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{{for|the jazz singer and actress Thelma Carpenter|Thelma Carpenter}}
{{Short description|Female snooker and billiards player}}
{{Short description|Female snooker and billiards player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
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| honorific_suffix =
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Billiards_player_Thelma_Carpenter_in_1933.jpg
| image = Billiards_player_Thelma_Carpenter_in_1933.jpg
| caption = Carpenter, from a 1933 issue of The Billiard Player
| caption = Carpenter in 1933
| birth_date = 4 December 1911
| birth_date = 4 December 1911
| birth_place =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1998 (aged 86)
| death_date = 1998 (aged 86)
| Sport country = {{ENG}}
| Sport country = {{ENG}}
| Nickname =
| Professional = 1934–1950
| Professional =
| High ranking =
| High ranking =
| Prize money =
| Official maximums =
| High break =
| Century break =
| Best finish =
| Best finish =
| medals-expand =
| medals-expand =
| medals =
| medals =
| World champ = [[World Women's Billiards Championship|English Billiards]]:1932, 1933, 1934
| Other wins =
| World champ = [[English billiards|Billiards]] 1940–1950<br/>[[Snooker]] 1950
}}
}}


'''Thelma Carpenter''' (4 December 1911 – 1986)<ref name="OBIT">{{cite news |date=15 May 1998 |title=Thelma Carpenter |work=The Daily Telegraph |issue=44449|location=p.31 |via=Telegraph Historical Archive. Retrieved 21 August 2019.}}</ref> was an [[England|English]] [[English billiards|billiards]] and [[snooker]] player. She won the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] three times, and the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] once.
'''Thelma Carpenter''' (4 December 1911 – 1998) was an [[England|English]] player of [[English billiards]] and [[snooker]] player. She won the [[World Women's Billiards Championship|World Ladies Amateur Billiards Championship]], now recognised as editions of the World Women's Billiards Championship, each year from 1932 to 1934. After turning professional in 1934, she won the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] four times and the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] once, retiring as the reigning champion of both games in 1950.


She opened a billiard academy for women in 1934, and in 1936 she was the first woman to commentate on sports for the [[BBC]] when she provided radio commentary for a billiards match. She died in 1998.
==Biography==


==Early life and playing career==
Carpenter's father, Brodie Carpenter, owned the Solent Cliffs Hotel in [[Bournemouth]], which had two billiard rooms. Thelma Carpenter was educated at home, and never attended school. She met prominent snooker and billiards players including [[Joe Davis]] and [[Clark McConachy]] when they played exhibition matches at her father's hotel. The hotel was demolished in the 1970s and is now the site of the [[Bournemouth International Centre]], which has hosted professional [[snooker]] tournaments.<ref name="OBIT" /><ref name="EVERTON">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |date=1985 |title=Guinness Snooker – The Records |publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd |pages=154–156 |isbn=0851124488 }}</ref>
Thelma Carpenter was born on 4 December 1911.<ref name="OBIT">{{cite news |date=15 May 1998 |title=Obituary of Thelma Carpenter Women's Snooker and Billiards Champion Whom Only the Best Men Could Beat |work=The Daily Telegraph |page=31 }}</ref> father, Brodie Carpenter, owned the Solent Cliffs Hotel in [[Bournemouth]], which had two billiard rooms. Thelma Carpenter was educated at home, and never attended school. She met prominent snooker and billiards players including [[Joe Davis]] and [[Clark McConachy]] when they played exhibition matches at her father's hotel, which demolished in the 1970s and is now the site of the [[Bournemouth International Centre]], which has hosted professional [[snooker]] tournaments.<ref name="OBIT" /><ref name="EVERTON">{{cite book |last=Everton |first=Clive |author-link=Clive Everton |editor-last=Frei |editor-first=Beatrice |date=1985 |title=Guinness Snooker – The Records |publisher=Guinness Superlatives |location=Enfield |pages=154–156 |isbn=978-0-85112-448-3 }}</ref> She started playing billiards in 1926,<ref name="WEBSF">{{cite web |title=Big Breaks, Battles and Pneumonia: The Unsung Story of Thelma Carpenter's Glistening Cue-Sport Career |website=West of England Billiards and Snooker Foundation |date=17 August 2019 |url=https://websfsnooker.com/tournaments/snooker/carpenter/thelmas-story/ |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> when she was 15.<ref name="ASW">{{cite news |last=Stanley |first=Ailsa |title=Ailsa Stanley's Spotlight on Women |newspaper=The Nottingham Journal |date=30 March 1953 |page=2}}</ref>


