Joseph Bennett (1842-1905) was an English champion player of English billiards. He was the billiards champion three times when it was played on a challenge basis.

Biography

Bennett was born in 1842 in Town Malling,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, and played his first

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

match aged 22. In November 1870, Bennett played John Roberts Jr. for the Billiards Championship and £200, and won the title with the scoreline 1,000-905. The match was watched by over 300 spectators. Roberts beat Bennett 1,000-637 the following year, in January 1871, to regain the title. Bennett made a further unsuccessful title challenge in November 1871, losing 942–1,000 to William Cook, but won the title again in November 1880, beating Cook 1,000-949. Bennett successfully defended the title in January 1881, beating Tom Taylor 1,000-910. During the match against Taylor, Bennett set a new championship record of 125. In September 1881, Bennett, who had broken his arm when being thrown out of a gig, resigned the title when challenged by Cook. He made one further unsuccessful challenge for the title, losing 1,360-3,000 against Roberts in June 1885. He taught billiards in London. Following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

1904, he died on 17 January 1905 at his home in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, from "

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

following a state of

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

Titles won

*28 November 1870, 1,000–905 against John Roberts, Jr. *8 November 1880, 1,000–949 against William Cook *12–13 January 1881, 1,000–910 against

Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of Punch (magazine), ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literatu ...

In fiction

Bennett is briefly mentioned in ''

Flashman at the Charge ''Flashman at the Charge'' is a 1973 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fourth of the Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman novels. ''Playboy'' magazine serialised ''Flashman at the Charge'' in 1973 in their April, May and June issues. The ser ...

'' (1973) by

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...

References

External links

Joseph Bennett biography at the Billiard and Snooker Heritage Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Joseph English players of English billiards World champions in English billiards 1842 births 1905 deaths Sportspeople from Kent People from West Malling People from Mayfair Sportspeople from the City of Westminster