused on the audience were switched off. From 27–28 behind, Reardon won four of the next five frames in the session, and sustained the momentum for an eventual 38–32 victory. According to snooker historian Clive Everton, "Charlton's dogged consistency proved no match for Reardon's flair and wider range of shots."
Charlton faced Reardon in the final of the 1975 World Snooker Championship in a match of 61 frames. Reardon led 16–8, but Charlton then won the next nine frames to take the lead. Reardon was ahead at 22–20, but Charlton won nine of the following ten frames to lead 29–23. Reardon produced a seven-frame winning streak to leave himself needing one further frame at 30–29, then Charlton won the 60th frame. In the , Reardon made a 62 break, and secured his victory at 31–30.
He reached the final of the 1991 World Seniors Championship and was a frame away from clinching the title when he led Cliff Wilson 4–2. According to the match report in Snooker Scene magazine, Charlton then "started to falter in a fashion all too familiar with his failures on the brink of other world titles", and he lost 4–5.
His last major achievement at the World Championship was his 10–9 first-round win over Cliff Thorburn at the 1989 World Championship. He qualified for the 1990 and 1991 World Championships but lost in the first round on both occasions. Charlton's final appearance at the Crucible came in 1992, where he was defeated 10–0 by defending champion John Parrott in the first round, the only recorded in the World Championship until 2019.
Charlton was known for playing with a very straight cue action and rarely hitting the ball with any , when a less conservative approach might have paid dividends. In retirement from professional snooker Charlton often commentated during the BBC's world championship coverage.
Personal life Always active in the organisation and promotion of the game, Charlton was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1980. He formed the Australian Professional Players Association and was responsible for bringing many of the top players to play in Australia. He released a 30-minute beginners' instructional video, Eddie Charlton's Snooker, Pool & Trick Shots, in PAL VHS format. In 1993 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. He stopped competing in 1995 and died in Palmerston North, New Zealand on 8 November 2004 following an operation.
Performance and rankings timeline Tournament 1968/69 1969/70 1970/71 1971/72 1972/73 1973/74 1974/75 1975/76 1976/77 1977/78 1978/79 1979/80 1980/81 1981/82 1982/83 1983/84 1984/85 1985/86 1986/87 1987/88 1988/89 1989/90 1990/91 1991/92 1992/93 1993/94 1994/95 1995/96 RankingNo ranking system3333385661225261922312729346077 Ranking tournaments Dubai ClassicThe event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989).Tournament not heldNR2R1RLQ1RLQLQA Grand PrixThe event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984).Tournament not heldSF3R3R2R1R3R2R1R2R1R1RLQLQA UK ChampionshipTournament not heldNon-ranking event2R1R2R1R1R1R1R2R2R1RLQA Welsh OpenTournament not held2R1RLQLQA International OpenThe event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986).Tournament not heldNR1RSF1R1R2RQF1R2RNot held2RLQLQA European OpenTournament not heldQF3R2R1R1RLQLQA Thailand OpenThe event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987) and Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993).Tournament not heldNon-ranking eventNot held1R3R2R1RLQLQA British OpenThe event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984).Tournament not heldNon-ranking event1R3R2R1R1R1R2R3R2RWDLQA World ChampionshipNon-ranking event2RFSFQFSFSFQF2RSFQF2R2R2RLQ2R2R1R1R1RWDLQLQA Non-ranking tournaments Australian MastersThe event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995).Tournament not heldAAAFQFSFQF1RSFNHRTournament not heldQF1R The MastersTournament not heldSFSFAAQFQF1RQFSF1R1RQFAAAALQLQLQAAA Irish MastersThe event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977).Tournament not heldAAAAAAAAQF1RQFAAAAAAAAAAA European LeagueThe event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984) and the Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992).Tournament not heldRRNot heldAAAAAAAAAA Pontins ProfessionalTournament not heldQFAARRAASFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Former