Editing Cliff Wilson (section)

== Amateur years ==
Wilson was born on 10 May 1934 and grew up in [[Tredegar, Wales|Tredegar]], the same town as his friend and snooker rival [[Ray Reardon]].<ref name="Indy Obit" /><ref name="GOBIT">{{cite news |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=28 May 1994 |title=Cue for a happy life |work=The Guardian |page=30|via=ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 28 September 2019.}}</ref> He learnt to play snooker in a steelworks club-room. Even as a teenager, Wilson was nearly sightless in his left eye.<ref name="DH52A">{{cite news |last=Williams |first=David |title=He pots Wales to top |work=Daily Herald |date=18 November 1952 |page=8}}</ref> In 1950, aged 16, Wilson was the reigning Welsh boys snooker champion and working as a storekeeper when he reached the final of the [[British Junior Snooker Championship|British under-19 Championship]], where he lost 2–3 to [[Rex Williams]].<ref name="LM50">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker youths' bid for "double" |work=Leicester Daily Mercury |date=28 October 1950 |page=12}}</ref><ref name="BIRUD" /> In the same competition the following year, Wilson (now a steelworker) won the title, defeating [[Gary Owen (snooker player)|Gary Owen]] 3–2 in the final.<ref name="BIR51" /> In 1952 he beat Owen on his way to reaching the semi-final of the [[English Amateur Championship]], where, using a cue that had been repaired overnight and reduced in length by an inch, he lost to Charles Downey.<ref name="SA52">{{cite news |author=Fancy Butt |title=Denis loses amateur snooker title |work=Sports Argus |date=1 March 1952 |page=6}}</ref>

Having been called up into the [[Royal Air Force]] for his [[national service]], Wilson was granted special leave to participate in the 1952 under-19 Championship. In the final he faced Owen again, this time winning 4–2.<ref name="PEO52" /><ref name="DH52">{{cite news |last=Williams |first=David |title=No happy birthday for young Tom |work=Daily Herald |date=28 October 1952 |page=6 }}</ref> A match report of Wilson's 3–1 semi-final win against Donald Scott in the ''Western Mail'' said that he played "spectacular snooker ... he had breaks of 20, 25, 30 and 41 all at tremendous speed."<ref name="WM52">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Champion in final again |work=Western Mail |date=1 November 1952 |page=12}}</ref> In 1954, Wilson was the youngest competitor in the English Amateur Championship and lost 9–11 to Geoff Thompson in the final.<ref name="LEP54">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Youngest player in snooker tourney |work=Lancashire Evening Post |date=19 March 1954 |page=12 }}</ref><ref name="BIREA">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker |work=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=31 March 1954 |page=6 }}</ref> He won the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1956.<ref name="WBSA">{{cite web |url=https://www.welshsnooker.com/welsh-championship-records |title=Welsh Championship Records |website=welshsnooker.com |publisher=Welsh Snooker (WBSA) |access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref> Snooker historian [[Clive Everton]] wrote of Wilson's early career that he was "a phenomenal potter: quick, instinctive fearless."<ref name="FARCE" /> {{rp|369}}

He played Reardon in a succession of money matches in Tredegar. In ''The Story of Billiards and Snooker'', Everton described Wilson as being an "even more remarkable talent"<ref name="SBS" />{{rp|80}} than Reardon, who would go on to win the [[World Snooker Championship]] six times between 1969 and 1978. Everton went on to describe their contests, when each would attract hundreds of supporting spectators, as "modern snooker's nearest equivalent to a bare knuckle prize fight."<ref name="SBS" />{{rp|80}} Everton then suggests that when Reardon moved away, "the edge went from Wilson's game." Wilson's father, who had supported his son's snooker career, died at around the time that Reardon moved away, and Wilson also started having problems with his eyesight.<ref name="SBS">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1979 |title=The History of Billiards and Snooker |publisher=Cassell |isbn=0304303739}}</ref>{{rp|80}} Apart from this, snooker's popularity was on the wane during the 1950s and it was extremely difficult to join the small, closed professional circuit. Wilson gave up snooker almost completely, and continued working at the steelworks at [[Llanwern]]. From 1957 to 1972 he was retired from snooker apart from participating in a few games in 1960, which included the televised "Snooker Foursomes" in which he partnered John Price.<ref name="Indy Obit">{{cite news|last=Hodgson|first=Guy|title=Obituary: Cliff Wilson|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-cliff-wilson-1438835.html|access-date=16 January 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=27 May 1994}}</ref><ref name="SA60">{{cite news |last=Bate |first=Stan |title=Secrets of that TV clash |work=Sports Argus |date=19 November 1960 |page=3}}</ref><ref name="SBS" />

