Eddie Charlton

Eddie Charlton
Born (1929-10-31)31 October 1929
Merewether, New South Wales, Australia
Died 8 November 2004(2004-11-08) (aged 75)
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Sport country  Australia
Nickname Steady Eddie
Professional 1963–1995
Highest ranking 3 (1976–1981)
Career winnings £322,933[1]
Highest break 138: 1978 Australian Professional Championship
Century breaks 46[1]
Best ranking finish Runner-up (1975 World Championship)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking 20

Edward Francis "Eddie" Charlton, AM (31 October 1929 – 8 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title. He later became a successful marketer of sporting goods launching a popular brand of billiard room equipment bearing his name.

Early life

Charlton was born in Merewether, New South Wales, Australia and came from a sporting family. His brother Jim was also a professional snooker player but never joined the world ranks. Eddie himself was also a senior grade footballer, a champion surfer, a good cricketer and a boxer. One of his proudest moments was when he carried the Olympic torch on part of its journey to the 1956 Games in Melbourne.

He worked for a short while as a coal miner before deciding to become a professional cue sports player on the advice of Fred Davis.

Career

Charlton became a professional player in 1963 at the age of 34. The following season he won his first Australian Professional Championship. For the next 20 years, with one exception, he won the title annually. He unsuccessfully challenged Rex Williams for the World Billiards Championship title in 1974 and 1976. His third appearance was in 1984 when he lost by a handful of points to Mark Wildman. Four years later he lost to two-time champion Norman Dagley in his last World Billiards final.

Charlton was also the most successful Australian snooker player until the emergence of Neil Robertson. From the first year of the rankings in 1976/77, he was ranked number three in the world for the next five consecutive seasons although he never won a ranking tournament (because, in the early years, only the Snooker World Championship counted).

Charlton, who was known for his focused and dogged performances, challenged for the Snooker World Championship in 1968 and was the runner up in the final of Snooker World Championship in 1973 and 1975. In his last appearance in 1975, he lost by just one frame (31–30) to Ray Reardon. However his 1972, 1973, and 1980 victories in the BBC's Pot Black competition gave him a high-profile with television audiences. He also recorded the first century break (110) on Pot Black, a one-frame per match format.

Charlton was known for playing with a very straight cue action and rarely hitting the ball with any sidespin.[2]

Although he did not reach the final stages of the World Championship in his later career, Charlton continued to perform at a competitive level. His last major achievement was his 10-9 win over Cliff Thorburn at the 1989 World Championship. He made his final appearance at the Crucible in 1992 where he was defeated 10–0 by defending champion John Parrott, the only recorded whitewash in the history of the World Championship.

Personal life

Always active in the organisation and promotion of the game, Charlton was awarded the Order of Australia in 1980. He formed the Australian Professional Players Association and was responsible for bringing many of the top players to play in Australia. He released a 30-minute beginners' instructional video, Eddie Charlton's Snooker, Pool & Trick Shots, in PAL VHS format. He stopped competing in 1995 and died in Palmerston North, New Zealand on 8 November 2004 following an operation.[3]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1968/
69		 1969/
70		 1970/
71		 1971/
72		 1972/
73		 1973/
74		 1974/
75		 1975/
76		 1976/
77		 1977/
78		 1978/
79		 1979/
80		 1980/
81		 1981/
82		 1982/
83		 1983/
84		 1984/
85		 1985/
86		 1986/
87		 1987/
88		 1988/
89		 1989/
90		 1990/
91		 1991/
92		 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96
Ranking[4] No ranking system 3 3 3 3 3 8 5 6 6 12 25 26 19 22 31 27 29 34 60 77
Ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic[nb 1] Tournament Not Held NR 2R 1R LQ 1R LQ LQ A
Grand Prix[nb 2] Tournament Not Held SF 3R 3R 2R 1R 3R 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ A
UK Championship Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R LQ A
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held 2R 1R LQ LQ A
International Open[nb 3] Tournament Not Held NR 1R SF 1R 1R 2R QF 1R 2R Not Held 2R LQ LQ A
European Open Tournament Not Held QF 3R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ A
Thailand Open[nb 4] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event Not Held 1R 3R 2R 1R LQ LQ A
British Open[nb 5] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 1R 3R 2R 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R 2R WD LQ A
World Championship A A SF SF F 2R F SF QF SF SF QF 2R SF QF 2R 2R 2R LQ 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R WD LQ LQ A
Non-ranking tournaments
Australian Masters[nb 6] Tournament Not Held A A A F QF SF QF 1R SF NH R Tournament Not Held QF 1R
The Masters Tournament Not Held SF SF A A QF QF 1R QF SF 1R 1R QF A A A A LQ LQ LQ A A A
Irish Masters[nb 7] Tournament Not Held A A A A A A A A QF 1R QF A A A A A A A A A A A
European League[nb 8] Tournament Not Held RR Not Held A A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 9] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking 1R Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 10] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event NH 2R Tournament Not Held NR
Classic Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event QF 1R 1R 3R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 2R Tournament Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
International Open[nb 11] Tournament Not Held 2R Ranking Event Not Held Ranking Event
Classic Tournament Not Held A A A QF Ranking Event
British Open[nb 12] Tournament Not Held A A A 2R 2R Ranking Event
Pot Black A A A W W SF RR SF RR SF RR W SF F SF QF 1R 1R Tournament Not Held A A A Not Held
Australian Professional Championship F W W W W W W W W W W Tournament Not Held W F SF F SF Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 3R Tournament Not Held
World Seniors Championship Tournament Not Held F Tournament Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in the qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. ↑ The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989)
  2. ↑ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984)
  3. ↑ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  4. ↑ The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987) and Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
  5. ↑ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  6. ↑ The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
  7. ↑ The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)
  8. ↑ The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984) and the Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992)
  9. ↑ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
  10. ↑ The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988))
  11. ↑ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  12. ↑ The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Legend
World Championship (0–1)
Other (0–0)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1975 World Snooker Championship (3) Wales Ray Reardon 30–31

