Willie
is deservedly known as 'Maximum Man' due to the fact that
he has made at least double that of any other player. Unfortunately,
he will always be remembered for his maximum breaks in practice
- if only he could have reproduced that type of performance
consistently in tournaments. In common with many of the
players around in the early eighties, he found that when
he dropped out of the top sixteen, life was very difficult,
so much so that this season he has chosen not to play in
the qualifying school.
I
have the pleasure of commentating frequently with Willie
for the BBC, he also works for ITV and SKY. The public are
very much split down the middle when it comes to their opinion
of his commentary, but Willie is not frightened to say what
he thinks - particularly if he feels the player hasn't played
the right shot to create the 'Maximum'!
It
seems to me that I have known Willie all my life, indeed
our birthdays are both on the 4th of March although I reluctantly
admit I have celebrated a few more. Willie is always entertaining
company and a pleasure to socialise with, be it at a Dinner
or on the golf course. It may be that his snooker playing
days are coming to an end but his likeable manner means
he will always be a hit with the public and of course he
will always be recognised!
It
would be remiss of me to end without one of the many amusing
anecdotes that give an indication of life with Willie; this
is one of my favourites. It happened at Royal Ascot many
years ago. We had a tip for a horse ridden by Walter Swinburn
and it was leading coming into the last furlong which caused
Willie and I to start shouting "Go on Walter"
as loud as we could. In the midst of our excitement, Willie
felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find a regally
dressed lady admonishing him from under a very large hat.
"Do you mind, are you aware this is Royal Ascot!"
to which Willie replied, "Look Love, you've got yours,
we are still trying to get ours! ..........Go on Walter!!"
