Warren Simpson
Warren Alwyn Simpson (28 March 1922 – 28 June 1980) was an Australian snooker player. He was world amateur champion before turning professional in the early 1960s.
| Born | 28 March 1922 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
|---|---|
| Died | 28 June 1980 (aged 58) Toowoon Bay, Australia |
| Sport country | |
| Professional | 1970–1980 |
| Highest ranking | 20 (1976/1977) |
| Best ranking finish | Last 16 (x1) |
Warren Alwyn Simpson (28 March 1922 – 28 June 1980)[1] was an Australian snooker player. He was world amateur champion before turning professional in the early 1960s.
Career
[edit]Simpson won amateur championships at state and national level before becoming world amateur champion in 1954.[2] He played an exhibition against world professional champion Fred Davis in 1960 and later turned professional.[3] He won the Australian Professional Championship in 1963 and again in 1968; the latter was the only edition from 1965 to 1984 not won by Eddie Charlton.[4]
Simpson reached the final of the 1971 World Snooker Championship, losing 37–29 to John Spencer in a match played in Sydney, Australia in November 1970.[5] He competed in three further World Championships between 1973 and 1975. He lost to Gary Owen 14-16 in the second round in 1973.[5] In 1974, despite suffering from influenza, he discharged himself from hospital to play in his match against Bernard Bennett, but lost 8–2.[6] In 1975 he lost 11-15 to Ray Reardon in the second round.[5]
He suffered from diabetes[6] for many years and died at Toowoon Bay in 1980, aged 58.[3][5] He was married to Mabs, and had a son, John.[1][5] His obituary in Snooker Scene said that he was a fast player, and "an easy, natural cueist with a deceptively loose style."[5]
Snooker performance timeline
[edit]| Tournament | 1963/ 64 |
1964/ 65 |
1965/ 66 |
1966/ 67 |
1967/ 68 |
1968/ 69 |
1969/ 70 |
1970/ 71 |
1971/ 72 |
1972/ 73 |
1973/ 74 |
1974/ 75 |
1975/ 76 |
1976/ 77 |
1977/ 78 |
1978/ 79 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Professional Championship[nb 1] | W | F | 3 | 2 | F | F | W | RR | 2 | F | SF | SF | F | A | SF | SF | RR |
| World Championship | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | F | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | |
| Performance Table Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | won the tournament | F | lost in the final | SF | lost in the semi–finals |
| #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (RR = Round robin) |
N | N = position in round-robin event | A | did not participate in the tournament |
| NH | event was not held | ||||
Career titles (13)
[edit]- New South Wales Snooker Championship: 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957[7]
- Australia National Snooker Championship: 1953, 1954, 1957[8]
- Australian Professional Championship: 1963, 1968[9]
- Australian Open: 1954, 1957
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Death of Warren Simpson". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 June 1980. p. 75.
- ^ 'Snooker Title to Warren Simpson'. Newcastle Morning Herald & Miners' Advocate, 8 October 1954, retrieved 25 July 2023
- ^ a b Wheeler, Les (11 July 1980). "A famous five". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Australian Professional Championship". Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f "Warren Simpson: a snooker gentleman". Snooker Scene. September 1980. p. 25.
- ^ a b "Valiant Try". The Age. AAP-Reuter. 18 April 1974.
- ^ "NSW Snooker Championship". Billiards & Snooker Association of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 7 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ "Past Champions". Australian Billiards & Snooker Council. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ^ "Other National Professional Championships". Chris Turner. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2014.