Snooker - the riley championship
 

I've attached an old family photo (c.1925-30...? - of my maternal grandfather - Tom Wells, back 1st left) in the hope that someone may just be able to date it a little more precisely than I can...? Also, someone may be able to tell me a bit more about The Riley Championship &/or Snooker in Accrington back in the good old days! I'm related to 3 in the photo, but don't know who the remaining chaps are.
Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks.
KTB

Re: Snooker - the riley championship
 

My father played Snooker and Billiards back in those days, he had a lot of photos taken when he was playing started in the leagues in 1934 at the age of 14, looking at the one you posted some of the faces do look familiar, maybe they were in some of my father photos too

Re: Snooker - the riley championship
 

The Riley Shield was played for in the Sunday school league, my husband Colin Wood played for Springhill Methodist on Richmond rd, as did his father and grandad. In later years the forties up to the seventies Springhill used to win most snooker/billiards competitions. We have a picture from about 1949-50 with the team on. The Riley shield was a competition for single players and my husband won it two or three times.

Re: Snooker - the riley championship
 

The main competition was the Observer Cup - originally for billiards and then for snooker.
I believe that the original cup was won by the same person for the first three years of the competition by Frank Hoyle, who was presented with the cup after which he retired. The competition changed to snooker and he came out of retirement to win it again 3 times in succession.
The original cup was donated back to the Observer as the Hoyle Cup for the best newcomer in the competion every year.
I would very much like to trace the location of it now in order that it could be used to encourage youth sport in the town.

Re: Snooker - the riley championship
 

Used to go regular to the Observer Cup Final, at the owd Drill Hall, Seem to recall Bernard Houlahan winning one year.?:)

Re: Snooker - the riley championship
 

Good lad was Bernard worked with him at Shopfitters and we played in the works snooker team as Ossy Con "B" in the early 70s