Walter Donaldson (snooker player)

Walter Weir Wilson Donaldson (2 February 1907 – 24 May 1973) was a Scottish professional snooker and billiards player.

Walter Weir Wilson Donaldson was born in Edinburgh, on 2 February 1907, the son of a billiard hall manager.

The family moved to Coatbridge when Donaldson was five.

His father coached him in English billiards from age five, having constructed a 1 ft platform around one of the billiard tables so that the younger Donaldson could reach the table to play.

Donaldson became a professional player shortly after winning the under-16's British Junior English Billiards Championship in 1922 and won the Scottish professional billiards title six times.

Donaldson won the under-16 division of the British Junior English Billiards Championship in 1922 at the age of 15, and turned professional the following year.

His father also trained Margaret Lennan, who became the unofficial "British Isles Champion" of women's billiards in 1928.

Donaldson moved to Rotherham in South Yorkshire, where he managed a billiard hall, and travelled to Glasgow to win the Scottish professional billiards and snooker championships in the 1928/1929 season.

He later became the owner of a billiard hall in New Ollerton, Nottinghamshire.

He first competed in the World Snooker Championship in 1933, but after a heavy defeat by Joe Davis did not enter again until 1939.

He first entered the World Snooker Championship in 1933 defeating Willie Leigh 13 to 11 before losing 1–13 in the semi-finals to Joe Davis.

Donaldson told an interviewer for The Billiard Player in 1939 that starting to play at a young age was a common feature among many professional players, as "when a kiddie is brought up like that, the game gets fairly into his bones, and he has much more chance than other people of becoming a good player".

In 1939, Donaldson said he realised from watching Davis "annihilate" him that "there was far more in the game than I had ever dreamt of".

He did not participate in the championship again until 1939.

His six-year absence has been attributed to a commitment to practise and improve his standard of play following the resounding defeat by Davis.

In 1939, he defeated Herbert Holt and Dickie Laws in the qualifying competition, both 18–13, then Claude Falkiner 21–10 in the first round, before losing 15–16 to Sidney Smith in the quarter-finals.

He finished fourth of seven players in the 1939/1940 Daily Mail Gold Cup.

The BBC World Service radio station broadcast part of his match against Fred Davis.

Donaldson spoke about his playing philosophy in 1939, saying he avoided playing risky shots because he believed matches were typically lost by one player making errors: "It isn't so much that one man wins the game but that the other man loses it."

Asked by the interviewer for hints for The Billiard Player's readers to help them improve their standard of play, Donaldson advised against the use of as "it spoils the shot in at least 90 per cent of cases when it's applied by any but a first class player. And generally it really isn't necessary."

He also said he had claimed the title of Scottish snooker champion because despite issuing an invitation to any challenger to play for that title, no-one had taken up the challenge.

In the 1940 World Championship, he eliminated Holt 24–7 in the first round; Joe Davis then defeated him 9–22 in the semi-final.

The championship was suspended for the remainder of World War II.

Donaldson was called up in 1940, and served in Canada, North Africa, Greece and Italy as a sergeant in the Royal Corps of Signals attached to the Fourth Indian Division, which was an original component of the Eighth Army when it was formed in September 1941.

After serving in the Fourth Indian Division during World War II, Donaldson entered the 1946 World Championship, where he lost to Davis in his first match.

As a player that did not reach the championship final, he was eligible to enter the 1946 Albany Club Professional Snooker Tournament, which he won.

Following Joe Davis's retirement from the World Championship in 1946, Donaldson practised intensively and won the 1947 Championship by defeating Fred Davis in the final.

Davis won the following two championships, with Donaldson taking the next and then being runner-up to Davis for the next four years.

The championship resumed in 1946, with Joe Davis winning again, including a 21–10 victory over Donaldson in the quarter-finals.

The professional players that did not reach the 1946 final were invited to participate in the 1946 Albany Club Professional Snooker Tournament.

Donaldson won, some six months after being demobilised, by defeating Alec Brown 20–11 in the final.

Following his 1946 World Championship win, Davis retired from the event.

In November 1946, Donaldson compiled what would have been a new world record for the highest break, 142, against John Pulman, but as the billiard table being used was not of the standard type required for a record, it was not recognised as such.

He contested eight consecutive world championship finals against Fred Davis from 1947 to 1954, and won the title in 1947 and 1950.

Donaldson was known for his long and his consistency when playing, and had an aversion to the use of.

Donaldson practised intensively in preparation for the 1947 World Snooker Championship, using a billiard table in a neighbour's attic.

He defeated Stanley Newman 46–25 and then eliminated Horace Lindrum 39–32 to reach the final.

Building refurbishment delays postponed the final, held at Leicester Square Hall, for several weeks.

Donaldson then retired from World Championship competition, although he continued to play in the News of the World Snooker Tournament until 1959.

In 2012, he was inducted posthumously into the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's World Snooker Hall of Fame.