Editing Joe Davis

{{short description|English professional snooker player (1901–1978)}}
{{other people||Joe Davis (disambiguation)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox snooker player
| name             = Joe Davis
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|size=100|country=GBR|OBE}}
| image            = Joe Davis.jpg
| image_size       = 
| alt = Joe Davis dressed in a waistcoat and bow tie, holding a billiard cue
| caption          = Davis {{circa}} 1920
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1901|4|15|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Whitwell, Derbyshire]], England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1978|7|10|1901|4|15|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Hampshire]], England
| Sport country    = England
| Professional     = 1919–1964
| High ranking     =
| Official maximums = 
| Ranking wins     =
| World champ      = [[World Snooker Championship|Snooker]]: {{Hlist|[[1927 World Snooker Championship|1927]] | [[1928 World Snooker Championship|1928]] | [[1929 World Snooker Championship|1929]] | [[1930 World Snooker Championship|1930]]}} {{Hlist|[[1931 World Snooker Championship|1931]] | [[1932 World Snooker Championship|1932]] | [[1933 World Snooker Championship|1933]] | [[1934 World Snooker Championship|1934]]}} {{Hlist|[[1935 World Snooker Championship|1935]] | [[1936 World Snooker Championship|1936]] | [[1937 World Snooker Championship|1937]] | [[1938 World Snooker Championship|1938]]}} {{Hlist|[[1939 World Snooker Championship|1939]] | [[1940 World Snooker Championship|1940]] | [[1946 World Snooker Championship|1946]]}} (15 times)<br />[[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|English billiards]]: {{Hlist|1928, 1929, 1930, 1932}} (4 times)
}}

'''Joseph Davis''' (15 April 1901{{spnd}}10 July 1978) was an English professional [[snooker]] and [[English billiards]] player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is now played, such as {{cuegloss|break}}-building. With the help of equipment manufacturer [[Bill Camkin]], he drove the creation of the [[World Snooker Championship]] by persuading the [[Billiards Association and Control Council]] to recognise an official professional snooker championship in 1927. Davis won the first 15 world championships from 1927 to 1946, and he is the only undefeated player in World Snooker Championship history. In 1935, he scored the championship's first {{cuegloss|century|century break}}.

A professional English billiards player from the age of 18, Davis was [[World Professional Billiards Championship|World Billiards Champion]] four times between 1928 and 1932. He was the first person to win world championship titles in both billiards and snooker. After his [[1946 World Snooker Championship|1946 victory]], Davis no longer played in the World Snooker Championship but he participated in other tournaments and exhibition matches until 1964, winning four [[News of the World Snooker Tournament|''News of the World'' Snooker Tournament]] titles. He also continued to wield considerable influence over the professional game through his chairmanship of the professional players' association, his co-ownership of the [[Thurston's Hall|Leicester Square Hall]] venue, and his negotiation of television contracts. His younger brother, [[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred Davis]], was the only person to defeat him in a competitive snooker match without receiving a [[Head start (positioning)|start]].

In 1955, Davis was the first player to make an officially recognised [[maximum break]]. He collapsed whilst watching his brother Fred play [[Perrie Mans]] in the semi-final of the [[1978 World Snooker Championship]]. During his [[convalescence]], Davis contracted a chest infection which led to his death on 10&nbsp;July that year.

==Early life==
Joseph Davis was born in [[Whitwell, Derbyshire]], on 15&nbsp;April 1901, the son of Elizabeth and Fred Davis.{{sfn|Williams|Gadsby|2005|page=16}} His younger brother, [[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred]], the youngest of the family's six children, would also grow up to become a professional snooker player.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=23 September 2004 |title=Davis, Joseph [Joe] |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/31013 |access-date=11 May 2020 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903050418/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-31013 |archive-date=3 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EBRIT">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Davis |title=Joe Davis |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=8 July 2019 |access-date=24 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622150512/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joe-Davis |archive-date=22 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> His father was a miner when Joe was born, and had become a publican by the time Joe was two years old, managing the Travellers Rest pub at [[Whittington Moor]].{{sfn|Williams|Gadsby|2005|page=16}} Davis was sent to live with his grandparents in [[Newbold, Derbyshire|Newbold]] for several years. By the time he moved back to live with his parents, his father was the [[Landlord#Licensed victualler|landlord]] of the Queen's Hotel, which had a full-size [[billiard table]].{{sfn|Trelford|1986|p=54}} Davis started playing [[English billiards]] at the age of eleven.<ref name="p1">{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001682/19211119/063/0007 |title=Winning Hazards |newspaper=The Sporting Times |date=19 November 1921 |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=25 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> From the age of twelve, he took lessons from Ernest Rudge, a billiards player turned entrepreneur, who lived in [[Chesterfield, Derbyshire|Chesterfield]] and had recently opened a [[billiard hall]] in the town.<ref name="p2">{{cite web |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001914/19210402/087/0005?browse=true |title=Joe Davis. The Rise of A New Billiards Star. Chesterfield Lad's Promise |newspaper=Sports Special ("The Green 'Un") |date=2 April 1921 |page=5 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=25 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The lessons took place at Rudge's private billiard room at the end of his garden.{{sfn|Williams|Gadsby|2005|page=17}} Davis would later manage billiard halls owned either by his family or by Rudge.<ref name="ODNB" /> He scored his first {{cuegloss|century|century break}} in billiards at age twelve in an [[exhibition game]] against J.&nbsp;D. Dickens.<ref name="p1" /><ref name="p2" />
[[File:Claude Falkiner 1915.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|alt=Claude Falkiner, standing with his arms crossed|Claude Falkiner {{circa}} 1915]]
Rudge arranged professional matches at his billiards hall in Chesterfield. In December 1913,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000276/19131219/245/0007?browse=False |title=Billiards. George Gray v C. Falkiner |newspaper=Sheffield Evening Telegraph |date=19 December 1913 |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref> he hosted a week-long match between the Australian billiards player George Gray, and [[Claude Falkiner]] from [[Featherstone]] in West Yorkshire. Davis acted as the {{cuegloss|spot boy}} for this match, giving him the chance to closely observe the technique of the two professional players. At one point during the week, Rudge asked Gray to give his opinion of Davis. Gray played with a {{cuegloss|stance}} that involved sighting with both eyes centrally over the cue, and with the cue running down the middle of his chin. Davis could not focus with his right eye so he played using a stance in which he rested the cue slightly to the left side of his chin, allowing him to sight along the cue with just his left eye.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003212/19210914/134/0007 |title=A Young Cueman. Davis, of Chesterfield, Comes to Town |newspaper=London Daily News |date=14 September 1921 |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> According to Davis, Gray said of him: "the boy will never be a good player until he alters his sighting."{{sfn|Davis|1976|p=20}} Davis was despondent following Gray's assessment of him. Rudge tried to change Davis's technique and stance to make him play "two-eyed" but, since Davis could not play this way naturally, they decided not to persist in trying to alter this aspect of his style.{{sfn|Davis|1976|pp=20-21}}

