Ray Reardon: six-time world snooker champion dies aged 91 after cancer battle
Ray Reardon, the six-time snooker world champion has died at the age of 91 after a battle with cancer.
Fondly known by his fans as “Dracula” thanks to his dramatic widow’s peak hairline, the former coal miner ruled snooker in the 1970s and was the first player to be ranked “world number one” when rankings were introduced.
His death at the age of 91-years-old has been announced by World Snooker and comes just after Reardon became one of the oldest players in history to hit a century break in November 2023.
A statement on WST's website said: "Ray Reardon, widely regarded as one of the greatest snooker players ever and a six-time world champion, has died at the age of 91."
Born in Tredegar, south Wales, Reardon won six world titles, including four in a row from 1973 to 1976. He dominated the sport, marking his final World Snooker Championship win in 1978 at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield at the age of 45. He was the oldest world champion in history, until the record was broken by Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2022, who Reardon had coached in 2004.
His wife Carol has confirmed the news of his passing, with tributes for the late snooker legend pouring in, with three-time world champion Mark Williams leading the tributes describing him as “the best snooker player”.
Williams said: “Ray is one of the best sports people ever from Wales and the best snooker player. He’s one of the reasons why a lot of us started playing. He put snooker on the map, alongside Alex Higgins, Jimmy White and Steve Davis. Anyone playing now owes them a lot because they brought popularity to the game. He is a real inspiration.”
Whilst Snooker player Shaun Murphy took to X, describing him as a “total gentleman” in a dedicated post. Murphy wrote: “What a man you were Ray. An absolute animal on the table, and a total gentleman off it. It was an honour to spend time with you whether we played Snooker or Golf - I’ll treasure every minute. Rest in peace.”