Former world snooker champion Dennis Taylor enters Texaco Hall of Fame
DUBLIN, 13th NOVEMBER 2010 – One of Northern Ireland’s most distinguished sports stars, former world snooker champion Dennis Taylor, has been chosen winner of the 2010 Texaco Hall of Fame Award.
One of the most accomplished and admired figures in the history of Irish sport, north and south, Dennis enjoys a universal popularity that befits the gentle, warm, friendly person that he is.
Describing Dennis as ‘one of snooker’s greatest ambassadors’, Chevron Country Chairman, Enda Riney said, ‘His entry into the Texaco Hall of Fame is a fitting acknowledgement of the success which Dennis has achieved and of the pleasure he has brought to the countless fans who have followed his career.’
In recent years, we have seen him on They Think It’s All Over, A Question of Sport, The Weakest Link, even Strictly Come Dancing – and heard him sing the cameo line in the Chas and Dave song ‘Snooker Loopy’ ‘because I wear these goggles’, but the world at large will never forget Dennis Taylor after a night of high drama on April 28th, 1985, 25 years ago.
It was the most memorable conclusion ever to the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre. Midnight had come and gone and 18.5 million television viewers were still riveted to their seats as the man from Coalisland refused to buckle and the climax of an unbelievable comeback unfolded.
Playing Steve Davis - the world number one, reigning world champion and dominant player of the eighties - Taylor trailed 0-8 after the first session, an embarrassing as well as desperate situation. But Tyrone men are resilient and he bounced back to close the evening at 7-9, a stirring and energising recovery which prompted him to have a few glasses of champagne before retiring for the night.
His gritty attitude and improved form was maintained the next day and from 15-17 he took two further frames to level the tie. With the players almost out on their feet and the deciding frame entering the dying moments, an ashen-faced Davis required one ball to win, Taylor the last four. The Irishman hammered the brown into the pocket, then took blue and pink. The tide was turning, but Davis, the best pressure player of his time, was presented with a fine cut on the black to win a game he probably thought was his after the first session. The rest is history...
