Willie Thorne R.I.P.

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Tributes .

Willie Thorne: Snooker favourite dies aged 66 :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/53076861

Willie Thorne: From Mr Maximum to Snooker Loopy - remembering one of the game's great characters :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/53070045 :

Mr. Maximum: The Great Willie Thorne :

https://snookerhq.com/2020/06/17/mr-maximum-the-great-willie-thorne/

Snooker legend Willie Thorne dies at the age of 66 :

https://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/willie-thorne-dies-aged-66/180964

Willie Thorne obituary: Troubled snooker star who became one of the great characters of the sport :

https://www.sportinglife.com/snooker/news/willie-thorne-obituary/180970

SNOOKER
'Deeply saddened' - Gary Lineker leads Willie Thorne tributes after death :

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker...e-tributes-after-death_sto7778033/story.shtml

Snooker icon Willie Thorne dies at age of 66 :

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker...orne-dies-at-age-of-66_sto7777982/story.shtml

Willie Thorne and the humorous stories behind an icon :

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker...ries-that-made-an-icon_sto7778673/story.shtml

'I spent 45 years laughing all around the world with Willie' – Dennis Taylor pays tribute to Thorne :

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker...ibute-to-willie-thorne_sto7778392/story.shtml

Willie Thorne R.I.P.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Willie thorne passes away

https://wst.tv/willie-thorne-1954-2020/

Snookerbacker Tweets .

https://twitter.com/snookerbacker/s...echrome&ref_url=http://www.snookerbacker.com/


snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
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11h
Only met Willie briefly once in London (not in the gents this time) but he used to DM me a lot on here, usually to help him to watch snooker online. I'd have to tell him exactly where to click with screenshots sometimes #careless Always very pleasant and polite.
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Replies
Matt Nicholls
@thegiddygambler
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11h
Replying to
@snookerbacker
I'm impressed. I'd always assumed he & JV never watched any snooker apart from their work at the BBC. Stephen Hendry has written a lovely tribute on Instagram today BTW. Well worth a read & very funny too.
James Keohane
@jameskeohane
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10h
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Used to live in the same village as him, and if you saw him out and about, he would be happy to have a conversation with anyone. Genuine nice guy. We all have our faults.
alex
@alex7_7_7_
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10h
Replying to
@snookerbacker
I met him once too, in the Crucible Corner restaurant, where he was entertaining snooker fans. as you say, he was very polite and charming, he gave me the WC trophey and made a photo of me with it, with my camera. top man. RIP

https://twitter.com/snookerbacker/s...echrome&ref_url=http://www.snookerbacker.com/


snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
·
11h
Only met Willie briefly once in London (not in the gents this time) but he used to DM me a lot on here, usually to help him to watch snooker online. I'd have to tell him exactly where to click with screenshots sometimes #careless Always very pleasant and polite.
snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
·
11h
There used to be a rumour going around that he'd be on Betfair while commentating. I'd be surprised if he even knew how to find it, never mind backing and laying.
Replies
Paps
@DatGoneIt77
·
11h
Replying to
@snookerbacker
Remember him tipping up Shaun Murphy to win the UK in 2008 on the BBC at 20/1. Loved giving in running prices via commentary too.

https://twitter.com/snookerbacker/s...echrome&ref_url=http://www.snookerbacker.com/


snookerbacker 🗣️
@snookerbacker
·
8h
Enjoyed and shared this at the time, as did Willie.

Willie Thorne Makes A Tea
youtube.com

Willie Thorne R.I.P.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snookerbacker : http://www.snookerbacker.com/ :

http://www.snookerbacker.com/2010/05/18/its-old-but-its-interesting-questions-to-willie/ :

Snookerbacker
May 18, 2010
Old But Interesting: Questions to Willie and a Top Drawer Gambling Tale
Filed under: Snooker News — snookerbacker @ 2:51 pm



Big Willie Style

It’s amazing what you can stumble on by accident when searching for other stuff. I mean I just typed ‘Willie’ into Google for another hobby of mine which I won’t go into and found an old Question and Answers session with the great WT himself from an obscure magazine that obviously shared a devotion to all things Thorne-esque.

Here we discover the answer to the burning question of how many maximum breaks did he really hit against Gary Linekar, as well as why he regards a former World Champion as ‘just like him’. Quality.

He also says that he never lost to Terry Griffiths and had a good record against the Nuggett, surprisingly he doesn’t mention this missed blue though.

But don’t mess with Willie as he’s from a hard family and it sounds like if you did tangle with him you’d be very likely to end up with a dead sheep in your bed, or at least it’s shoulder. He also lists his guilty pleasure as ‘gambling’, quite a revelation there, I didn’t know he liked a bet I wonder if he reads this?