At the age of 13, Davis beat Dickens to win the Chesterfield and District Amateur Billiards Championship.<ref name="p2" /> The final score over three evenings was 1,500–1,229 to Davis, who received a trophy, a gold medal and a set of [[billiard ball]]s for making a {{cuegloss|break}} of 115, the highest of the tournament.{{sfn|Davis|1976|p=18}}{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=108–110}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19141204/196/0010 |title=Chesterfield Championship. Master Davis Beats The Holder |newspaper=[[Sheffield Daily Telegraph]] |date=4 December 1914 |page=10 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=22 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In February 1915, Rudge organised a match between [[Tom Reece]] and [[Willie Smith (billiards player)|Willie Smith]] at Chesterfield. Reece played a practice game against Davis on the afternoon of 11&nbsp;February, because Smith had a business engagement elsewhere. Davis, who was given a {{cuegloss|handicap}} start of 650 points, defeated Reece 1,000–785.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19150212/223/0010 |title=Thirteen-Year-Old Player's Game With Reece |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=12 February 1915 |page=10 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=28 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> At the opening of the Victoria Billiard Hall in [[Hasland]] the same year, Davis played the ex-Yorkshire champion F.&nbsp;W. Hughes of Leeds in an exhibition match. Davis received a handicap start of 200 points, and defeated Hughes 600–370, concluding with an unfinished break of 99.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000395/19150330/059/0003?browse=False |title=Hasland |newspaper=Derbyshire Courier |date=30 March 1915 |page=3 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=28 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In an exhibition match at Chesterfield against Falkiner on 14&nbsp;September 1916, he lost 232–400, after being given a 150-point head start.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000395/19160916/173/0007?browse=False |title=Billiards |newspaper=Derbyshire Courier |date=16 September 1916 |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Professional billiards career==
===1919–1927===
Davis became a professional billiards player in 1919 at the age of 18.{{sfn|Williams|Gadsby|2005|pages=15–26}}{{sfn|Davis|1976|p=30}} His first professional match was in February 1920 at Brampton Coliseum, just outside Chesterfield, against Albert Raynor of Sheffield. It was a week-long match of the first to 8,000 points. Raynor conceded 1,000 points to Davis from the start. The match finished on 14&nbsp;February, and resulted in a victory for Davis by 145 points. His highest break of the match was 160.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000250/19200216/216/0008?browse=False |title=Joe Davis Beats A. Raynor |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=16 February 1920 |page=8 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=28 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> By the end of March 1920, Davis's highest recorded break in billiards was 468.<ref name="468 Break">{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001897/19200329/121/0007 |title=Billiards Prodigy. Chesterfield Youth Beats Midlands Champion. Remarkable Play |newspaper=Nottingham Journal |date=29 March 1920 |page=5 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=28 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> He defeated the Midlands champion, [[Fred Lawrence]], at Chesterfield on 27&nbsp;March 1920 in a week-long match of the first to 8,000 points. Having received a start of 1,000 points, Davis won by 8,000–7,494, and made 23 breaks over 100, the highest of which was 262.<ref name="468 Break" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19200329/181/0005 |title=Davis' Victory at Chesterfield |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=29 March 1920 |page=5 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> On 29&nbsp;November 1920, he began a week-long match of the first to 8,000 points, against Arthur F. Peall at the Victoria Billiard Hall in Chesterfield. Davis received a start of 1,000 points, but lost 7,785–8,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000541/19201211/228/0009 |title=Billiards |newspaper=Derbyshire Times |date=11 December 1920 |page=9 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In March 1921, he lost 302–400 to Lawrence in the semi-final of an invitational professional tournament at [[Thurston's Hall]] held in aid of the [[Blind Veterans UK|St. Dunstan's]] aftercare fund.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lawrence in Final |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=26 March 1921 |page=3 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> He had eliminated Scottish champion Tom Aiken in his previous match.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000395/19210326/135/0007 |title=Break Of 147. Chesterfield Lad's Success in London |newspaper=Derbyshire Courier |date=26 March 1921 |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="p2" /> He also lost to Lawrence in the final of his first open professional championship, the 1921 Midlands Counties Billiards Championship. Lawrence won by 866 in the first-to-7,000-points contest.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000395/19210423/172/0008 |title=Joe Davis Beaten. Billiards Championship at Chesterfield |newspaper=Derbyshire Courier |date=3 April 1921 |page=8 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]. Retrieved 28 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>{{sfn|Davis|1976|pp=30–39}} At Manchester in April, Davis lost 13,208–15,000 against the northern billiards champion, Tom Tothill,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000250/19210502/182/0006?browse=False |title=Billiards. Tothill Decisively Defeats Davis |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=2 May 1921 |page=6 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> despite making a break of 495.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000250/19210430/212/0008?browse=False |title=Billiards. Splendid, Though Belated, Effort by Joe Davis |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=30 April 1921 |page=8 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

He faced the Welsh champion, [[Tom Carpenter]], in a match to 7,000 points at Cardiff in January 1922,<ref>{{cite news |title=Chesterfield Pro in Wales |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=17 January 1922 |page=9}}</ref> winning just one point.<ref>{{cite news |title=Billiards. Brilliant Ending to a Great Match |newspaper=Western Mail |date=23 January 1922 |page=5}}</ref> He won the 1922 Midlands Counties Billiards Championship, defeating [[Tom Dennis (snooker player)|Tom Dennis]] 6,417–4,433 in the week-long final in February.<ref name="ODNB" /><ref name="NHAM222">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Easy for Davis |work=[[Nottingham Journal]] |date=27 February 1922 |page=7 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]. Retrieved 11 May 2020.}}</ref> Later that year, a victory in the Second Division Billiards Championship, which included a win in the final over Peall in March,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0001464/19220327/189/0007?browse=False |title=Brilliant Victory By Joe Davis. Chesterfield Billiards Star Enters The Select Circle |newspaper=Sheffield Independent |date=27 March 1922 |page=5 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=28 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> gave Davis an entry into the [[Billiards Association and Control Council]] (BA&CC) [[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|Professional Championship]].<ref name="ODNB" />{{sfn|Davis|1976|p=54}} According to ''The Birmingham Daily Gazette'' report, he was "outclassed" by [[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]] in their championship match, which concluded on 15&nbsp;April 1922, losing 5,181–8,000.<ref name="BHAM22">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Davis beaten in billiards championship |work=[[Birmingham Daily Gazette]] |date=17 April 1922 |page=6 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]. Retrieved 11 May 2020.}}</ref>