In 1972 he started playing again when a friend asked him to take a vacant place in a works team in the Newport League. Within two years of starting to play again, he was selected for the Wales team for the 1973–74 Home International series, losing 1–2 against D. Lenehan of Ireland and beating W. McKerron of Scotland 2–1. He was selected again in 1976–77 for the match against Ireland, beating J. Clusker 2–1. In 1977–78 Wales won the series, although Wilson lost two of his three matches, including a 1–2 defeat by 1972 and 1974 [[IBSF World Snooker Championship|World Amateur Champion]] [[Ray Edmonds]]. In the 1978 series Wilson won three of his four matches, including a 3–0 win over the captain of the England team [[Mike Hallett]].<ref name="BH1">{{cite book |editor=Clive Everton |date=1984 |title=Benson and Hedges Snooker Year |location=London|publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=0863690513 |pages=111122|edition=First }}</ref><ref name="87HALE" />{{rp|298–299}}<ref name="WHOWHO" />{{rp|43}} In 1977, he won his second Welsh amateur championship, following his earlier win in 1956, beating Dai Thomas 8–1 in the final.<ref name="WHOWHO">{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Ian |date=1988 |title=Hamlyn Who's Who in Snooker  |location=London |publisher=Hamlyn|isbn=0600557138 }}</ref>{{rp|125}}<ref name="HAMLYN">{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Ian |date=1987 |title=The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker |location=Twickenham |publisher=Hamlyn Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-60055604-6|page=155}}</ref><ref name="FARCE" />{{rp|370–371}}

As Welsh Champion, Wilson qualified for the 1978 World Amateur Championship in Malta. He was the only player in the three groups of the [[round-robin tournament|round-robin]] stage to win all of their matches, and then beat Maltese player [[Joe Grech (snooker player)|Joe Grech]] 5–4 in the quarter-finals. Wilson built a 4–0 lead in front of a 4,000 strong audience that, according to Everton, started to deliberately distract him, as Grech levelled at 4–4 and led 37–0 in the deciding frame. Wilson eventually won the frame, and remained in the pressroom with Everton, guarded by police, until the audience left. He beat [[Kirk Stevens]] 8–2 in the semi-final and then [[Joe Johnson (snooker player)|Joe Johnson]] 11–5 in the final to take the title.<ref name="FARCE">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=2012 |title=Black farce and cue ball wizards |publisher=Mainstream |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781780575681}}</ref>{{rp|368–372}}<ref name="87HALE">{{cite book |last=Hale |first=Janice |date=1987 |title=Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1987–88  |location=Aylesbury |publisher=Queen Anne Press |isbn=0356146901 }}</ref>{{rp|300}}

Following his world amateur championship win, Wilson was invited to participate in the [[1979 Masters (snooker)|1979 Masters]]. He would have been the first amateur to play in the Masters, but withdrew due to a threatened boycott by professional players.<ref name="HO78">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Boycott of Wembley world snooker is averted |work=Harrow Observer |date=22 December 1978 |page=28}}</ref> He lost 5–8 in the southern area final of the English Amateur Championship to [[Jimmy White]] after leading 4–2.<ref name="M79">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Terry |title=Jimmy's fluke is right on cue |work=Daily Mirror |date=22 March 1979 |page=27 }}</ref> 1979 also saw him win the Welsh Amateur Championship for the third time, defeating Geoff Thomas 8–5 in the final; and take the National Pairs championship title with [[Steve Newbury]].<ref name="HAMLYN" />