Snooker Legend Alex Higgins is Dead

[scorrie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/8852020.stm

Had his share of controversy over the years but a genius at his peak.

RIP Hurricane

[golach]

RIP Alex........

[Phill]

The world has lost another legend.

[Bobinovich]

Another sporting great moves on. Alex frequently made an otherwise boring game interesting, and produced a few moments of true genius, but couldn't match the consistency of many of his peers. RIP Alex :(

[glaikit]

Sad. There was noone like him and never will be. Still, the characters back in the beer swilling, fag smoking days were much more rock n' roll/interesting generally.
Imagine Bill Whathisface getting tanked up on telly now [lol]?

RIP Alex. One thing you were never guilty of was being boring.

[wifie]

RIP the Hurricaine :(

[Colin3]

Alex "Hurricane" Higgins was a true character when he graced the green baize of the snooker table and we must not forget that he won the World Championship twice. First time in 1972 being the then youngest winner at the age of 22 but to me his 1982 win sticks in my mind because of the emotion he displayed with his wife and child after beating another snooker legend Ray Rearden.
RIP Alex

[Bradcon]

the most talented man ever to pick up a snooker cue rip alex.:(

[Mik.M.]

RIP Alex. Watching him play meant you never saw a boring match.:~(

[The Drunken Duck]

Another great character lost .. RIP Alex .. you were never boring.

[scorrie]

I remember Alex Higgins being caught "watering" the pot plants at a tournament venue when he was in a practice session. On another occasion he stuck the head on the tournament director at the UK Championship and Kerrygold got into a bit of bother after trying to run an advert with a picture of Higgins and the slogan "Kerrygold - Ireland's Best Butter"

At an exhibition match in a working men's club Higgins once complained that the snooker balls were too cold to play properly. He made the barman take the pies and sausage rolls out of the heated display and put the balls in for a warm!!

Another club threw Higgins out after he called one of the members a "Bald No-Hoper", Higgins sat outside blazing drunk and scribbled an apology on a piece of lavvy paper before being allowed back in.

Not everyone's cup of tea but he came into snooker at a time when there were only a few professionals and potential pros had to be vetted by the current crop of old boys such as Reardon and John Pulman before being allowed into the "club". He changed snooker etiquette by conceding a frame when it was not his shot and kicked up a stink at the time when snooker was a stuffed-shirts game.

Higgins' consistency was wayward and he was by no means a controlled stylist with the cue, letting emotion, rather than science guide his arm at times. I remember commentator Clive Everton once declare "There was so much body movement on that shot, that Higgins might as well have been throwing the javelin there!!"

I'll leave it with another Everton comment that sums up the Hurricane:-

"A missed pot, due to Alex Higgins being caught in about a thousand different minds there!!"

[philupmaboug]

Played him once in the RBL Inverness at darts 301 doulble start! he took a fiver off me the crafty sod could play a bit.