Love him or hate him, it is undeniable that one of the most influential players in the history of snooker has been Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins and today he celebrates a special birthday…
Yes, the twice World and Masters Champion Alex Higgins is 60 today, hard to believe for those who watched him at his brilliant best in the 1970’s and 1980’s I imagine. While he might not have always been the most well-behaved player (a slight understatement I suspect), he drew people to the game when he was at his peak like Ronnie O’Sullivan does now and helped to sustain interest in a game that was really thriving at the time. It says a lot that for all of the other snooker stars before and since, Higgins still draws the crowds in even now and people are more than interested in how he is getting on.
Unfortunately I was too young to really remember much of him at his best (barring the odd DVD and YouTube clip), so if anyone has any memories or favourite moments to share, feel free to leave a comment below.