CLIFF THORBURN was chased by his old boss after quitting his job to play snooker full-time.
Eleven years before he won the 1980 World Snooker Championships, the Canadian cueist decided to try to make ends meet by picking tobacco.
GETTYFormer snooker world champ Cliff Thorburn used to be a tobacco picker[/caption]
TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTDBut he quit the job after a day to pursue a career in snooker – much to the frustration of his boss[/caption]
But he soon realised the arduous gig wasn’t for him and quit after just a day – using his pay as his stake in a tournament that night.
And the farmer who gave him the job – which paid a mere £9.40 (CA$16.51) a day – blew a gasket after he dropped the bombshell news.
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Thorburrn told the Henley Standard: “In 1969 I hadn’t won a major tournament yet and I was 21.
“I was picking tobacco in a place called Delhi, Ontario, and that was new to me.
“It was a big industry there and still is. It was a slow process and I didn’t enjoy it.”
He continued: “They didn’t have lighting over the tables, it was just neon stuff.
“They had 15 yellow balls instead of reds.
“Afterwards, having been tired from working and playing snooker for five hours, I think I had to walk back to the farm.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
1969 – John Spencer
1970 – Ray Reardon
1971 – John Spencer
1972 – Alex Higgins
1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
1977 – John Spencer (2)
1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
1979 – Terry Griffiths
1980 – Cliff Thorburn
1981 – Steve Davis
1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
1983 – Steve Davis (2)
1984 – Steve Davis (3)
1985 – Dennis Taylor
1986 – Joe Johnson
1987 – Steve Davis (4)
1988 – Steve Davis (5)
1989 – Steve Davis (6)
1990 – Stephen Hendry
1991 – John Parrott
1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
1997 – Ken Doherty
1998 – John Higgins
1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
2000 – Mark Williams
2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2002 – Peter Ebdon
2003 – Mark Williams (2)
2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
2005 – Shaun Murphy
2006 – Graeme Dott
2007 – John Higgins (2)
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
2009 – John Higgins (3)
2010 – Neil Robertson
2011 – John Higgins (4)
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
2014 – Mark Selby
2015 – Stuart Bingham
2016 – Mark Selby (2)
2017 – Mark Selby (3)
2018 – Mark Williams (3)
2019 – Judd Trump
2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
2021 – Mark Selby (4)
2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
2023 – Luca Brecel
2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
2 – Alex Higgins
“I thought that I could have a little lie-in the next day, but of course the owner was there, and I was the last one to get up. I told him I was going to quit.
“The farmer said, ‘What?’ He started looking mad and dropped the wheelbarrow he had been carrying.
“Then he starts to come towards me and chases me towards the road and now I’m running back, with the $300, running back towards town.
“I was 21 years old too and didn’t even know that there was a World Championship until about a year before that.
“I had played about two or three tournaments and become barred from tournaments.
“Because I didn’t have a job.”
Thorburn, of course, etched his name into the snooker history books when he became the first player to complete a 147 break at the Crucible.
THE TIMESCliff Thorburn became the first player to achieve a 147 break at the Crucible[/caption]
He said of his stunning 1983 achievement: “I had a dream about making a 147 in the World Championship about two months beforehand.
“In the match, I wasn’t feeling well, I had a cold.
“I felt horrible. I slept about an hour the previous night and my nose was running.
“Before I potted the black I was blowing my nose.
“Afterwards, I took a break and that settled me down a little bit.”
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