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John Pulman
Herbert John Pulman (12 December 1923 – 25 December 1998) was an English professional snooker player who was the World Snooker Champion from 1957 to 1968. He first won the title at the 1957 Championship and retained it across seven challenges from 1964 to 1968, three of them against Fred Davis and two against Rex Williams. When the tournament reverted to a knockout event in 1969, he lost 18–25 in the first round to the eventual champion John Spencer. After finishing as runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1970, Pulman never again reached the final, although he was a losing semi-finalist in 1977.
He turned professional in 1946, shortly after winning the English Amateur Championship, and achieved three News of the World Snooker Tournament titles, in 1954, 1957 and 1958. An emotional player, he was prone to venting his frustration and missing important shots. He generally played attacking snooker in his early career, but he made more use of safety tactics in the 1970s.
Pulman became a television commentator towards the end of his playing career and retired from competitive play in 1981 after breaking his leg in a traffic accident. He died in 1998 following a fall down the stairs at his home. He was one of the inaugural inductees to the World Snooker Hall of Fame in 2011, alongside seven other winners of multiple world championships.
Herbert John Pulman, known as John Pulman, was born on 12 December 1923 in Teignmouth, Devon, England. His father was Ernest Charles Pulman, a master baker and confectioner, and his mother was Ernest's wife Gertrude Mary Pulman, née Kent. In 1929, Ernest Pulman sold his bakery and confectionery business, and the family moved to Plymouth, where he bought a billiard hall with two tables. Coached by his father, John Pulman started playing billiards at the age of nine and made his first billiards century break aged twelve. In his teenage years he also played snooker and participated in local league competitions. He attended Exeter Episcopal School, where he was a swimming champion and represented his county at water polo.
In 1938, Pulman entered the British Boys Billiards Championship but left his cue on the train on his way to the event at Burroughes Hall. He was invited to choose a cue from a selection at the venue, and he used that particular cue for the rest of his career. In his first match at the event, against Barrie Smith (later known professionally as John Barrie), Pulman was 199–196 ahead in a 200-up match when he ran a coup. Smith then got the points he needed to win. The cue that Pulman had chosen included a metal plate with professional Sidney Smith's name engraved on it; he later filed Smith's name off, as he felt he could not play exhibition matches with a cue bearing another professional's name.
During World War II, Pulman was enlisted in the army for three months, making wings for Spitfires, before being discharged on medical grounds; he later told journalist Terry Smith that he had varicose veins.
In 1946, Pulman won the English Amateur Championship title, with a 5–3 win over Albert Brown in the final. Aged 20, Pulman was the youngest player to win the event since it was established in 1916. Working as an income tax clerk, he took the decision to become a professional player shortly after the championship, having taken advice from Joe Davis, the reigning World Champion. Later that year, he made his first two century breaks, just ten days apart.
At the start of his professional career, Pulman was living at the home of his patron Bill Lampard, who was a baker from Bristol and a member of the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC). Lampard built a billiard room at his house, where Pulman was able to practise. Snooker historian Clive Everton alleged that this arrangement ended after Pulman was discovered in bed with Lampard's wife. Pulman practised playing snooker for eight hours a day over several years, in pursuit of a level of consistency that would bring him to the standard of the top professionals. Shortly after turning professional, he had started wearing spectacles for playing snooker, using the same type of swivel-lens glasses that were worn by his fellow professional Fred Davis.
John Pulman
Herbert John Pulman (12 December 1923 – 25 December 1998) was an English professional snooker player who was the World Snooker Champion from 1957 to 1968. He first won the title at the 1957 Championship and retained it across seven challenges from 1964 to 1968, three of them against Fred Davis and two against Rex Williams. When the tournament reverted to a knockout event in 1969, he lost 18–25 in the first round to the eventual champion John Spencer. After finishing as runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1970, Pulman never again reached the final, although he was a losing semi-finalist in 1977.
He turned professional in 1946, shortly after winning the English Amateur Championship, and achieved three News of the World Snooker Tournament titles, in 1954, 1957 and 1958. An emotional player, he was prone to venting his frustration and missing important shots. He generally played attacking snooker in his early career, but he made more use of safety tactics in the 1970s.
Pulman became a television commentator towards the end of his playing career and retired from competitive play in 1981 after breaking his leg in a traffic accident. He died in 1998 following a fall down the stairs at his home. He was one of the inaugural inductees to the World Snooker Hall of Fame in 2011, alongside seven other winners of multiple world championships.
Herbert John Pulman, known as John Pulman, was born on 12 December 1923 in Teignmouth, Devon, England. His father was Ernest Charles Pulman, a master baker and confectioner, and his mother was Ernest's wife Gertrude Mary Pulman, née Kent. In 1929, Ernest Pulman sold his bakery and confectionery business, and the family moved to Plymouth, where he bought a billiard hall with two tables. Coached by his father, John Pulman started playing billiards at the age of nine and made his first billiards century break aged twelve. In his teenage years he also played snooker and participated in local league competitions. He attended Exeter Episcopal School, where he was a swimming champion and represented his county at water polo.
In 1938, Pulman entered the British Boys Billiards Championship but left his cue on the train on his way to the event at Burroughes Hall. He was invited to choose a cue from a selection at the venue, and he used that particular cue for the rest of his career. In his first match at the event, against Barrie Smith (later known professionally as John Barrie), Pulman was 199–196 ahead in a 200-up match when he ran a coup. Smith then got the points he needed to win. The cue that Pulman had chosen included a metal plate with professional Sidney Smith's name engraved on it; he later filed Smith's name off, as he felt he could not play exhibition matches with a cue bearing another professional's name.
During World War II, Pulman was enlisted in the army for three months, making wings for Spitfires, before being discharged on medical grounds; he later told journalist Terry Smith that he had varicose veins.
In 1946, Pulman won the English Amateur Championship title, with a 5–3 win over Albert Brown in the final. Aged 20, Pulman was the youngest player to win the event since it was established in 1916. Working as an income tax clerk, he took the decision to become a professional player shortly after the championship, having taken advice from Joe Davis, the reigning World Champion. Later that year, he made his first two century breaks, just ten days apart.
At the start of his professional career, Pulman was living at the home of his patron Bill Lampard, who was a baker from Bristol and a member of the Billiards Association and Control Council (BA&CC). Lampard built a billiard room at his house, where Pulman was able to practise. Snooker historian Clive Everton alleged that this arrangement ended after Pulman was discovered in bed with Lampard's wife. Pulman practised playing snooker for eight hours a day over several years, in pursuit of a level of consistency that would bring him to the standard of the top professionals. Shortly after turning professional, he had started wearing spectacles for playing snooker, using the same type of swivel-lens glasses that were worn by his fellow professional Fred Davis.