About Ray Reardon
Raymond Reardon (8 October 1932 – 19 July 2024) was a Welsh professional snooker player who dominated the sport in the 1970s, winning the World Snooker Championship six times and claiming more than a dozen other professional titles. Due to his dark widow's peak and prominent eye teeth, he was nicknamed "Dracula". Until his mid-thirties, Reardon worked as a coal miner and then as a police officer while pursuing snooker at an amateur level. His titles during this era included six consecutive Welsh Amateur Championships from 1950 to 1955 and the English Amateur Championship in 1964. He turned professional in 1967 and became World Champion in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1978; he was also runner-up in 1982. His other major tournament wins included the inaugural Pot Black tournament in 1969, the 1976 Masters, and the 1982 Professional Players Tournament. The first player to be ranked "world number one" when world rankings were introduced during the 1976–77 season, he held the position for the next five years. He regained the top ranking position in 1982, after which his form declined; he dropped out of the elite top-16 ranked players after the 1986–87 season. In 1978, Reardon became the oldest World Champion, aged 45 years and 203 days, a record he held for the next 44 years, until Ronnie O'Sullivan won his seventh world title at the 2022 event, aged 46 years and 148 days. Reardon became the oldest winner of a ranking title when he won the 1982 Professional Players Tournament aged 50 years and 14 days; his record endured for 43 years, until Mark Williams won the 2025 Xi'an Grand Prix at the age of 50 years and 206 days. Appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1985, Reardon retired from professional competition in 1991, aged 58. He never achieved a maximum break in tournament play; his highest break in competition was 146. During his retirement, Reardon served as president of Churston Ferrers golf club in Devon, where he was a member for over 40 years. He mentored O'Sullivan in preparation for his 2004 World Championship campaign, helping him lift his second world title. In 2017, the Welsh Open trophy was renamed the Ray Reardon Trophy in his honour. Reardon died from cancer in July 2024, aged 91.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.