[[Clark McConachy|McConachy]], who was later the [[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World Professional Billiards Champion]] from 1951 until 1968, and Claude Falkiner (twice runner-up in the [[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World Billiards Championship]]) both provided coaching to Carpenter,<ref name="OBIT" /> as did Welsh champion player [[Tom Carpenter]] (no relation).<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line -->|title=Billiards: Women's Amateur Championship |work=Gloucester Citizen |page=12 |date=3 February 1931 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]. Retrieved 6 December 2019.}}</ref>
McConachy, who would become the [[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World Professional Billiards Champion]] from 1951 until 1968, and Claude Falkiner (twice runner-up in the [[World Billiards Championship (English billiards)|World Billiards Championship]]) both provided coaching to Carpenter,<ref name="OBIT" /> as did Welsh champion player [[Tom Carpenter]] (no relation).<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line -->|title=Billiards: Women's Amateur Championship |work=Gloucester Citizen |page=12 |date=3 February 1931 }}</ref> McConachy gifted his cue to Carpenter, although he may have regretted this; multiple-time [[World Snooker Championship|men's professional]] champion [[Joe Davis]] later said that he felt McConachy never played to his full ability again.<ref name="TRELFORD">{{cite book |last=Trelford |first=Donald |author-link=Donald Trelford|title=Snookered |year=1986 |publisher=Faber & Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0-571-13640-7 |pages=36–37}}</ref> The journalist and author [[Donald Trelford]] speculated that McConachy was "too gallant (or too stubborn or too shy)" to request the cue's return.<ref name="TRELFORD"/> In 1933, Carpenter wrote that she used a cue weighing 19.5 [[ounce|oz.]], which was heavier than those traditionally used by professional male players whose cues generally weighed no more than 17 oz.<ref name="TCSEP33">{{cite magazine |last=Carpenter |first=Thelma |title=Billiards for Women |magazine=The Billiard Player |date=September 1933 |page=4}}</ref> She felt that the extra weight of the cue helped with forcing and {{cuegloss|screw}} shots.<ref name="TCSEP33"/> When training, she would practice and play for four to five hours a day.<ref name="ASW"/>


The Women's Billiards Association (WBA) was founded in May 1931, with the objective of controlling the amateur and professional [[English billiards]] and [[snooker]] championships for women, and promoting other tournaments and competitions. [[Teresa Billington-Greig]], who had chaired the initial meeting, became acting honorary secretary, and Carpenter was among the other members appointed to the WBA Council.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Proposed Formation of Women's Association |work=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |page=8 |date=12 May 1931 }}<br>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships. |work=Lancashire Evening Post |page=10 |date=1 October 1931 }}<br>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=(Untitled Article) |work=Staffordshire Sentinel |page=8 |date=21 May 1931 }}<br>{{cite magazine |title=Women's Billiard Association formed |magazine=The Billiard Player |issue=June 1931) |page=2 }}</ref>
She won the [[World Women’s Billiards Championship|World Ladies Amateur Billiards Championship]] three years consecutively, from 1932 to 1934.<ref name="EVERTON" /> In 1934, Carpenter resigned from the [[Women's Billiards Association]] (WBA) in protest at them not allowing her to play in tournaments with men that the WBA had no jurisdiction over.<ref name="OBIT" />


