PHOTOS: Canadian Snooker Players from the 70’s 80’s and 90’s
Some years ago, I helped a friend organize a Snooker Tribute to Bill Werbeniuk at our local Snooker Club. As part of the tribute, Canadian Snooker Legend Cliff Thorburne came over from Toronto and performed an exhibition. My friend asked me to also scan in these photos and display them on a projector. There are some great photos here from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s of all the Canadian Snooker Legends like Cliff Thorburne, Bill Werbeniuk, George Chenier and more.
Leave a comment if you have more photos to share or enjoy these old memories!
//
iT was Great seeing All these players again .
I’m glad you liked it!
wow, I see a really young Bill Werbeniuk and Cliff Thorburn. is p017 Jim Wych? would love to see clips of these great players. Cheers for your effort Mayur! great work :)
Thanks! Yes, I wish I could get some video clips as well. p017 does seem to look like Jim yes. But I can’t be sure to be perfectly honest.
Pretty sure p17 is Jim Wych. He’s a left handed player. Nice pic of Tom Finstad (pic 11) rasing the trophy. Definitely a player worth mentioning.
Thanks Jim for sharing that info!
Would it be possible to have access to these old photos so that copies could be made? This is a terrific compilation that deserves to be seen by today’s players and fans. Fantastic memories for sure!
Big thanks to my old high school friend Zan Owsley for leading me to this page, he was a terrific player as well, just decided to become a successful businessman instead of pursuing a professional snooker career.
Can’t wait to show these photos to Kirk and Cliff! We’ve all gained a few pounds since these days thats for sure.
Thank you very very much for sharing these photos and please anybody out there that may have a collection like this of old photos of past and present Canadian players please get in touch with me, I’d love to have a wall set up in my new club to show them all off.
I can be contacted at: jwych@thecornerbank.ca
Best to everyone,
Jim Wych
Hi Jim. Thanks so much for commenting and getting in touch! I’m sending you a copy of these photos to your email.
I am not sure this site is still active but I have a question. Many years ago I played snooker regularly at a place called the Rack and Cue in Toronto. Good tables and many excellent local players. I saw Thorburn play an exhibition match there once.
Anyway, there was one regular there who I remember for being an outstanding player. He played mostly for fun but everyone stopped to watch him…he was so damned good. I played him once and was amazed by his talent. The owners of the place had a plaque on the wall inscribed with his name and four different dates on which he had runs of 147. His first name was Vic, his surname was something like Kirloc( probably misspelled) Hell of a nice guy, too. I wonder who else remembers him and what else they could add. I have no doubt that anyone who played there back in the 1960s and 70s would remember him.
Hi Brian. Yes, this site is still active but I don’t post much these days. I may post another article soon though. I don’t know of anyone by that name personally. Would be great if you could get a hold of him somehow.
Thank you, Mayur. I lost contact with that establishment many years ago, as well as all of the people there who knew this player well. I had hoped that perhaps one of them would see my post and respond. I really did enjoy the photos here and will check back if you post another article.
I don’t see John Romanelli in this bunch
Hi Scott. I don’t know who John Romanelli is.
He was a world junior snooker champ at the age of 14. Also had his own cue sold at the Bay I believe. His Father Frank Romanelli owned the pool hall at Finch Main plaza
Looking for any information or stories on John Romanelli. Anything would be appreciated.
Great to see so many photos from this era. I know many of the players as I was a referee at the Canadian Snooker Championships when they were held in Ottawa, Ontario. Always thought Robert Paquette from Montreal could have done well as a pro if he could have moved to England in the 70s. Great to see some of the best pros from England play exhibition matches – Ray Reardon and John Spencer both World Champions.
Hi John. Thanks for the comment. I never met or heard or Robert Paquette before. Would be great to chat with you about snooker some day. Let me know if you are interested to share some stories.
Photo 6 white shirt?, Ron Moen, Glen Ferguson, Doug
Mackenzie, John Forester, red shirt?, Jim Tartaglia,
Bob Ferguson
Thanks Jim for the names!
Photo 15 Wayne Jackson and John Bear
Probably at Chenier Hall, Victoria Drive,
Vancouver
Hi To you all, just reflecting on the 70 and 80 when I earnt my living playing snooker also promoting the game with some of the high ranked players of the time, Bill Woberneck was one of the players I put up against Doug Mountjoy, Bill never drove a car, at least not to my knowledge, so I arranged to pick him up at Worcester Train Station, where we had several practice games together at my home before the evenings match against Doug. at the Bankhouse. Anyway better get to the main point of my writing this message, was I had said to Bill he could stay over instead of booking a hotel, this he was glad to do, so we let him have my daughters bed, which in the morning it looked like Bill was in a hammock. So Funny. You may use my snooker blog Photos if you so wish, sadly none of Bill, but will add a little more interest of the wonderful game back then, I am still playing at 74. and I often think of Big Bill, who was taken from us much to soon. Yours Truly Mike Tandy.
Hi Mike. What a great story! Thanks for sharing!
The picture above is Winnipeg Bill and Glenn Ferguson. Glen was the owner of Office Billiards on Broadway in Vancouver. Glenn was one of the first licensed referees in Canada and brought John Spencer over from England to play a 3 or 4 day exhibition match against Cliff Thorburn. Glenn was instrumental in creating Chenier Hall in Vancouver.
Any info on Benny onyschuk?
Interesting site anyone remember my cousin Pat Hanley he was a skilled snooker player in that era?
Never heard the name myself. Hopefully someone replies.
Hello, Snooker Delight. I was curious about Jim Wych playing all challengers on a table set up in an Edmonton shopping mall. It was a marketing deal set up by “Hustler” Pool table and shuffle board manufacturers. I’m thinking it was 1979 and it carried on for about two days. If anybody beat him in a game, they would win a new 6×12 beautiful table. Nobody beat him.
I have been searching for any info but it seems there is no evidence of it anywhere.
Wow thats an interesting story David. I had a quick look as well and don’t see any info. Thanks for sharing!
I saw photos up there that remind me the best years of my life at snooker club on Mont-Royal street in Montreal around the 80’s. Eddy Agha, Tino Malo, Cliff Thorburn while he was just a gambler. Robert Paquette, Baker, Leo Levitt.
Thanks for the moment. Too bad this game almost disappeared in Canada.
Thanks for the comment! Cliffy must have been a sight to see in the early days!