Joe Davis facts for kids
Davis c. 1920
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| Born | 15 April 1901 Whitwell, Derbyshire, England |
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| Died | 10 July 1978 (aged 77) Hampshire, England |
| Sport country |  England |
| Professional | 1919–1964 |
| Highest break | 147 (1955) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Major | 24 |
| World Champion |
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Joseph Davis (born April 15, 1901 – died July 10, 1978) was a famous English professional player of both snooker and English billiards. He was the best player in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s. Many people say he invented how the game is played today, especially how players make long runs of shots (called break-building).
He worked with a company owner named Bill Camkin to create the World Snooker Championship. They convinced the Billiards Association and Control Council to start an official championship in 1927. Joe Davis won the first 15 championships from 1927 to 1946. He is still the only player who has never lost a match in the World Snooker Championship. In 1930, he made the championship's first century break, which means scoring 100 points or more in one turn.
Davis became a professional English billiards player when he was 18. He won the World Billiards Champion title four times between 1928 and 1932. He was the first person to win world titles in both billiards and snooker. After winning the 1946 World Snooker Championship, Davis stopped playing in the World Championship. However, he kept playing in other tournaments and exhibition matches until 1964. He won four News of the World Snooker Tournament titles.
He also had a big impact on professional snooker. He was the chairman of the professional players' association. He also partly owned a famous playing hall called Leicester Square Hall. Plus, he helped arrange deals for snooker to be shown on television. His younger brother, Fred Davis, was the only person to beat Joe Davis in a snooker match without getting a head start.
In 1955, Joe Davis was the first player to make an officially recognized maximum break of 147 points. He became ill while watching his brother Fred play in the semi-final of the 1978 World Snooker Championship. While recovering, Davis got a chest infection and passed away on July 10, 1978.
Contents
Early Life and Learning to Play
Joseph "Joe" Davis was born in Whitwell, Derbyshire, England, on April 15, 1901. He was the oldest of six children. His father, Fred Davis, was a coal miner who later became a pub owner. Joe's younger brother, Fred, also became a professional snooker player.
When Joe was about two years old, his family moved to Whittington Moor. His father became the manager of the Travellers Rest pub there. Joe was sent to live with his grandparents in Newbold, Derbyshire, for a few years. He went to school in Newbold and returned to live with his parents when he was about eleven. By then, his father ran the Queen's Hotel, which had a full-size billiard table.
Joe Davis started playing English billiards when he was eleven. The billiard table at the Queen's Hotel was a bit lower than usual. This was because the previous owner had lowered it so people could see the games better. Because the table was lower and Joe was short, he could play many shots easily. He didn't even need to use a rest stick when the cue ball was near the edge of the table.
On January 24, 1913, when he was 11, Joe played an exhibition match in Chesterfield. He played against Arthur F. Peall, whose father was a former world champion. Joe was given a 300-point head start but still lost. His highest score in one turn was 19 points.
Coaching and Practice
From the age of 12, Joe was coached by a local player named Ernest Rudge. Rudge had a billiard room at his home in Chesterfield. Joe would travel there almost every day for morning lessons. Rudge was very strict. He taught Joe to always play seriously and with great focus. If Joe fooled around, Rudge would send him home. Joe later said these moments taught him a very important lesson: to always concentrate. He practiced very hard.
Joe also read a book called Practical Billiards by Charles Dawson. He scored a century break (100 points in one turn) in billiards at age 12 in an exhibition game. On November 11, 1913, he won the Chesterfield and District Amateur Billiards Championship. He made seven breaks of 20 or more, with his best being 34. Local newspapers praised his playing.
Rudge also arranged professional matches at his billiard hall. In December 1913, Joe got to be a "spot boy" for a week-long match between Australian player George Gray and Claude Falkiner. This allowed him to watch professional players closely. Gray noticed Joe's unique way of aiming, using his left eye along the cue. Gray thought Joe needed to change his aiming style to become a good player. Rudge tried to change Joe's style, but Joe found it unnatural. So, they decided to let him keep his natural way of playing.
On December 3, 1914, at 13 years old, Joe won the Chesterfield and District Amateur Billiards Championship. He beat J.D. Dickens, who was the current champion. Joe won 1,500 to 1,229. He received a trophy, a gold medal, and a set of billiard balls for making the highest break of the tournament, which was 115.