Carpenter won the WBA's [[World Women's Billiards Championship|World Ladies Amateur Billiards Championship]] three years consecutively, from 1932 to 1934.<ref name="EVERTON" /> There were 41 entrants in 1932, including Mrs McConachy, who was married to Clark.<ref name="NCN">{{cite news |title=Women's Billiards Championship |newspaper=The North-China Herald and Supreme Court and Consular Gazette|date=19 January 1932 |page=95}}</ref><!--via ProQuest--> Carpenter defeated Ethel Brown 1,000-730 in the final.<ref name="NCN"/> she defeated Vera Seals in the 1933 final, and, after recovering from [[pneumonia]], which she had contacted in December 1933,<ref name="WEBSF"/> won the 1934 final against Seals.<ref name="WEBSF"/> The [[World Women's Billiards Championship]] is viewed as a continuation of this amateur championship rather than of the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]].<ref name="WBL">{{cite web |url=http://world-billiards.com/?p=9757 |title=World Ladies Billiards Champions |website=World Billiards|date=22 June 2015 |access-date=4 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816182227/http://world-billiards.com/?p=9757 |archive-date=16 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
From 1936 to 1939 she was runner up to [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] three times in four years in the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship]], and once to [[Joyce Gardner]] in the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]].


In December 1933, the Council of the WBA announced that any players entering open events not organised or sanctioned by the WBA would be prohibited from entering WBA competitions, that no permissions would be granted where tournaments differentiated between men and women, and that any players accepting payment would lose their amateur status.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Billiards. Rules Controlling Championship Entries |work=Leeds Mercury |page=11 |date=15 December 1933 }}</ref> Carpenter resigned from the Association in February 1934, as she was not granted permission to play in the Junior Amateur Championship organised by ''The Billiard Player'' magazine.<ref name="CTR"/><ref name="OBIT" /> She claimed that the sport would not thrive under the Association's control.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Woman Champion |work=Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette|page=9 |date=6 February 1934 }}</ref><ref name="CTR">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Miss Thelma Carpenter Resigns from Women's Billiards Association |work=Bournemouth Graphic |page=13 |date=10 February 1934 }}</ref> In August, Carpenter declared that she was turning professional.<ref name="WEBSF"/> Her first professional match was the following month, against [[Sydney Lee (snooker player)|Sydney Lee]] at St Peter's Hall, Bournemouth.<ref>{{cite news |title=A Billiards Trial |newspaper=Daily Herald |date=25 August 1934 |page=15}}</ref> Lee conceded a start of 2,500 points to Carpenter, but won the three-day match 4,030–3,955.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lee Beats Miss Thelma Carpenter |newspaper=Aberdeen Press and Journal |date=30 August 1934 |page=4}}</ref> By January 1935, the WBA had affiliated to the [[Billiards and Snooker Control Council]], and Carpenter accepted an invitation to play in the professional championship.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Carpenter |first=Thelma |title=Billiards for Women |magazine=The Billiard Player |date=January 1934 |page=6}}</ref>
In 1940 she won her first professional world title by beating [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] 2184–1641 in the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship|Billiards]] final,<ref name="OBS" /> and, the next time the event was held, in 1949, beat [[Joyce Gardner|Gardner]] 3120–2518 to retain the title. 1949 also saw Carpenter lose for the fourth time in the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship|Snooker]] final, this time 15–16 to [[Agnes Davies|Agnes Morris]].<ref name="WDP50">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bath City Signings|magazine=Western Daily Mail|location=p.5 |date=25 June 1950|via=The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 19 August 2019.}}</ref>
[[File:Gardner Carpenter 1939 - Copy.jpg|alt=Joyce Gardner playing billiards, with thelma Carpenter standing to the left and an unknown referee to the right|thumb|[[Joyce Gardner]] (in play) and Carpenter (right) in 1939]]
From 1936 to 1939 she was runner up to Harrison three times in four years in the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship]], and once to Gardner in the Women's Professional Billiards Championship. In 1940 she won her first professional title by beating [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] 2,184–1,641 in the [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship|Billiards]] final,<ref name="OBS" /> and, the next time the event was held, in 1949, beat [[Joyce Gardner|Gardner]] 3,120–2,518 to retain the title. 1949 also saw Carpenter lose for the fourth time in the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship|Snooker]] final, this time 15–16 to [[Agnes Davies|Agnes Morris]], despite having led for most of the match<ref name="WDP50">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bath City Signings|magazine=Western Daily Mail|page=5 |date=25 June 1950}}</ref><ref name="DALE">{{cite magazine |last=Dale |first=Dominic |author-link=Dominic Dale |title=Women's Snooker: 90 Years of Downs and Ups |magazine=Snooker Scene |date=July 2020 |pages=9–11}}</ref> The 1950 [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship|Billiards]] final featured the same finalists as in 1949, and had the same victor, with Carpenter beating [[Joyce Gardner|Gardner]] 1978–1374 to win for a third time. A few days later, Carpenter won the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship|Snooker Championship]] too, this time beating [[Agnes Davies|Agnes Morris]] 20–10.<ref name="WDP50" /> Following the cessation of the women's professional snooker and billiards championships after 1950, Carpenter retired from competitive play, as the reigning champion in both events, and later moved to [[Mudeford]].<ref name="OBIT" /> By 1958, her parents had retired from managing their hotel, and Carpenter rarely played cue sports, but had taken up [[ballroom dancing]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Where Are They Now? No. 453 |newspaper=News Chronicle |date=27 November 1958 |page=10}}</ref>


