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Jackie Rea (6 April 1921 – 20 October 2013〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Jackie Rea: Former Irish snooker champion dies aged 92 )〕) was a snooker player from Northern Ireland. ==Career== Rea was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone and began playing snooker at age 9 in the billiard room of the pub his father managed in Dungannon.〔Everton, Clive (ed.), ''World Snooker'', April 1971, p. 3.〕 He won the All-Ireland Snooker Championship in 1947 and also the Northern Irish Snooker Championship the same year. Rea became Irish Professional Champion in 1952 through his defeat of Jack Bates and held the championship until he was defeated by Alex Higgins in January 1972.〔Everton, Clive. ''Guinness Book of Billiards and Snooker'', 1982, pp 118, 120.〕 Rea held Higgins to 5–4 after the first session, but Higgins pulled away to win 28–12, the last scheduled session was not required (and played as an exhibition match).〔Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, February 1972, p 2〕 Rea encouraged Higgins to move to England and Higgins would rate Rea's help so highly that he described him as 'a bit of a father figure'.〔Borrows, Bill. ''The Hurricane'', Atlantic Books, 2002, p 51.〕 Higgins would also later go move to Cheadle, close to Rea.〔Higgins, Alex. ''From the Eye of the Hurricane'', Headline, 2007, p. 161; "Higgins was pleased that Rea appeared on his (''This is Your Life'' programme ) in 1981 (see p. 158).〕 Higgins insulted Rea's wife Betty, leading to Rea (who had been in the Commandos) to punch him out cold. Higgins later apologised profusely, and the two reportedly remained strong friends.〔Hennessey, John. ''Eye of the Hurricane'', Mainstream Publishing, 2000, p. 29.〕 When Alex Higgins married Lynn Hough on 5 January 1980, Rea was one of six people who held an arch of cues under which the couple walked as they left Winslowe Reformed Church. The other five people being John Virgo, John Smyth, David Taylor, Bruce Donkin and actor Gareth Hunt.〔Higgins Alex, ''Hurricane Higgins'', Snooker Scapbook, Souvenir Press, 1980, pp. 96–97.〕 Rea first appeared in the World Championship in 1949, when he lost 18–17 to Conrad Stanbury in the second qualifying round. His first recorded victory in the championship came in 1953, he lost to John Pulman in that 1953 championship and again in the 1954 championships, losing this latter match just 31–30. He lost to Pulman again in 1956, separated by a loss to Fred Davis in 1955. By 1957 interest in snooker was ebbing and there just four entries for the World Title. Rea easily defeated Kingsley Kennerley in the de facto semi-final 25–12 and ran John Pulman close before losing 39–34.〔Everton, Clive (ed). ''Guinness Book of Billiards and Snooker'', 1982, pp. 63, 65.〕 Rea was runner up in the 1953 News of the World Championship. With a variety of starts, Rea won 5 of his 8 matches with a frames tally of 173 won to 123 lost. Rea therefore received a cheque for £300.〔''The Billiard Player''. Number 386, February 1953, p. 16.〕 Rea would go one better in 1955 and would secure that year's event by winning all his eight matches, with a tally of 174 frames won and 122 lost. Only Joe Davis had previously won all his eight matches (during the 1953 event).〔''The Billiard Player''. Number 442, October 1957, p. 15.〕 His win gave him a cheque for £500 and allowed his share of the gate at Leicester Square Hall to rise to 20%.〔Everton, Clive. ''Snooker Scene'', August 1993, pp. 23-24; "This is a feature by Ted Lowe and contains a picture of Rea holding his winner's cheque. Snooker Scene states Rea's year of victory as 1952, but this is a rare error."〕 Rea's victory at the end of the 1954/5 event is noted by Joe Davis, who had been grateful to Rea for presenting him with a silver cigarette stand upon Davis making his 500th century break at Leicester Square on 18 February 1953.〔Davis, Joe. ''The Breaks Came My Way'', W.H. Allen, 1976, pp. 213-214; see page 213, for Davis' own list of News of the World Championship winners, which places Rea's win at the end of the 1954–55 season.〕 Rea's prime coincided with a huge decline in support for snooker. Such a decline was speeded up by the closure of Snooker's 'shop window' Leicester Square Hall at the end of January 1955. Rea was present for the final night of the hall.〔Davis, Joe. ''The Breaks Came My Way'', W.H Allen, 1976, p. 215; Photographs in the book that follow page 112, show the closing night photo and Rea is stood next to Fred Davis.〕 Rea was in his prime during a period when snooker players had to rely on exhibition bookings for their income. He made his exhibitions attractive by using comedy during them, indeed Jack Karnehm described Rea "as much as comedian as a snooker player".〔Karnehm, Jack., World Snooker, Volume 2, Pelham Books, 1982, p. 120.〕 Indeed, John Virgo has admitted his snooker impressions were inspired by Rea.〔Hennessey, John. ''Eye of the Hurricane'', Mainstream, 2000, p. 24.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jackie Rea」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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