Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon, MBE (8 October 1932) is a retired Welsh snooker player. He dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning six World Championships in that decade. A genial figure, his darkwidow's peak and sharp-toothed grin nonetheless earned him the nickname Dracula.


Reardon also became popular because he added a touch of humour and entertainment to his game. A deadly long potter and tactician in his prime, he played seventeen World Championship matches without defeat and won the title four years in succession. He won his second in1973 in Manchester when he beat Eddie Charlton 38-32, but the match of the championship was the semi-final between Reardon and Spencer, which Reardon won 23-22.
He beat Graham Miles the following year, and in 1975, when it was held in Melbourne, Australia, he had a tough quarter-final with Spencer which he won 19-17. He then beat Alex Higgins 19-14 before meeting local hero Eddie Charlton in the final. Reardon initially trailed by 23 frames to 29, putting Charlton two frames away from the title, but Reardon then won seven consecutive frames to lead 30-29. Charlton took the sixtieth frame to tie the match but Reardon took the vital sixty-first and won his fourth title.
Reardon won his fifth the next year in Manchester, beating Alex Higgins 27-16. Earlier that year, he had won the Benson and Hedges Masters in London, his second snooker title after the World Championship. His unbeaten run at the World Championship ended at the first Crucible championship in 1977, when he lost to John Spencer in the quarter-finals 6-13, his first defeat since Rex Williams in 1972.
He regained the title in 1978 winning it for the sixth time by beating Perrie Mans 25-18. Reardon remains the oldest winner of the World Championship at the age of 45 years and 6 months. He then regained his Pot Black title in 1979.
When the snooker world rankings were introduced in 1976, Reardon was the first number one, retaining that position until 1981/1982.[1] His win in the 1982 Professional Players Tournament at the age of 50 led to him recapturing the world number one position in the first set of rankings to be calculated on tournaments other than the World Championship.
Reardon remains the oldest player, at 45, ever to win a ranking tournament. He has also won the State Express World Team Classic forWales during the first two years of the tournament in 1979 and 1980 with Mountjoy and Terry Griffiths. He also won the Welsh Professional Championship in 1981 and 1983. His last final was the 1985 World Doubles when he partnered Tony Jones and lost to Steve Davis and Tony Meo 5-12. He was awarded the MBE in the same year.
Reardon began to struggle in 1982 when his father died. He also developed poor sight and started wearing 'Dennis Taylor-style glasses' later on in his career. He went out of the top 16 in 1987 but surprisingly whitewashed Steve Davis 5-0 in the 1988 British Open. He retired in 1992, but maintains an active interest in the game. He also advised Ronnie O'Sullivan on his way to his 2004 World Championship victory, giving him psychological and technical help.He is currently the president of the golf club in Churston, Devon.He now lives in Torquay, Devon.