Eddie Charlton ranked with the fabulous Lindrums among champion Australian cuemen.

He dominated Australian snooker from the early 1960s onwards and held the World Open Championship and the World Matchplay Championship. In the fiercely competitive international scene, he was runner-up in the World Professional Championship twice and has won the popular BBC television series Pot Black three times.

Eddie's brilliant career record includes the remarkable feat of having beaten eight world champions - Horace Lindrum, Fred Davis, John Pulman, John Spencer, Alex Higgins, Ray Reardon, Terry Griffiths and Steve Davis.

Eddie was only nine when the magic of snooker captured him; that same magic which enchanted you and millions of others like us. He had the use of a family table at his hometown, Merewether, the coastal resort between Sydney and Newcastle in NSW. More importantly, at that tender age, he enjoyed the tuition and encouragement of a beloved grandfather.

Eddie was 15 when I first met him and the trademarks of his playing style: the keen eye, concentration and determined jut of the jaw were already evident. The foundation to success had been laid, and that Eddie capitalized on it is now just as evident.

Hard work were the key words to that success. Hard work in the coalmines to earn a living, hard work to develop natural sporting skills at surfing, football and boxing; hard work to absorb the intricacies of snooker technique and, hardest work of all, to cultivate the cue action and co-ordination so necessary to take him to the top of his ultimate profession. Such was the background to the events, the man and the knowledge he acquired which resulted in the magnificent achievements in his life.

Adapted from the Foreword to Eddie Charlton's Book: The Complete Book of Snooker Written by: Les Wheeler, former Sporting Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald

• The top Australian snooker player, rated no lower than third in the world for over 12 years in the 1970s and 80s
• Won the Australian snooker title 18 times
• His 141 break against Warren Simpson in the Australian Matchplay Championship is the highest competitive break recorded in Australia
• Made a 272 break over two exhibition games, 1 37 in the first and I 35 in the second

• 1949 - Played exhibition billiards games with Walter Lindrum
• 1950 - Member of Swansea-Belmont team that won Australian Senior Boat
Championship (surfing)
• 1956 - Carried Olympic flame through Swansea (NSW) on its way to Melbourne
• 1960 - Turned professional on the advice of Fred Davis
• 1968 - Won World Open Snooker Championship from Rex Williams
• 1972 - Pot Black champion
• 1973 - Pot Black champion again
• 1976 - Won World Matchplay Championship from Ray Reardon
• 1978 - Won Winfield Masters Championship
• 1979 - Won Limosin Tournament in Cape Town
• 1980 - Won Pot Black Championship for third time
• 1983 - Rated fourth among worlds 125 best snooker players
• 1984 - Rated sixth in the world at age 55 years

Today... the legend lives on.