During this year’s World Snooker Championship, we’ll be recalling some of the most memorable moments that took place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
One can’t go through a series like this and choose to ignore the single most talked about moment in the history of the sport – as tempting as that may be.
It technically ended in the early hours of the following day, but for all intents and purposes the date of Sunday, April 28th in 1985 will be synonymous with Dennis Taylor’s encapsulating black ball victory over Steve Davis.
There’s not much need to go through what happened on that day because it’s been spoken of on umpteen occasions since and you’ve all seen the footage of the whimsical kiss, the winning pot, the wagging cue, and the wiggling finger.
If you’re new to snooker and reading this without the foggiest of what’s going on, just tune into the BBC coverage of this year’s World Snooker Championship and within five minutes you’ll be brought up to speed – probably by Dennis himself.
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In truth, there has rarely been drama like it – not only in snooker but across all sport and, of course, there’s the over frequently repeated spiel that 18.5 million people in the UK tuned in to watch it all unfold.
Those kinds of numbers might never be reproduced in snooker’s traditional home but its adopted abode in China can generate viewing figures that would dwarf anything that has gone before – not least if one of their own were to eventually win it.
Still, Taylor’s comeback triumph against then three-time champion Davis deserves to be remembered again and again as it really was that epic – the ultimate classic of all the classics.
This article has been updated and was originally published on April 28th, 2018.
Relive Dennis Taylor’s 1985 Black
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78rgfQYDjxo
