Gary Owen (snooker player)

Gary Owen (5 March 1929 – July 1995) was a Welsh-Australian snooker player. Winning the 1963 English Amateur Championship qualified him to compete for England at the inaugural World Amateur Snooker Championship in Calcutta that year. He won all four of his matches in the round-robin competition and took the title. He became world amateur champion for a second time in 1966, beating John Spencer in the decisive match.

He became a professional player in 1967, and won the 1968 Willie Smith Trophy, the first tournament that he played in as a professional. He was runner-up to Spencer at the 1969 World Snooker Championship. In 1971 he moved to Australia, and he represented that country at the 1979 World Challenge Cup, which was his last appearance as a professional player in the UK. He died in Brisbane, Australia in July 1995, aged 65, after experiencing long-term emphysema.

Early life and amateur career

Gary Owen was born in Tumble, Carmarthenshire on 5 March 1929.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn His father was a local champion at snooker, and encouraged his sons to learn the game.<ref name="BLADDERS"/> Owen played snooker for the junior team at the Welcome Billiards Hall in Llanelly.<ref name="BP50A">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Three days after his 14th birthday, he won the inaugural British Under-16 snooker championship,Template:Sfn defeating Percy Hinton 4–3 in front of an audience of over 1,000.<ref name="BSC44"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> His highest Template:Cuegloss was 116 before starting his military National Service.<ref name="BP50A"/> He served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, including 16 months stationed in Singapore, and played only rarely.<ref name="BLADDERS"/><ref name="BP50A"/>

While working as a labourer, he reached the final of the English Amateur Championship in 1950 and was one frame from victory against Alf Nolan at 5–3 before losing the last three frames to finish as runner-up.<ref name="EAC50">Template:Cite news</ref> The next year, he lost 2–5 in the last-16 round to Jim Allen, and in 1952 lost 2–5 in the quarter-finals to Cliff Wilson.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In the early 1950s he moved to Great Yarmouth, where his father managed a billiard hall.<ref name="BLADDERS">Template:Cite news</ref> Owen became a firefighter,Template:Sfn and gave up competitive play for a number of years, returning to the game only in the early 1960s.<ref name="SCOBIT">Template:Cite magazine</ref> By late 1956, he had moved to Birmingham.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Still working as a firefighter, in 1963 he matched the achievement of his younger brother Marcus in winning the English Amateur Championship.Template:Sfn<ref name="ONEBEST"/> In the final he won nine consecutive frames from 2–3 behind to defeat Ron Gross 11–3.<ref name="ONEBEST">Template:Cite news</ref> Owen and Gross played a televised challenge match later than year, which Gross won 4–2.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="RH63">Template:Cite news</ref> Richard Holt of Billiards and Snooker magazine felt that both players were impressive in the televised match, and commented that "Owen was always a joy to watch, with a command of advanced technique and masterful confidence."<ref name="RH63"/>

Winning the English Amateur Championship qualified Owen to compete for England at the inaugural World Amateur Snooker Championship in Calcutta that year.Template:Sfn He won all four of his matches in the round-robin competition and took the title.Template:Sfn His attempt to defend his English Amateur Championship title ended in the Southern region quarter-finals, when he lost 0–4 to Jonathan Barron.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

He became world amateur champion for a second time in 1966, beating John Spencer in the decisive match.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the 1967 Birthday Honours, Owen was awarded the MBE for services to snooker.<ref name="BSWS67">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="OTP"/>

