World snooker champion and adopted Stokie Ray Reardon left huge sum in will
Snooker legend and adopted Stokie Ray Reardon has left a huge sum of money to his wife after losing his cancer fight. The former Florence Colliery miner and Hanley policeman, who lived in Stoke-on-Trent for several years, won the World Snooker title six times during the 1970s and is rightly considered one of the sport's true icons.
Now it has emerged that Ray - who was 91 when he died last year - left a whopping £401,000 for Carol in his will. The couple were married for 37 years after Ray wed for a second time.
Although born in Wales, he is fondly remembered in the Potteries after moving to the city in 1955. He worked at Florence Colliery until 1957 when a mining accident almost claimed his life. He went on to pound the beat around Hanley as a police officer.
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After turning professional, he arguably became the greatest snooker player on the planet, winning the World Snooker Championship title in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1978. Ray was the first player to be ranked world number one when rankings were introduced in 1976.
Unsurprisingly, he was one of the game's most popular and charismatic players, known as 'Dracula' due to his distinctive hairstyle.
His victory over Perrie Mans in the 1978 World Championship final made him the oldest world champion at age 45. It was a record he held until a 46-year-old Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed the prize for the seventh time in 2022.
After winning six titles, the Welshman reached one more Crucible final in 1982 when, age 49, he was beaten by Alex Higgins. Of the modern era, only O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry, with seven, have won more World Championship titles than Ray, who is level with Steve Davis on six.
Ray was awarded an MBE in 1985, was inducted into the snooker Hall of Fame in 2011, and his name will live on as the winner of the Welsh Open is presented with the Ray Reardon Trophy.
He eventually moved away from Stoke-on-Trent, having lived in Weston Coyney and Werrington, to enjoy retirement in Devon. But he was still a regular visitor to his adopted home and would pop up in the pages of The Sentinel when he'd return to visit pals. He was also honorary president of Goldenhill Golf Club.
Speaking at the start of 2023, ahead of the Masters Snooker event, Ronnie O'Sullivan explained the enduring legacy of Ray. "Ray Reardon brought a side to the game I never knew existed," O'Sullivan told Eurosport. "I learnt it and now I appreciate it and use it a lot, and when I have to."
Following his death last July legendary player Jimmy White, said: “Gutted to hear my very good friend Ray Reardon has passed away. A total class act and very kind to me when I was making my way in the game. A giant of the game. Rest in Peace mate.”