Bradford District still pool and snooker loopy

An extraordinary 18.5 million people, a third of the UK’s population at the time, stayed up until after midnight to watch the 1985 World Snooker final between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor.

It remains the highest viewing figure in BBC Two’s history and it is still the biggest-ever post-midnight audience for any British television channel.

The action lasted just shy of 15 hours, the longest-ever best-of-35 frames match to date, and yet for all the reverence the final is given, it is the only Crucible showpiece ever with no century breaks.

Northern Irishman Taylor of course won the match 18-17 on the final black, and his iconic celebration, cue raised above his head and a triumphant waggle of the finger, remains etched in sporting history.

Davis, indisputably snooker’s best player in the 1980s, was back in the final the following year, where he suffered a shock 18-12 defeat to Bradford’s Joe Johnson.

Johnson never scaled those heights again, and after 1986, which saw the release of Chas & Dave’s smash-hit “Snooker Loopy”, neither did snooker.

A whole host of reasons are likely for the decline. The rise of television and its number of channels, the resurgence of football’s popularity after the dark days of hooliganism, and maybe a change in attitudes, where blokes who smoked and drank pints before, during and after matches weren’t seen as cool any more.

And yet, whisper it, but snooker and its sister sport pool still has quite the talent pool in the Bradford District.

Johnson himself is a big reason behind that, with his snooker academy bring through some superb local talent over the last couple of decades, including three-time Masters champion Paul Hunter, before the Leeds star’s sad passing in 2006.

The Bradford veteran told the T&A in 2020: “There are two lads that were playing in my coaching academy. I have not seen the likes of these two boys since Paul Hunter.

“Daniel Boyes (11) and Stan Moody (13), they are both making century breaks, which is incredible.”

Moody more than holds his own in men’s snooker, and only last week, made the last-64 of the World Snooker Federation Championship in Sheffield.

The teenager is from Halifax, but he owes Bradford a lot for his snooker upbringing, and he has played in exhibitions organised by Gilstead’s Keith Walker.

Snooker superfan Walker, who has attended the World Snooker Championships at The Crucible for decades, has brought a host of famous names to Bradford over the last five years.

Davis, Mark Williams and Ken Doherty have all showed up to play exhibition matches and share stories about their careers at snooker clubs in the city, with John Parrott the next to arrive, at The Shipley Club, next month.

Back on the baize, and you have young Keighley talent Dylan Mitchell, who famously tackled former World Champion Neil Robertson at the UK Championship back in 2013 as a teenager.

There is Keighley’s Rebecca Kenna too, the women’s world number four, who has made four World Women’s Snooker Championship semi-finals since 2016.

Laisterdyke’s 10-time Bradford champion Wayne Cooper is a Senior Tour regular, entering events with the likes of Stephen Hendry and Jimmy White in them.

Simon Bedford, of Fairweather Green, and former Thornton Grammar School pupil Gareth Green are another pair of Bradford snooker players who have made a local and national impact over the years.

Pool is arguably in even ruder health in the Bradford District.

Bradford star Karl Boyes won the 2010 8-ball World Championship, and has featured in four Mosconi Cup teams (2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015), winning every time as part of Team Europe against the USA.

Keighley’s Chris Melling is a two-time WEPF Eight-ball Pool World Champion (in 2001 and 2003), but is still going strong, winning the Ultimate Pool Champions League and the Ultimate Pool Champion of Champions event in 2021.

Arfan Dad is making waves too, with the Keighley potter scooping his maiden World Rules Pool Tour title last year.

His progress was rewarded a month later, as he was chosen as one of six Ultimate Pool professional players for 2022.

Arfan Dad (right) with last year's title. Pic: World Rules Pool Tour.

Dad is excited by his own rise in the game, as well as the progress of the sport, telling the Keighley News: “I have had a few chats with the Ultimate Pool organisers and they want to promote the game and raise the profile of the players. They want to give an insight into what the players are like off the table. They have a good vision.

“We are talented as players, but we’ve not had that level of exposure before.

“A lot of content on pool has been shared on the social media groups in Keighley. The interest is growing in the sport.

“I’m hoping for more sponsors too.

“You can’t just be a talented player, you need to be strong mentally. You need to go into each tournament with a clear mind. I have got that more as I have got older.”

The Cedar Court Hotel, just off Rooley Lane, is also the host of the annual IPA World Pool Championships too, so Bradford is guaranteed to have some of the world’s best in its midst every year.

The heyday of millions watching players stroking a cue ball around in a hushed arena may be long gone, but there is still plenty of life on the baize in the Bradford District for now.