Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

1937/1938 Daily Mail Gold Cup

Daily Mail Gold Cup
Tournament information
Dates27 September 1937 – 29 January 1938 (1937-09-27 – 1938-01-29)
Final venueThurston's Hall
Final cityLondon
CountryEngland
FormatNon-Ranking event
Final
ChampionEngland Joe Davis
Runner-upEngland Willie Smith
1936
1938/39

The 1937/1938 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. The cup was won for the second successive year by Joe Davis with Willie Smith finishing in second place in the final table. It was the fourth Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although only the second as a snooker event. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.

Format

As in 1936, the 1937/1938 event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 27 September 1937 to 29 January 1938. Most of the matches were played at Thurston's Hall in London. There were 7 competitors and a total of 21 matches. As in 1936, each match was of 71 frames and lasted six days. The 7 competitors were the same in the 1936 event with the addition of Alec Brown. Each player had a handicap which was given in each frame. The handicaps were: Joe Davis - 0, Horace Lindrum - 10, Sidney Smith - 17, Willie Smith - 21, Alec Brown - 24, Tom Newman - 27, Melbourne Inman - 45. The "sealed" aspect of the 1936 event was abandoned.[1]

Results

The cup was won for the second successive year by Joe Davis who won all his five of his six matches. Davis had been handicapped slightly harsher than in 1936 but only lost one match, and that by a single frame to Willie Smith. Giving Willie Smith a 21-point lead in each frame, Davis had taken a 35–34 lead but lost the last two frames.[2] As in the previous event Melbourne Inman finished last, despite receiving the most generous handicap. The other five players were very close in the final table.[3]

Winner Score Loser Dates Venue
Tom Newman 36–35 Alec Brown 27 September–2 October Thurston's Hall, London
Sidney Smith 36–35 Willie Smith 4–9 October Thurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis 39–32 Tom Newman 11–16 October Thurston's Hall, London
Willie Smith 37–34 Horace Lindrum 18–23 October Thurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis 43–28 Melbourne Inman 25–30 October Thurston's Hall, London
Sidney Smith 36–35 Horace Lindrum 1–6 November Thurston's Hall, London
Tom Newman 43–28 Melbourne Inman 8–13 November Thurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown 36–35 Willie Smith 8–13 November Leeds
Joe Davis 42–29 Alec Brown 15–20 November Thurston's Hall, London
Horace Lindrum 43–28 Melbourne Inman 15–20 November Liverpool
Willie Smith 38–33 Melbourne Inman 22–27 November Thurston's Hall, London
Tom Newman 36–35 Sidney Smith 22–27 November Leicester
Alec Brown 40–31 Sidney Smith 29 November–4 December Thurston's Hall, London
Willie Smith 36–35 Joe Davis 6–11 December Thurston's Hall, London
Horace Lindrum 39–32 Tom Newman 13–18 December Thurston's Hall, London
Alec Brown 47–24 Melbourne Inman 27 December–1 January Thurston's Hall, London
Horace Lindrum 39–32 Alec Brown 3–8 January Thurston's Hall, London
Willie Smith 38–33 Tom Newman 10–15 January Thurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis 38–33 Sidney Smith 10–15 January Houldsworth Hall, Manchester
Sidney Smith 43–28 Melbourne Inman 17–22 January Thurston's Hall, London
Joe Davis 37–34 Horace Lindrum 24–29 January Thurston's Hall, London

Table

Pos Player Pld MW FW
1 England Joe Davis 6 5 234
2 England Willie Smith 6 4 219
3 Australia Horace Lindrum 6 3 224
4 England Alec Brown 6 3 219
5 England Sidney Smith 6 3 214
6 England Tom Newman 6 3 212
7 England Melbourne Inman 6 0 169

The positions were determined firstly by the number of matches won (MW) and, in the event of a tie, the number of frames won (FW).

References

  1. ^ "Snooker Pool – The Handicap Tournament". The Times. 28 September 1937. p. 5.
  2. ^ "Snooker Pool – The Handicap Tournament". The Times. 13 December 1937. p. 6.
  3. ^ "Snooker Pool – The Tournament won by Davis". The Times. 31 January 1938. p. 7.