Maureen Baynton (born Maureen Barrett in 1937) is an English former snooker and billiards player. She held the record for winning most Women's Amateur Snooker Championships after winning eight times between 1954 and 1968, and also won seven Women's Amateur Billiards championships between 1955 and 1980. She was runner-up in the 1983 World Women's Snooker Championship.
 Baynton in 1953, aged 16 | |
| Born | 1937 (age 86–87) England |
|---|---|
| Sport country |  England |
Biography
editBaynton began to play snooker and billiards at Peckham Health Centre, teaching herself, from the age of 11. Three years after taking up the games, she was the girls champion at both snooker and billiards.[1][2][3]
After a highly successful playing career in which she won a record eight Women's Amateur Snooker Championships between 1954 and 1968, and seven Women's Amateur Billiards championships between 1955 and 1980, she retired from competition for several years.[4] When the World Women's Snooker Championship was staged in 1976, Baynton entered, reaching the semi-final, where she lost to Muriel Hazeldene.[5] In the 1983 tournament she went one stage further, reaching the final, where she lost 5–8 to Sue Foster.[6][7]
Throughout her career, she used the cue that she received, aged 10, for winning the Schoolgirls Championship in 1947. It is now on display at the Billiards and Snooker Heritage Collection in Liverpool.[8]
Titles and achievements
editSnooker
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1 | 1954 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | [4] | ||
| Winner | 2 | 1955 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | [4] | ||
| Winner | 3 | 1956 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | [4] | ||
| Winner | 4 | 1961 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | Thea March | 4–1 | [9] |
| Winner | 5 | 1962 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | Rita Holmes | 4–1 | [10] |
| Winner | 6 | 1964 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | [4] | ||
| Winner | 7 | 1966 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | [4] | ||
| Winner | 8 | 1968 | Women's Amateur Snooker Champion | [4] | ||
| Runner-up | 9 | 1983 | Women's World Snooker Championships | Sue Foster | 5–8 | [6][7] |
Billiards
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1 | 1954 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | Helen Futo | 430–448 | [11] |
| Winner | 2 | 1955 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | E Morland-Smith | 451–401 | [12] |
| Winner | 3 | 1956 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | [4] | ||
| Winner | 4 | 1957 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | E Morland-Smith | 553–334 | [13] |
| Winner | 5 | 1964 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | Rae Craven | 649–336 | [14] |
| Winner | 6 | 1966 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | Vera Youle | 514–319 | [15] |
| Winner | 7 | 1968 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | Rae Craven | 434–265 | [16] |
| Runner-up | 8 | 1978 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | Vera Selby | 319–366 | [17] |
| Winner | 9 | 1979 | World Women’s Billiards Championship | Vera Selby | [18] |
References
edit- ^ "No Challengers For This Title". The Belfast Telegraph. 2 December 1952 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ "Confidence of a Champion". Daily Mirror. 31 December 1952. p. 10 – via The British Newspaper won a record 8 Women's Amateur Snooker Championships between 1954 and 1968, and 7 Women's Amateur Billiards championships between 1955 and 1980.Archive. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ "Teenage Topics". Liverpool Echo. 22 October 1955 – via The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Everton, Clive (1985). Guinness Snooker – The Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. pp. 154–156. ISBN 0851124488.
- ^ Hunn, David (11 April 1976). "Women Pocket Men's Pride". The Observer. p. 25 – via ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ a b "World Champions". womenssnooker.com. World Women's Snooker Collection. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Harvey out of team". The Observer. 29 May 1983. p. 42 – via NewsBank. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
Sue in pocket: SUE FOSTER picked up a cheque for £2,000 after clinching the women's world snooker championship, just £28,000 short of the figure Steve Davis received for taking this year's men's title. Sue, from Tamworth, beat Maureen Baynton, a 46-year-old Surrey housewife, 8-5 in the final at Brean Sands, Somerset.
- ^ "The Maureen Baynton Cue". snookerheritage.co.uk. Billiards and Snooker Heritage Collection. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ "WBA Championships. Maureen Barrett still supreme: Miss T March's splendid feat". Billiards and Snooker. London: Billiards Association and Control Club. June 1961. p. 8.
- ^ "Snooker". Birmingham Daily Post. London. 5 May 1962. p. 13.
- ^ "Today's Sports Diary". Daily Herald. 15 February 1954. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Quick Looks". Daily Herald. 22 April 1955. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Quick Looks". Birmingham Daily Post. 11 April 1957. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Billiards". Birmingham Daily Post. 8 April 1964. p. 15 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Bartley, Sally. "Maureen Baynton wins both billiards and snooker titles yet again". Billiards and Snooker. No. May 1966. p. 9.
- ^ Tabor, Ethel. "Women's Championships". Billiards and Snooker. No. August 1968. p. 11.
- ^ "Today's Sports Diary". Daily Herald. 15 February 1954. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "Cue ace Vera to join paid ranks". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 17 September 1979. p. 20 – via British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 14 November 2019.