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1938/1939 Daily Mail Gold Cup

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox individual snooker tournament

|tournament_name=Daily Mail Gold Cup

|logo=

|dates={{Start and end dates|1938|10|10|1939|01|21|df=y}}

|final_location=yes

|venue=Thurston's Hall

|location=London

|country=United Kingdom

|organisation=

|format=Non-Ranking event

|Total prize fund=

|winners_share=

|highest_break={{flagicon|ENG}} Joe Davis (138)

|winner={{flagicon|ENG}} Alec Brown

|runner_up={{flagicon|ENG}} Sidney Smith

|score=

|previous=1937/38

|next=1939/40

}}

The 1938/1939 Daily Mail Gold Cup was a professional snooker tournament sponsored by the Daily Mail. The cup was won by Alec Brown with Sidney Smith finishing in second place in the final table. It was the fifth Daily Mail Gold Cup tournament, although only the third as a snooker event. The Daily Mail Gold Cup ran from 1935 to 1940.

Format

The 1938/1939 event was a round-robin snooker tournament and was played from 10 October 1938 to 21 January 1939. Most of the matches were played at Thurston's Hall in London. There were 6 competitors and a total of 15 matches. As previously, each match was of 71 frames and lasted six days. The 6 competitors were the same as in the 1937/38 event without Melbourne Inman. The handicap system was revised, each match having a separate handicap.{{cite news |newspaper=The Times |date=10 October 1938 |page=3 |title=Snooker – The Gold Cup Tournament}}

Joe Davis gave Horace Lindrum 20, Sidney Smith 30, Willie Smith 25, Alec Brown 35 and Tom Newman 40. Horace Lindrum gave Sidney Smith 7, Willie Smith 14, Alec Brown 21 and Tom Newman 30. Sidney Smith gave Willie Smith and Alec Brown 7 and Tom Newman 14. Willie Smith and Alec Brown gave Tom Newman 7. Willie Smith and Alec Brown played level.

Results

Joe Davis was given a harsher handicap than previously. He won his first two matches but then lost heavily to Sidney Smith (giving 30 point per frame) and Alec Brown (giving 35). Giving 20 points per frame, he lost the final match of the tournament against Horace Lindrum. Davis led 35–33 but lost the last three to lose the match by the odd frame.

On 14 November, in frame 4 of the match between Tom Newman and Alec Brown there was a "peculiar incident". Brown had potted a red and was between the pack and the black. Rather than play a shot with the long rest, bridging over the pack, Brown took a "cue" from his pocket. It was made of ebony and was about the size of a pencil. He chalked it and played a shot onto the black. After some discussion the referee, Charlie Chambers, called a "foul" explaining that, according to the rules, "a stroke must be made with the tip of the cue" and "a pen is not a cue" even if it had a cue-tip on the end. Brown won the frame 78–41, the afternoon session ending at 3 frames each.{{cite news |newspaper=The Times |date=15 November 1938 |page=6 |title=Snooker – The handicap tournament}}

During the tournament Joe Davis scored a new official record break of 138, beating the previous record of 137. It happened in his match against Alec Brown on 9 December. Davis was conceding 35 points to Brown in this match. Brown made only two visits to the table before Davis made the total clearance which included the 15 reds with 11 blacks, a pink, two blues, a green and then all the colours. The clearance was in frame 53 of the match, the fifth of the afternoon session.{{cite news |newspaper=The Times |date=10 December 1938 |page=6 |title=Snooker – Record break by Davis}}

{{cite news |newspaper=The Times |date=23 January 1939 |page=4 |title=Snooker – The handicap tournament}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! Winner !! Score

LoserDatesVenue
align=left|Sidney Smith41–30align=left|Willie Smith10–15 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Joe Davis37–34align=left|Tom Newman17–22 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Alec Brown46–25align=left|Horace Lindrum24–29 OctoberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Joe Davis40–31align=left|Willie Smith31 October–5 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Sidney Smith40–31align=left|Horace Lindrum7–12 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Tom Newman37–34align=left|Alec Brown14–19 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Sidney Smith42–29align=left|Joe Davis21–26 NovemberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Tom Newman38–33align=left|Willie Smith28 November–3 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Alec Brown42–29align=left|Joe Davis5–10 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Tom Newman45–26align=left|Horace Lindrum12–17 DecemberThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Alec Brown38–33align=left|Willie Smith12–17 DecemberGlasgow
align=left|Willie Smith37–34align=left|Horace Lindrum2–7 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Sidney Smith36–35align=left|Tom Newman2–7 JanuaryGreyfriars Hall, Nottingham
align=left|Alec Brown40–31align=left|Sidney Smith9–14 JanuaryThurston's Hall, London
align=left|Horace Lindrum36–35align=left|Joe Davis16–21 JanuaryHouldsworth Hall, Manchester

Table

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
Pos || Player || Pld || MW || FW
style="background:#aaffaa;"

| 1

style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Alec Brown54200
2style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Sidney Smith54190
3style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Tom Newman53189
4style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Joe Davis52170
5style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|ENG}} Willie Smith51164
6style="text-align:left;"|{{flagicon|AUS}} Horace Lindrum51152

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

{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daily Mail Gold Cup}}

1938-1939

Category:1938 in snooker

Category:1939 in snooker

Category:1938 in English sport

Category:1939 in English sport

Category:1938 in sport in London

Category:1939 in sport in London

Category:October 1938 sports events in the United Kingdom

Category:November 1938 sports events in the United Kingdom

Category:December 1938 sports events in the United Kingdom

Category:January 1939 sports events in the United Kingdom

Daily Mail Gold Cup, 1938