Gary Owen (snooker player)
Gary Owen (born 1929 in Tumble, Carmarthenshire, Wales; died 1995 in Brisbane, Australia) was an Welsh–born Australian snooker player.
Career
Owen was the inaugural British Under-16 champion in 1944[2] and reached the final of the prestigious English Amateur Championship six years later. He then gave up competitive play for a number of years, returning only in the early 1960s.[3]
In 1963 he matched the achievement of his brother Marcus, winning the English Amateur Championship.[2] This qualified him to compete for England at the inaugural World Amateur Championship in Calcutta that year. He won all his matches in a round-robin format and took the title. He became world amateur champion for a second time in 1966, beating future world professional champion John Spencer who was the runner-up.[4]
In 1968 Owen, Spencer and Ray Reardon become the first players in a generation to turn professional.[3] His best performance as a professional came in 1969 when he reached the final of the reconstituted World Professional Snooker Championship, losing to old rival Spencer[1] by 37 frames to 24. A semi-finalist in 1970, he was defeated in the last eight in 1973 and 1975.[5] In 1970 Owen defeated Ray Reardon 6–4 in the final of the Stratford Professional.[6]
Owen emigrated to Australia, taking a job as the resident professional at a snooker club in Sydney, and was runner-up to Eddie Charlton in the 1972 and 1973 Australian Professional championships. After gaining Australian citizenship, he represented his new country at the Snooker World Cup in 1979.[3]
Performance and rankings timeline
| Tournament | 1968/ 69 | 1969/ 70 | 1970/ 71 | 1971/ 72 | 1972/ 73 | 1973/ 74 | 1974/ 75 | 1975/ 76 | 1976/ 77 | 1977/ 78 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking[7] | No ranking system | 10 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Non-Ranking Event | 2R | QF | 1R | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranking tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stratford Professional | Not Held | W | A | A | Tournament Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Park Drive 2000 (Spring) | Not Held | RR | A | Tournament Not Held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pot Black | QF | RR | SF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | F | SF | RR | A | QF | Ranking Event | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Tournament Not Held | RR | Not Held | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Matchplay Championship | Tournament Not Held | QF | NH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Professional Championship | A | A | A | SF | F | F | QF | A | SF | LQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LQ | lost in the qualifying draw | #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 |
| DNQ | did not qualify for the tournament | A | did not participate in the tournament | WD | withdrew from the tournament |
Career finals
Non-ranking finals: 5 (2 titles)
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (0–1) |
| Other (2–2) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1968 | Willie Smith Trophy | John Dunning | Round-robin |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1969 | World Snooker Championship | John Spencer | 27–46 |
| Winner | 2. | 1970 | Stratford Professional | Ray Reardon | 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1972 | Australian Professional Championship | Eddie Charlton | 10–19 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 1973 | Australian Professional Championship (2) | Eddie Charlton | 10–31 |
Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final/ Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1950 | English Amateur Championship | Alf Nolan | 5–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 1963 | English Amateur Championship | Ron Gross | 11–3 |
| Winner | 2. | 1963 | World Amateur Championship | Frank Harris (Runner-up) | –[n 1] |
| Winner | 3. | 1966 | World Amateur Championship (2) | John Spencer (Runner-up) | –[n 1] |
Notes
References
- ^ a b "Obituary: Gary Owen". The Independent. 4 July 1995. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ a b Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker: The Records. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 124–125. ISBN 0851124488.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: Gary Owen MBE". Snooker Scene. No. August 1995. Everton's News Agency. p. 10.
- ^ Hale, Janice (1987). Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1987-88. Aylesbury: Queen Anne Press. pp. 296–297. ISBN 0356146901.
- ^ Hale, Janice (1987). Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1987-88. Aylesbury: Queen Anne Press. pp. 251–253. ISBN 0356146901.
- ^ "Owen defeats title holder". Sport Argus. 5 September 1970. p. 11.
- ^ "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 6 February 2011.