1936 Daily Mail Gold Cup

The 1936 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. Despite giving a handicap to all the other players, the cup was won by Joe Davis who won all his five matches. The Australian Horace Lindrum finished in second place in the final table. It was the third Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although the first two had been billiards events. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.

Daily Mail Gold Cup
Tournament information
Dates28 September–19 December 1936
Final venueThurston's Hall
Final cityLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
FormatNon-Ranking event
Highest break Sidney Smith (133)
Final
Champion Joe Davis
Runner-up Horace Lindrum
← 1935/36
1937/38 →

Format

The third event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 28 September to 19 December 1936. Most of the matches were played at Thurston's Hall in London. There were 6 competitors and a total of 15 matches. Each match was of 71 frames, lasting six days (Monday to Saturday) and consisted of two sessions of six frames each day (five on the final evening). The 6 competitors were Joe Davis, Horace Lindrum, Sidney Smith, Willie Smith, Tom Newman and Melbourne Inman. The event had two handicapping aspects. Each player had a handicap which was given in each frame. The handicaps were: Joe Davis - 0, Horace Lindrum - 7, Sidney Smith - 14, Willie Smith - 18, Tom Newman - 24, Melbourne Inman - 35. In addition there was a sealed handicap for each match. This was an additional adjustment to be made after each match (a number of frames) which was kept secret until the end of the tournament.[1] It seems that the handicapper decided to make no adjustments since the final table simply reflects the actual results.

Results

The cup was won by Joe Davis who won all his five matches. Melbourne Inman, an aging billiards player, struggled, despite receiving the most generous handicap. The other four players were very close in the final table. Willie Smith won a prize for the most frames won in a match, 48 in his match against Melbourne Inman.[2]

During the tournament Sidney Smith scored a record 133 break, becoming the first player to make a total clearance in snooker competition. It happened in his match against Tom Newman on 11 December. Smith was conceding 10 points to Newman in this match and went further behind when he went in-off a red. Smith then made the total clearance which included the 15 reds with six blacks, six pinks, two blues, a green and then all the colours. The clearance was in frame 58 of the match, the fourth of the evening session.[3] Smith won the prize for the highest break of the tournament.[2]

WinnerScoreLoserDatesVenue
Sidney Smith44–27Melbourne Inman28 September–3 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Horace Lindrum37–34Tom Newman5–10 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis39–32Willie Smith12–17 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Willie Smith48–23Melbourne Inman19–24 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis42–29Tom Newman26–31 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
Willie Smith41–30Sidney Smith2–7 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis44–27Melbourne Inman9–14 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Horace Lindrum41–30Willie Smith9–14 NovemberImperial Rooms, Glasgow
Sidney Smith36–35Horace Lindrum16–21 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Tom Newman44–27Melbourne Inman16–21 NovemberManchester
Tom Newman40–31Willie Smith23–28 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
Horace Lindrum41–30Melbourne Inman30 November–5 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis38–33Sidney Smith30 November–5 DecemberBirmingham
Tom Newman36–35Sidney Smith7–12 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis41–30Horace Lindrum14–19 DecemberThurston's Hall, London

Table

PosPlayerPldMWFW
1 Joe Davis55204
2 Horace Lindrum53184
3 Tom Newman53183
4 Willie Smith52182
5 Sidney Smith52178
6 Melbourne Inman50134

The positions were determined firstly by the number of matches won (MW) and, in the event of a tie, the number of frames won (FW).

References
  1. "Billiards – Sealed Snooker Handicap". The Times. 28 September 1936. p. 6.
  2. "Snooker Pool – The Sealed Handicap". The Times. 21 December 1936. p. 3.
  3. "Snooker Pool – World record by S. Smith". The Times. 12 December 1936. p. 5.
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