Non-ranking finals: 29 (20 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Legend
World Championship (0–2) [nb 1]
Other (20–7)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1964 Australian Professional Championship Australia Warren Simpson Round-robin
Runner-up 1. 1965 Australian Professional Championship Australia Norman Squire Round-robin
Winner 2. 1966 Australian Professional Championship (2) Australia Warren Simpson 7–4
Winner 3. 1967 Australian Professional Championship (3) Australia Warren Simpson 7–1
Runner-up 2. 1968 World Snooker Championship England John Pulman 34–39
Runner-up 3. 1968 Australian Professional Championship (2) Australia Warren Simpson 10–11
Winner 4. 1969 Australian Professional Championship (4) Australia Warren Simpson 11–6
Winner 5. 1970 Australian Professional Championship (5) Australia Norman Squire Round-robin
Winner 6. 1971 Australian Professional Championship (6) Australia Warren Simpson 15–7
Winner 7. 1972 Pot Black Wales Ray Reardon 1–0
Winner 8. 1972 Australian Professional Championship (7) Wales Gary Owen 19–10
Winner 9. 1973 Pot Black (2) England Rex Williams 1–0
Runner-up 4. 1973 World Snooker Championship (2) Wales Ray Reardon 32–38
Winner 10. 1973 Australian Professional Championship (8) Wales Gary Owen 31–10
Winner 11. 1974 Australian Professional Championship (9) Australia Warren Simpson 44–17
Winner 12. 1975 Australian Professional Championship (10) Australia Dennis Wheelwright 31–10
Winner 13. 1976 Australian Professional Championship (11) Australia Paddy Morgan Walkover
Winner 14. 1976 World Professional Match-play Championship Wales Ray Reardon 31–24
Winner 15. 1977 Australian Professional Championship (12) Australia Paddy Morgan 25–21
Winner 16. 1978 Australian Professional Championship (13) Australia Ian Anderson 29–13
Winner 17. 1979 Kronenbrau 1308 Classic Wales Ray Reardon 7–4
Winner 18. 1979 Limosin International England John Spencer 23–19
Winner 19. 1980 Pot Black (3) Wales Ray Reardon 2–1
Runner-up 5. 1982 Pot Black England Steve Davis 0–2
Runner-up 6. 1982 Australian Masters England Steve Davis 1–2
Winner 20. 1984 Australian Professional Championship (14) Australia Warren King 10–3
Runner-up 7. 1985 Australian Professional Championship (3) Australia John Campbell 7–10
Runner-up 8. 1987 Australian Professional Championship (4) Australia Warren King 7–10
Runner-up 9. 1991 World Seniors Championship Wales Cliff Wilson 4–5
  1. ↑ The World Championship did not become a ranking event until 1974

Team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1988 World Cup  Australia  England 7–9

References

  1. 1 2 Career Total Statistics For Eddie Charlton - Professional Results CueTracker
  2. ↑ "Obituary: Eddie Charlton". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Eddie 'Mr Snooker' Charlton dies, 75". The Age. 20 November 2004.
  4. ↑ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
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