John was born in Radcliffe, Lancashire started playing snooker aged 15 and within a very short time was compiling century breaks. After doing his national service he did not pick up a cue again seriously until 1963 and he entered the English Amateur Championship going all the way to the final only to lose to Ray Reardon. That was in 1964 and he reached the final again the next year but in 1966 he beat Marcus Owen to win the title. He then travelled to Karachi for the world amateur championships where he was runner-up, losing to Marcus’ older brother, Gary. He then turned professional along with Gary and Ray Reardon who became the first new professionals since 1951. The revival had begun.

In his first world championship, in 1969, he gained his revenge over Gary Owen, beating him 37 -24 to become champion. Reardon beat him in the semi-final in April 1970 but when, what were really the 1971 championships were played in Australia in November 1970, John took his second world title beating local man Warren Simpson in the final. He reached the final again in 1972 but Alex Higgins beat him on that occasion. More tournaments were now starting and he won the Norwich Union Open in 1973 and 1974 adding the inaugural Benson & Hedges Masters in 1975. He also took the first Embassy World Championship to be held at the Crucible in 1977 beating Cliff Thorburn 25-21. The first ever B & H Irish Masters also went to John in 1978. Three Pot Black titles also came his way.

John started to get double vision and wins became harder to get. He did win one more title, the Holsten Lager International in 1979. In the quarter-finals he made the first ever 147 maximum in tournament play but the TV cameras were not running. This was never recognised for record purposes due to oversize pockets. His eye problems became worse and he slipped further and further down the rankings. It was therefore a major achievement when, in 1987, he reached the quarter-finals of the Dulux British Open, eventually losing to Jimmy White.

He still kept playing, combining this with commentating for television but finally announced his retirement in 1992. He was an active member of snooker’s governing body, the WPBSA and for six years from 1990 was its chairman .

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