Eddie Charlton

Edward Francis "Eddie" Charlton, AM (31 October 1929 – 8 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and English billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title. He later became a successful marketer of sporting goods launching a popular brand of billiard room equipment bearing his name.

This article is about the Australian snooker player. For the English squash player, see Eddie Charlton (squash player).

Eddie Charlton
AM

Born	(1929-10-31)31 October 1929 Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Died	8 November 2004(2004-11-08) (aged 75) Palmerston North, New Zealand
Sport country	Australia
Nickname	Steady Eddie
Professional	1963–1995
Highest ranking	3 (1976–1981)
Career winnings	£322,933[1]
Highest break	138: 1978 Australian Professional Championship
Century breaks	46[1]
Best ranking finish	Runner-up (1975 World Championship)
Tournament wins
Non-ranking	20

Early life

Charlton was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and came from a sporting family. His grandfather ran a billiards club in Swansea, New South Wales, and young Eddie began playing cue sports when he was nine years old.[2] At the age of eleven, he defeated fellow Australian Walter Lindrum in a wartime snooker exhibition match,[2] and he made his first century break when he was seventeen.[3]

He was involved in numerous other sports during his youth: he was a first-grade footballer and played in the Australian First Division for ten years; he was a champion surfer, and played state-level rugby and competitive cricket; he also excelled in speed roller skating, rowing, boxing and tennis.[2] In 1956, he was chosen to carry the Olympic torch on part of its journey to the Melbourne Games.[3]

Charlton worked as a coal miner until the age of 31. After winning four amateur snooker titles, he decided to turn professional in 1963 on the advice of Fred Davis.[2] His brother Jim was also a professional snooker player but never joined the world ranks.

Career

Charlton became a professional player in 1963 at the age of 34, and won his first Australian Professional Championship the following season. For the next twenty years, with one exception, he won the title annually. He unsuccessfully challenged Rex Williams for the World Billiards Championship title in 1974 and 1976. His third appearance was in 1984 when he lost by a handful of points to Mark Wildman. Four years later, he lost to two-time champion Norman Dagley in his last World Billiards final.

Charlton was also the most successful Australian snooker player until the emergence of Neil Robertson. From the first year of the snooker world rankings in 1976/77, he was ranked number three in the world for the next five consecutive seasons although he never won a ranking tournament (because, in the early years, only the Snooker World Championship counted).

Charlton, who was known for his focused and dogged performances, challenged for the World Championship in 1968, and was the runner-up in the final of the World Championship in 1973 and 1975, losing the 1975 world final by just one frame (30–31) to Ray Reardon. However, his 1972, 1973, and 1980 victories in the BBC's Pot Black competition, with its one-frame-per-match format, gave him a high-profile with television audiences. He also recorded the first century break (110) on Pot Black.

Charlton was known for playing with a very straight cue action and rarely hitting the ball with any sidespin.[3]

Although he did not reach the final stages of the World Championship in his later career, Charlton continued to perform at a competitive level. His last major achievement was his 10–9 first round win over Cliff Thorburn at the 1989 World Championship. He qualified for the 1990 and 1991 World Championships but lost in the first round on both occasions. Charlton's final appearance at the Crucible came in 1992 where he was defeated 10–0 by defending champion John Parrott in the first round, the only recorded whitewash in the history of the World Championship until 2019, where Shaun Murphy defeated Luo Honghao 10–0.[4]

Personal life

Always active in the organisation and promotion of the game, Charlton was awarded the Order of Australia in 1980. He formed the Australian Professional Players Association and was responsible for bringing many of the top players to play in Australia. He released a 30-minute beginners' instructional video, Eddie Charlton's Snooker, Pool & Trick Shots, in PAL VHS format. He stopped competing in 1995 and died in Palmerston North, New Zealand on 8 November 2004 following an operation.[5]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament	1968/ 69	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
Ranking[6]	No ranking system								3	3	3	3	3	8	5	6	6	12	25	26	19	22	31	27	29	34	60	77
Ranking tournaments
Dubai Classic[nb 1]	Tournament Not Held																				NR	2R	1R	LQ	1R	LQ	LQ	A
Grand Prix[nb 2]	Tournament Not Held														SF	3R	3R	2R	1R	3R	2R	1R	2R	1R	1R	LQ	LQ	A
UK Championship	Tournament Not Held									Non-Ranking Event							2R	1R	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	2R	2R	1R	LQ	A
Welsh Open	Tournament Not Held																							2R	1R	LQ	LQ	A
International Open[nb 3]	Tournament Not Held													NR	1R	SF	1R	1R	2R	QF	1R	2R	Not Held		2R	LQ	LQ	A
European Open	Tournament Not Held																				QF	3R	2R	1R	1R	LQ	LQ	A
Thailand Open[nb 4]	Tournament Not Held															Non-Ranking Event				Not Held		1R	3R	2R	1R	LQ	LQ	A
British Open[nb 5]	Tournament Not Held											Non-Ranking Event					1R	3R	2R	1R	1R	1R	2R	3R	2R	WD	LQ	A
World Championship	A	A	SF	SF	F	2R	F	SF	QF	SF	SF	QF	2R	SF	QF	2R	2R	2R	LQ	2R	2R	1R	1R	1R	WD	LQ	LQ	A
Non-ranking tournaments
Australian Masters[nb 6]	Tournament Not Held											A	A	A	F	QF	SF	QF	1R	SF	NH	R	Tournament Not Held				QF	1R
The Masters	Tournament Not Held						SF	SF	A	A	QF	QF	1R	QF	SF	1R	1R	QF	A	A	A	A	LQ	LQ	LQ	A	A	A
Irish Masters[nb 7]	Tournament Not Held						A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	QF	1R	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
European League[nb 8]	Tournament Not Held															RR	Not Held		A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Pontins Professional	Tournament Not Held					QF	A	A	RR	A	A	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Former ranking tournaments
Canadian Masters[nb 9]	Tournament Not Held						Non-Ranking							Tournament Not Held				Non-Ranking			1R	Tournament Not Held
Hong Kong Open[nb 10]	Tournament Not Held											Non-Ranking Event									NH	2R	Tournament Not Held				NR
Classic	Tournament Not Held											Non-Ranking Event				QF	1R	1R	3R	1R	1R	2R	3R	1R	Tournament Not Held
Strachan Open	Tournament Not Held																							2R	Tournament Not Held
Former non-ranking tournaments
Norwich Union Open	Tournament Not Held					SF	A	Tournament Not Held
World Matchplay Championship	Tournament Not Held								W	Tournament Not Held
Holsten Lager International	Tournament Not Held										1R	Tournament Not Held
Limosin International	Tournament Not Held											W	Tournament Not Held
Kronenbrau 1308 Classic	Tournament Not Held											W	Tournament Not Held
International Open[nb 11]	Tournament Not Held													2R	Ranking Event								Not Held		Ranking Event
Classic	Tournament Not Held											A	A	A	QF	Ranking Event
British Open[nb 12]	Tournament Not Held											A	A	A	2R	2R	Ranking Event
Tolly Cobbold Classic	Tournament Not Held										A	A	A	A	A	QF	Tournament Not Held
New Zealand Masters	Tournament Not Held																SF	Not Held			A	A	Tournament Not Held
Pot Black	A	A	A	W	W	SF	RR	SF	RR	SF	RR	W	SF	F	SF	QF	1R	1R	Tournament Not Held					A	A	A	Not Held
Australian Professional Championship	F	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	Tournament Not Held					W	F	SF	F	SF	Tournament Not Held
Shoot-Out	Tournament Not Held																						3R	Tournament Not Held
World Seniors Championship	Tournament Not Held																							F	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 Held				means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event				means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.
R / Ranking Event				means an event is/was a ranking event.