Davis failed to qualify for the 1923 professional championship, losing to Lawrence in the Second Division semi-final at Chesterfield in February.<ref name="NHAM223">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Billiards |work=[[Nottingham Journal]] |date=26 April 1923 |page=7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=On The Green Cloth. Lawrence's Fine Win Over Joe Davis. A Brilliant Rally |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=26 February 1923 |page=7}}</ref> On 11&nbsp;October 1923, he made the highest break of his career to that point, 599, against Lawrence at the [[Burroughes Hall]] in Piccadilly.<ref>{{cite news |title=Davis v Lawrence |newspaper=The Sportsman |date=12 October 1923 |page=2}}</ref> The final score was 14,000–10,743 to Davis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Davis v Lawrence |newspaper=The Sportsman |date=15 October 1923 |page=8}}</ref> He became Midlands champion for the second time in 1924, defeating Lawrence 14,000–12,263 in the final.<ref>{{cite news |title=Billiards |newspaper=Leeds Mercury |date=4 February 1924 |page=15}}</ref> On 28&nbsp;February 1924, he made a break of 980 in the Second Division Championship at Cardiff,<ref>{{cite news |title=Brilliant Billiards. Big Breaks by Davis at Cardiff, and Smith at Newcastle |newspaper=Daily Mirror |date=29 February 1924 |page=14}}</ref> during a 14,000–10,240 semi-final victory over Carpenter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Billiards. Davis Easily Qualifies to Meet Lawrence at Sheffield |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=10 March 1924 |page=6}}</ref> Davis won the championship that year, easily overcoming Lawrence in the final; his winning margin was 6,198 points with the final score 14,000–7,802. Lawrence was out of condition during this game, following a serious illness from some time before, and the result was never in doubt from the early stages.<ref>{{cite news |title=Billiards. Joe Davis Easily Regains Second Division Championship |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=31 March 1924 |page=8}}</ref>
[[File:Tom Newman 1930.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]] (pictured in 1930) played Davis for the professional (World English Billiards) Championship each year from 1926 to 1930.]]
In 1926, Davis and defending champion Newman were the only two players to enter the professional billiards championship,{{efn|The only two entrants in the previous year's championship were [[Tom Reece]] and Tom Newman.{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=79–81}}}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Davis The Only Entrant For Championship |newspaper=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=1 January 1926 |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=A Billiards Fiasco |newspaper=Shields Daily News |date=12 January 1925 |page=1}}</ref> which is now regarded as the world championship. Newman defeated Davis 16,000–9,505.{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=212–213}}{{sfn|Everton|2012|p=82}} He reached the final the next year and was again defeated by Newman.{{sfn|Everton|2012|p=83}} In a match of the first to 16,000 points, Newman's winning margin was 1,237.<ref>{{cite news |title=Billiards. Newman's Victory. Davis Beaten By 1,237 |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=9 May 1927 |page=5}}</ref> Davis achieved his highest break ever in billiards of 2,501 on 27&nbsp;April 1927 in this final. He used the {{cuegloss|pendulum cannon|pendulum stroke}}, which had recently been introduced by Reece, during this break.<ref name="pen" /> The technique involves scoring long runs of close direct {{cuegloss|cannon|cannons}} by tapping the cue ball lightly across them.{{sfn|Davis|1976|pp=73-75}}{{sfn|Shamos|1999|p=177}} There were calls for this stroke to be limited or abolished because it was so tedious to watch.<ref name="pen">{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19270428/221/0009 |title=Billiards Sensation. Joe Davis Puts Up Record Break of 2,501. Pendulum Stroke Used |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=28 April 1927 |page=9 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
On 9&nbsp;August 1927, the Billiards Association Control Council decided to alter the rules to eliminate the big breaks made from ball-to-ball cannons alone. The number of consecutive direct cannons allowed during a break was limited to 35, and the pendulum stroke was defined as being in the category of the direct cannon.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19270810/302/0009 |title='Pendulum' Barred. Only 35 Direct Cannons Now Allowed |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=10 August 1927 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription |page=9}}</ref>

Davis made a break of 1,011 on 20&nbsp;October 1927 in a match against Newman at Thurston's.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000669/19271021/223/0010?browse=False |title=Arrears Down To 517. Good Spurt By Billiards Champion at Night. Davis's Big Break |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=21 October 1927 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=1 April 2021 |url-access=subscription |page=10}}</ref> It was the first 1,000 break made under the new rules.{{sfn|Davis|1976|pp=86-87}} Davis won by 485 points in this match of the first to 16,000, after being given a 2,000 start.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000250/19271027/261/0011?browse=False |title=Billiards. A Great Distinction For Joe Davis. A Magnificent Break |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=27 October 1927 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 April 2021 |page=10 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000669/19271024/059/0003?browse=False |title=Davis Beats Newman. Billiards Champion Fails By 485 Points. Splendid Breaks |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=24 October 1927 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription |page=3}}</ref>

===1928–1934===
He defeated Newman in 1928 to become the world champion at English billiards for the first time, making sixty centuries in the last final to be played with ivory balls. It took place at Thurston's and the final score was 16,000–14,874.{{sfn|Everton|2012|p=84}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000669/19280507/173/0009?browse=False |title=Billiards Title For J. Davis. Great Victory Over Newman, the Holder. Margin of 1,126 Points |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=7 May 1928 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription |page=9}}</ref> Davis thereby became the first player to hold the professional titles in both billiards and snooker, an achievement not matched until his brother Fred Davis won the billiards championship in 1980.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Everton |first=Clive |title=Fred v Joe: the continuing battle |magazine=Snooker Scene |publisher=Everton's News Agency |location=Halesowen |date=July 1980 |page=2}}</ref> Davis successfully defended his title for the next three years. In the 1929 final against Newman, Davis made 63 century breaks and his average score per {{cuegloss|visit}} to the table was 100.{{sfn|Everton|2012|p=86}} The final ended on 20&nbsp;April 1929, with the score 18,000–17,219 to Davis.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19290422/289/0009 |title=Billiards. Davis Retains Title. Electric Light Comedy |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=22 April 1929 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=30 March 2021 |url-access=subscription |page=9}}</ref>

In 1930, he set a new record average score-per-visit of 113.3. Davis again won against Newman, 20,918–20,117, in the 1930 billiards final.{{sfn|Everton|2012|p=94}}<ref name="1930 final">{{cite news |title=Joe Davis Retains Title. Newman Beaten by 801 in Final |newspaper=Dundee Courier |date=19 May 1930 |page=4}}</ref> On 7&nbsp;May 1930 in this final Davis completed a break of 2,052. At that time this was a record for the championship under the existing rules, and the highest billiard break he ever made after the rule change in 1927.<ref>{{cite news |title=Davis's New Record. Championship Break of 2,052. Over 1,100 Points in an Hour |newspaper=Leeds Mercury |date=8 May 1930 |page=9}}</ref>{{sfn|Davis|1976|p=120}} The event was not held in 1931 as most of the leading professionals did not enter, mainly due to a disagreement with the BA&CC over the {{cuegloss|cloth}} to be used. The only entrant was Smith, who was not declared champion.{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=96-96}}
[[File:SLNSW 6906 Walter Lindrum playing a shot.jpg|thumb|[[Walter Lindrum]] (pictured in 1934, playing a shot) defeated Davis twice for the [[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World English Billiards Championship]].]]
Davis played [[Walter Lindrum]] in a fortnight's match under time limit conditions at Thurston's, which began on 18&nbsp;January 1932. Davis was given a start of 7,000.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lindrum Starts Well Against Davis. Englishman Outpointed in Both Sessions |newspaper=Dundee Courier |date=19 January 1932 |page=9}}</ref> The second afternoon session ended with Lindrum on an unfinished break of 3,151 points.<ref>{{cite news |title=Remarkable Billiards |newspaper=Leeds Mercury |date=20 January 1932 |page=1}}</ref> The next day, Lindrum narrowly missed a difficult cushion cannon with the {{cuegloss|rest}} and the break ended at 4,137.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000327/19320121/056/0006 |title=The Latest |newspaper=Derby Daily Telegraph |date=21 January 1932 |page=6 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |access-date=1 April 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> This surpassed Lindrum's previous record of 3,905.{{sfn|Davis|1976|pp=128-130}} Davis responded finishing the afternoon session on 1,131 unfinished. His break continued in the evening session and finished on 1,247. He considered this break, in many respects, to have been his finest.{{sfn|Davis|1976|p=130}} This was the first time that opponents in a billiards game had made four-figure breaks in consecutive visits to the table.<ref>{{cite news |title=World's Record Break |newspaper=Aberdeen Press and Journal |date=21 January 1932 |page=4}}</ref> In 1932, Davis faced New Zealander [[Clark McConachy]] in the final. McConachy had won three of their four warm-up matches but in the championship itself, Davis won 25,161–19,259, scoring over 11,000 of his points through a series of runs of "close cannons", in which the three balls are kept close together for consecutive cannons.{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=96–100}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Title Again For Davis. McConachy Beaten by 5,902 Points |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=28 March 1932 |page=7}}</ref> Davis reached the final again in 1933 and 1934, losing on both occasions to Lindrum.{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=212–213}}

