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Clive Everton
MBE
Born(1937-09-07)7 September 1937
Worcester, England
DiedSeptember 2024 (aged 87)
Professional1981–1991
Highest ranking47 (1983–84)
Best ranking finishLast 32 (x1)

Clive Harold Everton MBE (7 September 1937 – September 2024) was a sports commentator, journalist, author and professional snooker and English billiards player. He founded Snooker Scene magazine, which was first published (as World Snooker) in 1971, and continued as editor until September 2022.[1] He authored over twenty books about cue sports since 1972.

Everton began commentating on snooker for BBC radio in 1972 and for BBC Television from 1978 until 2010. In the snooker boom years of the 1980s, he commentated alongside Ted Lowe and Jack Karnehm, and became the leading commentator in the 1990s. As an amateur player, he won junior titles in English billiards and the Welsh billiards title several times. He was five-times runner up in the English amateur billiards championship and twice a semi-finalist at the world amateur championship. In snooker, he partnered Roger Bales as they won the United Kingdom National Pairs Championship. Everton turned professional in 1981, achieving a highest ranking of 47th in the world in ten years as a snooker professional. He reached a peak of ninth place in the professional billiards rankings and remained in the top 20 ranked players even into his sixties.

Everton played county-level tennis for Worcestershire for 13 years and once managed Jonah Barrington, the former world number one squash player. In 2017, he was inducted into the Snooker Hall of Fame and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to snooker. In 2022 the British Open tournament trophy was renamed the "Clive Everton Trophy".[2]

Early life

Clive Harold Everton was born in Worcester on 7 September 1937.[3] He was educated at King's School, Worcester, City of Birmingham College of Commerce, and later at Cardiff University, where he obtained a B.A. in English. After graduating, he taught English and Liberal Studies at Halesowen College of Further Education, before a career change into freelance journalism.[4][5]: 39 

Cue sports career

Everton became interested in playing English billiards after his father took him to a match at Leicester Square Hall where Sidney Smith was playing. He started playing on a friend's quarter-size billiard table, before having his own bought for him, and then began to play on a full-size table several months later.[6] He entered the British Boys (under-16) English billiards Championship for the first time in 1951, when he was 14, and lost in the first round to Brian Brooking by 147 points to 201.[7][8] He won the 1953 under-16 billiards championship by defeating John Lambert by 401–197 in the final.[9] The following year, he was runner-up in the under-19 Championship, losing 360–538 to Donald Scott.[10] He reached the under-19 final again in 1956, and claimed the title with a 429–277 victory against Granville Hampson.[10] He took the Welsh Amateur billiards championship title in 1960, 1972, 1973 and 1976, and was four-times runner up in the English Amateur billiards championship from 1967 to 1980.[11][12]

He reached both the 1975 and 1977 world amateur billiards semi-finals,[13] and won the 1980 Canadian Open, making a break of 141 after trailing Steve Davis 195–400 in the 500-up final.[14] During the 1977 world championship he experienced a back injury which eventually required discs in his spine to be fused, and Everton felt that his game never quite recovered. Despite this he would reach a high ranking in the professional billiards game of ninth, and remained in the top 20 ranked players even into his sixties.[15][16][6] At the 2005 World Billiards championship he was one of 17 participants, and lost all three of his qualifying group matches.[17][18] He resigned his membership of the WPBSA in April 2006 during a dispute with the Association, which was seeking to take action against him through the Sports Dispute Resolution Panel as a result of criticism of it that he had published in Snooker Scene.[19][20] Re-instated as an amateur, he won the Midlands amateur billiards title for the 14th time in 2008, having first taken the title in 1962.[21][22][23]

In snooker, he reached the southern area final of the 1977 English Amateur Championship where he lost 1–8 to Terry Griffiths.[24] A couple of months later, Everton and his playing partner Roger Bales won the 1977 National (UK) Pairs Championship after a 3–0 victory against Dickie Laws and John Pike in the final.[25] He was accepted by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) as a professional in 1981.[26] In his professional debut, at the qualifying tournament for the 1981 International Open, he won his first match 5–4 against Kingsley Kennerley. In Everton's second match, Mike Watterson, who was also the tournament promoter, arrived 15 minutes late after not realising that the official start time was thirty minutes earlier than on publicity and tickets for the event, and therefore conceded a frame to Everton as per the tournament rules. Watterson won the match 5–4.[27]

