YEARS AGO…

A friend and I went to an exhibition at Walton Snooker Centre in Hersham to see Jimmy White and John Virgo.

The Walton Snooker Centre was a great club – with Jim Bates managing both the Lyons Road and Genesis House venues.

It was an enjoyable evening. The snooker was brilliant. But one event that happened there really stuck with me.

It was when White was taking a shot. Virgo, who sadly passed away yesterday at 79, was refereeing and picking the balls out of the pockets. Suddenly, a crumple of a packet of crisps could be heard from a person in the small gathering. It wasn’t loud, but it was obviously loud enough for Virgo to turn around, and, for one instance, give a stern stare, before smiling and uttering: “Can I have one?”

What was a simple moment, became a moment of high comedy. Everyone laughed – but it was a moment of humour that highlights who John Virgo was.

An entertainer. A funny guy, and just a kind soul.

He will be sorely missed in the snooker community – and, his legacy in the game will be always remembered.

To his stint on Big Break in the 90s. His UK Championship 1979 win, and to his dulcet tones in the commentary box – and that famous line: “where’s the cue ball going?”

I have his John Virgo Trickshots DVD and the Book.

RIP JOHN VIRGO