How often do you play snooker now?
I don’t play at all. I haven’t played for ten years really. I just do the odd trick shot when I’m doing after dinner speaking and things like that. Retiring was probably the best thing to do as I was getting beaten by people I shouldn’t have lost to. When I was good, I was excellent, but when I was bad I was hopeless.

What was your proudest career moment?

You’d think it would be winning my first tournament, but it probably wasn’t as everybody had built it up saying, “When is Willie going to win a tournament?” I was expecting some sort of euphoria when I won my first Mercantile but that didn’t happen. I won 13 tournaments but the Mercantile was the only major. Making my first 147 in a tournament was as good as anything.

Out of the current crop of players, who do you enjoy watching?

I love watching Shaun Murphy, who’s very close to me and I work with him on his break building. I still like watching Hendry and O’Sullivan is obviously a genius. Mark Selby is the one for me though. He’s improved out of all proportion. I’ve known Mark since he was 14 when he first came into my club in Leicester. He can definitely win the World Championship and I’d put him in the top two or three players tactically in the World




Willie chose his practice partners wisely. If you weren't from Leicester you had to have a bushy moustache.

Where did the nickname Mr. Maximum came from?

It’s people messing around about the number of 147 breaks I made. I made 198 of them before I retired. It was a nickname that came from Gary Lineker. I had 38 147’s against Gary and it was a wind up every time in the press.

Who was the greatest player you faced?

Ronnie O’Sullivan. The best match player was Steve Davis, the best break-builder, Stephen Hendry and the best for natural ability, Ronnie O’Sullivan. If they all played at their best, Ronnie O’Sullivan would win.

Was there any player that you had a rivalry with?

Playing players that everybody thought were slow, like Cliff Thorburn or Terry Griffiths, I did well. I never lost to Griffiths. I had a good record against him and Dennis Taylor. I think Dennis beat me once in about 12 games. I had a good record against Davis too. When you play somebody like that you’ve got to play well. I only had one way of playing, and that was knocking the balls in.

Do you enjoy the TV work?

After I stopped playing I would’ve found it difficult not being involved in snooker. The BBC stuff means that I’m involved with the players and keeping up with the modern game. I miss playing, but I don’t miss the practice.

Tell us about your Strictly Come Dancing experience?

It was the greatest experience of my life and it wasn’t until I finished that I realised how much I’d enjoyed it. I danced with Erin Boag who’d danced with Martin Offiah, Peter Schmeichel and Colin Jackson. They were all fitness fanatics and then she had to lump me around! She was lovely and we’re close friends. On the day I went out I finished fourth. It was a blessing in disguise though, because if I’d stayed in I would’ve been wearing pink Lycra doing the samba!

What is your opinion on Ronnie O’Sullivan’s comments that snooker is a dying sport?

If it’s not broke don’t fix it. Ronnie’s saying it is because of the lack of crowds, but look at cricket, if it’s not Twenty20 then nobody is there and in football if it’s not Man United then you get empty seats. The World Championships were outstanding and at the last eight I didn’t know who was going to win.


Don't mess with the Leicester Massive

I remember watching you play at ‘Osborne’s’ snooker club in Leicester before you were famous. Didn’t your parents own the ‘Shoulder of Mutton’ pub on the Braunstone estate? It was one of the toughest pubs in Leicester and your dad was as hard as nails…

I learnt how to play at Osborne’s. I went there and quickly found out that I was poor compared to some of the players there. Brian Cakebread, who recently passed away, was a regular century break player and after playing with him it took me about a year to become the best in Leicester, then the best in the Midlands. It was down to Brian and Osborne’s that I improved.

The ‘Shoulder of Mutton’ was one of the toughest pubs in Leicester. My dad was quite rough and ready, but he wanted to change things and he renamed it ‘The Falcon’ and it became a nice pub. I had a snooker table put in one of the rooms and used to practice there.

What does Leicester mean to you?

It’s my life. I was born and bred here and my parents are from Anstey. I count myself as a Leicester person and regardless of where I end up I’ll always look for Leicester results first, whether it is football, cricket or rugby.

What is your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is gambling which has been a problem for me and it still can be. Now and again I want to have a bet, but at the time I was gambling, I was earning plenty of money. It’s not quite the same now, I still earn a good living but it’s not what it was and I can’t afford to lose the money that I used to.

And for anyone not aware of this classic tale it simply has to be recounted:

‘It was September 1996,’ remembers Willie, drawing a deep breath. ‘My playing days were over and I was commentating at the Regal Masters in Motherwell. After a match, I was having a Chinese with Dennis Taylor when in walks John Parrott to get a takeaway. He’d just flown in from Heathrow and someone had broken into his car at the airport and nicked his cue. He knew I was a big punter and looked me in the eye and said, “Don’t back me tomorrow, Willie, whatever you do!”