Everton's most notable win as a professional snooker player was a 5–2 defeat of Patsy Fagan in the last 64 of the 1982 Professional Players Tournament, representing the furthest that he ever reached in a major tournament.[27][5]: 39  He lost to Cliff Thorburn by the same score in the last 32. He played in the Welsh Professional Championship on seven occasions, being seeded to the quarter-finals on four of these and the first round three times, but never won a match in the competition.[27] His last match in professional snooker before retiring from competition was a 3–5 defeat by Mark Wildman at the 1991 British Open.[27][6] He achieved a highest ranking of 47th in the world in ten years as a snooker professional.[28]

Writing and television

After leaving Halesowen College, Everton worked as a freelance sports reporter, covering sports including hockey, tennis, badminton and squash for Birmingham Post, Birmingham Evening Mail, The Guardian, The Sunday Telegraph and other publications. He also commentated on snooker for BBC radio from 1972, and BBC television from the 1978 World Snooker Championship.[4][16]

He was the editor of the magazine Billiards and Snooker, owned by the Billiards Association and Control Council, from the December 1966 issue until the February 1971 issue.[4][29][30] According to Everton, he was sacked at the instigation of Jack Karnehm, the Chairman of the Billiards and Snooker Control Council (as the Billiards Association and Control Council had renamed itself) for "giving professionals publicity". In Everton's account, this followed him including pictures of four professional players on the cover of Billiards and Snooker at a time when the Billiards and Snooker Control Council and the professional players were in dispute over the World Billiards Championship. This dispute led to the Professional Billiards Players Association renaming itself as the WPBSA and splitting from the Billiards and Snooker Control Council (B&SCC). Following his sacking, Everton established his own magazine, World Snooker.[31]: 16–17 : 44–45 

In 1972, the B&SCC approached Everton to take over Billiards and Snooker and paid him £1,000 to do so. Everton merged Billiards and Snooker and World Snooker into Snooker Scene, which published its first issue in April 1972.[5] Snooker Scene has sometimes featured criticisms of the WPBSA which have led to legal disputes.[32][33][34] Everton has said of Snooker Scene: "I had started this as a simple journal of record of what was happening on the table, but it became a crusading vehicle … Taking Wisden and Private Eye as our models we sometimes made our point through hard reporting, sometimes through satire."[6]

Everton has authored over twenty books about cue sports.[35] As a snooker commentator, during the hey-day of the game in the 1980s, he worked alongside Ted Lowe and Karnehm,[36] and became the leading commentator in the 1990s.[37] In September 2007 he published Black Farce and Cueball Wizards: The Inside Story of the Snooker World, which has a history of snooker as well as being autobiographical. The Independent on Sunday praised the book at "Revelatory stuff, masterfully written."[38] Nick Harris of The Independent, noting that Everton was a correspondent for the publication's Sunday sister publication but saying that "nepotism is not required to recommend this book", wrote that it was a "terrific memoir-cum-history of the game."[39] A review for his 2013 book A History of Billiards in The Independent on Sunday stated that "his affection for and encyclopaedic knowledge of the three-ball game shines through"[40]

In 2009, it was announced that Everton would effectively lose his position as the BBC's primary snooker commentator; he did not commentate on the Masters, and only commentated on the World Championship until the quarter-final stages. This has variously been attributed to his criticism of the game's governing body, World Snooker, his age and old-fashioned style,[41] and his lack of fame relative to the former players on the BBC's commentary roster.[42] Everton commented, "I'm hurt and angry, because I find the reasons presented to me incomprehensible."[41]