In February 1915, Joe played against Tom Reece in an exhibition match. Joe defeated Reece 1,000 to 785, even though Reece gave him a 650-point head start. Joe's highest break in that match was 52.
Professional Billiards Career
Joe Davis became a professional billiards player in 1919 when he was 18. His first professional match was against Albert Raynor. Joe won this week-long match by 145 points. His best break in that match was 160. By March 1920, his highest recorded break in billiards was 468.
He continued to win matches and receive good reviews. In 1921, he made a break of 147 in a tournament. He also won the 1922 Midlands Counties Billiards Championship. Later in 1922, he won the Second Division Championship, which allowed him to enter the main professional championship. However, he lost to Tom Newman in that championship.
In 1923, Joe made his highest break yet, scoring 599 points in a match against Fred Lawrence. He became the Midlands champion for the second time in 1924. He also won the Second Division Billiards Championship again that year.
In 1926, Joe Davis and Tom Newman were the only players to enter the professional billiards championship, which is now known as the world championship. Newman beat Davis in that final. Joe reached the final again in 1927 but was defeated by Newman once more. In this final, Joe made his highest break ever in billiards, scoring 2,501 points. He used a new technique called the "pendulum stroke." This stroke allowed players to score many points by keeping the balls very close together. People found this stroke boring to watch.
Because of this, the Billiards Association Control Council changed the rules on August 9, 1927. They limited how many times a player could use direct cannons (hitting two object balls with the cue ball) in a row. This made it harder to make very long breaks using the pendulum stroke.
On October 20, 1927, Joe made a break of 1,011 points against Tom Newman. This was the first 1,000-point break under the new rules. Joe won this match.
Becoming World Champion
In 1928, Joe Davis finally defeated Newman to become the world champion in English billiards for the first time. He made sixty centuries in that final. He successfully defended his title for the next three years. In the 1929 final, he made 63 century breaks. In 1930, he set a new record for average score per visit to the table, with 113.3 points. He also made a break of 2,052 in the 1930 final, which was his highest billiards break after the rule change in 1927.
The world championship was not held in 1931 because many top players disagreed with the rules.
In 1932, Joe Davis played against Clark McConachy from New Zealand in the final. Joe won the championship, scoring over 11,000 points from "close cannons." He played in the final again in 1933 and 1934, but lost both times to Australian player Walter Lindrum.
The UK Professional English Billiards Championship started in 1934. Joe Davis won the first UK title, beating Newman. He continued to defeat Newman in every annual UK championship final until 1939. The tournament stopped during World War II (1940-1945). Joe also won the first post-war UK title in 1947.
Snooker Career
Around the time Joe Davis was at his best in billiards, people were losing interest in the game. Top players were so good that games became boring to watch. By 1924, players were making breaks of over 1,000 points very often. As a billiard hall manager, Joe noticed that snooker was becoming more popular.
So, Joe and Bill Camkin convinced the Billiards Association and Control Council to start an official professional snooker championship. In 1927, the final of the first snooker world championship was held. Joe Davis won the tournament by beating Tom Dennis 20–11. He won £6 10 shillings, which was not a lot of money even then.
Davis won the world championship every year until 1940. He made the tournament's first official century break in 1930. In 1928, the final was even held in the back room of a pub owned by the player he beat, Tom Dennis! In 1931 and 1934, only two players competed in the tournament, with Joe winning both times. In 1934, Joe traveled to Australia to play Horace Lindrum in a special match. Joe beat Lindrum 46 frames to 29. From 1935, the championship started to pay players more money.
The 1940 final was special because Joe Davis played against his own brother, Fred. Joe took an early lead, but Fred won 11 frames in a row to go ahead. In the end, Joe won the match 37–35.
Due to World War II, the world championship was not held again until 1946. Joe Davis successfully defended his title, making it his 15th win in a row. This meant he held the title for 20 years straight! As of 2020, he has won more world championships than any other player. After this victory, Joe retired from the World Championship. He had won every single one from 1927 to 1946, making him the only undefeated player in the history of the world championships. Joe remained the best player until he fully retired in 1964. His brother Fred was the only one who came close to Joe's skill during this time.
