Alex Higgins facts for kids
Higgins in 1968
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| Born | 18 March 1949 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
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| Died | 24 July 2010 (aged 61) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Sport country |  Northern Ireland |
| Nickname | Hurricane |
| Professional | 1971–1997 |
| Highest ranking | 2 (1976/77 and 1982/83) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 1 |
| World Champion |
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Alexander Gordon Higgins (born March 18, 1949 – died July 24, 2010) was a professional snooker player from Northern Ireland. He won the World Snooker Championship twice and is known as one of the most famous players in the sport's history.
People called him "Hurricane Higgins" because he played snooker very quickly. In 1972, he won his first world title by beating John Spencer. He was the first player to win the world title after qualifying for the tournament. At 22, he was the youngest world champion until Stephen Hendry won in 1990 at age 21.
Higgins was also a runner-up in the world championships in 1976 and 1980. He won his second world title in 1982, ten years after his first, by defeating Ray Reardon. He also won the Masters in 1978 and 1981. In 1983, he won the 1983 UK Championship after being far behind, showing a great comeback against Steve Davis.
He won the World Doubles Championship with Jimmy White in 1984. He also played for the all-Ireland team that won the World Cup three times in a row from 1985 to 1987. His last big win was in 1989 at the 1989 Irish Masters, where he beat Stephen Hendry.
Many called him the "People's Champion" because he was so popular. He helped make snooker a very popular sport to watch on TV in the 1980s. Higgins stopped playing professionally in 1997. He had health problems, including throat cancer, and passed away in 2010 at 61.
Contents
Life and Career Highlights
Early Years in Snooker
Alex Higgins was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on March 18, 1949. He started playing snooker when he was 11 years old. He often played at the Jampot club and later at the YMCA in Belfast.
At 14, he tried to become a jockey in England, but he was too heavy. He returned to Belfast and, by 1965, at age 16, he made his first perfect score in snooker, called a maximum break. In 1968, he won the Northern Ireland Amateur Snooker Championship. He was the youngest winner at 18 and the first to win it on his first try. A week later, he also won the All-Ireland Amateur Championship.
Winning World Titles
Higgins became a professional snooker player at 22. He won the World Championship on his very first attempt in 1972, beating John Spencer. This made him the youngest world champion ever, a record he held until Stephen Hendry won in 1990.
In 1976, Higgins reached the final again but lost to Ray Reardon. He was also the runner-up in 1980, losing to Cliff Thorburn. Higgins won his second world title in 1982 by beating Ray Reardon. This was a very special win for him.
Other Important Wins
During his career, Higgins won 20 other titles. One of his most famous wins was the 1983 UK Championship. In that final, he was losing badly to Steve Davis, 0-7, but he made an amazing comeback to win 16-15.
He also won the Masters tournament twice, in 1978 and 1981. He beat Cliff Thorburn and Terry Griffiths in those finals. Another memorable victory was his last professional win at the 1989 Irish Masters when he was 40 years old. He defeated a young Stephen Hendry in that match, which many call "The Hurricane's Last Hurrah."
After Professional Snooker
After he stopped playing professionally, Higgins still played snooker for fun and small bets in Northern Ireland. He played in the Irish Professional Championship in 2005 and 2006, but he lost in the first round both times.
In 2009, he planned to play in the Northern Ireland Amateur Championship but did not show up for his match. In 2010, he joined the first Snooker Legends Tour event in Sheffield, playing against other famous retired players. He played against Cliff Thorburn but lost. It is thought that Higgins earned a lot of money during his career, about £3 to £4 million.
Playing Style
Higgins was known for his fast play and exciting style, which earned him the nickname "Hurricane Higgins." He played very quickly and could pot balls at a rapid speed. His way of holding the cue and standing was quite unique compared to other professional players.
One of his most famous shots was a difficult clearance of 69 points against Jimmy White in the 1982 World Championship semi-final. He was far behind in that frame, but he managed to pot many challenging balls. Former world champion Dennis Taylor remembers a specific shot where Higgins potted a blue ball and made the cue ball spin perfectly to get into position for the next shot. This shot was very hard to do and helped Higgins stay in the game.
Life Outside Snooker
When Higgins won his first World Championship in 1972, he didn't have a permanent home. He had been moving between empty houses in Blackburn.
Higgins was featured on the TV show This Is Your Life in 1981. In 1983, he helped a young boy from Manchester who was in a coma. Higgins recorded messages for the boy and later visited him in the hospital, playing a game of snooker with him when he recovered.
He wrote his autobiography, From the Eye of the Hurricane: My Story, in 2007. He also appeared on the British TV quiz show The Weakest Link in 2009.
Health Challenges and Passing
Alex Higgins faced many health challenges. He had throat cancer, which required major surgery in 1998. In his later years, he could only speak in a whisper.
In 2010, he had pneumonia and breathing problems. He was admitted to the hospital several times. Friends tried to raise money for him to get new teeth, as he had lost them due to cancer treatment and was finding it hard to eat solid food. However, he was too unwell for the procedure.
Alex Higgins passed away at his home in Belfast on July 24, 2010, at the age of 61. His funeral was held at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, and many snooker players, including Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry, attended.
Legacy in Snooker
Alex Higgins inspired many snooker players who came after him, such as Ken Doherty, Jimmy White, and Ronnie O'Sullivan. Snooker expert Clive Everton called Higgins the "one true genius that snooker has produced." Ronnie O'Sullivan said Higgins was "the greatest snooker player I have ever seen" when he was playing at his best.
Higgins' exciting style and lively personality were key to making snooker a popular sport on television in the 1970s and 1980s. He also made the first "16-red clearance" in a challenge match in 1976, which is a very high score of 146 points.
To honor him, an event in the Players Tour Championship was renamed the Alex Higgins International Trophy in 2011. In 2016, the trophy for the new Northern Ireland Open tournament was also named after him.
His friendly rivalry with Steve Davis was shown in a 2016 BBC movie called The Rack Pack, where Luke Treadaway played Alex Higgins.
Images for kids
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Higgins in 1968
See Also
In Spanish: Alex Higgins para niños
