Warren Alwyn Simpson (28 March 1922 – 28 June 1980) was an Australian

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each long side. First played by British Army officers stationed in Ind ...

player. He was world amateur champion before turning professional in the early 1960s.

Career

Simpson won amateur championships at state and national level before becoming world amateur champion in 1954. He played an exhibition against world professional champion Fred Davis in 1960 and later turned professional. Simpson reached the final of the

1971 World Snooker Championship The 1971 World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker tournament that took place between 28 September and 7 November 1970 in Australia. The tournament was the 1971 edition of the World Snooker Championship, first held in 1927 but was h ...

, losing 37–29 to John Spencer in a match played in Sydney, Australia in November 1970. Simpson competed in three further World Championships between 1973 and 1975. In 1974, despite suffering from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

, he discharged himself from hospital to play in his match against

Bernard Bennett Bernard Bennett (31 August 1931 – 12 January 2002) was an English former professional player of snooker and English billiards, whose career spanned twenty-six years between 1969 and 1995. Bennett was a stalwart of professional snooker an ...

, but lost 8–2. He suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

for many years and died in 1980, aged 58. He was married and had a son.

Career titles

* New South Wales Snooker Championship: 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957 * Australia National Snooker Championship: 1953, 1954, 1957 *

Australian Professional Championship The Australian Professional Championship was a professional snooker tournament which was open only for Australian or Australian-based players. History From 1963 to 1974 the Australian Professional Championship was held on a challenge basis and d ...

: 1963, 1968, 1969

References

Australian snooker players 1980 deaths 1922 births Sportsmen from New South Wales {{Australia-sport-bio-stub