Professional career and later life

In 1967, Spencer, Owen and Ray Reardon become the first players since 1951 to turn professional.<ref name="SCOBIT" /><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Owen was convinced to make the transition by a £250 contract with cue manufacturers Riley Burwat, who were looking for new names to use on their branded cues.<ref name="OTP">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Sfn As part of the deal, the company handled Owen's bookings.<ref name="OTP"/> His first tournament as a professional player was the 1968 Willie Smith Trophy, which was a round-robin tournament with Spencer, Jackie Rea, and amateur player John Dunning as the other competitors.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="WS">Template:Cite news</ref> Owen won all three of his matches and took the title.<ref name="BSWS68">Template:Cite magazine</ref> He also made the highest break of the tournament, 80, against Dunning in the final frame of the match that confirmed him as the champion.<ref name="BSWS68"/><ref name="BIRM3">Template:Cite news</ref> He made a maximum break of 147 in a non-competitive game at the Central Fire Station in Birmingham; although the break was not officially recognised as it did not happen in a public match, he was reportedly only the third British player to achieve the break.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1968–69, the World Snooker Championship was held as a knock-out format tournament after being contested on a challenge basis since 1964.Template:Sfn In his first match, he eliminated Rea 25–17.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the semi-final he defeated Fred Davis 37–24.<ref name="SCENEWC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the final, he faced Spencer, who took a 6–2 lead, before Owen levelled the match at 6–6. The Birmingham Daily Post correspondent praised the players for bringing a "refreshing new look to the game, with bold attacking play, wonderful potting, and a sprinkling of good-sized breaks".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Spencer was 15–9 ahead after the second day of the final, and maintained a six-frame lead by the end of day three, at 21–15.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On day four, Owen won four of the afternoon session's six frames to close to 19–23.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the evening session, Spencer claimed the first three frames, and finished the day six frames ahead again at 27–21.<ref name="BLOW">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Owen only won three of the twelve frames on the fifth day, leaving Spencer one frame from victory at 36–24. Owen's brother Marcus commented that, "Gary's cueing is all over the place. Every time he plays a forcing shot, his whole body is moving."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Spencer took the first frame on the final day to claim victory by achieving a winning score at 37–24.<ref name="T1969">Template:Cite news</ref> Owen compiled a 100 break, the highest of the match, in the 66th frame during the Template:Cueglosss after the title had been decided.<ref name="BLOW" /> After the dead frames finished, the score was 46–27 to Spencer.<ref name="T1969"/>

He was one of the eight competitors in the first series of Pot Black on BBC Television in 1969 and lost to John Pulman in the first round.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="PB69">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1970, Owen defeated Reardon 6–4 in the final of the Stratford Professional.<ref name="SP70"/> He was a world championship semi-finalist in 1970, beating Rex Williams 31–11 before being eliminated by Pulman 13–37.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the group stage of the 1971 edition he defeated Paddy Morgan and Norman Squire, but lost to Eddie Charlton and Warren Simpson, and did not progress past that stage.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He withdrew from the 1972 World Championship and was replaced in the draw by Charlton.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Owen emigrated to Australia in April 1971,Template:Sfn taking a job as the resident professional at the Western Suburbs Leagues Club, a snooker hall in Sydney.<ref name="SCOBIT" /><ref name="BRUMACE"/> He later moved to Canberra, then the Gold Coast, and finally to Brisbane.<ref name="SCOBIT" /> He was runner-up to Charlton in the 1972 and 1973 editions of the Australian Professional Championship.<ref name="SCOBIT" /> He won against Simpson in his first match at the 1973 World Championships, but then lost 6–16 to Reardon in the quarter-final.Template:Sfn Shortly after the 1973 championship, he compiled his second maximum break, at the Western Suburbs Leagues Club.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He played his brother Marcus in his first match in the 1974 World Snooker Championship, and lost 8–15.Template:Sfn At the 1975 World Championship, he progressed through two rounds but was beaten 9–19 by Dennis Taylor in the quarter-finals.<ref name="SCENEWC"/> Taylor defeated him again in 1976, this time 15–9.Template:Sfn Snooker historian Clive Everton later wrote that Owen "seemed to have lost all heart for the game" and was a lesser player than in the days when he had been world amateur champion.Template:Sfn It was Owen's last appearance at the world championship; although he entered in 1980, he did not play.Template:Sfn Having gained Australian citizenship, he represented his new country at the World Challenge Cup in 1979, which was his last appearance as a professional player in the UK.<ref name="SCOBIT" /><ref name="BRUMACE"/>

