Joe Johnson
| Born |
29 July 1952 (1952-07-29) (age 59)
Bradford (West Yorkshire) |
| Sport country |
 England |
| Professional |
1979–2004 |
| Highest ranking |
5 (1987/88) |
| Highest break |
141 (1992) |
| Tournament wins |
| Ranking |
1 |
| Non-ranking |
2 |
| World Champion |
1986 |
Joe Johnson (born 29 July 1952, Bradford, West Yorkshire) is an English former professional snooker player. He is best known as the surprise winner of the 1986 World Championship.
[edit] Career
Johnson reached the final of the World Amateur Snooker Championship in 1978, losing to Cliff Wilson. After becoming a professional in 1979, his most notable early achievement was to reach the final of the untelevised 1983 Professional Players Tournament, which he lost 9–8 to Tony Knowles.
In 1986, Johnson arrived at the World Championship, having never won a match at the Crucible Theatre, as a 150–1 outsider.[1] He beat Terry Griffiths 13–12 in the quarter-finals after trailing 12–9, and then Knowles in the semi-finals.[1] In the final he met world number 1 Steve Davis – then at the peak of his ability – and defied all odds to win 18–12.[1] A supporter of Bradford City football club, he wore a t-shirt with the slogan "Bradford's Bouncing Back" (a reference to the Bradford City stadium fire a year earlier) whenever he was not playing during the tournament.
Johnson had a poor season as world champion, reaching only one semi-final, but he defied expectations at the 1987 World Championship and reached the final again, again meeting Davis but this time losing 18–14.[2] He reached number 5 in the world rankings in the 1987–88 season, largely as a result of his success at the Crucible.
Johnson won the Langs Scottish Masters in 1987, beating Terry Griffiths 9–7 in the final and taking his only other major snooker title. He reached the semi-finals of the 1987 UK Championship and came close to making a maximum break against Jimmy White, but missed the pink on 134 and went on to lose the match 4–9. He rarely came close to repeating these successes, and rapidly descended the rankings, dropping out of the top 16 by 1991 and the top 32 by the mid-1990s. His last appearance at the World Championship came in 1991. He suffered heart and eye problems during the 1990s, and retired from professional snooker at the end of the 2003/2004 season.
Johnson remains the player who came closest to beating the "Crucible Curse", in that no first-time world champion has ever successfully defended the title. Johnson's defence saw him both reach the final and come within 4 frames of victory. Ken Doherty also reached the final in 1998, a year after his first win at the Crucible, but lost by a greater margin to John Higgins. No other first-time champion has reached the final the following year.
Johnson also won the Seniors Pot Black Trophy in 1997, beating Terry Griffiths in the final. He was also an early influence on, and friend of, the late snooker player Paul Hunter. He is now a commentator for Eurosport while also running two coaching academies, one in Bradford and one at the Corner Pocket Snooker club Hoyle Mill in Barnsley. Johnson is married with five sons and two daughters.
[edit] World Championship finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
[edit] Tournament wins
[edit] Ranking
[edit] Non-ranking
[edit] References
[edit] External Links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Johnson, Joe |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
|
| Date of birth |
29 July 1952 |
| Place of birth |
Bradford (West Yorkshire) |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
England