Other tournaments were played with a handicap system. This meant Joe would give his opponents a head start in points for each frame. For example, he might start from 0 points while his opponent started from 14. He won the News of the World Tournament three times in the 1950s.
In 1959, Davis tried to make a new version of the game popular called snooker plus. This game had two extra colored balls, orange and purple. It was used for the 1959 News of the World Snooker Plus Tournament. However, people didn't really like it.
Maximum Break and Retirement
Joe Davis scored the first officially recognized maximum break of 147 points on January 22, 1955. This happened at Leicester Square Hall in an exhibition match against Willie Smith. At first, the Billiards Association and Control Council didn't recognize the break because of a specific rule used in professional matches. But they officially recognized it in April 1957.
In 1962, when he was over 60 years old, Joe Davis made a televised break of exactly 100 points. This was in the first frame of a match against the current World Champion, John Pulman. He played so well that he only had one difficult shot during the entire break.
Davis was given the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in 1963. He continued to play professionally until 1964. Joe Davis passed away on July 10, 1978. He became ill two months earlier while watching his brother Fred play in the 1978 World Snooker Championship semi-final. He collapsed and needed surgery. He died from a chest infection he got while recovering. The house where he was born in Whitwell has a special plaque to remember him.
Legacy
Joe Davis won four world billiards championship titles and 15 World Snooker Championship titles. He was undefeated for 20 years in snooker. He only lost four times in competitive matches without a handicap, and all those losses were against his brother Fred later in his career.
Snooker historian Clive Everton said that in the early 1920s, most players would just pot a few balls and then play safe. But Joe Davis spent a lot of time thinking about and practicing how to position the balls and make long breaks. These skills are now common in snooker.
Fred Davis, who was the second person to become a world champion in both snooker and billiards, said his brother Joe was "a very good player before anyone else knew how to play the game."
Joe Davis could not focus well with his right eye, so he played with his cue to the left of his chin. Coach Frank Callan compared Joe Davis to Steve Davis, another very successful player, and said Joe Davis was better. Callan also noted that many players who tried to copy Joe's unique stance found it too difficult and gave up.
Steve Davis was greatly influenced by Joe Davis's book How I Play Snooker when he was learning the game. Ronnie O'Sullivan, another famous snooker player, said that reading one of Joe Davis's coaching books helped him have one of his best years in 2007-2008. O'Sullivan also praised Joe Davis after winning his sixth world title in 2020.
Joe Davis had such a big influence on the game that, according to Frank Callan, "his word was law." After he retired from the world championship, Joe Davis "controlled the game" because of his strong personality. He was the best player, the chairman of the professional players' association, a part-owner of the main venue for matches, and the person who negotiated television deals.
Personal Life
Joe Davis married Florence Enid Stevenson in 1921. They had two children. Their marriage ended in 1931. In 1945, he married Juanita Ida Triggs, who was a singer known as June Malo.
Snooker Performance Timeline
| Tournament | 1926/ 27 |
1927/ 28 |
1928/ 29 |
1929/ 30 |
1930/ 31 |
1931/ 32 |
1932/ 33 |
1933/ 34 |
1934/ 35 |
1935/ 36 |
1936/ 37 |
1937/ 38 |
1938/ 39 |
1939/ 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Mail Gold Cup | Tournament Not Held | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||
| World Championship | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Tournament | 1945/ 46 |
1946/ 47 |
1947/ 48 |
1948/ 49 |
1949/ 50 |
1950/ 51 |
1951/ 52 |
1952/ 53 |
1953/ 54 |
1954/ 55 |
1955/ 56 |
1956/ 57 |
1957/ 58 |
1958/ 59 |
1959/ 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday Empire News Tournament | Tournament Not Held | 1 | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||
| News of the World Snooker Tournament | Tournament Not Held | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Sporting Record Masters' Tournament | Tournament Not Held | 1 | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||