The [[UK Professional English Billiards Championship]] was first contested in 1934, and for several years after that was regarded as the premier event of the billiards season in the UK, in the absence of any contests for the world championships.{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=110–113}}<ref name="2015OPEN">{{cite web |title=2015 LITEtask UK Open |url=https://world-billiards.com/2015-litetask-uk-open/ |publisher=[[World Billiards]] |access-date=5 January 2021 |archive-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105145034/https://world-billiards.com/2015-litetask-uk-open/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Davis won the inaugural UK title with an 18,745–18,309 defeat of Newman.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=United Kingdom professional championship of English billiards |magazine=The Billiard Player |publisher=[[Billiards Association and Control Council]] |date=June 1934 |page=15}}</ref> After Lindrum had won the World Championship in 1933, he had insisted that the competition should be held in [[Australia]] for his defence. The Billiards Association and Control Council agreed to this, and Davis travelled to Australia for the 1934 Championship, where he was disappointed by the lack of planning for the tournament, and found it hard to raise the money for his return to the UK. Lindrum retained the world championship in 1934, and it was not contested again until 1952.{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=105–107}}{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=110–113}} Davis defeated Newman in each annual UK championship final up to 1939. The tournament was not held from 1940 to 1945, during [[World War II]].{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=110–113}} Davis also took the first post-war UK title, with a [[walkover]] over [[John Barrie (snooker player)|John Barrie]].<ref name="WB">{{cite web |title=UK Championship History |url=https://world-billiards.com/uk-championship-history/ |publisher=[[World Billiards]] |access-date=5 January 2021 |archive-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105032437/https://world-billiards.com/uk-championship-history/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="2015OPEN" />

==Professional snooker career==
Coinciding with Davis's peak as a billiards player, public interest in billiards was waning because the top players were becoming so proficient that the game was considered boring for spectators.{{sfn|Williams|Gadsby|2005|pages=15–26}} By 1924, breaks of over 1,000 were becoming increasingly common, and amendments to the rules were under consideration to make high breaks more difficult.{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=81–86}} In February 1925, Davis played Newman in a game of snooker, and made a break of 96, which was a new record for a professional match, exceeding the existing record of 89 set by Newman in 1919.{{sfn|Everton|1986|p=50}} As a billiard hall manager, Davis noticed the increasing popularity of snooker and with the help of [[Birmingham]]-based billiards equipment manager [[Bill Camkin]], he persuaded the BA&CC to recognise an official professional snooker championship in the 1926–27 season.<ref name="ODNB" />{{sfn|Trelford|1986|p=52}} The final of the [[1927 World Snooker Championship|first snooker world championship]] was held at Camkin's Hall in 1927; Davis won the tournament by defeating Dennis 16–7,{{efn|The final score was 20–11 after {{cuegloss|dead frame|dead frames}} were completed to take the total to the agreed 31 frames.}} and took the winner's prize of [[Pound sterling|£]]6&nbsp;10[[Shilling|s]].<ref name="WC history">{{Cite web |title=Betfred.com World Championship – History |date=2 March 2011 |work=World Snooker |publisher=[[World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association]] |url=http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/BetfredcomWorldChampionshipTournamentsArticle/0,,13165~2306123,00.html |access-date=14 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110315202302/http://www.worldsnooker.com/page/BetfredcomWorldChampionshipTournamentsArticle/0%2C%2C13165~2306123%2C00.html |archive-date=15 March 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Morrison|1987|pp=27–30}}{{sfn|Kobylecky|2019|pp=47–48}}

Davis won the World Championship every year until 1940, and again in 1946 when it was next held after being interrupted by the war.{{sfn|Hale|1987|pp=246–249}} He compiled his first snooker century break against Fred Pugh in January 1928,{{sfn|Everton|1986|p=50}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Break of 100: New snooker record by Joe Davis |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=20 January 1928 |page=10}}</ref> and made the first official century break of the World Snooker Championship, in 1930.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|pp=16–17}} As defending champion in [[1928 World Snooker Championship|1928]], Davis was seeded into the final to face the winner of a knockout competition between the other entrants.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Thorn |first=A. Stanley |title=Notes from headquarters: Professional snooker championship |magazine=The Billiard Player |publisher=W. G. Clifford |date=November 1927 |page=2}}</ref> Lawrence qualified for the final, which Davis won 16–13.<ref>{{cite news |title=Joe Davis retains snooker title |work=Birmingham Daily Gazette |date=18 May 1928 |page=10}}</ref> In [[1929 World Snooker Championship|1929]], the final was held in the back room of a pub owned by the losing finalist, Dennis,{{sfn|Everton|1985|p=49}} who then became runner-up for the third time in four years when Davis defeated him 25–12 in the [[1930 World Snooker Championship|1930]] final.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=164}} In both [[1931 World Snooker Championship|1931]] and [[1934 World Snooker Championship|1934]], the tournament was contested by only Davis and one other player.{{sfn|Hayton|Dee|2004|p=1}} The losing finalist in [[1932 World Snooker Championship|1932]] was McConachy, the first player from outside the British Isles to enter the World Snooker Championship,{{sfn|Hayton|Dee|2004|p=1}} and Smith was the runner-up to Davis in [[1933 World Snooker Championship|1933]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Snooker Champion – Joe Davis secures title for seventh time |work=Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald |date=24 June 1933 |access-date=20 November 2015 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000541/19330624/505/0017 |page=17 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In 1934, Davis travelled to Australia to play [[Horace Lindrum]] in an invitational match, the World Snooker Challenge.{{sfn|Everton|1985|p=49}} Davis won by 46 frames to 29. From [[1935 World Snooker Championship|1935]], the World Championship became more remunerative for players,{{sfn|Everton|1985|p=49}} after public interest increased when Davis set a new championship record break of 110 against Newman in their semi-final.{{sfn|Everton|1986|p=51}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Snooker's Pool – The Professional Championship |newspaper=The Times |date=18 April 1935 |page=6 }}</ref> Smith was the runner-up that year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Snooker's Pool – Davis retains the Championship |newspaper=The Times |date=29 April 1935 |page=5 }}</ref> Davis won against Lindrum in the [[1936 World Snooker Championship|1936]] and [[1937 World Snooker Championship|1937]] finals.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=165}} Lindrum declined to enter the [[1938 World Snooker Championship|1938]] tournament,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mz5AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3960%2C829186 |date=4 December 1937 |page=18 |title=Snooker – World Professional Title}}</ref> and it was [[Sidney Smith (snooker player)|Sidney Smith]] who finished second to Davis in both that year and [[1939 World Snooker Championship|1939]].{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=165}} The 1940 final was contested between the Davis brothers; Joe took an early lead but Fred won 11 frames in a row to take a 20–14 lead. Joe eventually won the match 37–35, with Fred winning the {{cuegloss|dead frame}} to take the score to 37–36.{{sfn|Kobylecky|2019|pp=47–48}}
[[File:Joe Davis 1940.jpg|thumb|alt=Joe Davis playing at a billiard table, with a large mirror behind him reflecting the table|Davis playing in an exhibition match (with angled mirror behind), {{circa}} 1940]]
Due to World War II, the World Championship was not held again until 1946.{{sfn|Kobylecky|2019|pp=47–48}} During the war, Davis toured the United Kingdom playing exhibition matches to raise money for charities.{{sfn|Everton|2012a|p=25}} At some exhibitions, including those at the [[London Palladium]], a large angled mirror was positioned next to the table to allow the audience a clear view of the {{cuegloss|playing surface}}.{{sfn|Trelford|1986|p=60}} Davis successfully defended his title in [[1946 World Snooker Championship|1946]], his 15th consecutive win, and thereby held the title for 20 consecutive years. As of 2022, he has won more world championships than any other player.<ref name="WST">{{cite web |title=Joe Davis |url=https://wst.tv/players/joe-davis/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112181156/https://wst.tv/players/joe-davis/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 January 2020 |website=World Snooker Tour |access-date=10 August 2022}}</ref> Davis retired from the event following this victory, having won the title at all 15 events from 1927 to 1946, making him, as of 2022, the only undefeated player in the history of the World Championship.{{sfn|Nauright|Zipp|2020|p=277}} Davis remained the best player until his retirement in 1964; his brother Fred came closest to Joe's standard during this time.{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=50–51}} According to snooker historian [[Clive Everton]], Davis's retirement from the World Championship reduced its prestige.{{sfn|Everton|1985|p=50}} Snooker journalists and authors [[Hector Nunns]] and [[David Hendon]] share this opinion.<ref name="WPBSAH" />