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association, the governing body for professional snooker, first published official world rankings for players on the main tour for the 1976–77 season.<ref name="SCENE76" /><ref name="CTRANK">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="GSC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Owen was ranked tenth on the 1976–77 ranking list, which was the highest position that he attained in the rankings.<ref name="SCENE76">Template:Cite magazine</ref>Template:Sfn

His playing technique included an unusually short Template:Cuegloss.Template:Sfn He preferred the use of Template:Cueglosss rather than Template:Cuegloss in his break-building.Template:Sfn In 1963, he said that he usually practised by playing English billiards, as having only three balls on the table helped him practice his ball control.<ref name="BLADDERS"/> In the early 1970s, Spencer described Owen as "the best middle pocket potter I've ever seen."Template:Sfn Owen died in Brisbane in July 1995, aged 65, after experiencing long-term emphysema.<ref name="SCOBIT"/><ref name="BRUMACE">Template:Cite news</ref>

Performance and rankings timeline

Ranking and results history for Gary Owen

Tournament	1968/ 69	1969/ 70	1970/ 71	1971/ 72	1972/ 73	1973/ 74	1974/ 75	1975/ 76	1976/ 77	1977/ 78	Template:Ref heading
RankingTemplate:Efn	No ranking system								10	13	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Willie Smith Trophy	W	Tournament Not Held									<ref name="BSWS68"/>
Stratford Professional	Not Held		W	A	A	Tournament Not Held					<ref name="SP70">Template:Cite news</ref>
Park Drive 2000 (Spring)	Not Held		RR	A	Tournament Not Held						Template:Sfn
Pot Black	QF	??	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	<ref name="PB69"/><ref name="PB71">Template:Cite news</ref>
World Masters	Tournament Not Held						RR	NH	??	NH	<ref> Template:Cite news Template:Cite news Template:Cite news</ref>
World Matchplay Championship	Tournament Not Held								QF	NH	Template:Sfn
Template:Nowrap	A	A	A	SF	F	F	QF	A	SF	??	<ref name="CTAUS"/><ref> Template:Cite news Template:Cite news {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} </ref>
World ChampionshipTemplate:Efn	F	SF	RR	A	QF	2R	QF	1R	A	A	<ref name="SCENEWC"/>

Performance Table Legend
#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	A	did not participate in the tournament
??	no reliable source available

Career finals

Non-ranking finals: 5 (2 titles)

Legend
Template:DaggerWorld Championship (0–1)
Other (2–2)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final/runner-up	Score	Template:Ref heading
Winner	1.	1968	Willie Smith Trophy	Template:Flagathlete (Runner-up)	round-robin	<ref name="BSWS68"/>
Runner-up	1.	1969	World Snooker ChampionshipTemplate:Dagger	Template:Flagathlete	27–46Template:Efn	<ref name="T1969"/>
Winner	2.	1970	Stratford Professional	Template:Flagathlete	6–4	<ref name="SP70"/>
Runner-up	2.	1972	Australian Professional Championship	Template:Flagathlete	10–19	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Runner-up	3.	1973	Australian Professional Championship (2)	Template:Flagathlete	10–31	<ref name="CTAUS"/>

Amateur finals: 5 (4 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final/Runner-up	Score	Template:Ref heading
Winner	1.	1944	Boy's Snooker Championship	Template:Flagathlete	4–3	<ref name="BSC44">Template:Cite news</ref>
Runner-up	1.	1950	English Amateur Championship	Template:Flagathlete	5–6	<ref name="EAC50"/>
Winner	2.	1963	English Amateur Championship	Template:Flagathlete	11–3	<ref name="ONEBEST"/>
Winner	3.	1963	World Amateur Championship	Template:Flagathlete (Runner-up)	round-robin	Template:Sfn
Winner	4.	1966	World Amateur Championship (2)	Template:Flagathlete (Runner-up)	round-robin	Template:Sfn

References

Books

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