ranking tournaments Canadian MastersThe event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981).Tournament not heldNon-RankingTournament not heldNon-Ranking1RTournament not held Hong Kong OpenThe event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988).Tournament not heldNon-ranking eventNH2RTournament not heldNR ClassicTournament not heldNon-ranking eventQF1R1R3R1R1R2R3R1RTournament not held Strachan OpenTournament not held2RTournament not held Former non-ranking tournaments World ChampionshipAASFSFFRanking event Norwich Union OpenTournament not heldSFATournament not held World MastersTournament not heldRRTournament not held World Matchplay ChampionshipTournament not heldWTournament not held Holsten Lager InternationalTournament not held1RTournament not held Limosin InternationalTournament not heldWTournament not held Kronenbrau 1308 ClassicTournament not heldWTournament not held International OpenThe event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986).Tournament not held2RRanking eventNot heldRanking event ClassicTournament not heldAAAQFRanking event British OpenThe event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984).Tournament not heldAAA2R2RRanking event Tolly Cobbold ClassicTournament not heldAAAAAQFTournament not held New Zealand MastersTournament not heldSFNot heldAATournament not held Pot BlackAAAWWSFRRSFRRSFRRWSFFSFQF1R1RTournament not heldAAANot held FWWWWWWWWWWTournament not heldWFSFFSFTournament not held Shoot-OutTournament not held3RTournament not held World Seniors ChampionshipTournament not heldFTournament not held
Performance Table LegendLQ lost in the qualifying draw#R lost in the early rounds of the tournament(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)QF lost in the quarter-finalsSF lost in the semi-finalsF lost in the finalW won the tournamentDNQ did not qualify for the tournamentA did not participate in the tournamentWD withdrew from the tournament NH / not held means an event was not held.NR / Non-ranking event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.R / Ranking event means an event is/was a ranking event.
Career finals Ranking finals: 1 Legend World Championship (0–1) Other (0–0)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreRunner-up 1. 1975 World Snooker Championship (3) 30–31
Non-ranking finals: 34 (26 titles) Legend World Championship (0–2)The World Championship did not become a ranking event until 1974. Other (26–6)
OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreWinner 1. 1963 Australian Professional Championship 46–45Runner-up 2. 1964 Australian Professional Championship Winner 2. 1965 Australian Professional Championship (2) Winner 3. 1965 Commonwealth Snooker Championship Winner 4. 1966 Australian Professional Championship (3) 7–4Winner 5. 1967 Australian Professional Championship (4) 7–1Runner-up 2. 1968 World Snooker Championship 34–39Runner-up 3. 1968 Australian Professional Championship (2) 10–11Winner 6. 1968 World Open Matchplay Championship 43–30Winner 7. 1969 Australian Professional Championship (5) 8–3Winner 8. 1969 Australasian Championship 11–6Winner 9. 1970 Australian Professional Championship (6) Winner 10. 1971 Australian Professional Championship (7) 11–7Winner 11. 1971 Hunter Valley Championship 5–4Winner 12. 1972 Pot Black 1–0Winner 13. 1972 Marrickville Professional Winner 14. 1972 Australian Professional Championship (8) 19–10Winner 15. 1973 Pot Black (2) 1–0Runner-up 4. 1973 World Snooker Championship (2) 32–38Winner 16. 1973 Australian Professional Championship (9) 31–10Winner 17. 1974 Australian Professional Championship (10) 44–17Winner 18. 1975 Australian Professional Championship (11) 31–10Winner 19. 1976 Australian Professional Championship (12) WalkoverWinner 20. 1976 World Professional Match-play Championship 31–24Winner 21. 1977 Australian Professional Championship (13) 25–21Winner 22. 1978 Australian Professional Championship (14) 29–13Winner 23. 1979 Kronenbrau 1308 Classic 7–4Winner 24. 1979 Limosin International 23–19Winner 25. 1980 Pot Black (3) 2–1Runner-up 5. 1982 Pot Black 0–2Runner-up 6. 1982 Australian Masters 100–254 pointsWinner 26. 1984 Australian Professional Championship (15) 10–3Runner-up 7. 1985 Australian Professional Championship (3) 7–10Runner-up 8. 1987 Australian Professional Championship (4) 7–10