During the 2009–10 season, Everton's role at the BBC was reduced still further. He only commentated on two matches during the Grand Prix, and was not heard at all during the Masters. He commentated on days one to four of the 2010 World Snooker Championship and was heard again on day six, but that was his final commentary work of the tournament. According to Everton, the understanding for the 2010–11 season was that he would commentate if Steve Davis and Ken Doherty were not available due to them still participating in particular tournaments. Everton said that he was offered four days' work at the 2011 World Snooker Championship, but that this was rescinded when Stephen Hendry was eliminated from the competition and became available for commentary. Everton was later told that his work for the following season would depend on Hendry's availability, and decided that this was the end of his relationship with the BBC.[43] Since his departure from the BBC, Everton has continued commentating for ITV.[35]

In the September 2022 issue of Snooker Scene, Everton announced that he would not be continuing as editor.[1] From November 2022, Snooker Scene was revived under the ownership of Curtis Sport. Everton continues to work for the magazine as an editorial consultant. He also contributes feature articles and reports on billiards events.[44]

Personal life

Everton played county-level tennis for Worcestershire for 13 years, and has managed Jonah Barrington, the former world number one squash player.[15] In 2017, he was inducted into the Snooker Hall of Fame at the annual Snooker Awards.[45] He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to snooker.[46]

On 27 September 2024, it was announced Everton had died at the age of 87.[47]

Snooker performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 1979/
80 		1980/
81 		1981/
82 		1982/
83 		1983/
84 		1984/
85 		1985/
86 		1986/
87 		1987/
88 		1988/
89 		1989/
90 		1990/
91 		Ref.
Ranking [nb 1] [nb 1] [nb 1] [nb 2] 47 60 73 100 112 120 132 134 [28]
Ranking tournaments
Grand Prix[nb 3] Not Held 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ A A [27]
Dubai Classic Tournament Not Held NR LQ A [27]
UK Championship Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A A [27]
Classic Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A LQ [27]
British Open[nb 4] Non-Ranking Event LQ LQ WD WD LQ A LQ [27]
European Open Tournament Not Held LQ A A [27]
World Championship A A LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ WD [27]
Non-ranking tournaments
Welsh Professional Championship A A QF QF QF QF 1R 1R 1R A A A [27]
Former ranking tournaments
International Open[nb 5] Not Held NR LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ A NH [27]
Canadian Masters[nb 6] NR Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking LQ Not Held [27]
Former non-ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 7] LQ A Tournament Not Held A A A R Not Held [48]
International Open[nb 8] Not Held LQ Ranking Event NH [27]
Bass & Golden Leisure Classic Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held [49]
UK Championship A A LQ LQ LQ Ranking Event [27]
British Open[nb 9] A A LQ A LQ Ranking Event [50][51]
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
A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event means an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. ^ a b c He was an amateur.
  2. ^ New players on the Main Tour do not have a ranking.
  3. ^ The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984)
  4. ^ The event was also called the International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  5. ^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  6. ^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
  7. ^ The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
  8. ^ The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  9. ^ The event was also called the International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)

Career finals

Career finals (English billiards)
Outcome Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1953 British Junior (under 16) Championship John Lambert 401–197 [9]
Runner-up 1955 British Junior (under 19) Championship Donald Scott 360–538 [10]
Winner 1956 British Junior (under 19) Championship Granville Hampson 429–277 [10]
Winner 1960 Welsh Amateur Championship P. J. Morris [11]
Runner-up 1967 English Amateur Championship Leslie Driffield 2,328–3,395 [12]
Runner-up 1968 English Amateur Championship Mark Wildman 2,540–2,652 [12]
Winner 1972 Welsh Amateur Championship Roy Oriel [11]
Winner 1973 Welsh Amateur Championship J. Terry [11]
Runner-up 1973 English Amateur Championship Norman Dagley 1,976–2,804 [12]
Winner 1975 Ironopolis Invitational Herbert Beetham 829–760 [52]
Winner 1976 Welsh Amateur Championship Roy Oriel [11]
Runner-up 1976 English Amateur Championship Bob Close 2,194–2,413 [12]
Runner-up 1980 English Amateur Championship Norman Dagley 2,172–2,825 [12]
Winner 1980 Canadian Open Steve Davis 500–468 [14]
Career finals (snooker)
Outcome Year Championship Opponents in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1977 National (UK) Pairs Championship (with Roger Bales) Dickie Laws and John Pike 3–0 [25]