1. The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989)
2. The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984)
3. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
4. The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987) and 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 Hong Kong Open (1989/1990) and Australian Open (1994/1995)
7. The event was also called the Benson & Hedges Ireland Tournament (1974/1975–1976/1977)
8. The event was also called the Professional Snooker League (1983/1984) and the Matchroom League (1986/1987 to 1991/1992)
9. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
10. The event was also called the Australian Masters (1979/1980–1987/1988))
11. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
12. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Legend

World Championship (0–1)

Other (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1975	World Snooker Championship (3)	Ray Reardon	30–31

Non-ranking finals: 29 (20 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Legend World Championship (0–2) [nb 1] Other (20–7) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Winner 1. 1964 Australian Professional Championship Warren Simpson Round-robin Runner-up 1. 1965 Australian Professional Championship Norman Squire Round-robin Winner 2. 1966 Australian Professional Championship (2) Warren Simpson 7–4 Winner 3. 1967 Australian Professional Championship (3) Warren Simpson 7–1 Runner-up 2. 1968 World Snooker Championship John Pulman 34–39 Runner-up 3. 1968 Australian Professional Championship (2) Warren Simpson 10–11 Winner 4. 1969 Australian Professional Championship (4) Warren Simpson 11–6 Winner 5. 1970 Australian Professional Championship (5) Norman Squire Round-robin Winner 6. 1971 Australian Professional Championship (6) Warren Simpson 15–7 Winner 7. 1972 Pot Black Ray Reardon 1–0 Winner 8. 1972 Australian Professional Championship (7) Gary Owen 19–10 Winner 9. 1973 Pot Black (2) Rex Williams 1–0 Runner-up 4. 1973 World Snooker Championship (2) Ray Reardon 32–38 Winner 10. 1973 Australian Professional Championship (8) Gary Owen 31–10 Winner 11. 1974 Australian Professional Championship (9) Warren Simpson 44–17 Winner 12. 1975 Australian Professional Championship (10) Dennis Wheelwright 31–10 Winner 13. 1976 Australian Professional Championship (11) Paddy Morgan Walkover Winner 14. 1976 World Professional Match-play Championship Ray Reardon 31–24 Winner 15. 1977 Australian Professional Championship (12) Paddy Morgan 25–21 Winner 16. 1978 Australian Professional Championship (13) Ian Anderson 29–13 Winner 17. 1979 Kronenbrau 1308 Classic Ray Reardon 7–4 Winner 18. 1979 Limosin International John Spencer 23–19 Winner 19. 1980 Pot Black (3) Ray Reardon 2–1 Runner-up 5. 1982 Pot Black Steve Davis 0–2 Runner-up 6. 1982 Australian Masters Steve Davis Aggregate Score Winner 20. 1984 Australian Professional Championship (14) Warren King 10–3 Runner-up 7. 1985 Australian Professional Championship (3) John Campbell 7–10 Runner-up 8. 1987 Australian Professional Championship (4) Warren King 7–10 Runner-up 9. 1991 World Seniors Championship Cliff Wilson 4–5 The World Championship did not become a ranking event until 1974 Team finals: 1 (1 runner-up) Outcome No. Year Championship Team/partner Opponent(s) in the final Score Runner-up 1. 1988 World Cup  Australia  England 7–9 References Career Total Statistics For Eddie Charlton - Professional Results CueTracker "Eddie Charlton Obituary". The Telegraph. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2019. Everton, Clive (9 November 2004). "Eddie Charlton Obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2015. "Murphy Scores Rare Crucible Whitewash". World Snooker. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019. "Eddie 'Mr Snooker' Charlton dies, 75". The Age. 20 November 2004. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 5 December 2017.