Welsh · Tredegar, Wales · Born 10 May 1934 · Died 1994-05-21Cliff Wilson was a Welsh snooker player who turned professional at 45 after winning the World Amateur Championship, going on to reach the world's top 16 despite being almost blind in one eye.
Long before either had turned professional, Cliff Wilson and Ray Reardon were playing celebrated money matches on the streets of Tredegar in the early 1950s — and when Wilson finally won the 1978 World Amateur Championship at 44, he did it with the attacking game he had never abandoned during fifteen years away from competitive play. A talented junior known for fast, attacking snooker, Wilson won the British Under-19 Championship in 1951 and 1952 despite being almost totally blind in his left eye. With Reardon's departure from Tredegar and the professional game's small, closed circuit offering little opportunity, Wilson gave up competitive snooker almost entirely from 1957 to 1972, working instead at a steelworks. He returned to the amateur game in the early 1970s, winning the Welsh Amateur Championship for three consecutive years from 1977 to 1979, and capped his amateur career by winning the 1978 World Amateur Championship, beating Joe Johnson 11-5 in the final. Wilson turned professional in 1979 at age 45, and despite his advanced age and impaired eyesight, maintained his attacking style to reach five ranking quarter-finals, climbing to a career-high ranking of World No. 16 in 1988-89 at age 55. He won the inaugural World Seniors Championship in 1991. Wilson died on May 21, 1994, at age 60.
Turning professional at 45 and reaching the world's top 16 despite being nearly blind in one eye
How They Played
Fast, attacking potter unafraid of high-risk shots
Lasting Impact
One of snooker's most remarkable late bloomers, a lifelong rival and friend of Ray Reardon
Career Honours
- World Amateur Champion (1978)
- World Seniors Championship winner (1991)
- Career-high ranking of World No. 16
- 3x Welsh Amateur Champion (1956, 1977, 1978, 1979)