‘I had a hard-on immediately. Pound signs flashed before my eyes. I was virtually skint and running out of credit and here was the opportunity of a lifetime. No snooker player can play without his own individual cue. Cliff Thorburn once had his nicked when he was ranked in the top 4 and he lost 5-0.


John well and truly shafted Willie

‘I got on the blower and started spreading tips and money around so no-one would get wind of the coup I was planning. I piled on to Parrott’s opponent, Ken Doherty, with bookies Mickey Fletcher, Dudley Roberts, John Banks and mates ‘Racing’ Raymond and Nigel Trough. I knew all the rails bookies, all the private bookmakers, all the high rollers. I tipped off everybody I owed money to, asking them to put on a grand for them and for me – over 20 phone calls accumulating a £38,000 stake on a Doherty victory. I got most of it on at 6/5, although by 10:30 the next morning the price had closed to 4/7; the old flip-flop favourite! Then betting was suspended when the news about the cue came out.

‘I commentated on Parrott’s match and was on the ultimate betting high, really smug and trying to control my excited commentary. I was babbling in the box, making comments like “John is shaking his head… it looks like the world is on his shoulders”. All I could think about was my windfall of over £30,000, settling my losses and getting a lump sum together to start winning again.

‘I reckoned all Doherty had to do was to “stand up to win”. Parrott went 2-0 down, but then started to rally, clawing his way back into the game. He went level at 2-2 and during the interval I phoned all my contacts to calm their nerves. During the match Parrott continued unconvincingly. He didn’t score more than a 50-break in the entire match! But he still made it to 5-2. Then, the eighth frame went to Doherty and I saw a chink of light, although I was bathed in sweat and felt like being violently sick.

‘The final frame was the hardest I ever commentated on. I put out all the standard waffle like “Parrott’s playing some gutsy snooker”, but I couldn’t think straight. Then the inevitable happened. Fate turned against me and – against all the odds – Parrott won the match. All my available cash had gone on the bet. Bankruptcy was very definitely on the horizon. And my friends weren’t too pleased – about half a million quid had been lost by people I tipped off.

Bottom Drawer?

Willie Thorne R.I.P.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Willie Thorne: Snooker idol’s tragic death must leave a legacy

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/snooker...ports-gambling-problem_sto7779162/story.shtml :

Quote .

" Desmond KaneDesmond Kane
ByDesmond Kane
16 hours ago | Updated 14 hours ago
The sad passing of Willie Thorne – one of snooker's finest sons – should encourage professional sport to redouble its efforts against the dangers of gambling addiction, writes Desmond Kane.
"Credit and credit cards have ruined this country, and obviously have ruined me," said Willie Thorne during a revelatory interview discussing his overpowering and life-defining gambling addiction on ITV chat show This Morning in 2015.

For a man whose solitary ranking victory came at an event sponsored by Mercantile Credit in 1985, such gloomy words were laced with irony

'I spent 45 years laughing all around the world with Willie' – Dennis Taylor pays tribute to Thorne
Willie Thorne and the humorous stories behind an icon
'Deeply saddened' - Gary Lineker leads Willie Thorne tributes after death
While the dark pall of literally betting away your house stalked the great W.T. with more foreboding than Dick Francis riding Devon Loch at the 1956 Grand National, it did not alter his prized reputation as one of the most talented – and latterly deeply tormented – figures in snooker folklore.

Nor did it ruin the perception of Thorne or his popularity among the Great British public, who have always held close to their bosom the belief that snooker professionals from the 1980s generated a level of interest in the game that has never been nor will ever be replicated in modern times.

For such an affable, charming, thoughtful and well-groomed character, Thorne had much in common with traditional sporting hell-raisers such as Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, George Best and his after-dinner speaking chum Paul Gascoigne. The difference being his principal drug came in gambling his shirt away rather than obscuring reality with a bottle.

He was very much a product of the times.

Thorne’s personal life was more chaotic and perilous than any challenges he faced down in 26 years as a snooker professional between 1975 and 2001.

His desire to gamble saw him declared bankrupt in 2016. He regretted being an unfaithful partner, fought depression, contemplated suicide, was threatened by money lenders and saw his £475,000 house repossessed. As he tragically battled leukaemia in Alicante he relied on donations from a GoFundMe page to finance health treatment.

A flawed character? Very much so. A loveable character? Very much so. In a world of machismo that defined snooker culture in the 1980s, he was viewed as a man’s man, a stellar geezer and a fabulous raconteur, but battled many personal demons.

