A meeting with the Whirlwind

Snooker legend Jimmy White sat down with MaXimumbreak's Geraint Williams to talk about his remarkable career and the future.

It was a sunny mid-November morning and I made my way to the Royal Surrey Snooker Club in Morden via the tube located at the end of the Northern line.

 

With me I carried a triangular shaped, heavy-duty aluminium case. Many times I sensed travelling passengers eyes fixate on me, or at least the case – their faces wearing the expression of ‘what the heck is that?’

 

After changing onto the Victoria line from the Piccadilly, I took a seat in a quiet carriage opposite a gentleman who I immediately could tell knew exactly what it was from his knowing smile.

 

“What’s your highest break?” he asked me.

“Sixty-seven”, I replied.

 

There was a pause, as I didn’t really want to engage in conversation. I wanted to reach for the book in my bag to skip through the final few chapters as a reminder. But at the same time I didn’t want to appear rude so I returned the question.

 

“Eighty-six”, he told me, although I wasn't sure if he was just plucking a number from mid-air at random.

 

He went on to say that the ‘line-up’ drill is the best way to practise - a familiar method to professionals where all the reds are lined up in a straight line between the blue and top cushion near the black spot. I agreed with him but stated that it’s a lot easier than making a big break from usual open play.  

 

Sensing a natural end to our brief staccato chat I took the black hard-back book from my bag as inconspicuously as I could to do that last minute read-up. It was no use though and the man noticed the title and so struck up conversation again.

 

“Is it any good?”, he asked.

 

Not one for name-dropping, I thought I should bite my tongue but my heart was bursting with pride and I couldn’t help come out with it.

 

“I’m on my way to meet him and I’m just doing some last minute research”, I said.

 

He departed at the next stop and wished me luck and an enjoyable meeting.

 

I soon reached my destination and I was in plenty of time with some spare to kill. So I grabbed a quick coffee across the road from the club to collect my thoughts and as the moment drew closer I felt my heart beat increasing.

 

On entering the club I saw two young lads near the exit just checking their footage on camera that they had just filmed for a new DVD. We quickly introduced ourselves stating our respective media companies that we were interviewing for and they told me, by way of assurance, that he was in ‘good form’.

 

A tall, older gentleman then greeted me and led me down a long corridor, decorated with portrait pictures of luminaries from snooker’s ‘golden age’ of the 1980s to early 90s. All were displayed in impressive, ornate frames that would not have looked out of place in the National Gallery.

 

As we reached the top of the stairs, a huge space with a number of poker tables opened up before my eyes.

 

Having struggled to grasp my name and the pronunciation of it, the man shouted across the room.

 

“Jimmy, it’s the guy from Eurosport for you!” and he pointed me in his direction.

 

“Hi Jimmy”, I called out as he welcomed and gestured warmly for me to join him.

 

His handshake was soft and gentle and that of his manager Kevin Kelly, who was sat opposite across the table as they paused their game of cards, was considerably firmer.

 

White asked me what I would like from him and I explained that I had in mind a simple, general chat recorded over a frame or two.

 

“Oh no! I can’t”, he exclaimed. “I’ve just sent my cue to Parris (the cue makers) to get it re-tipped”.

 

My heart sank a little but any disappointment was tempered by the initial elation I felt at being in his company.

 

Fearing that this could be my one and only chance to play the great Whirlwind, and charged by my editor to actually beat him, I spoke up.

 

“You can use mine!” I pleaded in a desperate attempt to rescue the idea.

 

With a loud bellowing laugh, White responded. “No, I can’t”, he said apologetically. “I’ve got to have my own cue to play”.

And so we talked while he played cards, his large hands with fingers like thick pork sausages holding a winning set splayed out like a peacock’s plumage.

 

I totally understood of course, him needing his own cue to play. Long gone are the days when he used to borrow a different cue every time he visited Zan’s club in Tooting as a young schoolboy.

 

Even when players started refusing to let him borrow theirs (probably through resentment at his natural ability and skill) he once resorted to using a walking stick he had acquired after breaking his ankle through a mistimed hurdle of a ticket barrier on the tube from fare-dodging. He could still pot balls with it like nobody else though.

 

But really, your own cue is like an appendage - an extension of your own body and using anyone else’s just isn’t the same.

 

Much to my relief White quickly allayed my disappointment by offering an open invitation to pop down and give him a game anytime.

 

He’s down at the club practising four to six hours a day, everyday, after all. These days, no longer can he survive on a mere couple of hours at the practise table as he did in his prime, he explained.

 

With it being a game of touch and feel that requires immense focus and concentration, you have to keep at it, going through the routine.