With the exception of the World Championship, snooker tournaments were contested on a [[handicapping|handicap]] basis where, using pre-determined numerical handicaps, one player would concede a set number of points to his opponent at the beginning of each frame, for example allowing his opponent to start with 14 points rather than zero.{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=50–51}} Despite offering a handicap to the other players, Davis won the [[News of the World Snooker Tournament|''News of the World'' Tournament]] on three occasions during the 1950s;{{sfn|Morrison|1987|pp=27–29}} his brother Fred and future world champion [[John Pulman]] each won it twice.{{sfn|Morrison|1989|p=86}} In 1959, Davis attempted to popularise a new version of the game called [[snooker plus]], which had two extra {{Cuegloss|colour ball|colours}}, an orange and a purple. The [[1959 News of the World Snooker Plus Tournament|1959 ''News of the World'' Snooker Plus Tournament]] was contested using this variant.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=123}} According to Everton, "the public rejected the game for the gimmick it was."{{sfn|Everton|1979|p=80}}

Davis scored the first officially recognised [[maximum break]] of 147 on 22&nbsp;January 1955 at [[Thurston's Hall|Leicester Square Hall]] in an exhibition match against Smith.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-official-147-break-in-snooker/ |title=First official 147 break in snooker |website=Guinness World Records |access-date=25 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225033253/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-official-147-break-in-snooker/ |archive-date=25 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The BA&CC initially refused to recognise the break because it was not made under their version of the rules; the match had taken place under the rules used by professionals that included the "play again" rule under which the opponent can require a player who has made a {{cuegloss|foul}} shot to play the next shot as well. The Association eventually recognised the break in April 1957, shortly before the "play again" rule was incorporated into the rules for amateur players.{{sfn|Everton|1985|p=50}}<ref name="TOBIT" />

Davis was awarded the [[Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in 1963.<ref name="TOBIT">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Obituary: Mr Joe Davis |work=[[The Times]] |location=London |page=16 |date=11 July 1978 }}</ref> He continued to play professionally until 1964.{{sfn|Everton|1985|p=50}} Davis died on 10&nbsp;July 1978,<ref name="EBRIT" /> two months after falling ill while watching his brother Fred play [[Perrie Mans]] in the [[1978 World Snooker Championship]] semi-final. The day after the match, he collapsed in the street and required a lengthy surgical procedure. He died from a chest infection that he contracted during his recuperation.{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=48–51}}{{sfn|Everton|2012a|p=67}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/07/11/archives/joe-davis-a-snooker-champion-who-retired-unbeaten-was-77.html |title=Joe Davis, a Snooker Champion Who Retired Unbeaten, Was 77 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 July 1978 |page=2}}</ref> The house in Whitwell where he was born bears a plaque commemorating him.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|pp=27–30}}

==Legacy==
Over a 20-year period, Davis won four World Billiards Championship titles and 15 World Snooker Championship titles. Other than in handicapped matches in which he conceded a start, he lost only four times, all towards the end of his career and against his brother Fred.<ref name="ODNB" /> Everton has said of Davis's influence on the game in the early 1920s: "in those days, the prevailing idea was to pot a red or two, a couple of colours and play safe but in the time he could spare from billiards Davis devoted considerable thought and practice to evolving the positional and breakbuilding shots, sequences and techniques which are taken for granted today."{{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=49–50}} Fred Davis, the second person to become a world champion at both snooker and billiards,<ref name="BBCFRED">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Tributes to cue king Fred Davis |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/79178.stm |work=[[BBC Sport]] |date=16 April 1998 |access-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503211009/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/79178.stm |archive-date=3 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> said that his brother Joe was "a very good player before anyone else knew how to play the game."{{sfn|Everton|1985|p=49}} [[Ted Lowe]], manager of Leicester Square Hall and later a snooker commentator for the [[BBC]], wrote that "because of his magnetism, snooker was able to replace billiards in most clubs, pubs and billiard halls."{{sfn|Lowe|1984|p=87}} Journalist [[Donald Trelford]] provided a similar assessment in his book ''Snookered'' (1986), writing that Davis had the vision to identify snooker as a replacement for billiards and  "had the organizing genius and force of habit to make things happen in that moribund world."{{sfn|Trelford|1986|p=51}}
[[File:Joe Davis, snooker and English Billiards player, circa 1938.jpg|thumb|alt=Joe Davis playing English billiards|Joe Davis {{circa}} 1938]]
Davis was not able to focus with his right eye; he played with his cue to the left of his chin.{{sfn|Williams|Gadsby|2005|pages=15–26}} Coach [[Frank Callan]], in his book ''Frank Callan's Snooker Clinic'' (1989), compared the most successful player at the time, [[Steve Davis]], to Joe Davis and concluded that Joe was the better player.{{sfn|Callan|Dee|1989|pp=105–113}} While learning to play snooker, Steve Davis was heavily influenced by Joe Davis's book ''How I Play Snooker'' (1956).<ref name="WPBSAH">{{cite web |url=https://www.wpbsa.com/about/history/full-history-of-snooker/ |title=Full History of Snooker |last1=Nunns |first1=Hector |last2=Hendon |first2=David |year=2020 |website=World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association |publisher=[[WPBSA]] |access-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810132854/http://www.wpbsa.com/about/history/full-history-of-snooker/ |archive-date=10 August 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Davis|2015}}<!--page?--> [[Ronnie O'Sullivan]] said of one of Davis's coaching books: "{{nowrap|2007–8}}&nbsp;... was one of my best years and it was all because I was reading the Joe Davis book."{{sfn|O'Sullivan|2013|p=31}} O'Sullivan again paid tribute to Davis after claiming his sixth world title in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ronnie O'Sullivan credits Joe Davis as inspiration for sixth world title victory |url=https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/sport/national/18655064.ronnie-osullivan-credits-joe-davis-inspiration-sixth-world-title-victory/ |website=[[Reading Chronicle]] |date=16 August 2020 |agency=Press Association |access-date=1 May 2021}}</ref> Everton wrote that, following his retirement from the world championship, Davis "through his force of personality&nbsp;... controlled the game", being the pre-eminent player, chairman of the professional players' association, a co-owner of the Leicester Square Hall (the main venue for professional matches), and the negotiator for television contracts.<ref name="ODNB" />{{sfn|Everton|2012a|pp=9–10}} Davis was nicknamed "Mr Snooker", "the Sultan of Snooker" and "the Emperor of Pot".{{sfn|Trelford|1986|p=51}}

==Personal life==
Davis married Florence Enid Stevenson (born 1899) on 8&nbsp;June 1921 and they had two children together. This first marriage was dissolved in 1931. On 6&nbsp;April 1945, he married Juanita Ida Triggs (1910–2008), a singer who performed under the stage name June Malo.<ref name="ODNB" />

