The funeral of county snooker legend Mike Dawson will be held on Thursday.
The Cumbrian billiards and snooker community was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Mike at the age of 85.
They started an online appeal for people to pay towards a wreath for the funeral, which will take place at Distington Crematorium at 11.15am.
Any surplus will be given to a charity chosen by his family.
Mike was a true legend of both disciplines in Cumbria and there probably isn’t a person involved with either snooker or billiards throughout the county who won’t have a story to tell about Mike and how his unrivalled passion for both sports always shone through.
Mike contested five county snooker finals of which he won the title three times; 1973 (he also won the billiards title in the same year), 1976 and 1984.
Even though he won numerous county billiards championships as well, snooker was always his first love and there was nothing more Mike liked than to share his knowledge with those who wanted to tap into his expertise.
Mike’s achievements in the Cockermouth and District Snooker League (now the L&L Property Contractors Snooker League) go on and on, with him winning every title, trophy, and accolade there is to play for.
Current League chairman Kevin Basnett said: “A run in particular that many will remember vividly is one that started in the late 70s, ran through the 80s to the early 90s where Mike formed part of an all-conquering Workington Cons team with the likes of John Graham, Jackie Straughton, Les Tunstall, Gordon Holland, Tom Donnelly, Julian Plaza and Alan Moore to name a few.
“This was a team with no weak links, and all driven by Mike’s desire to be as successful as possible.
“Mike, a student of the game for nearly 70 years who learnt to play the game by reading Joe Davis’s How I Play Snooker book, not only played snooker at the very highest level as a local amateur but was also part of a Cumbrian side who won a national county snooker team title in 1976 beating a Lancashire side who featured none other than the legendary John Virgo.
“Mike could talk for hours about the game and if anyone wanted to know all the players, every roll on every table in every club, Mike was the ‘go to’ person.
“Mike was a fierce competitor, with masses of bottle and a winning mentality that anyone could learn from, but he wasn’t just a player!
“He was also coach, an advisor, an expert but most of all a leader and this was no more evident than during his periods as county billiards and snooker chairman and Cockermouth and District Snooker League chairman.
“Mike’s enthusiasm for the game was something to behold and he was a person who operated under the highest of standards, The fact he was always turned out immaculately was evidence in itself, and that shone though during his tenure in both roles of which his goal was always to raise the bar.
“Mike had many stories to tell, and he often recalled the times when the likes of John Spencer, John Pullman, Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins, all former world snooker champions, visited Cumbria on exhibition tours in the 70s and 80s and how determined he was to show them what he could do, and beating a few of them to boot.
“In summary Mike was a gentleman, a mentor, a talisman, a proper player and a flagbearer for Cumbrian snooker, but most of all someone whose words will resonate around the Cumbrian snooker community forever.”
