FRED DAVISFred Davis, who died on 16 April, 1998, at the age of 84, was a popular English snooker player who enjoyed a remarkable career that yielded an OBE and the affection of a nation.
Younger brother of 'Sultan of Snooker' Joe Davis, he initially made his name as a billiards player and went on to win two world titles.
He also twice captained England's World Cup side.
Even at the age of 67, he was still riding high in the world rankings, refusing to retire from the professional circuit until 1992.
Fred Davis was born on 14 August, 1913, in Chesterfield, England. Inspired by his elder brother's success, he nurtured his talent from an early age, beginning with billiards and becoming National Under-16 champion in 1929.
He turned professional shortly after and was world junior professional billiards champion for three successive years.
His debut world snooker championship, in 1937, saw him lose in the first round to Welshman Bill Withers. Although he had already known he was short-sighted, the defeat convinced him to seek out an optician and get fitted with a pair of swivel-lens glasses, which undoubtedly made a difference the following year when he reached the world semi-final.
The outbreak of World War Two in 1939 signalled five years in the army for Mr Davis, before finally returning to the cue sport in 1946 to compete in yet another semi-final.
In 1947, with his brother Joe retired from the event, Mr Davis was the favourite to take the trophy but later suffered an 82-63 defeat in the final by Walter Donaldson.
A year later, however, he finally took the title and enjoyed a remarkable run of 10 consecutive world finals from 1947 to 1956, winning eight in all.
By the 1970s, the emergence of a new breed of player should have seen his game decline. However, even well into his 60s, he remained a supreme force in the sport, reaching a further three world semis and twice taking the world billiards title before playing his final championship match at the Crucible in 1984.
Mr Davis continued to compete on the professional circuit until arthritis finally forced him to retire in 1992, by that time the oldest active professional sportsman in the world. He later died on 16 April, 1998, at the age of 84.
He was awarded the OBE for services to billiards and snooker in 1977.
Only himself and brother Joe have ever done the double.
Rumour has it that he once turned up for a match in Warrington, only to find that a chimpanzee had escaped from a local circus and wandered into the snooker area. "Is that my opponent?" he purportedly asked an official, on seeing the animal. After being assured that it was not, he replied, "Well, there are so many new professionals these days, I don't know half of them."
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