==Snooker performance timeline==

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;"
! Tournament
! 1926/<br />27
! 1927/<br />28
! 1928/<br />29
! 1929/<br />30
! 1930/<br />31
! 1931/<br />32
! 1932/<br />33
! 1933/<br />34
! 1934/<br />35
! 1935/<br />36
! 1936/<br />37
! 1937/<br />38
! 1938/<br />39
! 1939/<br />40
! {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
|style="background:#EFEFEF;"| [[Daily Mail Gold Cup|''Daily Mail'' Gold Cup]]{{efn|name="rrhdm"|Round-robin [[Handicapping|handicap]] tournament.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=48}}}}{{efn|name="bill"|Billiards event before 1936/37 season.{{sfn|Everton|1986|p=53}}}}
| colspan="10" style="text-align:center; color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1936 Daily Mail Gold Cup|1]]
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1937/1938 Daily Mail Gold Cup|1]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1938/1939 Daily Mail Gold Cup|4]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1939/1940 Daily Mail Gold Cup|6]]
| align="center" |<ref>
*{{cite news |title=Snooker Gold Cup won by Davis |work=[[The Morning Bulletin]] |access-date=17 October 2012 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54989443 |date=21 December 1936}}
*{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker tournament |work=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|Staffordshire Sentinel]] |location=Stoke-on-Trent |date=29 January 1938 |page=7}}
*{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker – The handicap tournament |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=23 January 1939 |location=London |page=4}}
*{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=12 February 1940 |location=London |page=2}}</ref>
|-
|style="background:#EFEFEF;"| [[World Snooker Championship|World Championship]]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1927 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1928 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1929 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1930 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1931 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1932 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1933 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1934 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1935 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1936 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1937 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1938 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1939 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1940 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| align="center" | {{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=54–55}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%;"
! Tournament
! 1945/<br />46
! 1946/<br />47
! 1947/<br />48
! 1948/<br />49
! 1949/<br />50
! 1950/<br />51
! 1951/<br />52
! 1952/<br />53
! 1953/<br />54
! 1954/<br />55
! 1955/<br />56
! 1956/<br />57
! 1957/<br />58
! 1958/<br />59
! 1959/<br />60
! {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
|style="background:#EFEFEF;"| [[1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament|''Sunday Empire News'' Tournament]]{{efn|name="rrhse"|Round-robin [[Handicapping|handicap]] tournament.{{sfn|Morrison|1989|p=86}}}}
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center; color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament|1]]
| colspan="11" style="text-align:center; color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held
|{{sfn|Morrison|1989|p=86}}
|-
|style="background:#EFEFEF;"| [[News of the World Snooker Tournament|''News of the World'' Snooker Tournament]]{{efn|name="rrh"|Round-robin [[Handicapping|handicap]] tournament.{{sfn|Morrison|1989|p=86-88}}}}{{efn|[[Snooker Plus]] event in 1959/60 season{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=91}}}}
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center; color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1949/1950 News of the World Snooker Tournament|1]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1950/1951 News of the World Snooker Tournament|3]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1951/1952 News of the World Snooker Tournament|7]]
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1952/1953 News of the World Snooker Tournament|1]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1953/1954 News of the World Snooker Tournament|2]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1954/1955 News of the World Snooker Tournament|2]]
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1955/1956 News of the World Snooker Tournament|1]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1956/1957 News of the World Snooker Tournament|5]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1957/1958 News of the World Snooker Tournament|5]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1958 News of the World Snooker Tournament|2]]
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1959 News of the World Snooker Plus Tournament|1]]
|<ref>
*{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=£1,500 snooker placings |work=[[Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer]] |location=Leeds |date=22 January 1951 |page=3}}
*{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=21 January 1952 |page=4}}
*{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Fred Davis wins |magazine=The Billiard Player |publisher=[[Billiards Association and Control Council]] |location=London |issue=448 |date=April 1958 |page=7}}
*{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker |newspaper=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uWhAAAAAIBAJ&pg=5400%2C1947118 |date=17 November 1958 |page=4 |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=91}}{{sfn|Kobylecky|2019|pp=47–48}}
|-
|style="background:#EFEFEF;"| [[1950 Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament|''Sporting Record'' Masters' Tournament]]{{efn|name="rrhsr"|Round-robin [[Handicapping|handicap]] tournament.{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=91}}}}
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center; color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held
| align="center" style="background:#0f0;"|[[1950 Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament|1]]
| colspan="10" style="text-align:center; color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held
| {{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=91}}{{sfn|Hayton|Dee|2004|p=4}}
|-
|style="background:#EFEFEF;"| [[World Snooker Championship|World Championship]]
| style="text-align:center; background:#0f0;"|[[1946 World Snooker Championship|'''W''']]
| align="center" style="color:#555555;"| A
| align="center" style="color:#555555;"| A
| align="center" style="color:#555555;"| A
| align="center" style="color:#555555;"| A
| align="center" style="color:#555555;"| A
| align="center" style="color:#555555;"| A
| colspan="8" style="text-align:center; color:#555555;"|Tournament Not Held
| {{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=54–55}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:78%;"
! colspan="6"|Performance Table Legend
|-
| align="center" style="background:#00ff00;"|'''W'''
| won the tournament
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|#R/N
| lost in the early rounds of the tournament<br />(N = position in round-robin event)
| align="center" style="color:#555555;" width="30"|A
| did not participate in the tournament
|}

==Career finals==
<!--
{| width=100%
| valign=top width=40% align=left |
{| class="wikitable"
! Legend
|- bgcolor="#e5d1cb"
| World Championship (15–0)
|- bgcolor="dfe2e9"
| UK Championship (4–3)
|-
| Other Ranking (18–8)
|}
-->

===Snooker: (24 titles)===
{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+World Snooker Championship finals (15 titles){{sfn|Everton|1985|pp=54–55}}{{sfn|Kobylecky|2019|pp=47–48}}
|-
!scope="col" |Outcome
!scope="col" |No.
!scope="col" |Year
!scope="col" |Championship
!scope="col" |Opponent in the final
!scope="col" |Score
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 1
| [[1927 World Snooker Championship|1927]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Dennis, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Dennis (snooker player)|Tom Dennis]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|20–11
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|2
| [[1928 World Snooker Championship|1928]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Lawrence, Fred" | {{flagathlete|[[Fred Lawrence (snooker player)|Fred Lawrence]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|16–13
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 3
| [[1929 World Snooker Championship|1929]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Dennis, Tom"  |{{flagathlete|[[Tom Dennis (snooker player)|Tom Dennis]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|19–14
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 4
| [[1930 World Snooker Championship|1930]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Dennis, Tom"  |{{flagathlete|[[Tom Dennis (snooker player)|Tom Dennis]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|25–12
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 5
| [[1931 World Snooker Championship|1931]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Dennis, Tom"  |{{flagathlete|[[Tom Dennis (snooker player)|Tom Dennis]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|25–21
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 6
| [[1932 World Snooker Championship|1932]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="McConachy, Clark"  | {{flagathlete|[[Clark McConachy]]|NZL}}
| align="center"|30–19
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 7
| [[1933 World Snooker Championship|1933]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Smith, Willie"  | {{flagathlete|[[Willie Smith (billiards player)|Willie Smith]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|25–18
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 8
| [[1934 World Snooker Championship|1934]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" |{{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|25–22
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 9
| [[1935 World Snooker Championship|1935]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Smith, Willie"  | {{flagathlete|[[Willie Smith (billiards player)|Willie Smith]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|25–20
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 10
| [[1936 World Snooker Championship|1936]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Lindrum, Horace" | {{flagathlete|[[Horace Lindrum]]|AUS}}
| align="center"|34–27
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 11
| [[1937 World Snooker Championship|1937]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Lindrum, Horace" | {{flagathlete|[[Horace Lindrum]]|AUS}}
| align="center"|32–29
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 12
| [[1938 World Snooker Championship|1938]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Smith, Sidney" | {{flagathlete|[[Sidney Smith (snooker player)|Sidney Smith]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|37–24
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 13
| [[1939 World Snooker Championship|1939]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Smith, Sidney" | {{flagathlete|[[Sidney Smith (snooker player)|Sidney Smith]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|43–30
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 14
| [[1940 World Snooker Championship|1940]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Davis, Fred" | {{flagathlete|[[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred Davis]]|ENG}}
| align="center"|37–36
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"| 15
| [[1946 World Snooker Championship|1946]]
| [[World Snooker Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Lindrum, Horace" | {{flagathlete|[[Horace Lindrum]]|AUS}}
| align="center"|78–67
|}

