I played him in an exhibition frame back in 1986. He destroyed me 105-7 in about five minutes. He lives in my village and is a lovely chap. In his eighties now. He gave up playing about 15 years ago, never picked up a cue since.
He probably could have, I saw an exhibition match at Derby assembly rooms back in the 80s and Terry Griffiths played a frame against some local lad and he knocked in 80 plus break in about 3 minutes he was running around the table, when there is no pressure on them they will throw caution to the wind 👍
Rex was a tremendous billiards player too. Ironically, he beat Jack Karnehm (doing the commentary) in the UK Billiards Championship final. He lost in the 1972 World Snooker Championship semi to Alex Higgins by one frame (something over seventy frames in that match) who, of course, beat Spencer in the final. He did a huge amount for the infrastructure of snooker. At 87 years old, he's still a very good golf player who can do a sub 85 round. Phenomenal!
Rex was a very decent bloke always spoke up for Alex Higgins when he was chairman of the WPBSA and Alex was up in front of the board on disciplinary charges though he was outvoted by other members
When Higgins was 7 - 0 down to Steve Davis after the first session of the UK Championship, Williams gave Higgins a huge pint drink that had 4 or 5 vodkas in it and got him to drink it to basically give him a boost. It worked as he beat David 16 - 15!
Nice upload, not the most fluent of players Rex, but he was an accomplished player and a great billiards player winning the world title 7 times. The £4000 high break prize he received here was not to be sniffed at in 1984 either, it was probably more than what he got for qualifying for the 1st round..
Sadly for Rex he was robbed of what should’ve been his prime years. He won the English Amateur Championship in 1951, aged 17 and turned professional the same year. Joe Davis tipped him as a future World Champion but by 1957 the professional game was dead. He had no choice but to abandon his snooker aspirations at the age of just 24 and go into his father’s printing business.
@@chrisbland6942 Cliff Wilson was similarly denied. By all accounts he was a phenomenal player as a young man, with a lightning fast attacking style of play (still visible in his pro years decades later).
@@LerafoLuap Yes, definitely. Cliff was the big crowd puller at Burroughes Hall in Soho Square, home of the amateur game. He was only 19 when he reached the English Amateur final in 1954. There’s loads of top amateurs from the 50’s and 60’s who were effectively shut out of the professional ranks - Wilson and Pat Houlihan were the outstanding natural talents I suppose, but also Geoff Thompson, Ronnie Gross, Ray Edmonds, Jonathan Barron, Gary and Marcus Owen, not to mention Reardon and Spencer.
If I remember rightly Rex used to take Beta Blockers ostensibly for a medical condition.But in those days they were used by many sportsmen as they slowed down the heartrate and calmed nerves and shaky hands.But eventually they were banned so Rex was forced to retire as there was no medical exemption for their use which seems a bit harsh.
@@GenialHarryGrout - Aye, I believe he used it to control a hand tremor he had. Fun fact - Bill was the only person in the world to receive tax relief on his lager consumption.. 🤣🤣🤣
Perrie Mans, the first left hander to make the WSC final, never made a hundred break in official competition play! Does anyone recall Cliff Wilson, a terrific one pot player, but not consistent enough. The times that snooker got audiences of 15 million.
@@harry2.01 Cliff Wilson was the O’Sullivan of the 1950’s, packing out every venue he played in with his outrageous potting and quick fire break building. There was no money in the game though so he retired for fifteen years and worked long shifts in a steel works to support his wife and 4 children. It wasn’t until the 70’s that he was persuaded to pick up his cue again. He regained the Welsh title and went on to win the World Amateur title before turning professional. Remarkably, he was ranked in the top 16 at the age of 55 and nearly blind in one eye. He also knocked Ronnie O’Sullivan out of the UK Championship in 1992, aged 58!
