Snooker referee
Len Ganley![]() Len Ganley |
| Born | (1943-04-27)27 April 1943
Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
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| Died | 28 August 2011(2011-08-28) (aged 68)
Lurgan, County Armagh |
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| Sport country |  Northern Ireland |
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| Professional | 1976–1999 |
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Leonard Ganley, MBE (27 April 1943 – 28 August 2011)[1] was a Northern Irish snooker referee. He visited England in 1971 intending to spend a ten-day holiday with his sister in Burton-upon-Trent, and remained in England.[2]
Born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, he became a full-time referee after working as a milkman and bus driver when he first arrived in Burton-on-Trent.[3] He played snooker when he lived in Northern Ireland and won various local titles in Britain and Ireland. His highest break was 136.[2] He took up refereeing snooker matches in 1976 after Ray Reardon suggested it to him.[4]
He refereed four World Snooker Championship finals between 1983 and 1993, including 1990 when Stephen Hendry became the youngest World Champion. A career highlight was the 1983 UK Championship final between Alex Higgins and Steve Davis.[5] Another famous match he refereed in his later career was Ronnie O'Sullivan's fastest 147 against Mick Price in the first round of the 1997 World Championship.[6]
Although a non-drinker, Ganley also appeared in a Carling Black Label beer advert on TV in the early 1980s, in which he crushed the cue ball with his gloved hand in a match between Terry Griffiths and John Spencer, after Spencer had knocked the ball off the table and into the groin of Ganley.[3]
Ganley was the subject of the Half Man Half Biscuit tribute song "The Len Ganley Stance".[5] The band referred to him as the 'Godfather of Punk' in the sleeve notes.[1] He retired from refereeing in 1999 and suffered a heart attack in 2002.[7] His son Mike Ganley is the WPBSA Tournament Director.[8]
He was awarded the MBE in 2000 in recognition of his charity work and for services to snooker.[1] Ganley, who suffered from diabetes, died on 28 August 2011, aged 68.[9][10] His family requested that people donated to the Paul Hunter Foundation rather than sending flowers.[9] Steve Davis said: "Len did a very good job of being a referee and a personality at the same time. A referee is supposed to be unseen and he liked the limelight, but he still managed to do the job properly. He was a great character off the table, but in the arena he was an excellent referee. He knew the game as a player, having made century breaks himself, so when he was in charge of your match it was nice to know how well he understood the game."[9]
References