Publications

Everton has authored, or-co-authored, the following books:[53][54]

  • Silverton, John; Everton, Clive (1972). Park Drive Official Snooker And Billiards Year book. Gallagher Ltd.
  • Barrington, Jonah; Everton, Clive (1972). The Book of Jonah. Stanley Paul. ISBN 0-09-113610-5.
  • Everton, Clive (1974). The Ladbroke Snooker International Handbook. Ladbrokes Leisure. ISBN 0-905606-00-0.
  • Griffiths, Terry; Everton, Clive (1981). Championship Snooker. Queen Anne P. ISBN 0-362-00543-5.
  • Everton, Clive (1982). Guinness Book of Snooker. Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 0-85112-256-6.
  • Everton, Clive, ed. (1984). Snooker Year: First Edition. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0863690513.
  • Everton, Clive (1985). Better Billiards and Snooker. Kaye & Ward. ISBN 0-7182-1480-3.
  • Everton, Clive (1985). Snooker: the Records. Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 0-85112-448-8.
  • Everton, Clive, ed. (1985). Snooker Year: Second Edition. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-86369-104-8.
  • Everton, Clive (1986). History of Snooker and Billiards. TBS The Book Service Ltd. ISBN 1-85225-013-5.
  • Everton, Clive, ed. (1986). Snooker Year: Third Edition. Aylesbury: Pelham Books. ISBN 0863691668.
  • Thorburn, Cliff; Everton, Clive (1987). Playing for Keeps. West Sussex, UK: Partridge Press. ISBN 1-85225-011-9.
  • Everton, Clive (1987). Improve Your Snooker. London: Harper Collins Willow. ISBN 0-00-218255-6.
  • Taylor, Dennis; Everton, Clive (1990). Play Snooker. BBC Books. ISBN 0-563-36037-2.
  • Everton, Clive (1991). Snooker & Billiards: Technique · Tactics · Training. The Crowood Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85223-480-6.
  • Spencer, John (1993). Clive, Everton (ed.). Snooker (Teach Yourself). NTC Publication Group. ISBN 0-8442-3940-2.
  • Weber, Eugene; Everton, Clive (1993). The Book of Snooker and Billiard Quotations. Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-177620-1.
  • Everton, Clive (1993). The Embassy Book of World Snooker. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN 0-7475-1610-3.
  • Everton, Clive (2007). Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards: The Inside Story of the Snooker World. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84596-199-2.
  • Everton, Clive (2012). A History of Billiards: The English Three-ball Game. englishBilliards.org. ISBN 978-0-9564054-5-6.
  • Everton, Clive (2014). Snooker & billiards. The Crowood Press. ISBN 9781847977922.
  • Everton, Clive (2018). Simply the Best: A Biography of Ronnie O'Sullivan. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1785314445.

