In 1969, the BBC launched the Pot Black tournament at the BBC
Studios in Birmingham, which proved to be very successful in helping
put snooker back into public view. The BBC began broadcasting in colour,
and were looking for programmes that could exploit this new technology.
The programme first aired on 23 July 1969, on BBC2. Pot Black was a
British series of (non-ranking) snooker tournaments televised by BBC,
that played a large part in the popularisation of the modern game. In
1972, at the age of 23, Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins
clinched the first of his 2 World Titles and through a mixture of
bravado, charisma and an ability to make headlines, became the games
first true "rock'n'roll superstar" who helped to popularise the sport in
the new age of colour television. The event continued until 1986, at
which time more and more televised snooker events were held and the Pot
Black format was out dated. It returned in 1990, but it was discontinued
after the 1993 event.
The event was revived in the form of several one-off tournaments throughout the 1990s and up to 2007. Pot Black helped transform snooker from a minority sport with just a handful of professionals into one of the most popular sports in the United Kingdom. Mark Williams holds the events' highest break record of 119. The World Championship was first televised in 1973. World Rankings were introduced in 1976, and, in 1977, the World Championship was held in the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where it has been ever since. Daily television coverage of the World Championship began in 1978.
The 1980s capitalised on the sport's already growing popularity.
Steve Davis dominated for much of the decade thanks to a smooth technique, all-round game, vast amounts of dedication and PR savvy off the table from his ambitious manager Barry Hearn.
Maverick left-hander Jimmy White came along as a people's champion candidate very much in the mould of his good friend and idol Alex Higgins.
The number of tournaments on the calendar was to increase further as from the 1984/1985 snooker season ITV started to televise three new ranking events in the International, Classic and British Open.
Snooker's finest hour and ultimate peak occurred at the 1985 World Snooker Championship Final as heavy favourite and 8-0 early leader Steve Davis succumbed to an inspired comeback from Northern Ireland veteran Dennis Taylor. The 35th and deciding frame lasted for 68 minutes, and had a nation gripped as Taylor sunk the final black at 12.20am with a record audience of 18.5 million UK TV viewers who tuned in for the nail-biting climax. The game was benefiting at this point from the poor reputation of football caused by hooliganism and reaching a nadir with the Bradford fire and Heysel disaster.
Though the record viewing figure was never topped, the 1986 World Snooker Championship Final between Steve Davis and Bradford underdog Joe Johnson, in which Johnson surprisingly won 18-12, also drew a strong audience figure of 16 million UK TV viewers. In the build-up to the 1986 World Championship, infamous novelty anthem "Snooker Loopy", recorded by Chas and Dave featuring the Matchroom Mob (Barry Hearn, Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne, Terry Griffiths and Tony Meo), hit number 6 in the UK Singles chart.
The domestic success of snooker continued to remain strong into the late 1980s. During this time, with the help of Barry Hearn, tournaments were starting to expand globally into Europe, Asia and North America. The 1988 Canadian Masters was the first ranking event to be staged outside the UK.
In December 1988, the invitational Matchplay (featuring the worlds top 12 players) was the first ever professional tournament to have a £100,000 winner's prize.
In the late 1980s, Steve Davis' dominance was starting to be challenged by future World Champion Stephen Hendry.
By the end of the decade, there were more than 200 playing professionals on the circuit, a figure which increased to more than 400 professionals during the 1990s.
The event was revived in the form of several one-off tournaments throughout the 1990s and up to 2007. Pot Black helped transform snooker from a minority sport with just a handful of professionals into one of the most popular sports in the United Kingdom. Mark Williams holds the events' highest break record of 119. The World Championship was first televised in 1973. World Rankings were introduced in 1976, and, in 1977, the World Championship was held in the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, where it has been ever since. Daily television coverage of the World Championship began in 1978.
The 1980s capitalised on the sport's already growing popularity.
Steve Davis dominated for much of the decade thanks to a smooth technique, all-round game, vast amounts of dedication and PR savvy off the table from his ambitious manager Barry Hearn.
Maverick left-hander Jimmy White came along as a people's champion candidate very much in the mould of his good friend and idol Alex Higgins.
The number of tournaments on the calendar was to increase further as from the 1984/1985 snooker season ITV started to televise three new ranking events in the International, Classic and British Open.
Snooker's finest hour and ultimate peak occurred at the 1985 World Snooker Championship Final as heavy favourite and 8-0 early leader Steve Davis succumbed to an inspired comeback from Northern Ireland veteran Dennis Taylor. The 35th and deciding frame lasted for 68 minutes, and had a nation gripped as Taylor sunk the final black at 12.20am with a record audience of 18.5 million UK TV viewers who tuned in for the nail-biting climax. The game was benefiting at this point from the poor reputation of football caused by hooliganism and reaching a nadir with the Bradford fire and Heysel disaster.
Though the record viewing figure was never topped, the 1986 World Snooker Championship Final between Steve Davis and Bradford underdog Joe Johnson, in which Johnson surprisingly won 18-12, also drew a strong audience figure of 16 million UK TV viewers. In the build-up to the 1986 World Championship, infamous novelty anthem "Snooker Loopy", recorded by Chas and Dave featuring the Matchroom Mob (Barry Hearn, Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne, Terry Griffiths and Tony Meo), hit number 6 in the UK Singles chart.
The domestic success of snooker continued to remain strong into the late 1980s. During this time, with the help of Barry Hearn, tournaments were starting to expand globally into Europe, Asia and North America. The 1988 Canadian Masters was the first ranking event to be staged outside the UK.
In December 1988, the invitational Matchplay (featuring the worlds top 12 players) was the first ever professional tournament to have a £100,000 winner's prize.
In the late 1980s, Steve Davis' dominance was starting to be challenged by future World Champion Stephen Hendry.
By the end of the decade, there were more than 200 playing professionals on the circuit, a figure which increased to more than 400 professionals during the 1990s.