For all the stories of his iconic moments in the sport and his penchant for making 147s that saw him become the self-styled ‘Mr Maximum’ rising to world number seven and reaching two World Championship quarter-finals, there are numerous tragic tales of an individual with a destructive streak due to the disease of compulsive gambling. He estimated that he splurged £3.5m on betting and was once banned from British racecourses due to the debts he owed.

“Snooker and horse racing had become the twin obsessions of my life," he said in his autobiography, the aptly titled Taking A Punt On My Life. "The former helped me make a lot of money, while the latter ensured that an awful lot of it was wasted."

My own dad, no stranger to the seduction of the gee-gees, bumped into Thorne in a local bookmakers during a break from his commentary stint when the sport's old Premier League was staged in Scotland in 2004. “He wasn’t holding back,” was the message that was sadly in keeping with the theme of the crippling gaming debts that blighted him.

The grim fact of gambling, though, is that it can be done in private.

"I suffered from depression most of my life," he said. "It's the limelight. Snooker players have a lot of free time and footballers have a lot of free time that's why so many footballers are involved in gambling."

The death of Thorne marks the passing of an era from a time when professional sport seemed more innocent and less serious. The only problem being it was a myth. What went on behind closed doors back then still exists today. It is just that there was no social media or 24-hour news channels to invade personal thought processes.

"I think you are born with it," said Paul Merson, the former Arsenal and England midfielder, who blew an estimated £7m, "you go insane. As soon as the bet goes on, you think what did I do that for? The self-worth comes in and you hate yourself."

The ticking time bomb of mental health was not the overriding issue back in the day which is an indictment really on how society should have been conducted. Thorne could and should have been helped long before he hurtled into the abyss.


Thorne came from an era when cigarettes and alcohol were endorsed by snooker. Gambling should come with a government health warning as strong as smoking.

Did professional snooker do enough to educate and help hardened professionals such as Thorne back in the 1980s when the leading protagonists were revelling in largesse? Has professional sport managed to detonate such a ticking time bomb of human self-destruction? Does society have the mechanisms in place to help such flawed individuals?

The answer is a resounding no and must be used as motivation to ward off future generations from the disease. The road to perdition needed not only be a one-way track to ruin especially when young men are wallowing in amounts of the folding stuff that they clearly cannot handle.

Born in Leicester in 1954, Thorne turned professional in 1975 and lifted one ranking event when he defeated Cliff Thorburn 13-8 to carry off the Mercantile Credit Classic at the Bournemouth International Centre.

In the same year, he should have become UK champion. Leading then three-times world champion Steve Davis 13-8 at the Guild Hall in Preston, he missed a simple blue to a centre pocket that would have seen move six clear with a possible nine frames remaining.

He was forced to sit and suffer as Davis hit back strongly to snag the title with a 16-14 win.


At the age of 66, Thorne seemed timeless, elegant, evergreen and effervescent. He did not change much over the years with or without cue in hand.

It is fair to say Thorne brought a touch of showbusiness to snooker beyond the sport that continued years beyond his shelf life as a player.

A regular pundit for the BBC, ITV and Sky Sports over two decades, he wound up on light entertainment programmes Strictly Come Dancing and Mr and Mrs. He was a natural in the spotlight, once earning a contestant a record £540 on the excellent 1990s BBC favourite Big Break in a quickfire exhibition that would have left Ronnie O'Sullivan drooling.

If you did a snap survey asking snooker diehards what they remember most warmly about the game in the 1980s, the boom televised period when it was introduced to living rooms up and down the country, many will remember Thorne's trademark bald head and moustache with as much warmth as the Hurricane sinking pints of confidence.

Thorne used to describe Steve Davis as the game's greatest ambassador. Thorne should be celebrated as one of snooker's most memorable characters, a uniquely stylish player, pundit and professor of the old green baize.

The sport of snooker has lost one of its finest sons, but his tragic demise should not be in vain. His passing should leave a greater legacy on the clear and present dangers of gambling.

Desmond Kane

Tributes pour in for 'Great WT' :

https://wst.tv/tributes-pour-in-for-great-wt/

Willie Thorne R.I.P.
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Willie thorne memorial service

https://wst.tv/willie-thorne-memorial-service/

Monday 22 Jun 2020 01:02PM
A memorial service for Willie Thorne, who sadly passed away last week, will be held at La Zenia new church in Orihuela Costa (Alicante, Spain) at 11.15am on Wednesday 24th June.

This will be followed by a celebration of his life at Evolution Bar in La Fuente where Willie held numerous charity events.

Anyone who would like to send flowers can contact a local florist by calling +34 965 320 873 or email floristeriatagua@gmail.com

Donations should go to charities with which Willie was affiliated with: Rainbows and 2020voicecancer

To read more about Willie’s life, click here.

Willie Thorne R.I.P.
 
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