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Mark Wildman

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For the English bass, see Mark Wildman (singer).

Mark Wildman
Born(1936-01-25)25 January 1936
Died18 November 2024(2024-11-18) (aged 88)
Sport country England
Professional1979–1991
Highest ranking21(1984/1985)
Best ranking finishSemi-final (x1)

Markham Wildman (25 January 1936 – 18 November 2024) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player and cue sports commentator. He won the World Professional Billiards Championship in 1984, and was runner up in 1980 and 1982. He made the first televised snooker century break in 1960.

Biography

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Markham Wildman was born on 25 January 1936.[1][2] He attended Deacon's School, Peterborough.[3] Coached by his father Royce Wildman and by professional player John Barrie, he entered the 1950 British under-16 Billiards championship and lost 154-200 to Marcus Owen in the semi-finals.[3][4][5] He won the championship the following year by defeating John Burgess 400-355 in the final.[4]

He was the British under-19 winner in 1952 and 1953.[6] He was also the 1952 British Boys Champion in snooker, and British Junior snooker champion in 1954.[7] In 1954 he entered the English Amateur Snooker Championship for the first time, but was elimated 0–3 by Ron Gross.[8] the next year, he lost in the first round, and in 1956 he was beaten again by Gross, this time 4–5 in the home counties area final.[8] Over the next few years he failed to make an impact in the main Championship; a 1963 profile in Billiards and Snooker magazine commended his potting and positional play but suggested that he could be "erratic" and impatient.[8]

In 1968, he won the English Amateur Billiards Championship by defeating Clive Everton 2,652–2,540 in the final.[9]: 224  Following his national service in the Royal Air Force, Wildman worked in finance, and was later an area manager for United Dominions Trust.[10] In 1960, he compiled the first televised snooker century break.[11][12][6]

In 1978 he was runner-up to Michael Ferreira in a World Open Billiards Championship held in Christchurch. In the semi-final, Wildman had eliminated Barrie, who described his former student as "a spasmodic, opportunist sort of player, very unpredictable but always dangerous."[13] Wildman applied to become a professional player in 1979, and was initially rejected by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA),[14] before being accepted later that year.[15] In his first match as a professional, he lost 7–9 to Frank Jonik in the qualifying competition for the 1980 World Snooker Championship.[1]

He reached the final of the 1980 World Professional Billiards Championship by defeating Bernard Bennett, Rex Williams and Ray Edmonds, and was runner-up to Fred Davis with a scoreline of 2,064–3,037.[16][17] In the 1982 World Billiards Championship, he was runner-up to Williams.[10]

Reaching the last 16 of the 1982 Professional Players snooker tournament meant that he qualified for the 1983 Masters.[18] Although his first four shots in his first-round match were all foul, he led Steve Davis 2-1 before losing 2-5.[19]

The 1983 [List of UK Open Billiards Championship winners|UK Professional Billiards Championship]] was his first major title win as a professional, secured when he defeated Davis 1,500–1,032 in the final.[10][20][21] During the semi-final, against Williams, he recorded a break of 495, his highest.[10] He won the World Billiards Championship title in 1984, narrowly defeating Charlton 1,045–1,012 in the five-hour final.[9]: 214 [22] Wildman had eliminated Paddy Morgan 1,347–759 and Ian Williamson 1,501–859 to reach the final.[23] Halfway through the match against Charlton, Wildman led 599–508.[24] With eight minutes left to play, Charlton came to the table 87 behind, but after taking more than a minute to play a single shot during a break of 54, he ran out of time.[23] It was the closest result in the final since William Cook defeated John Roberts Jr. by 15 points in 1871.[23]

Wildman defeated three top-16 players, John Virgo, Silvino Francisco and Charlton, to reach the semi-finals of the 1984 Lada Classic, where he was eliminated 3–5 by Tony Meo,[10][25] and lost to Terry Griffiths, 8–10, in the first round of the 1983 World Snooker Championship.[1] He retired from professional snooker in 1991, but continued to play professional billiards for several years.[10] The highest ranking position he attained was 21st, in the 1984–85 snooker world rankings.[1] Sports statistician Ian Morrison wrote in 1987 that inconsistency was Wildman's main weaknesss as a player, perhaps due to his divided focus between his business career and cue sports.[2] Wildman lacked confidence in his snooker abilities up to the early 1980s, but over time as he saw other players making mistakes in matches he was commentating on, he became more confident.[2]

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Wildman was a snooker commentator for ITV until snooker was dropped by the channel in 1993.[26][27][28] During the 1990s and 2000s, he also commented for Screensport, Sky Sports and Eurosport.[12]

He was a WPBSA director from 1984 to 1991,[29] and for another term ending in 1997.[10] From September 1999 to 4 December 2001 he served as WPBSA Chairman, then had a further term on the board from 17 December 2001 until September 2002.[30][31][32]

