1956/1957 News of the World Snooker Tournament

The 1956/1957 News of the World Snooker Tournament was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the News of the World. The tournament was won by John Pulman who all his 5 matches. Fred Davis finished in second place ahead of Jackie Rea. Both won 3 matches but Davis won more frames overall. The News of the World Snooker Tournament ran from 1949/50 to 1959.

News of the World Tournament

Tournament information
Dates	22 October 1956–2 March 1957
Venue	various
Format	Non-Ranking event
Total prize fund	£1500
Final
Champion	John Pulman
Runner-up	Fred Davis
← 1955/56 1957/58 →

Format

The 1956/57 event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 22 October 1956 to 2 March 1957. Matches were played at various locations around the United Kingdom and also on Jersey. There were 6 competitors and a total of 15 matches. The competitors were the same as the previous year, Joe Davis, Fred Davis, Walter Donaldson, John Pulman, Jackie Rea and Rex Williams. Each match lasted three days and was the best of 37 frames except for one match played in Rochdale where there was only an evening session.[1]

Each match was separately handicapped. Joe Davis gave Fred Davis a 10-point start each frame, Walter Donaldson 14, John Pulman 14, Jackie Rea 20 and Rex Williams 24. Fred Davis gave Walter Donaldson 10, John Pulman 10, Jackie Rea 14 and Rex Williams 17. Walter Donaldson gave John Pulman 10, Jackie Rea 12 and Rex Williams 14. John Pulman gave Jackie Rea 10 and Rex Williams 14. Jackie Rea gave Rex Williams 10 points.

Results

After winning his first match 20–17, Joe Davis lost his remaining four matches 19–18 and finished in fifth place.

Winner	Score	Loser	Date	Venue	Ref
Joe Davis	20–17	Rex Williams	22–24 October	Jersey	[2]
Jackie Rea	19–18	Joe Davis	25–27 October	Jersey	[3]
John Pulman	21–16	Walter Donaldson	29–31 October	Oldham	[4]
Fred Davis	19–18	Walter Donaldson	5–7 November	Newcastle	[5]
John Pulman	20–17	Rex Williams	8–10 November	Newcastle	[6]
Walter Donaldson	19–18	Joe Davis	21–24,26–27 November	Rochdale	[7]
Fred Davis	24–13	Rex Williams	26–28 November	Birmingham	[8]
Rex Williams	24–13	Walter Donaldson	29 November–1 December	Birmingham	[9]
Jackie Rea	21–16	Walter Donaldson	17–19 December	Burroughes Hall, London	[10]
John Pulman	21–16	Jackie Rea	20–22 December	Burroughes Hall, London	[11]
Jackie Rea	19–18	Fred Davis	21–23 January	Liverpool	[12]
John Pulman	20–17	Fred Davis	11–13 February	Bolton	[13]
Rex Williams	21–16	Jackie Rea	14–16 February	Bolton	[14]
John Pulman	19–18	Joe Davis	25–27 February	Houldsworth Hall, Manchester	[15]
Fred Davis	19–18	Joe Davis	28 February–2 March	Houldsworth Hall, Manchester	[16]

Table

Pos	Player	Pld	MW	FW	Prize
1	John Pulman	5	5	101	?
2	Fred Davis	5	3	97	?
3	Jackie Rea	5	3	91	?
4	Rex Williams	5	2	92	?
5	Joe Davis	5	1	92	?
6	Walter Donaldson	5	1	82	?

The positions were determined firstly by the number of matches won (MW) and, in the event of a tie, the number of frames won (FW).

Broadcasting

The BBC showed a short, 30 minute, TV programme of the final day of the final match from Houldsworth Hall, Manchester. The commentator was Sidney Smith.[17]

References

1. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 22 November 1956. p. 4.
2. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 25 October 1956. p. 4.
3. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 29 October 1956. p. 4.
4. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 1 November 1956. p. 4.
5. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 8 November 1956. p. 4.
6. "Snooker". The Times. 11 November 1957. p. 15.
7. "Snooker & Billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 28 November 1956. p. 4.
8. "Snooker & Billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 29 November 1956. p. 11.
9. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 3 December 1956. p. 4.
10. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 20 December 1956. p. 2.
11. "Billiards & Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 24 December 1956. p. 9.
12. "Snooker & Billiards". The Glasgow Herald. 24 January 1957. p. 4.
13. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 14 February 1957. p. 4.
14. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 18 February 1957. p. 5.
15. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 28 February 1957. p. 4.
16. "Snooker". The Glasgow Herald. 4 March 1957. p. 4.
17. "BBC Television – 2 March 1957 – 15:00 Snooker". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2016.