Ray Reardon is Wales’ greatest snooker player and one of the icons of the game in the Seventies. He was crowned world champion six times in that decade and reached another final at the age of 49 in 1982. A former Policeman and miner, he beat fellow Welshman Jack Cowey to win the British youth championship in 1947 and won the Welsh Amateur title six years in a row between 1950-55. He picked up the English Amateur crown in 1964 with a triumph over John Spencer after moving to live in Stoke on Trent. He turned professional in 1967 following a successful tour to South Africa. He toured the Holiday Camp circuit for a while and won his first World title in 1970 at the Victoria Hall, London, beating John Pulman.
Between 1973-76 he saw off Australian Eddie Charlton twice, Graham Miles and Alex Higgins to make it four successive wins. He added his sixth title with a win over South African Perrie Mans at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, but fell to Higgins in his seventh final appearance.
He won the first major snooker competition to be screened live on television, BBC2s Pot Black, in 1969 and won it for a second time a decade later. He was also the runner-up on three further occasions. When the World Snooker rankings were introduced in 1976, Reardon was ranked at No 1. He stayed there until the 1981/82 season. He became the oldest player to win a ranking tournament at the age of 45. Even at the age of 1956, in 1988, he was good enough to thrash the then five times world champion Steve Davis 5-0 at the British Open.
He won the Welsh Professional title three times (1977,1981, 1983) and helped Wales win the World Challenge Cup in 1979 and 1980. In 1985 Reardon received the MBE for his services to snooker and went on to help Ronnie O;Sullivan win the world title in 2004.
A keen golfer, he is the long-standing President of Churston Golf Club in Brixham.
Raymond Reardon (Snooker Player) Born on 8 October, 1932 in Bedwellty.
