Jack Fitzmaurice (25 April 1928 – January 2005) was an English professional

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

player.

Career

Born in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

, Fitzmaurice was runner-up in the

English Amateur Championship The English Amateur Championship is an annual snooker competition, the highest-ranking and most prestigious amateur event in England. It is also the oldest and longest-running snooker tournament in the world, having been established in 1916, th ...

in 1958, defeated 8–11 by

Marcus Owen Marcus Willoughby Owen (4 April 1935 – December 1987) was a Welsh professional snooker player. Career Before turning professional, Owen won the English Under-16 Championship in 1949, and reached the final in 1950. Owen also won the Engli ...

in the final. He turned professional in 1981 at the age of 53. He reached the last 32 of the

1982 World Snooker Championship The 1982 World Snooker Championship (officially the 1982 Embassy World Snooker Championship) was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 30 April and 16 May 1982 at the Crucible Theatre, in Sheffield, England. It wa ...

, defeating

Mario Morra Mario Morra (1935 – October 2024) was an Italian film editor, director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Rome, Morra began working as an assistant editor in the early 1960s, and made his debut as film editor in 1964.Roberto Poppi. "M ...

9–7 before losing his match against

Kirk Stevens Kirk Stevens (born August 17, 1958) is a Canadian former professional snooker player. Career Stevens started playing young, achieving his first aged just 12. He turned professional aged 20, and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship ...

4–10. At the time of Fitzmaurice's death, the 548 minutes match duration of his defeat of Morra was still the longest best-of-seventeen frames match on record. Fitzmaurice never again progressed beyond the last 32 of a ranking tournament, recording his final victory at the 1997 European Open, 5–4 over

Ian Glover Ian Glover (born 8 November 1978) is a former professional snooker player from Doncaster. He practises at the Jeff Cundy snooker centre in Scunthorpe and the Sheffield Star Snooker Academy. His practice partners are the club's owner Jeff Cundy ...

. Without a ranking after the 1998–99 season, he played his final match in 2001 at the World Championship, losing 0–5 to Carl Stringer, and subsequently left the tour, concluding his professional career aged 73.

Personal life

Fitzmaurice died in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

in January 2005, aged 76.

References

English snooker players 1928 births 2005 deaths Sportspeople from Solihull {{England-snooker-bio-stub