Blowing a Hurricane

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Alex Higgins was one of the prolific figures in modern snooker. Often controversial, Higgins created a brand of snooker that was exciting, fast, calculated and accurate.

Higgins, dubbed Sandie by his family, learnt the game in the Jam Pot in Belfast. Often playing people in pubs and clubs, he was able to make a meagre living by plying his growing craft against players and members of the public.

Alex, then came over to England in the late 1960s with Dennis Taylor and again continued to work the working class circuit. His first World Championship win came in 1972 against John Spencer in a working men’s club in Birmingham. Higgins won a meagre £400 for the victory.

Higgins, dubbed the “People’s Champion”, won the World Championship twice, 1972 and 1982, the UK Championship and the Masters, the triple crown of snooker.


However later in his career, Alex was unable to escape hiis mental demons and fell down the rankings. His orange juice was laced with vodka and heavy smoking led to lung cancer which he eventually recovered from.His last appearance was at a Legends events where he looked thin and gaunt. Players tried to raise money to pay for dental surgery so he could but malnutrition caused his sad demise in 2010, aged 61.

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