David Taylor (snooker player)

David Taylor (born 29 July 1943)[1] is an English former professional snooker player. He won the World and English Amateur Championships in 1968, before the success of those wins encouraged him to turn professional. Although an excellent player, Taylor never quite reached the very top of the game. He was nicknamed "The Silver Fox" because of his prematurely grey hair.

David Taylor
Taylor (left) with Alex Higgins at an exhibition at Queen's University Belfast, 1968
Born (1943-07-29) 29 July 1943
Bowdon, Cheshire, England
Sport country England
NicknameThe Silver Fox
Professional1968–1997
Highest ranking7 (1981/82)
Career winnings£209,780
Highest break125 (1984 Professional Snooker League)
Century breaks15
Best ranking finishRunner-up (1982 International Open)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking1

Career

Taylor reached three major finals, but lost them all. The first was the 1978 UK Championship in 1978 (he lost to Doug Mountjoy 9–15). Then, in 1981, he lost to Steve Davis in the Yamaha Organs Trophy (later the British Open) 6–9, and he lost 6–9 to Tony Knowles in the 1982 Jameson International.[1] The last of these was his only ranking event final; the others would be ranking events in the future but were not at the time he reached the final. In the quarter-finals of this event he beat the then World Champion, Steve Davis 5–3. Three times a defeated quarter-finalist, his best performance in the World Championship was at the 1980 event, when he lost to Cliff Thorburn 7–16 in the semi-final having beaten the number one seed and 6 times World Champion Ray Reardon 13–11 in the quarter-final. His only major tournament win was with Steve Davis and John Spencer during the 1981 State Express World Team Classic for the England team. He was a member of the elite Top 16 World Rankings for 10 consecutive years until the 1985/86 season, reaching a high of No 7 in the 1981/82 season.

He made a surprise return to enter the 2010 World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds, aged 66 but lost to Paul Wykes 1–5 in Match 2 on 26 February 2010.[2]

Outside snooker

Outside professional tournament play, Taylor once made three consecutive total clearances at an exhibition match and also recorded seven centuries in seven frames in a witnessed practice session.

He was one of the two commentators during Steve Davis' first televised maximum break. After his career wound down he ran an award-winning hotel.

He currently runs Ash Farm Country Guest House with his wife in Little Bollington near Altrincham in Cheshire.

He was the first snooker player to pot all balls in the final round of BBC snooker gameshow Big Break.

Performance and rankings timeline
Tournament 1969/
70		 1970/
71		 1971/
72		 1972/
73		 1973/
74		 1974/
75		 1975/
76		 1976/
77		 1977/
78		 1978/
79		 1979/
80		 1980/
81		 1981/
82		 1982/
83		 1983/
84		 1984/
85		 1985/
86		 1986/
87		 1987/
88		 1988/
89		 1989/
90		 1990/
91		 1991/
92		 1992/
93		 1993/
94		 1994/
95		 1995/
96		 1996/
97
Ranking[3] No ranking system 16 12 13 15 9 7 8 10 16 14 21 25 28 38 33 44 104 67 104 106 151
Ranking tournaments
Asian Classic[nb 1] Tournament Not Held NR 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Grand Prix[nb 2] Tournament Not Held 2R 2R 3R 2R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
UK Championship Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 2R 3R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
German Open Tournament Not Held LQ A
Welsh Open Tournament Not Held LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ
International Open[nb 3] Tournament Not Held NR F 1R 2R 3R 3R 2R 3R LQ Not Held LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
European Open Tournament Not Held 1R 2R LQ 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Thailand Open[nb 4] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event Not Held 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
British Open[nb 5] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 1R 1R QF 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
World Championship Non-Ranking Event 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R SF QF 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ
Non-ranking tournaments
The Masters Tournament Not Held A A A A QF A A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A A A A LQ LQ A A A A A
Irish Masters[nb 6] Tournament Not Held A A A A A A A A 1R A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
Matchroom League[nb 7] Tournament Not Held RR Not Held A A A A A A A A A A A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 8] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking 2R Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 9] Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event NH 1R Tournament Not Held
Classic Tournament Not Held Non-Ranking Event 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R 2R LQ LQ Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Stratford Professional NH A F A Tournament Not Held
Men of the Midlands Not Held RR A Tournament Not Held
World Championship QF A QF 2R Ranking Event
Norwich Union Open Tournament Not Held 2R A Tournament Not Held
Watney Open Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
Holsten Lager International Tournament Not Held QF Tournament Not Held
International Open[nb 10] Tournament Not Held QF Ranking Event Not Held Ranking Event
Tolly Cobbold Classic Tournament Not Held A A A QF A A Tournament Not Held
Classic Tournament Not Held A SF QF QF Ranking Event
UK Championship Tournament Not Held 2R F 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R Ranking Event
British Open[nb 11] Tournament Not Held RR F 2R 2R RR Ranking Event
New Zealand Masters Tournament Not Held SF Not Held A A Tournament Not Held
Pot Black A RR A A A A A A A A RR RR A 1R 1R 1R Tournament Not Held A A A Tournament Not Held
Australian Masters[nb 12] Tournament Not Held A A A A 1R QF 1R A A NH R Tournament Not Held A A NH
English Professional Championship Tournament Not Held 2R Not Held QF 1R 2R 1R 1R Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
World Masters Tournament Not Held 1R Tournament Not Held
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
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
DNQ did not qualify for the tournament A did not participate in the tournament WD withdrew from the tournament
NH / Not Heldmeans an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Eventmeans an event is/was a ranking event.
  1. The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989), Dubai Classic (1989/1990 to 1994/1995) and Thailand Classic (1995/1996)
  2. The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984)
  3. The event was also called the Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  4. The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1992/1993)
  5. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  6. The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)
  7. The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984)
  8. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
  9. The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988))
  10. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
  11. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
  12. The event was also called the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1982 International Open Tony Knowles 6–9

Non-ranking finals: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)
Legend
UK Championship (0–1)
Other (1–2)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. 1971 Stratford Professional John Spencer 2–5
Runner-up 2. 1978 UK Championship Doug Mountjoy 9–15
Runner-up 3. 1981 Yamaha Organs Trophy Steve Davis 6–9
Winner 1. 1988 WPBSA Invitational – Event 3 Steve Meakin 9–1

Team finals: 1 (1 title)
Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score
Winner 1. 1981 World Team Classic  England  Wales 4–3

Amateur finals: 2 (2 titles)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1968 English Amateur Championship Chris Ross 11–6
Winner 2. 1968 World Amateur Championship Max Williams 8–7

References
  1. Hale, Janice (1987). Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1987–88. Aylesbury: Queen Anne Press. pp. 162–165. ISBN 0356146901.
  2. "Former world champions set for Crucible qualifying". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  3. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
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