Walter Lindrum once said to me, "Tom, you must practice until you almost break your back. I am irritated when I hear people say that proficiency at billiards is the sign of a misspent youth. If such were the case, do you think I would have been invited by the late King George V to give a command performance at Buckingham Palace?" The expressions "pool room" and "billiard saloon" do not sound respectable to some people, but I would point out that all the leading amateur and professional players acquired their skills at billiards and snooker within the confines of sporting and social clubs. At the age of fifteen years I commenced to learn billiards at the CYMS Club in Yarraville, which was a non-licensed club. It is a pity that young people are unable to join licensed clubs until they are 21 years of age, although they may drive a motorcar when 18. The appeal of billiards passes by these young people because they are not being presented with an opportunity to learn the game in the most favourable circumstances.
When I was 21, I was playing No. 1 for the Yarraville CYMS team. My good friend and mentor, Fred Guest, then thought that it was time that I had a crack at some of Melbourne's leading amateurs, so he arranged a match for me with Jim Bracy, one of the leading players at that time. The match took place on a Sunday afternoon at the St Kilda Tradesmen's Club, of which Jim was a member. Fred and I, accompanied by a few supporters, journeyed to St Kilda by train. No doubt some of the billiards enthusiasts had heard of me, as a good crowd was in attendance.
The match was to be 500 up, and was refereed by the late Charles Allen, who was a 100-break player and was to become one of Melbourne's leading bookmakers. At first I found the table somewhat strange and, furthermore, I was a little nervous, so that I started off poorly. I overheard Charlie Allen remark to Fred Guest that he was sorry for me. Indeed, I was feeling sorry for myself! However, at last I made position at the top of the table and managed a break of 115. Many of the onlookers were mildly astonished as they had not previously witnessed this type of play. The match finally resulted in a narrow victory to me and, needless to say, I was very pleased and so was Fred Guest. Charlie Allen then remarked "Within two years this lad will be the Victorian Champion", and from that day he became one of my best supporters.
I was immediately invited to play with the St Kilda Club in the South Suburban Billiards Association competition, and eventually I played No 2 in the team under Jim Bracy. That same year I won the single-handed championship of the Association, defeating Bracy in the final. Jim, of course, was the warm favourite to win that title and his name had already been engraved on a beautiful silver cup. However, one week later I was the proud owner of that trophy - which then bore my name! This trophy was my first and it still takes pride of place in my home.
These events marked my entry into the wider field of competitive billiards, in which I was further assisted by Fred Guest. At my first try at the Victorian Title I reached the quarter-final stage, to be defeated by Bill Carter, an excellent red ball player. In the following year (1935) I reached the final and was opposed to Charles Norman, a member of the South Yarra Club, who was a double strength player and very hard to beat. In this match I was a little "jittery" and did not employ much top of the table play, being content to rely upon the all-round game. However, I managed to win by 150.
In the following year I again reached the final, this time to be opposed by Fred Hancock, who could play top of the table. I was afraid to match my "top" against his and decided to again play all-round billiards. Much to my dismay, Fred easily defeated me. But I learned this lesson: a good top of the table player would always beat a good all-round player. I did not fall into this error again and thereafter concentrated on top of the table, with continuing success.
The winner of this match was selected to represent Victoria in the Australian Championship to be played in South Australia. The winner of the Australian Title was then to travel to South Africa to compete in the British Empire Amateur Billiards Championship (as the World Championship was then known). It was confidently expected that Fred Hancock would win the National Title and get the overseas trip - but that was not to be.
At this time Bob Marshall had won the Western Australian Title and was entered for the National Title event. He had a big reputation, but his amateur status was suspect. The amateur rules were strictly controlled and certain people in the inner circle of billiards administration were suggesting that Bob Marshall would not make the grade as an amateur. It was rumoured that Bob's father had conducted a billiard saloon in the West and that Bob had worked for him. From a strict amateur viewpoint this was "taboo" and for this reason some people considered that Bob would not be allowed to compete in the Australian Championship series.
Fred Hancock knew of all this and naturally continued to practice furiously, with an eye on the overseas trip. If this eventuated, he was to be accompanied by a manager- Jack Oke - who was the billiards writer for a Melbourne evening newspaper. At that time, in direct contrast given to billiards by way of news coverage today, the game received fairly wide publicity in the daily press. Jack Oke made the trip to Adelaide as a Victorian Delegate and he met with the Delegates from the other States to investigate the amateur status of Bob Marshall.
After a meeting lasting about ten hours, the Delegates voted 3 to 2 against Bob competing in the National Title series, which then commenced. Fred Hancock easily won his first match and looked to be the certain winner of the Title. Then came a sensation! A special meeting of Delegates was called to further investigate the position of Marshall and next morning it was announced that he was to play in the Championship series after all. It appeared that the Delegate from New South Wales had changed his mind. Bob duly won the Australian Title and went on to South Africa to annex the World Title, proving himself to be the best amateur billiards player in the world. Fred Hancock was very disappointed at the turn of events and never competed again in a championship.