Terry Griffiths – a Welsh legend in snooker with a very sharp wit
I was lucky enough to meet Terry Griffiths on several occasions when he was one of the stars who regularly supported Ken Hodgkinson in the Texaco Snooker Challenge, which was held annually for charity at the De Valance Pavilion - and what a fantastic venue it was as so many of the top players played there over the years, like fellow Welshmen Matthew Stephens, Mark Williams and Darren Morgan, plus world champs like Joe Johnson and Dennis Taylor, and young players like Peter Ebdon and Paul Hunter.
I was lucky to MC the events for a number of years and actually used to change into my hired dinner jacket, trousers and shoes in the same dressing room as them, most of whom stayed in a nearby hotel - but since Terry lived within easy travelling distance of the event he used to travel down each night and breeze into the dressing room, usually the last to arrive and say,
‘Right lads, the star of the show has arrived so it can start now!”
Some ignored his breezy introduction but one or two took exception to his lateness - and his over-confidence, as they saw it. I daren’t repeat some of those ‘earthy’ comments, even now!
Humour not appreciated by some of his colleagues
There were often a few light-hearted words then when he was asked to give the audience a treat by showing off his amazing array of trick-shots, when he would say that some of the others could do that because they were staying overnight and he had to drive a long way (about 50 miles) to his home near Llanelli!
I have to say that I found him very pleasant and helpful but when I announced him and he strolled nonchalantly down the stairs, after what I thought was a brilliant build up, he would shake my hand, give a huge smile but manage to say, half-jokingly, something like,
“You don’t half go on - just get on with it so I can go home!”
On the first occasion I was a bit worried but then I saw that he had the same ‘rapport’ with my friend and local match referee Phil Thomas, and top official Len Ganley, the jovial Irishman who used to officiate at all the top tournaments.
A remarkable career, starting as World champion!
Terry was a remarkable man because he worked at a variety of jobs didn’t join the pro-ranks until he was about 30, playing as a top amateur before that - and then won the World Professional Championship in Sheffield at his first attempt in 1979.
It was a fairy story as he went through the long qualification system and then beat top players Alex Higgins, Eddie Charlton and Dennis Taylor to win the title - and captured the hearts of all who watched him raise the trophy aloft.
World Masters champion with other great Welsh names
In 1980 he won the World Masters by beating Alex Higgins 9-5, with a final-frame break of 131 and completed snooker’s ‘Triple Crown’ in 1982 - and then was champion on the ‘Pot Black’ competition held weekly on Tuesday evenings. Throw in the inaugural World Team Challenge trophy with Ray Readon and Doug Mountjoy for the first two years of its existence and he was a real snooker star.
He reached the final of the World Championships again in 1988 but lost an epic final by 18-17 to Steve Davis.
His remarkable rise to fame was further enhanced when he was voted as ‘Welsh Sports Personality of the Year’ in 1979 and was the subject of ‘This is Your Like’ a year after that.
He reached the final of the World Championships again in 1988 but lost an epic final by 18-17 to Steve Davis.
And finally . . .
After he stepped down from playing, Terry became highly regarded as a top coach, taking on the role of Director of Coaching with the Billiards & Snooker Association and working with world-class players of the calibre of Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, Ding Junhui.
Perhaps his greatest off-table honour came in 2007 when he was awarded the OBE for his services to snooker and sadly, he passed away in 2024 with dementia.
He left behind a legacy of being one of Wales’ top sporting characters in his life and I will remember his razor-sharp wit, which I encountered several times when I was welcoming him into the spotlight at The De Valence in Tenby – and his reluctant skill as a player of trick shots which thrilled his audiences, when he could be persuaded to perform them!