| World Championship | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | won the tournament | #R/N | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (N = position in round-robin event) |
A | did not participate in the tournament |
Career Finals
Snooker World Championship Finals: (15 Titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1 | 1927 | World Snooker Championship | Tom Dennis (ENG) |
20–11 |
| Winner | 2 | 1928 | World Snooker Championship | Fred Lawrence (ENG) |
16–13 |
| Winner | 3 | 1929 | World Snooker Championship | Tom Dennis (ENG) |
19–14 |
| Winner | 4 | 1930 | World Snooker Championship | Tom Dennis (ENG) |
25–12 |
| Winner | 5 | 1931 | World Snooker Championship | Tom Dennis (ENG) |
25–21 |
| Winner | 6 | 1932 | World Snooker Championship |  Clark McConachy (NZL) |
30–19 |
| Winner | 7 | 1933 | World Snooker Championship | Willie Smith (ENG) |
25–18 |
| Winner | 8 | 1934 | World Snooker Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
25–22 |
| Winner | 9 | 1935 | World Snooker Championship | Willie Smith (ENG) |
25–20 |
| Winner | 10 | 1936 | World Snooker Championship |  Horace Lindrum (AUS) |
34–27 |
| Winner | 11 | 1937 | World Snooker Championship | Horace Lindrum (AUS) |
32–29 |
| Winner | 12 | 1938 | World Snooker Championship | Sidney Smith (ENG) |
37–24 |
| Winner | 13 | 1939 | World Snooker Championship | Sidney Smith (ENG) |
43–30 |
| Winner | 14 | 1940 | World Snooker Championship | Fred Davis (ENG) |
37–36 |
| Winner | 15 | 1946 | World Snooker Championship | Horace Lindrum (AUS) |
78–67 |
Other Snooker Tournament Wins: (9 Titles)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Runner-up | Score | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1934 | World Snooker Challenge | Horace Lindrum (AUS) |
46–29 | |
| Winner | 1936 | Daily Mail Gold Cup | Horace Lindrum (AUS) |
Round-robin | |
| Winner | 1938 | Daily Mail Gold Cup | Willie Smith (ENG) |
Round-robin | |
| Winner | 1948 | Sunday Empire News Tournament | John Pulman (ENG) |
Round-robin | |
| Winner | 1950 | News of the World Snooker Tournament | Sidney Smith (ENG) |
Round-robin | |
| Winner | 1950 | Sporting Record Masters' Tournament | Sidney Smith (ENG) |
Round-robin | |
| Winner | 1953 | News of the World Snooker Tournament |  Jackie Rea (NIR) |
Round-robin | |
| Winner | 1956 | News of the World Snooker Tournament | Fred Davis (ENG) |
Round-robin | |
| Winner | 1959 | News of the World Snooker Tournament | Fred Davis (ENG) |
Round-robin |
Billiards World Championship Finals
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1 | May 1926 | Billiards Association and Control Club Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
9,505–16,000 |
| Runner-up | 2 | May 1927 | Billiards Association and Control Club Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
14,763–16,000 |
| Winner | 1 | May 1928 | Billiards Association and Control Club Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
16,000–14,874 |
| Winner | 2 | April 1929 | Billiards Association and Control Club Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
18,000–17,219 |
| Winner | 3 | May 1930 | Billiards Association and Control Club Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
20,918–20,117 |
| Winner | 4 | March 1932 | Billiards Association and Control Club Championship | Clark McConachy (NZL) |
25,161–19,259 |
| Runner-up | 3 | May 1933 | World Professional Championship of English Billiards | Walter Lindrum (AUS) |
21,121–21,815 |
| Runner-up | 4 | October 1934 | World Professional Championship of English Billiards | Walter Lindrum (AUS) |
22,678–23,553 |
UK Professional Billiards Championship Finals
The UK championship started in 1934. It was not held from 1940 to 1946.
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1 | 1934 | United Kingdom Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
18,745–18,309 |
| Winner | 2 | 1935 | United Kingdom Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
21,733–19,910 |
| Winner | 3 | 1936 | United Kingdom Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
21,710–19,791 |
| Winner | 4 | 1937 | United Kingdom Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
22,601–18,321 |
| Winner | 5 | 1938 | United Kingdom Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
20,933–19,542 |
| Winner | 6 | 1939 | United Kingdom Championship | Tom Newman (ENG) |
21,601–18,383 |
| Winner | 7 | 1947 | United Kingdom Championship | John Barrie (ENG) |
walkover |
Images for kids
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Claude Falkiner c. 1915
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Joe Davis gives an exhibition, c. 1940
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Joe Davis c. 1938
See also
In Spanish: Joe Davis para niños
