Out Of Your Leagues...
Stalybridge & District Snooker League
Stalybridge is a town located within the metropolitan borough of Tameside, in England. Situated to the east of Manchester and the north of Stockport, Stalybridge has a population of around 23,000 and one of the oldest snooker leagues around.
The Stalybridge and District Sunday Schools Billiards Snooker and Whist League aka Stalybridge Snooker League started in 1910. Global Snooker spoke to the league's press secretary, Ian Hopton, about the league as it gets ready to celebrate its centenary year.
"Initially billiards and whist were the only games played, thought at the time to be appropriate for Young Mens Societies.
As snooker became more popular in the 1970s, the committee at the time decided to add this extra dimension and changed its name to incorporate the new format", said Hopton.
The current venues include social clubs in Ashton, Stalybridge and Mossley along with a snooker club in Stalybridge - a far cry from the original church rooms used when the league started.
Matches are played on a Thursday evening, with each match involving two singles and one doubles in snooker and two singles in billiards.
In 2007/2008 Sportsman lifted both the snooker and billiards league titles, whilst Mossley A won the knockout snooker and billiards competition, with St. George B taking the snooker 'Whist' title.
Holy Trinity YMS - did the treble in the early 1970s
The league winners and the knockout champions play annually in a 'Charity Shield' style match for the George Fletcher Trophy. As well as recognising ability with the usual tournaments, the league also encourages fair play. The Sportsmanship Award, is given for general attitude to the game and other league members, won in 2008 by Chris Edwards.
After all, you don't want the best players in the league cleaning up at presentation night!
Interesting facts about the league...
Tea-Break!
Refreshments aretraditional, and Jack Bredbury was famous for making a full urn of tea for every match - we know a few teams that this may still apply, except the urn wouldn't be full of PG.
Cigarette Break?
In the guidelines for expected behaviour, rule seven states that a player should ask before smoking whilst at the table - how things change!?
Praying for victory?
In one particular venue, the match would be stopped between 9.30 and 10.00 for prayers to be said by the local priest - so next time your team is3-0 down at half time, you know what to do!
Famous Players?
Andreas Ahmed has been the only player from the league to dip his toes in the waters of the professional game. He went onto coach local players after not quite making the grade.
Frank Mitcheson is also worth a mention - he played professional football for Rochdale, Doncaster Rovers and Crewe Alexander. Frank also played in the Central Lancashire League in cricket and was a feared opponent with a cue in both snooker and billiards.
Highest Break?
Dennis Finnan holds the highest break recorded in the league with a 62.
Half-a-Century!
Current chairman, Ian Hodges has been involved in the league for over 50 years.
"For those watching in black and white - the guy in the middle is about to hit the pink"!
The Stalybridge League celebrates its centenary in 2010, and we wish them well with all of their celebrations. To find out more about the league click here...
