Player Profile: Albert Salisbury

The Lone Billiard Player

Albert 'Snowy' Salisbury

I first met Albert Salisbury on the 12th of January, 1974. I'm not too sure that, 'met' is the right word. It was on that day that I played him in the Amateur Championship. I'm not sure that, 'played' is quite the right word either. I think that the word I really need is 'watched.' It is quite possible that I hold a record for the English Amateur Championship. The record being that I have played in five different areas, four of them from the same address! That, of course was in the heyday of the B&SCC. 1974 saw me in the Cambridgeshire area and I was drawn to play a chap called Salisbury who I had never heard of. The evening before the match I had two big century breaks and felt confident. During the match I couldn't manage even a fifty and spent most of the time watching my opponent make break after break and all off the red ball. In the four-hour match I scored just over 600 whilst, "Snowy," as he is sometimes called, scored getting on for 1300. It was one of those games that is rather like a visit to the dentist. I couldn't wait for it to end. Afterwards I just exchanged a couple of words with Albert before gathering my tail from between my legs and making an ignominious exit. He said that he did play the top-of-the-table and the all round game but had felt safer on the red ball because the table had a new cloth and he didn't like going to the spot end on a new cloth. It sounded a likely story then and I'm not too sure about it even now. The only certain thing was that this chap was a very good player and a lot better than I was. All this was twenty years ago. Like so many players he has become much better known since there has been something to play in the shape of Mini-Prix and ABC.

Albert Salisbury was born in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire a little before the war, he still lives there He had three brothers and four sisters all of whom were interested in sports and games of one sort or another, and Albert himself enjoyed football being a regular with the Chatteris Town F.C. for about twenty years. Billiards became his first love when he was about fourteen and after he had seen an exhibition game between Horace Lindrum and Joe Davis. He recalls Joe scoring the limit off the red, then 75, and being totally hooked - he still is. He was nineteen when he made his first century and recalls it being whilst on leave from the Army before departing to complete his National Service in Hong Kong.

Cambridgeshire is well known for its agricultural produce and on returning to Chatteris, Albert eventually went into the fruit and veg business as a grower. This is not the easy life that some might think involving, as it does, long hours of work and being quite at the mercy of the weather. As a consequence, Albert was not able to spend as much time on the billiards table as he would have liked but, self-taught, started to develop into a better-than-average performer. He says himself that he thought he knew how to play the game until, like a number of other players from his area, he came under the influence of John Barrie and began to play with him. He then realised that his knowledge was really very elementary and, "'d wasted the best years of my life playing wrong. "ell, whether he had been, "laying wrong, "r not he had managed to get to the stage where he could make regular centuries in practice on his own table with a lone-practice best of 799. However, it was not all lone practice. Breaks of 234 unfinished in the March and District league, a 248 in the Eastern Counties league (against Phil Welham,) a 228 in the Cambridge Cup, a 156 unfinished in the Cambs league, and many other centuries all bear testimony to his ability.

It is not too long ago that Mark Wildman asked him to take a look at a promising young local and teach him the basics. The promising young player was Roxton Chapman, at that time just about in the 50 break class. Roxton's rise to prominence is part of recent billiards history and was against him that Albert made his highest break against an opponent - 398.

His list of individual successes include winning the Cambridgeshire Championship seven times, and also winning the East Anglia Championship. Although the game has recently become more difficult as he tries to get used to having to wear spectacles, Albert still tries to get a little practice most days and plays at, "The Court," Peterborough, twice a week, Mike Russell in the morning and Roxton Chapman in the afternoon. It's not all fielding out though he has been on the receiving end of some pretty big breaks, not that this bothers him much as he takes a keen interest in the progress of both of these fine players.

"Snowy" has some strong views on billiards which make a lot of sense. For example:-

From his own experience of learning the game:-

As regards the controversial professional 150 format:-

That is Albert Salisbury. A devoted enthusiast of the old school, not one who is always harking back to some kind of mythical golden age that perhaps never really existed anyway, but one who looks with optimism to the future of the game.

To finish on a personal note Albert. You will perhaps notice that this issue of the BQR contains a number of suggestions for various rule changes. Now, if I ever again play you in the Amateur Championship, I am going to insist that the rules be changed, just for that one game, to allow only three consecutive in-offs the red I don't suppose it would make much difference to the result.

We done Albert, see you at the ABC.