{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Other snooker tournament wins: (9 titles)
|-
!scope="col" |Outcome
!scope="col" |Year
!scope="col" |Championship
!scope="col" |Runner-up
!scope="col" |Score
!scope="col" class=unsortable |{{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| 1934
| World Snooker Challenge
| data-sort-value="Lindrum, Horace" | {{flagathlete|[[Horace Lindrum]]|AUS}}
| align="center"|46–29
|<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker in Australia |work=[[Nottingham Journal]] |location=Nottingham |date=7 November 1934 |page=11}}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1936 Daily Mail Gold Cup|1936]]
| [[Daily Mail Gold Cup|''Daily Mail'' Gold Cup]]
| data-sort-value="Lindrum, Horace" | {{flagathlete|[[Horace Lindrum]]|AUS}}
| [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|<ref name="GC36">{{cite news |title=Snooker Gold Cup won by Davis |work=Morning Bulletin |access-date=17 October 2012 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54989443 |date=21 December 1936}}</ref>{{sfn|Morrison|1989|p=86}}
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1937/1938 Daily Mail Gold Cup|1938]]
| [[Daily Mail Gold Cup|''Daily Mail'' Gold Cup]]
| data-sort-value="Smith, Willie"  | {{flagathlete|[[Willie Smith (billiards player)|Willie Smith]]|ENG}}
| [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|<ref name="GC38">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Snooker tournament |work=[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|Staffordshire Sentinel]] |location=Stoke-on-Trent |date=29 January 1938 |page=7}}</ref>{{sfn|Morrison|1989|p=86}}
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1948 Sunday Empire News Tournament|1948]]
| [[Sunday Empire News Tournament|''Sunday Empire News'' Tournament]]
| data-sort-value="Pulman, John" | {{flagathlete|[[John Pulman]]|ENG}}
| [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|{{sfn|Morrison|1989|p=86}}
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1949/1950 News of the World Snooker Tournament|1950]]
| [[News of the World Snooker Tournament|''News of the World'' Snooker Tournament]]
| data-sort-value="Smith, Sidney" | {{flagathlete|[[Sidney Smith (snooker player)|Sidney Smith]]|ENG}}
| [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=91}}
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1950 Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament|1950]]
| [[Sporting Record Masters' Snooker Tournament|''Sporting Record'' Masters' Tournament]]
| data-sort-value="Smith, Sidney" | {{flagathlete|[[Sidney Smith (snooker player)|Sidney Smith]]|ENG}}
| [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|{{sfn|Hayton|Dee|2004|p=4}}<ref name="APJ50">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=10 June 1950 |title=Davis needs three to win |work=[[Aberdeen Press and Journal]] |location=Aberdeen |page=4}}</ref><!--The Aberdeen Press and Journal article says that the match between Davis and Smith was the decisive one in the event-->
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1952/1953 News of the World Snooker Tournament|1953]]
| [[News of the World Snooker Tournament|''News of the World'' Snooker Tournament]]
| data-sort-value="Rea, Jackie" | {{flagathlete|[[Jackie Rea]]|NIR}}
| [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=91}}
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1955/1956 News of the World Snooker Tournament|1956]]
| [[News of the World Snooker Tournament|''News of the World'' Snooker Tournament]]
| data-sort-value="Davis, Fred" | {{flagathlete|[[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred Davis]]|ENG}}
|[[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|{{sfn|Morrison|1987|p=91}}
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
| [[1959 News of the World Snooker Plus Tournament|1959]]
| [[News of the World Snooker Tournament|''News of the World'' Snooker Tournament]]
| data-sort-value="Davis, Fred" | {{flagathlete|[[Fred Davis (snooker player)|Fred Davis]]|ENG}}
| [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]]
|<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Glasgow Herald]] |date=20 November 1959 |page=6 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Wuo-AAAAIBAJ&pg=5126%2C2724329 |title=Snooker Plus |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Glasgow Herald]] |date=23 November 1959 |page=10 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XOo-AAAAIBAJ&pg=3791%2C3062132 |title=Snooker Plus |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref><!--Some reference books claim, wrongly it seems, that Fred Davis won the event-->
|}

===English Billiards===

{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+[[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World Billiards Championship]] finals{{sfn|Everton|2012|pp=212–213}}
|-
!scope="col" |Outcome
!scope="col" |No.
!scope="col" |Date
!scope="col" |Championship
!scope="col" |Opponent in the final
!scope="col" |Score
|- style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|align="center"|1
| style="text-align:center"|May 1926
| [[Billiards Association and Control Club]] Championship
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| style="text-align:center"|9,505–16,000
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|align="center"|2
| style="text-align:center"|May 1927
| [[Billiards Association and Control Club]] Championship
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| style="text-align:center"|14,763–16,000
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|1
| style="text-align:center"|May 1928
| [[Billiards Association and Control Club]] Championship
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
|style="text-align:center"|16,000–14,874
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|2
| style="text-align:center"|April 1929
| [[Billiards Association and Control Club]] Championship
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| style="text-align:center"|18,000–17,219
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|3
| style="text-align:center"|May 1930
| [[Billiards Association and Control Club]] Championship
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
|" style="text-align:center"|20,918–20,117
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|4
|style="text-align:center"|March 1932
| [[Billiards Association and Control Club]] Championship
| data-sort-value="McConachy, Clark" | {{flagathlete|[[Clark McConachy]]|NZL}}
| style="text-align:center"|25,161–19,259
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|align="center"|3
|style="text-align:center"|May 1933
|[[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World Professional Championship of English Billiards]]
| data-sort-value="Lindrum, Walter" |{{flagathlete|[[Walter Lindrum]]|AUS}}
| style="text-align:center"|21,121–21,815
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|align="center"|4
| style="text-align:center"|October 1934
| [[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World Professional Championship of English Billiards]]
| data-sort-value="Lindrum, Walter" |{{flagathlete|[[Walter Lindrum]]|AUS}}
| style="text-align:center"|22,678–23,553
|}

