Is it not a delight to watch a frame of snooker without half the audience calling out between each shot? Not even applause until the very end..... I'd forgotten how good things used to be. Sad that we have now lost Ray Reardon. I did have the please of meeting him many times, a really wonderful player and a true gent.
And to think he was past his prime when he turned professional. A truly great player had every facet of the game and cast iron under pressure. He would have done very well in today's game. All time great no question about it.
No player in the history of the sport exuded the aura and "bossed" the room in quite the way Ray Reardon did. Arguably the greatest tactician of all time and certainly in the top 3 players ever to pick up a cue !
And it's telling that shortly after he started mentoring Ronnie around 2004, the Rocket's level went up several notches. Ronnie bulldozed his way through the latter rounds in '04.
Yes, a real grace about the way he played. No shot overplayed. The aura of being in complete control. And not a little showmanship too. See that shot on the green against Charlton.
Yes thats a great shout he had a aura of invincibility at the table and remained a serious competitor until his personal problems surfaced around 1985....
Now having the benefit of watching the whole vid.....my goodness, he was a brave and wonderful player!...no wonder Ronnie went to him for help, he was a quick and confident player.
Indeed. Him, Spencer, Gary and Marcus Owen, Houlihan, Gross, Edmonds, Hood, Barron and a number of others, couldn't afford to turn pro in the 60's. All great amateurs but there was no money in the game.
The only comments I could make about the Legendary Ray Reardon are that he was a true professional a true gentleman and the greatest ambassador for the sport it's a shame that I never saw the best of him I started to watch snooker from the age of 13 in 1980 great tactition great technician brilliant in every aspect it's a shame there are not any players of his courteous gentlemanous around today it's a shame I was not old enough to understand snooker in the 1970s when he was in his prime and he was the man.Period. In my opinion the greatest player of all time.
Agreed! Both Ray and Ronnie are the two best players of all time. I know there are contenders but when you way up Ray's age when he turned professional along with his brilliant touch in the game you have to put him right up there with the mantle greatest player of all time.
The long brown he pots with canon to blue in the '82 World final against Higgins must be one of the finest shots under pressure EVER! Pinching that frame after needing a snooker made it 15-15.
John Spencer's comment about the difference between Reardon and Mans was a great one and very true. Reardon could win the table at one visit as this video demonstrates.
But could he win a frame at his very first visit of the frame immediately after his opponent broke off and do it again and sgsin, and/or win at the his next visit to the table after he himself broke off again and again like today's plsyers can? Could he have make 800+ career centuries had his peak been over the last 20 years?
Perfect stance, bridge and cue action. Master tactician. Ray never had many balls roll off. Great trick shot show second to none. Got a signed copy of his book Classic Snooker when attending an exhibition in 1981. Great player and a great man.
No matter which year is it, No matter which century it is, No matter which arena it is, No matter who are the players..... There is a someone in the audience who always coughs and distracts everybody.... What a remarkable consistency of the coughing audience. 🤧😷🤒😪🤧😪😷
Ray really was one of the greatest ,I’ve watched some of his old matches ,he made the game look easy ,his shots were fantastic ,and long pots and difficult shots from the cushion were made to look simple but wasn’t , wonderful player
Reardon the best all-round player of all-time. Consistency, temperament, potting, safety, creativity, longevity, tactical, mental strength, humour, style, innovation, ambassador for the game, etc.....Reardon had no weak links in his game Even Ronnie and Hendry can't match Ray as the complete package
A Great video showing what an all round player Ray Reardon was, I was amazed by his long potting, his temperement to finish off frames and matches under pressure, not only safety play. In way you can see how great players on one generation inspired the next.
Reardon regards O'Sullivan as by far the Goat.I'm surprised at how good he himself was and what a great shot on the first black along the cushion to pot it was difficult but he powered it in and came back out lovely on the reds.One of the true greats he was himself.
The best all round player ever for me and I say that partly as he was 35 when he turned pro. How many world titles would he have won if he had have been allowed to at 18?
Very difficult to know how many titles Ray could have won. He would have been up against the likes of Joe and Fred Davis, Pulman etc. I know he played the occasional exhibition with Joe though I'm not sure how he fared.
I'm gutted I never saw Ray Reardon at his best I started watching snooker in 1982. Snooker meant nothing to us in the 70s we had black and white tv until 1980
You should watch his world semi against Eddie Charlton. Ray was brilliant in that. Also, Ray was one of very few to whitewash Steve Davis in tournament play. Managed it four times in the 1980s
Ah, back in the days where the front of the Crucible stage resembled a day at a funeral. 😂 Always loved watching this man play, so graceful was this wily tactician and trap setter 😊
Ray used to lift his head quite often on the shot and his cue arm never looked straight but it never made a blind bit of difference.....he was a quality player...a genius....to me equates to Jocky wilson in darts.....Jockey used to jump off the floor and snatch like a looney but again.....it didnt matter....He knew where they were going !!!
ths is going to aound like bullshit but is true i went to the wake of my partners father in paignton in devon and met ray because my partners dad was rays gardener and shook his hand ray was a true class above a decent man who had real values this you wont hear about but it happened true enough
@@firewizzard86 Really. Though I believe the technical term was tight. Alex Higgins (for one) complained that they were too big and made the game easier for lesser players.
Came to see Ray but I never really appreciated the modern tables. Minimal cue control, cushion bounce and the balls sound awful on these vintage tables. At least it was in colour and the cloth was still green - at least some familiarity!! 😉
Great to see ray near his prime, and he always lifted his head slightly even in his heyday, I met at butlins I was 16,he signed my cue for me,I varnished in it later
