Where’s the Cue Ball Going?
John Virgo or JV as we know him in the trade, is one of the most recognised voices of snooker. His softly spoken, northern accent has resonated around most of the greatest snooker matches of our time and his dry wit has had us in convulsions of laughter. This grey haired silver fox hasn’t always been in a commentary box and before many of us started watching snooker, he was a talented, professional player. I remember him when he was playing in the late 1970s and early 80s. In those days, he had wild frizzy hair that could almost be described as afroesque and graced the stage with players such Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins and Kirk Stevens. His professional career spanned from 1976 to 1995 and reached at his height, a top ranking of 10 with a highest break of 139 and £293,492 put away in the bank in career earnings.
JV turned professional in 1976 at a time when Ray Reardon, John Spencer and Eddie Charlton were the famous names in the game and quickly made a name for himself. In 1977, he managed to reach the semi-finals of the UK Championship and narrowly lost to Patsy Fagan, 8-9, the same year as Fagan took the title in Blackpool. Ironically when his famous, solo win came in 1979 in the same tournament, John picked up a trophy to a tournament that was not yet recognised as a ranking event and joined the same non ranking title club as Patsy Fagan. A further twist to this win was that when Virgo played Griffiths, he turned up late to a session due to a miscommunication of the start time and was subsequently docked two frames. Despite this mishap, Virgo’s win was still remarkable and he saw off the likes of Tony Meo, Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor to raise the silverware.
However beyond this point, John’s career entered the wilderness years and he never managed to trump his UK win. In 1986, he reached the semi-finals of the British Open but was beaten 4-9 by the overall winner, Willie Thorne. This was to be Thorne’s only career win too. Virgo ended the season having a ranking of 14 but subsequently dropped out of the top 16 the following season.Disappointment continued to follow in his career, culminating in failure to qualify for the Grand Prix and UK Championship, losing in round seven in both events. As a result he called time on his snooker career and retired from professional play in 1995.
After retiring JV has had a very successful career, ranging from trick shots on the exhibition circuit,, impressions of players, a co-host on the long running BBC series, Big Break with Jim Davidson and his long running commentary for the BBC on the Triple Crown events, Working with the greatest commentators such as Ted Lowe, Jack Karnehm, Dennis Taylor and Willie Thorne, John has crafted his microphone skills and has produced a unique brand of commentary that would be priceless if it was bottled and sold. JV is a legend of snooker and will forever be part of our thrilling and suspenseful sport.
https://youtu.be/6tiFTbUJeDs
JV turned professional in 1976 at a time when Ray Reardon, John Spencer and Eddie Charlton were the famous names in the game and quickly made a name for himself. In 1977, he managed to reach the semi-finals of the UK Championship and narrowly lost to Patsy Fagan, 8-9, the same year as Fagan took the title in Blackpool. Ironically when his famous, solo win came in 1979 in the same tournament, John picked up a trophy to a tournament that was not yet recognised as a ranking event and joined the same non ranking title club as Patsy Fagan. A further twist to this win was that when Virgo played Griffiths, he turned up late to a session due to a miscommunication of the start time and was subsequently docked two frames. Despite this mishap, Virgo’s win was still remarkable and he saw off the likes of Tony Meo, Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor to raise the silverware.
However beyond this point, John’s career entered the wilderness years and he never managed to trump his UK win. In 1986, he reached the semi-finals of the British Open but was beaten 4-9 by the overall winner, Willie Thorne. This was to be Thorne’s only career win too. Virgo ended the season having a ranking of 14 but subsequently dropped out of the top 16 the following season.Disappointment continued to follow in his career, culminating in failure to qualify for the Grand Prix and UK Championship, losing in round seven in both events. As a result he called time on his snooker career and retired from professional play in 1995.
After retiring JV has had a very successful career, ranging from trick shots on the exhibition circuit,, impressions of players, a co-host on the long running BBC series, Big Break with Jim Davidson and his long running commentary for the BBC on the Triple Crown events, Working with the greatest commentators such as Ted Lowe, Jack Karnehm, Dennis Taylor and Willie Thorne, John has crafted his microphone skills and has produced a unique brand of commentary that would be priceless if it was bottled and sold. JV is a legend of snooker and will forever be part of our thrilling and suspenseful sport.
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