Al’s A1 in Pembrokeshire snooker
Al Gordon recently presented his 29th annual report as Hon Treasurer to members and clubs at the Bland’s Pembrokeshire Snooker League AGM and if you wanted real proof of the commitment shown by Al Gordon to snooker it comes in the fact that until recently he had not missed a single committee meeting of the League in all those years!
His only blip came just a while ago when he had a little ill health but is now back fit and raring to go in helping Malcolm King (Hon Secretary) and Howard Webber (Chairman), plus the others on the committee, run the league. Phil Thomas is the president, and there will have two divisions for the new season, which starts in early October, to cater for the 14 clubs and 22 teams from all over the county.
Still playing at nearly 80
Al still plays snooker for the Balfour ‘B’ team and at 78 years of age still isn’t the oldest team member because that honour goes to octogenarian Ronnie Narbett, who was well-known as a cricketer in his younger days. They are joined by Ian Ashworth, who helps with sport on the Western Telegraph, Denzil ‘Tarw’ Davies, the former rugby player, Andy Roach, who is green keeper at Haverfordwest Golf Club, David Morgan and Richard Williams. In his younger days he was known as a good potter and break builder who could also defend well as a shrewd tactician but says it is more for fun now.
Administrative start
Al can still recall his start out in snooker administration when,
“I was voted onto the committee at the Balfour in 1969, with four stints as chairman, and I watched wonderful players like Des and Bill Barnett, Idris Davies and Wally Gunn play against the likes of Harold Rees, Snowy Thomas, Bob Rackley and Paul Thompson as the Balfour and Milford Cons were the top sides in a league of genuine quality.”
“I started with the Milford Haven & District Snooker League committee in 1972 and was immediately impressed with the endeavours of Malcolm King in keeping the league going as secretary, having started out in the job as long ago as 1967. I took over from Hubert Townsend as Hon Treasurer in 1980 and not only do we stay solvent but always try to make a donation to charity every year.”
Charity helper
For a while it was Autism Cymru which was helped by Al and Co from the proceeds of a snooker competition held in conjunction with Eddie’s Snooker Hall when Steve Davies, Willie Thorne and Dennis Taylor joined forces with Matthew Stevens, Jamie Jones and Dominic Dale in a special day there. Al invited 32 of the top players in Pembrokeshire to compete and thoroughly enjoyed being part of a special day for local snooker and Autism Cymru.
Top match
But ask Al about the best game of snooker he has seen and he would have no hesitation at all.
“That was in 1980 when Cliff Thorburn played Terry Griffiths at the old Esso Club and Malcolm and I were asked to referee it. Both were top players but Cliff couldn’t pot a ball for 20 minutes and when he completely missed the blue ball he said, ‘And I do this for a living!’”
“But he went on to score a top break of 126 and I was thrilled to watch it from such close range. Cliff also had me lying on the table with a piece of chalk in my mouth and the black ball on top of it. After asking if there was a dentist in the house and placed the white ball on another piece of chalk on the cush, he took aim and sent the black ball straight into the green pocket. What a man!”
Al the showman
Al has been a bit of a showman himself because he had his own band and was involved as a mime artist and compere in a career spanning 52 years where he worked with the likes of Frankie Vaughan, Lulu, Freddie and the Dreamers, and The Barron Knights before he stepped down in 1998. It certainly held him in good stead when he acted as MC at events like those held in The Black Rabbit Club, Pembroke, where he has officiated in exhibition matches featuring Dennis Taylor, Dominic Dale and Michael White, who was a very young world amateur champion.
Tracing snooker’s history
Al has traced the history of the snooker league back as far as 1931 and is still spending time at the records office trying to establish further details and is hopeful that members of the public might have old cuttings or memorabilia which can throw further light on its starting out. He also started up glossy fixture lists with the help of local businesses who placed adverts and been immensely loyal, plus the league handbook in 1986 which has gone from strength to strength, with the winners of all competitions carefully researched and included.
Great support and excellent players
“We have a lot of league matches and cup competitions to get through from October to April,” says Al, “and I think the players are great these days because they can compile breaks so well. We’ve been lucky to have Mr Alan Bland and his ‘Bland’s Cars’ firm sponsor the league for so long and to see so many talented young players come to the fore and local snooker is still looking strong overall, despite a drop in the number of clubs who now have tables.”
He’s right but he forgot to mention that the reason for snooker’s success is also very much attributable to the hard work of Mr Al Gordon over many years – and long may he continue to play at the Balfour Club and look after local snooker’s finances so well!