 

The hours put in appear to be reaping rewards so far. Jimmy qualified for the first two tournaments this year which is no mean feat given the number of rising young stars in the game, and only narrowly missed out on the recent Bahrain Championship.

 

With the sharp increase of time spent in training it’s a good thing he admits to still enjoying it, which he emphasised is the ‘main thing’.

 

I could sense he still has a competitive edge from the card game he was playing. His ability with beady eyes to point out any errors in his playing partner’s dealing or any other misdemeanours, while I fired a barrage of questions at him was uncanny.

Jimmy has his own private practise room at the Royal Surrey club, which is resplendent with classic memorabilia.

 

The walls are covered in an array of pictures including stylish black and white photographs with him and his old mate Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins and many others.

 

There are blown up poster-sized images from front-page glossy lads mags and computer game endorsements, plus giant-sized prize winning cheques for vast sums that are more commonly seen at big charity events. 

 

Visiting sparring partners to his abode at present include David Gray, Barry Hawkins and Tony Drago - who provide good quality match practice for upcoming visits to Sheffield, with qualifiers for the UK Championship, and Masters on the horizon (barring the possibility of a wildcard entry for the latter).

 

White won the UK Championship, his biggest ranking tournament success, back in 1992 and described how if he was to get through the qualifiers in the first week of December he would progress to play Ronnie O’Sullivan which would be a “dream come true”.

 

I remarked how strange it was to hear such a description of an ambition in mind, when not long ago ‘The Rocket’ would have used similar words about the prospect of playing the great Jimmy White himself. But such is the precocious ability of the current world number one that the most glowing of tributes from the former world number two do not seem misplaced.

 

There’s also the qualifiers for the World Championships, snooker’s biggest prize, in the north Wales coastal town of Prestatyn for him to work towards.

 

White has played on-and-off at the Pontin’s holiday camp there for over 33 years and as my family home is now in the bordering county of Conwy we make general chit-chat about the area.

 

I recalled a story in the local paper that he once visited a Royal British Legion in Llandudno to do a little practise but was refused. A league match happened to be taking place at that time and as one of the players had travelled some distance a suspension in play, even for Jimmy, was not deemed appropriate. White took the opportunity to put the record straight however. He understood and accepted the decision as opposed to feeling aggrieved as reported in the press.

 

Seizing the chance to increase my chances of playing him once again, with a wry smile I explained that should the scenario happen again he’d be very welcome at my old club, the Crosville Social.

 

After subliminally mentioning the World Championships earlier with reference to the qualifiers I tentatively broach the subject once more but this time referring to the past rather than the future.

 

“Ask me anything you like”, he said, picking up on my unease at raising the sore subject. “Relax!”

 

‘I am relaxed’, I thought to myself, pleased that I hadn’t become so starstruck that I was completely incapable of managing to speak with reasonable coherence and lucidity.

 

On the disappointment of losing the 1992 final 18-14 after leading 14-8, and again in ’93 when he was thrashed 18-5 with a session to spare, he simply shrugged off the reminders aside saying, “Well, he played well did (Stephen) Hendry”.

 

I detailed the agony I felt the following year when I watched on, sometimes peering through the gaps of my fingers such was the unbearable tension. Again he lost, which was to be one of the most dramatic finals ever, 18-17 after missing a routine black off the spot in the deciding frame.

 

With a flippant riposte White remains philosophical. “It’s only sport though, these things happen”, he said. He reminded me though that he is “not finished yet” and that the question of how he feels about the World Championships and those finals should be reserved for when he has stopped playing.

 

When it comes to recent changes in the game he believes the absence of tobacco sponsorship and the smoking ban itself are no bad things with youngsters looking up to snooker stars as role models.

 

And White believes the massive popularity the game now has in China needs to be utilised as far as sponsorship deals are concerned - although he draws the line at the idea of the World Championship ever moving away from the Crucible.

 

Before leaving the Royal Surrey club I was invited to a game with a prodigy of Jimmy’s by the name of Jake Gill. As I entered Jimmy’s magical haven the promising 17-year old was doing the ‘line-up’ before his father Colin, who welcomed me as I first entered the club, racked the balls up.

 

I lost the match 2-0 but by no means disgraced myself. By the time we were finished another media outfit arrived to film and interview White.

 

After packing my cue back in its case I go to thank White and his manager for being so generous with their time.

 

“It’s a dream come true”, I told Jimmy. And he responded with his customary farewell greeting which was also the phrase my father used to teach me the left-to-right positioning of the green, brown and yellow. “God Bless You!” he said.

 

Alan McManus & Jimmy White's Absolute Snooker DVD contains all of their professional tips and secrets to improve your game. The DVD also features the first ever 155 break and is out NOW at www.odeonent.co.uk for £14.99!!