{| class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+[[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Professional Billiards Championship]] finals{{efn|The UK championship was instituted in 1934. It was not held from 1940 to 1946.{{sfn|BSCC|1971|p=95}}}}
|-
!scope="col" |Outcome
!scope="col" |No.
!scope="col" |Date
!scope="col" |Championship
!scope="col" |Opponent in the final
!scope="col" |Score
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|1
| style="text-align:center"|1934
| [[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Championship]]
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
|style="text-align:center"|18,745–18,309
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|2
| style="text-align:center"|1935
| [[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Championship]]
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| style="text-align:center"|21,733–19,910
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|3
|style="text-align:center"|1936
| [[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Championship]]
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| style="text-align:center"|21,710–19,791
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|4
| style="text-align:center"|1937
| [[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Championship]]
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| style="text-align:center"|22,601–18,321
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|5
| style="text-align:center"|1938
| [[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Championship]]
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
|style="text-align:center"|20,933–19,542
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|6
| style="text-align:center"|1939
| [[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Championship]]
|data-sort-value="Newman, Tom" | {{flagathlete|[[Tom Newman (billiards player)|Tom Newman]]|ENG}}
| style="text-align:center"|21,601–18,383
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"|Winner
|align="center"|7
| style="text-align:center"|1947
| [[UK Open Billiards Championship|United Kingdom Championship]]
| data-sort-value="Barrie, John" | {{flagathlete|[[John Barrie (snooker player)|John Barrie]]|ENG}}
|" style="text-align:center"| [[walkover]]
|}

==Publications==

*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1929 |title=Billiards Up-To-Date |publisher=[[John Long Ltd|John Long]] |location=London|ref=no }}<ref>{{cite news |title=Chesterfield items |newspaper=Derbyshire Times |date=4 May 1929 |page=11}}</ref>
*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1930 |title=My Snooker Book |publisher=[[John Long Ltd|John Long]] |location=London|ref=no }}<ref>{{cite news |title=Looking back at a love affair |newspaper=Daily Mirror |date=5 February 1930 |page=19}}</ref>
*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1932 |title=How to Pot a Ball |publisher=Wright & Brown |location=London |ref=no}}<ref>{{cite web |title=How to pot a Ball |website=The British Library (catalogue) |url=http://explore.bl.uk/BLVU1:LSCOP-ALL:BLL01000879487 |access-date=9 August 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1936 |title=Improve Your Snooker |publisher=[[Methuen Publishing]] |location=London|ref=no }}<ref>{{cite news |title=Improve your snooker |newspaper=Daily Mirror |date=20 October 1936 |page=31}}</ref>
*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1954 |title=Advanced Snooker |publisher=[[Country Life (books)|Country Life]]|ref=no }}<ref>{{cite web |title=Advanced Snooker |website=The British Library (catalogue) |url=http://explore.bl.uk/BLVU1:LSCOP-ALL:BLL01000879482 |access-date=9 August 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1956 |title=How I Play Snooker |publisher=[[Country Life (books)|Country Life]] |ref=no}}<ref>{{cite web |title=How I Play Snooker |website=The British Library (catalogue) |url=http://explore.bl.uk/BLVU1:LSCOP-ALL:BLL01008930116 |access-date=9 August 2022 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1967 |title=Complete Snooker for the Amateur |publisher=[[Country Life (books)|Country Life]] |ref=no}}{{efn|Compilation of ''How I Play Snooker'', ''Advanced Snooker'', and 16 new pages headed ''Shots you must Know''. A revised edition was published in 1969.{{sfn|Clarke|2008|p=60}}}}{{sfn|Clarke|2008|p=60}}
*{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1974 |title=Complete Snooker |publisher=[[W. H. Allen Ltd|W. H. Allen]] |isbn=978-0-491-01521-9|ref=no}}{{efn|The revised 1969 edition of ''Complete Snooker for the Amateur'', with a new introduction by [[Eddie Charlton]].{{sfn|Clarke|2008|p=60}}}}
*{{cite book |title=The Breaks Came My Way |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1976 |publisher=[[W. H. Allen Ltd|W. H. Allen]] |location=London |isbn=0491016867 |ref=no}}

==See also==
* {{portal-inline|Biography}}
* {{portal-inline|Cue sports}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
'''Bibliography'''
*{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1971 |title=The Billiards and Snooker Control Council Handbook and Rules |location=London |publisher=[[Billiards and Snooker Control Council]] |ref={{harvid|BSCC|1971}}}}
*{{cite book |first1=Frank |last1=Callan |author-link1=Frank Callan |first2=John |last2=Dee |title=Frank Callan's Snooker Clinic  |year=1989 |publisher=Partridge |location=London |isbn=978-1-85225-069-0}}
*{{cite book |last=Clarke |first=Gary |title=A Billiards and Snooker Compendium|publisher=Paragon |location=Rothersthorpe |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-899820-46-7 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Breaks Came My Way |last=Davis |first=Joe |year=1976 |publisher=[[W. H. Allen Ltd|W. H. Allen]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-491-01686-5}}
*{{cite book |first=Steve |last=Davis |author-link=Steve Davis |title=Interesting: My Autobiography  |year=2015 |publisher=[[Ebury Publishing]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-4735-0248-2}}
*{{cite book |first1=John |last1=Nauright |first2=Sarah |last2=Zipp |title=Routledge Handbook of Global Sport |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=htTHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT277 |date=3 January 2020 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |location=Abingdon |isbn=978-1-317-50047-6 |page=277}}
*{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |author-link=Clive Everton |date=1979 |title=The Story of Billiards and Snooker |publisher=[[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-304-30373-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1985 |title=Guinness Snooker: the Records |location=Enfield |publisher=[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Superlatives]] |isbn=978-0-85112-448-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1986 |title=The History of Snooker and Billiards|publisher=Partridge Press |location=Haywards Heath |isbn=978-1-85225-013-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=2012 |title=A History of Billiards: (the English three-ball game) |location=Malmesbury |publisher=englishbilliards.org |isbn=978-0-9564054-5-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=2012a |title=Black Farce and Cue Ball Wizards |publisher=[[Mainstream Publishing]] |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-1-78057-568-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Hale |first=Janice |date=1987 |title=Rothmans Snooker Yearbook 1987–88 |location=Aylesbury |publisher=[[Queen Anne Press]] |pages=246–249 |isbn=978-0-356-14690-4}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hayton |first1=Eric |last2=Dee |first2=John |date=2004 |title=The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History |publisher=Rose Villa Publications |location=Lowestoft |isbn=978-0-9548549-0-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Kobylecky |first=John |date=2019 |title=The Complete International Directory of Snooker Players – 1927 to 2018 |publisher=Kobyhadrian Books |location=<!--not stated--> |isbn=978-0-9931433-1-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=Ted |title=Between frames |year=1984 |publisher=A & C Black |location=London| isbn=978-0-7136-2446-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Ian |date=1987 |title=The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker |publisher=[[Hamlyn (publishers)|Hamlyn Publishing Group]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-600-55604-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Morrison |first=Ian |date=1989 |title=Snooker: Records, Facts and Champions |location=Enfield |publisher=[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-85112-364-6}}
*{{cite book |first=Ronnie |last=O'Sullivan |title=Running: The Autobiography |date=10 October 2013 |publisher=[[Orion Publishing Group|Orion]] |location=London |isbn=9780752898803 }}
*{{cite book |last=Shamos |first=Mike |title=The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards |publisher=The Lyons Press |location=New York |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-55821-797-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Trelford |first=Donald |title=Snookered |year=1986 |publisher=Faber & Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0-571-13640-7}}
*{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Luke |last2=Gadsby |first2=Paul |date=2005 |title=Masters of the Baize : Cue Legends, Bad Boys and Forgotten Men in Search of Snooker's Ultimate Prize |publisher=[[Mainstream Publishing]] |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-1-84018-872-1}}

'''Citations'''
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{WST player|joe-davis|archive=20210527072722}}

{{Commons category}}
{{World snooker champions}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Joe}}
[[Category:English snooker players]]
[[Category:English players of English billiards]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Whitwell, Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Derbyshire]]
[[Category:World champions in English billiards]]
[[Category:Winners of the professional snooker world championship]]