Terry Griffiths: A Great And A Gentleman

Terry Griffiths OBE, a former World Champion who was loved and respected throughout the snooker world, has passed away at the age of 77.

His son Wayne wrote on Facebook on Sunday evening: “To our friends and snooker followers in general, we are deeply saddened to share the news of our loss. Terry Griffiths OBE passed away peacefully on 1st December, after a lengthy battle with dementia. He was surrounded by his family in his beloved home-town in South Wales.”

Griffiths will be remembered as one of snooker’s all-time great players, having famously conquered the Crucible on his debut in 1979, as well as winning the 1980 Masters, 1982 UK Championship and many other titles. But equally, he was known on the circuit for his kind nature, generosity, intelligence and wit, and had countless friends throughout the sport. After retiring from the pro game in 1996, he coached and mentored the likes of Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams and Mark Allen.

Three-time World Champion Williams wrote on X: “RIP. Looked after me since playing in his club every Sunday since I was 12 , what a legend. #thegriff“

Allen said: “Terry Griffiths…. What a legend of a man who helped shape my career and life both on and off the table. Absolutely heart broken. He wasn’t just a coach, he was family.”

Jimmy White added: “Gutted to hear of the passing of my mate, Terry Griffiths. We had so many laughs over the years. Thoughts go out to his family. Rest in Peace mate.”

Born in Llanelli in 1947, Griffiths first played snooker at the age of 14. At the time, there were few opportunities to make a living from the sport, so he worked in a coal mine and later as a bus conductor, postman and insurance salesman. He always made time to practise on the baize and gradually became a formidable player, winning the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 and the English Amateur title in 1977 and 1978.

Turning pro in 1978, his first tournament was the UK Championship, where he lost 9-8 to Rex Williams, and his second was the 1979 World Championship, winning two qualifying matches to make it to the Crucible. After knocking out Perrie Mans and Alex Higgins to reach the semi-finals, Griffiths came through a tough battle with Eddie Charlton by a 19-17 scoreline at 1.40am. With wide eyed wonderment he told David Vine: “I’m in the final now, you know.”

From 15-15 in the final against Dennis Taylor, Griffiths pulled away to win 24-16. He remains the only player to lift the trophy on his debut, and one of two – alongside Shaun Murphy – to win it having come through the qualifying rounds.

That remarkable triumph established Griffiths among the top tier of players, alongside the likes of Higgins, Steve Davis, Jimmy White, Cliff Thorburn, Ray Reardon and Taylor, at a time when the popularity of snooker was exploding in the UK. He went on to win the 1980 Masters, beating Higgins 9-5 in the final, and edged out the same player 16-15 in the final of the 1982 UK Championship.

He climbed to number three in the world rankings in 1981 and remained in the top 16 for the next 15 years. Griffiths captured the prestigious Irish Masters title three times and won a total of 20 professional tournaments. He reached a second Crucible final in 1988, and matched Davis over the first 16 frames, but fell away from 8-8 and lost 18-11.

Devoted to wife Annette, who he met when he was just 18, and their sons Darren and Wayne, Griffiths always struggled with the amount of time away from home that the life of a snooker player demands. So he decided to retire at the end of the 1995/96 season, despite winning his opening match at the Crucible (10-9 against Jamie Burnett) and being ranked as high as 23rd. He did make a swansong appearance in Sheffield in 1997 and led Mark Williams 9-8 in the opening round, before losing 10-9.

A disciple of the legendary Frank Callan, Griffiths then focussed his attention on coaching. His affable nature, ability to communicate with people of all ages and immense knowledge of snooker, its tactics and techniques, soon made him the most sought-after coach on the tour. As well as Hendry, Williams and Allen he worked with many others including Ali Carter, Ding Junhui, Marco Fu, Barry Hawkins and Stephen Maguire. At his club in Llanelli, he inspired countless juniors to improve their skills – several of those are now tour players and the area remains a hot bed for young talent.

Players often credited ‘Griff’ for their success; a pre-match chat or a dressing room evaluation when a game was going badly was often enough to inspire an improvement or calm their nerves on a big occasion. Some may have seen him as a father figure, others a very close friend. He was great company backstage on the circuit, always ready with an amusing story or insight. Griffiths was also a commentator and analyst for BBC. He was awarded the OBE in 2007 and joined the Snooker Hall of Fame in 2013.

In recent years, Griffiths was away the tour, looked after at home by his devoted family. But he was often in the minds of those who knew him well, and will be sorely missed.

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “Terry had a huge influence on so many. In 1979 he inspired a nation, and he certainly inspired me as a 10-year-old at the time. It was an honour to one day play against him in a major event, and during my later playing days, it was Terry who asked me to get involved in the sport’s administration. It was an absolute pleasure to work alongside him at the WPBSA. He was a brilliant man, highly intelligent, hugely entertaining and worked passionately to make snooker better. He was a driver for constitutional change in the organisation. His work developing the WPBSA coaching scheme will never be forgotten, work that serves the sport to this day, skills he passed on to another great Griffiths, his son Wayne. Thank you for everything old friend, it’s time to rest. Our thoughts are with the Griffiths family at this very difficult time.”

More tributes came from:

Judd Trump: “It is incredibly sad news. He is a legend of the game. Terry was a very witty guy. Whenever I was at the Welsh Open, he would come over and make a joke. I had a good connection with him. It is hard to connect with some of the older generation but he was someone I felt I could get along with. It is a sad day for Welsh sport.”

Shaun Murphy: “Just hearing the news that Terry Griffiths has passed away. My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones #legend.”

Neil Robertson: “So sad to wake up to the news Terry Griffiths has past away. After my debut at the Crucible losing to Stephen Hendry, as I was going to my dressing room after the match he told me I would achieve something special there. That meant an awful lot to me at the time and still does today. A really funny character and a great man. RIP.”

Joe Perry: “Very sad news hearing the passing of Terry Griffiths. A wonderful man who had an amazing career. He then played a huge part in my own snooker career being a mentor when I won my first ranking title. RIP The Griff.”