The great billiards world champion Walter Lindrum holds the record break for every country in which he played. He toured the world and his home country Australia, but not everything always went to plan. I told a version of this story on West Bremer Radio.

In 1931 for the first time the world’s greatest-ever cueist Walter Lindrum (pictured above) visited Ipswich, Queensland. He was the Australian and world billiards champion and arrived to take on the Queensland amateur champion Sam Ryan.

Despite an extraordinary hairstyle, Ryan was no mug. He was both the Queensland amateur billiards championship and the Queensland amateur snooker title. Ryan was the first Queenslander to hold both titles at the same time and won at least four Queensland championships in a row.

Ryan also won the Australian amateur billiards championship, which meant he became the first to hold both the state title and the Australian championship at the one time.

Ryan also made his name as a cricket umpire. In 1940 he umpired his first Sheffield Shield match in which Queensland hosted South Australia at then Gabba. In that game he joined an extremely rare club by giving the world’s greatest cricketer Don Bradman out for a first ball duck.

Sam Ryan’s son was also a sporting champion. Young Lance Ryan was Queensland secondary schools boxing champion as well as a pretty handy rugby winger. He also claimed the Queensland lightweight boxing title.

Young Ryan enlisted in the Australian Army in 1939 but went Absent Without Leave among other things, and so was discharged just twelve months later because he was branded as “unlikely to become an efficient soldier.” But he was in the army long enough to become the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) champion of Queensland. 

But back to his father’s billiards and snooker exploits against Walter Lindrum.

On Tuesday the 18th of August 1931, a huge crowd of eager spectators thronged into Mr. Arthur Bell’s billiards saloon on Brisbane Street, which is the main street of Ipswich. They were there to witness in Ipswich for the first time the Australian and world champion cueist Walter Lindrum play against Queensland amateur champion Sam Ryan.

Lindrum was the victor at both snooker and billiards that night. But it’s the explanation of what happened that was extraordinary.

He won the snooker 101 to 28, and the billiards 1,151 to 184. Lindrum’s best break was 497 made in just twenty-one minutes.

In his post-match speech, Lindrum thanked Mr. Bell for giving him the opportunity of playing in Ipswich.

Lindrum then genuinely said what we mere mortals would not even dream of. He said that he was sorry if he had disappointed any of the crowd by not making a break of 1,000 (for which he held the world record for the number of times).

He explained the fact that he had been playing on a cotton cloth for the past few weeks, whereas the cloth used that night was a woollen one, which really impacted his game.

In any case, Walter Lindrum was world professional champion 1933-1951, awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE), named in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and elevated to Legend status.

All that despite failing to get a break of 1,000 on the night he came to Ipswich when he was nobbled by a woollen cloth.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A VERSION OF THIS STORY TOLD ON WEST BREMER RADIO.

Photo credits:
Walter Lindrum playing billiards 1928 – State Library of Western Australia.
Sam Ryan – Daily Standard, Brisbane, 6th September 1928 page 10.
Sam Ryan, Australian amateur billiards champion some of his trophies – Brisbane Courier, 15th October 1930 page6.
Lance William Ryan, WW2 enlistment photo, 1939 – National Archives of Australia.
World billiards champion Walter Lindrum versus NZ champion Clark McConachy, Queensland Irish Association, Brisbane, 1934 – State Library of Queensland.