Alexander Gordon Higgins (18 March 1949 – 24 July 2010) was a Northern Irish professional snooker player and a two-time world champion who is remembered as one of the most iconic figures in the sport's history. Nicknamed "Hurricane Higgins" for his rapid play, and known as the "People's Champion" for his popularity and charisma, he is often credited as a key factor in snooker's success as a mainstream televised sport in the 1980s.
Higgins turned professional in 1971 and won the World Snooker Championship in 1972, defeating John Spencer 37–31 in the final to become the first qualifier to win the world title, a feat that only two other players—Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Shaun Murphy in 2005—have achieved since. Aged 22, he was then the sport's youngest world champion, a record he held until 21-year-old Stephen Hendry won the title in 1990. He was world championship runner-up to Ray Reardon in 1976 and Cliff Thorburn in 1980. At the 1982 event, Higgins came from 13–15 behind to defeat Jimmy White 16–15 in the semi-finals, producing a 69 clearance in the penultimate frame that is regarded as one of the greatest breaks in the sport's history. He defeated Reardon 18–15 in the final, winning his second world title ten years after his first. Images of a tearful Higgins holding his baby daughter after his 1982 victory are regarded as some of the most iconic in the history of British televised sport.
Higgins won Masters titles in 1978 and 1981 and won the UK Championship in 1983, where he recovered from 0–7 behind to defeat Steve Davis 16–15 in the final. As of 2023, he is one of 11 players to have completed a career Triple Crown. He won the World Doubles Championship with White in 1984 and played with Dennis Taylor and Eugene Hughes on the all-Ireland team that won the World Cup three consecutive times from 1985 to 1987. He won his last professional title at the 1989 Irish Masters, defeating Hendry 9–8 in the final.
Remembered for his turbulent lifestyle, Higgins was a lifelong heavy smoker, struggled with drinking and gambling, and admitted to using cocaine and marijuana. He had tempestuous relationships with women—both his marriages ended in divorce, and he had widely publicised altercations with other girlfriends, one of whom stabbed him three times during a domestic argument. Known as an unpredictable, difficult, and volatile character, he was often disciplined by the sport's governing body, most notably when he was fined £12,000 and banned for five tournaments in 1986 after head-butting an official, and banned again for the entire 1990–91 season after punching another official and threatening to have Taylor shot. Higgins retired from the professional tour in 1997. Diagnosed with throat cancer the following year, he died of multiple causes in his Belfast home on 24 July 2010, aged 61.
Life and career
Early life
Higgins was born in Belfast on 18 March 1949. The only son of Alexander and Elizabeth Higgins, he grew up with sisters Isobel, Ann, and Jean on Abingdon Street. The family lived near the Jam Pot, a snooker and billiards hall in the Sandy Row estate, where Higgins frequented from age 10, initially running bets for his father and doing odd jobs. He took up snooker in the following year, initially at the Jam Pot before he practised with more challenging opponents at the Shaftesbury and YMCA clubs in the city centre.
After leaving school in 1964 Higgins worked as a messenger for the Irish Linen Company, but it was short lived as it offered few prospects and the business was in decline. At around fifteen he spotted a newspaper advert for stable boys at Eddie Reavey's stables in Wantage, Berkshire and was taken on, with hopes of following his idol Lester Piggott and become a jockey. Higgins disliked the required menial work despite being fired six times, was taken back on board. He stayed for almost two years, during which he gained weight and became too heavy to ride competitively. He left the stables for London, where he settled in a Leytonstone flat and resumed playing snooker. He won several money matches and earned extra income at a paper mill near London Bridge, but homesickness led to his return to Belfast after a year. By the time he was 16, Higgins had compiled his first maximum break.