He coached future world champion Shaun Murphy after they met in the early 1990s, and also coached billiards players including Roxton Chapman, Matthew Sutton and Phil Welham.[12] After his active involvement in professional cue sports ended, Wildman moved to Spain, where he became a local champion of carom billiards.[12] He was taken ill on 24 December 2020,[12] and moved into residential care, where he reained until his death on on 18 November 2024, at the age of 88.[6][12]

Career finals

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English billiards

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Professional finals
Outcome Date Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Runner-up November 1980 World Billiards Championship  Fred Davis (ENG) 2,064–3,037 [9]: 214 
Runner-up 1982 World Billiards Championship  Rex Williams (ENG) 1,785–3,000 [9]: 214 
Winner 1983 UK Professional Billiards Championship  Fred Davis (ENG) 1,500–1,032 [33]
Winner 1984 World Billiards Championship  Eddie Charlton (AUS) 1,045–1,012 [9]: 214 
English Amateur Billiards Championship finals
Outcome Date Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1968  Clive Everton (WAL) 2,652–2,540 [34]
Runner-up 1969  Jack Karnehm (ENG) 2,881–3,722 [35]

Snooker

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Amateur finals
Outcome Date Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1963 Working Men's Club and Institute Union Championship  John Dunning (ENG) 318-268[a] [36]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. pp. 1013–1014. ISBN 978-0954854904.
  2. ^ a b c Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker (Revised ed.). Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-600-55604-6.
  3. ^ a b "FJJ's column about sport and sporting people: Billiards boy star". Peterborough Standard. 8 December 1950. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "FJJ's column about sport and sporting people: Rising star". Peterborough Standard. 4 January 1952. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Boy's billiards: Wildman out". Peterborough Standard. 29 December 1950. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c "Mark Wildman passes away age 88". World Snooker Tour. 20 November 2024.
  7. ^ Everton, Clive (1979). The History of Billiards and Snooker. London: Cassell. pp. 182–185. ISBN 0304303739.
  8. ^ a b c "Championship Careers – 2, Markham Wildman". Billiards and Snooker. September 1963. pp. 8–9.
  9. ^ a b c d e Everton, Clive (2012). A History of Billiards. englishbilliards.org. ISBN 978-0-9564054-5-6.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Everton, Clive (September 2021). "Mark Wildman: an appreciation". Snooker Scene. pp. 14–15.
  11. ^ Bate, Stan (12 November 1960). "Midlanders can match the best". Sports Argus. p. 3.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Everton, Clive; Stead, Marcus (December 2024). "Mark Wildman remembered". Snooker Scene. pp. 6–7.
  13. ^ "A great billiards festival: how it all finished". Snooker Scene. February 1979. pp. 14–15.
  14. ^ Everton, Clive (1 May 1979). "All but two must qualify". The Guardian. p. 26.
  15. ^ Everton, Clive (29 October 1979). "Triple crown for Wales". The Guardian. p. 24.
  16. ^ Everton, Clive (7 November 1980). "Davis retains title". The Guardian. p. 20.
  17. ^ "Davis win continues billiards revival". Snooker Scene. December 1980. pp. 12–15.
  18. ^ Everton, Clive (13 October 1982). "Higgins toils in natural break". The Guardian. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Davis win continues billiards revival". Snooker Scene. December 1980. pp. 12–15.
  20. ^ "UK Championship History". World Billiards. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  21. ^ Everton, Clive (10 January 1983). "Wildman comes good". The Guardian. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Champion Mark". Liverpool Echo. 26 March 1984. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ a b c "Wildman takes title in agonising finish". Snooker Scene. May 1984. pp. 7–8.
  24. ^ Hale, Janice (26 March 1984). "Wildman makes break of 241". The Daily Telegraph. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Classic". Snooker Scene. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Mark Wildman". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  27. ^ Everton, Clive (2012). "16". Black farce and cue ball wizards. Edinburgh: Mainstream. ISBN 9781780575681.
  28. ^ "TV Guide". Liverpool Echo. 1 March 1993. p. 197.
  29. ^ "Gang of six plan WPBSA takeover". Snooker Scene. August 1992. pp. 4–6.
  30. ^ Dee, John (5 December 2001). "Perry's smooth progress". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 43.
  31. ^ "Sports round-up". The Daily Telegraph. London. 18 December 2001. p. 40.
  32. ^ Whebell, Charles (26 September 2002). "King bends the knee to Hendry". The Daily Telegraph. London. p. 52.
  33. ^ Smith, Terry (February 1983). "A layman looks at billiards". Snooker Scene. p. 24.
  34. ^ "Wildman wins close final". Billiardsand Snooker. April 1968. p. 6.
  35. ^ "Billiards finalists". Weekly Examiner. Huddersfield. 19 April 1969. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ^ Baker, A. (October 1963). "C&I Union individual snooker: Wildman triumphs". Billiards & Snooker. p. 7.


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