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b "Snooker Scene: end of an era". World Snooker Tour. 6 September 2022. Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Clive Everton". wst.tv. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Clive Harold Everton Biography". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Phillips, Harold (December 1966). "Editor with drive". Billiards and Snooker. London: Billiards Association and Control Council. p. 3.
  5. ^ a b c Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker – revised edition. Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN 9780600556046.: 123 
  6. ^ a b c d Everton, Clive (2012). Black farce and cue ball wizards. Edinburgh: Mainstream. pp. 20–22. ISBN 9781780575681.
  7. ^ "Boys Billiards Championship". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 15 December 1951. p. 15.
  8. ^ "Boys' Billiards". Belfast News-Letter. 28 December 1951. p. 2.
  9. ^ a b "Billiards". Sunday Mirror. 4 January 1953. p. 18.
  10. ^ a b c d "Under 19 Champions". eaba.co.uk. English Amateur Billiards Association. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d e Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker: The Records. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 131. ISBN 0851124488.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "The amateur champions". eaba.co.uk. English Amateur Billiards Association. 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Meet the BBC team". BBC Sport. 1 February 2003. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Recovery". Snooker Scene. October 1980. p. 15.
  15. ^ a b "I've seen every Crucible frame". Worcester News. 8 May 2002. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Meet the BBC team". BBC Sport. 12 April 2002. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  17. ^ Amos, Mike (11 March 2005). "Russell stirs billiards' ashes". Northern Echo. pp. 8–9.
  18. ^ "Chris Shutt beats Mike Russell to become world champion for the first time". Snooker Scene. April 2005. p. 7.
  19. ^ Eason, Kevin (18 July 2006). "Clive Everton". The Times. p. 71.
  20. ^ Everton, Clive (2012). Black farce and cue ball wizards. Edinburgh: Mainstream. p. 387. ISBN 9781780575681.
  21. ^ Bate, Stan (21 April 1962). "Super Summerfield!". Sports Argus. p. 2.
  22. ^ "Mike Watterson: tightrope walking". Snooker Scene. October 2008. p. 6.
  23. ^ "46 years on". Snooker Scene. March 2008. p. 39.
  24. ^ Lambert, Gerry. "Griffiths takes title". Acton Gazette – Thursday 24 March 1977. p. 40.
  25. ^ a b "Pairway to success!". Newcastle Journal. 12 May 1977. p. 12.
  26. ^ "Snooker". The Guardian. 18 April 1981. p. 22.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. pp. 402–403. ISBN 9780954854904.
  28. ^ a b "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  29. ^ "Statement by the Billiards Association and Control Council". Billiards and Snooker. London: Billiards Association and Control Council. January 1971. p. 12.
  30. ^ "Billiards and Snooker (masthead)". Billiards and Snooker. London: Billiards and Snooker Control Council. February 1971. p. 12.
  31. ^ Clive Everton (2011). Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards: The Inside Story of the Snooker World. Mainstream Publishing. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-1-78057-399-1.
  32. ^ "Snooker Scene is facing an attempt at closure, its editor says". The Press Gazette. 20 July 2006. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  33. ^ Townsend, Nick (14 October 2007). "Snooker: The cue crusader who is Scene and heard but never ignored". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  34. ^ Gibson, Owen (10 January 2009). "Everton unhappy his BBC voice is being silenced". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  35. ^ a b "Clive Everton to receive MBE". worldsnooker.com. WPBSA. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  36. ^ Brett, Oliver (14 January 2009). "Baizing a trail – how snooker went loopy". BBC News. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  37. ^ "The craft of commentary". World Snooker. 27 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  38. ^ "Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards, by Clive Everton". Independent on Sunday. London. 23 September 2007. p. 84.
  39. ^ Harris, Nick (8 October 2007). "Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards by Clive Everton". The Independent. London. p. 48.
  40. ^ "A History of Billiards by Clive Everton". Independent on Sunday. London. 17 February 2013. p. 22.
  41. ^ a b Gibson, Owen (10 January 2009). "Everton unhappy his BBC voice is being silenced". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  42. ^ Gibson, Owen (10 January 2009). "Snooker: Everton unhappy his BBC voice is being silenced: Veteran commentators are the victims of the demand for more celebrity voices". The Guardian. p. 10.
  43. ^ Everton, Clive (February 2012). "Sacked in a corridor". Snooker Scene. pp. 28–33.
  44. ^ "Snooker".
  45. ^ "Mark Selby: World champion named Player of the Year at snooker awards". BBC. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  46. ^ "No. 62666". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 2019. p. B17.
  47. ^ "'Voice of snooker' Everton dies aged 87". BBC Sport. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  48. ^ "Round by round at the C.N.E. International". Snooker Scene. Halesowen. October 1979. pp. 11–17.
  49. ^ "£750 Golden Leisure for Rex". Cue World. July 1982. p. 17.
  50. ^ "Qualifiers tune up for Yamaha Organs trophy". Snooker Scene. February 1982. pp. 12–13.
  51. ^ "Snooker's first shoot-out". Snooker Scene. March 1984. pp. 26–27.
  52. ^ "Everton wins Ironopolis Billiards". Snooker Scene. October 1975. p. 11.
  53. ^ "search results for au:Everton, Clive". worldcat.org. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  54. ^ "Explore the British Library – (search results for Clive Everton". British Library. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
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