Eddie Charlton

Edward Francis Charlton (31 October 1929 – 7 November 2004) was an Australian professional snooker and billiards player. He remains the only player to have been world championship runner-up in both snooker and billiards without winning either title. He later became a successful marketer of sporting goods, launching a popular brand of billiard room equipment bearing his name.

Early life Charlton was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and came from a sporting family. His grandfather ran a billiards club in Swansea, New South Wales, and Charlton began playing cue sports when he was nine years old. At the age of eleven, he defeated fellow Australian Walter Lindrum in a wartime snooker exhibition match, Reardon moved into a 17–13 lead, and was 27–25 up after seven sessions of play. At the start of the eighth session, Reardon was affected by the bright lighting that had been installed for the purposes of television coverage, and he lost the first three frames. He complained about the lighting, and two large lights that were focused on the audience were switched off. From 27–28 behind, Reardon won four of the next five frames in the session, and sustained the momentum for an eventual 38–32 victory. According to snooker historian Clive Everton, "Charlton's dogged consistency proved no match for Reardon's flair and wider range of shots."

Charlton faced Reardon in the final of the 1975 World Snooker Championship in a match of 61 frames. Reardon led 16–8, but Charlton then won the next nine frames to take the lead. Reardon was ahead at 22–20, but Charlton won nine of the following ten frames to lead 29–23. Reardon produced a seven-frame winning streak to leave himself needing one further frame at 30–29, then Charlton won the 60th frame. In the , Reardon made a 62 break, and secured his victory at 31–30.

He reached the final of the 1991 World Seniors Championship and was a frame away from clinching the title when he led Cliff Wilson 4–2. According to the match report in Snooker Scene magazine, Charlton then "started to falter in a fashion all too familiar with his failures on the brink of other world titles", and he lost 4–5.

His last major achievement at the World Championship was his 10–9 first-round win over Cliff Thorburn at the 1989 World Championship. He qualified for the 1990 and 1991 World Championships but lost in the first round on both occasions. Charlton's final appearance at the Crucible came in 1992, where he was defeated 10–0 by defending champion John Parrott in the first round, the only recorded in the World Championship until 2019.

Charlton was known for playing with a very straight cue action and rarely hitting the ball with any , when a less conservative approach might have paid dividends.

Personal life Always active in the organisation and promotion of the game, Charlton was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1980. He formed the Australian Professional Players Association and was responsible for bringing many of the top players to play in Australia. He released a 30-minute beginners' instructional video, Eddie Charlton's Snooker, Pool & Trick Shots, in PAL VHS format. In 1993 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. He stopped competing in 1995 and died in Palmerston North, New Zealand on 8 November 2004 following an operation.

Performance and rankings timeline

Performance Table LegendLQ lost in the qualifying draw#R lost in the early rounds of the tournament(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)QF lost in the quarter-finalsSF lost in the semi-finalsF lost in the finalW won the tournamentDNQ did not qualify for the tournamentA did not participate in the tournamentWD withdrew from the tournament NH / not held means an event was not held.NR / Non-ranking event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.R / Ranking event means an event is/was a ranking event.

Career finals Ranking finals: 1 Legend World Championship (0–1) Other (0–0)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreRunner-up 1. 1975 World Snooker Championship (3) 30–31

Non-ranking finals: 34 (26 titles) Legend World Championship (0–2) Other (26–6)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreWinner 1. 1963 Australian Professional Championship 46–45Runner-up 2. 1964 Australian Professional Championship Winner 2. 1965 Australian Professional Championship (2) Winner 3. 1965 Commonwealth Snooker Championship Winner 4. 1966 Australian Professional Championship (3) 7–4Winner 5. 1967 Australian Professional Championship (4) 7–1Runner-up 2. 1968 World Snooker Championship 34–39Runner-up 3. 1968 Australian Professional Championship (2) 10–11Winner 6. 1968 World Open Matchplay Championship 43–30Winner 7. 1969 Australian Professional Championship (5) 8–3Winner 8. 1969 Australasian Championship 11–6Winner 9. 1970 Australian Professional Championship (6) Winner 10. 1971 Australian Professional Championship (7) 11–7Winner 11. 1971 Hunter Valley Championship 5–4Winner 12. 1972 Pot Black 1–0Winner 13. 1972 Marrickville Professional Winner 14. 1972 Australian Professional Championship (8) 19–10Winner 15. 1973 Pot Black (2) 1–0Runner-up 4. 1973 World Snooker Championship (2) 32–38Winner 16. 1973 Australian Professional Championship (9) 31–10Winner 17. 1974 Australian Professional Championship (10) 44–17Winner 18. 1975 Australian Professional Championship (11) 31–10Winner 19. 1976 Australian Professional Championship (12) WalkoverWinner 20. 1976 World Professional Match-play Championship 31–24Winner 21. 1977 Australian Professional Championship (13) 25–21Winner 22. 1978 Australian Professional Championship (14) 29–13Winner 23. 1979 Kronenbrau 1308 Classic 7–4Winner 24. 1979 Limosin International 23–19Winner 25. 1980 Pot Black (3) 2–1Runner-up 5. 1982 Pot Black 0–2Runner-up 6. 1982 Australian Masters 100–254 pointsWinner 26. 1984 Australian Professional Championship (15) 10–3Runner-up 7. 1985 Australian Professional Championship (3) 7–10Runner-up 8. 1987 Australian Professional Championship (4) 7–10

Team finals: 2 (1 title) OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipTeam/partnerOpponent(s) in the finalScoreWinner 1. 1975 Ladbroke International Rest of the World Cumulative scoreRunner-up 1. 1988 World Cup 7–9

Seniors finals: 1 OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScoreRunner-up 1. 1991 World Seniors Championship 4–5

In popular culture

Charlton appeared in a comedy sketch in a 1992 episode of ABC Television's The Late Show, alongside Mick Molloy. The sketch begins with Charlton, as himself, competing in a televised professional snooker game, then being interrupted by a comically boorish Molloy, behaving as if it were a casual eight-ball game in an Australian pub, demanding to play against Charlton and insisting the game be played according to "pub rules". The game proceeds, with Molloy heckling and interfering so much that Molloy wins the game with Charlton failing to pocket a single ball. At Molloy's suggestion, in accordance with unwritten rules of Australian pub pool, Charlton proceeds to drop his trousers and run a lap of the table.