Alexander "Alex" Gordon Higgins
(18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010)
Alex Higgins, also known by his nickname of Hurricane Higgins, was an Irish professional snooker player who was twice World Champion and runner-up on two occasions. Higgins earned the nickname The Hurricane due to his speed of play.
Higgins was also a former World Doubles champion with Jimmy White and won the World Cup three times with the All Ireland team.
Higgins, not only thrilled snooker fans in the Seventies and Eighties with his lightning pots, his daring shots and his impish good looks but, almost single-handedly, he turned what was once an old man’s game, played in smoky halls for a pittance in prize money, into a glitzy, glamorous sport.
Higgins, not only thrilled snooker fans in the Seventies and Eighties with his lightning pots, his daring shots and his impish good looks but, almost single-handedly, he turned what was once an old man’s game, played in smoky halls for a pittance in prize money, into a glitzy, glamorous sport.
Higgins claimed the world champion's crown at the first attempt, aged 22, and took it back again ten years later from Ray Reardon at the Crucible in Sheffield in 1982. Many feel that his finest hour came a year later at Preston Guildhall, when he came back from 7-0 down against the seemingly unbeatable Steve Davis to win the 1983 United Kingdom championship final 16-15.
In his heyday, he is thought to have earned more than £4 million from the sport during the 20 years he was at the height of his form – and spent the lot. He struggled with financial problems and drunkenness. Of late, he was living in sheltered accommodation in Belfast, existing on state handouts.
He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1997. Years of radiation treatment and two throat operations in the 1990s had destroyed his teeth and he hadn’t been able to eat solid food for two years, surviving on jars of baby food. Possibly the last time he appeared in public was at a Manchester fund-raising event in his honor in May when scores of his former rival players took pity on his plight and raised £20,000 to buy dental implants for him.
Though he said he was in remission from his illness, privately friends knew he would not survive much longer. He died in his native Belfast.
RIP
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He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1997. Years of radiation treatment and two throat operations in the 1990s had destroyed his teeth and he hadn’t been able to eat solid food for two years, surviving on jars of baby food. Possibly the last time he appeared in public was at a Manchester fund-raising event in his honor in May when scores of his former rival players took pity on his plight and raised £20,000 to buy dental implants for him.
Though he said he was in remission from his illness, privately friends knew he would not survive much longer. He died in his native Belfast.
RIP
