Joe Davis

One of the all time great players who won the World Championship a record 15 times, he was a hugely influential figure in the development and survival of snooker in the years before it became a major televised sport.

Davis was initially a billiards player and won a host of national and international titles at the sport.

Turning his attention to snooker in the 1920s, he helped organise the first World Championship in 1927 and bought the trophy which is so well recognised today. He beat Tom Dennis 20-10 in the final, winning the princely sum of six pounds and 10 shillings. Davis went on to win the World title every year until 1940, and then again in 1946. He then retired from the event, so never lost a match in the World Championship.

Davis continued to play in tournaments and exhibitions, and in 1955 he made the first recognised 147 break.

Joe, and indeed Fred, would have been more than capable of competing and winning titles on the current circuit.

"Joe, and indeed Fred, would have been more than capable of competing and winning titles on the current circuit."
Do you really think so?

Obviously, this opinion will be debated and there is no way to compare statistics with any credence due to the huge gap in eras.

Joe Davis - World Championships, 1927–1940, 1946 and News of the World Championships, 1950, 1953, 1956. Davis achieving the first officially recognised maximum 147 in snooker 1955.

As for Fred Davis - The only thing to reflect on is Fred Davis’s performance in the World Championship 1978 reaching the semi-finals age 64 and only retiring in 1992. Anything close to the modern era was his World Billiards Championship 1980, 1981.

Steve Davis (53) and Stephen Hendry (42) are in decline but are still capable of performances and are still in the 64. Joe and Fred Davis would have been in the same category, they are still talked about today which would suggest they had ability and class.

I'd certainly agree they had class, no doubting that. Whether or not they could mix with today's players is another thing.