Hate to be the bringer of more sad news, but I am sad to say that former Scottish professional snooker champion Ian Black has passed away.
I am deeply saddened on a personal note as he was a good friend for a number of years. Indeed I attended his junior coaching classes at Minnesota Fats in Glasgow when I was a mere 10 years old! I returned the favour some years later, introducing him and his son to 9-ball pool and the American tables, although due to failing eyesight he had to stop playing a few years back.
I'm sure a great many of the churchills regulars would know him too as he frequented the place a fair bit, although more for the social aspect and the banter since his sight faded.
He was a great player in his day and a very nice guy as well. He will be sadly missed, and I'm sure everyone's thoughts are with his family.
Here is the report from the snooker website...
Black was a member of the paid ranks throughout the 1980s after turning pro in 1981 and beat the likes of Perry Mans, Patsy Fagan and Bill Werbeniuk in an impressive career.
He defeated Matt Gibson 11-7 to claim his country's national crown. He then came within one win of retaining it 12 months later but lost in the final to Eddie Sinclair by the same scoreline.
A semi-finalist in 1986 when beaten by a youthful Stephen Hendry, Black also made news in 1989 when on the end of John Rea's 147 break in the same competition.
He reached a career ranking high of 44 and in 1983 beat Mario Morra and Paul Medati to qualify for his only appearance in the final stages of the World Championship.
His Crucible debut ended in a 10-3 defeat by South African Perrie Mans.
In 1988/89 he played Nigel Bond in the Pro Ticket qualifiers but lost 9-0 in his bid to retain his Tour card.
Black's final match came in 1991 when losing to Amrik Cheema at the B&H Championship in his native Scotland.
A sad loss indeed.
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Tookster's standard comment on spotting somebody miss a shot... "I would have got that!"