==Non-playing career and personal life==
The 1950 [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship|Billiards]] final featured the same finalists as in 1949, and had the same victor, with Carpenter beating [[Joyce Gardner|Gardner]] 1978–1374 to win for a third time. A few days later, Carpenter won the [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship|Snooker Championship]] too, this time beating [[Agnes Davies|Agnes Morris]] 20–10.<ref name="WDP50" />
She wrote the "Billiards for Women" column in ''The Billiard Player'' magazine,<ref name="TCSEP33"/> and in 1936 she was the first woman to commentate on sports for the [[BBC]] when she provided radio commentary for a billiards match between [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] and [[Joyce Gardner]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Saturday Contrast: 4 |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3fe4b85a59d044cfafb46f3ab532c9e7 |website=BBC Programme Index |date=19 December 1936 |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="BLBC">{{cite news|title=Bournemouth Lady Billiards Champion |newspaper=Bournemouth Weekly Post and Graphic |date=11 December 1936 |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Wireless Whispers |newspaper=Nottingham Evening Post |date=14 December 1936 |page=6}}</ref> She was also the first woman to play [[trick shot]]s on a full-size billiard table as part of [[exhibition match]]es.<ref name="BLBC"/>


She married Jimmy Seeor in 1939, and had a son, born in 1940,<ref name="WEBSF"/> who was present for her 1950 Women's Professional Billiards victory.<ref name="DUN50">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Thelma Still Champion|magazine=Dundee Courier|page=5 |date=23 June 1950}}</ref> She appeared on BBC Television in 1947, giving a demonstration of billiards alongside [[Sydney Lee (snooker player)|Sydney Lee]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Billiards |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/43b1985251504a60a69a24d94557ba99 |website=BBC Programme Index |date=19 July 1947 |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> and again the following year when her match against Harrison was broadcast.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nomination Billiards |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3fe4b85a59d044cfafb46f3ab532c9e7|website=BBC Programme Index |date=19 December 1936 |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref> Her husband died in 1989, and she died in 1998, aged 86.<ref name="OBIT" />
Following the cessation of the women's professional snooker and billiards championships after 1950, Carpenter retired from competitive play, as the reigning champion in both events, and later moved to [[Mudeford]].<ref name="OBIT" />


Writing in 1974, former men's professional snooker champion [[Horace Lindrum]] described Carpenter as "A beautiful stylist, [who] did much to foster the women's amateur game."<ref name="HL"/> He added that Carpenter's billiard academy for women, which she opened on 1 October 1934,<ref name="WEBSF"/><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Carpenter |first=Thelma |title=Billiards for Women |magazine=The Billiard Player |date=October 1934 |page=4}}</ref> was "certainly the first in England, probably in the world".<ref name="HL">{{ cite book |last=Lindrum |first=Horace |author-link=Horace Lindrum |title=Horace Lindrum's Snooker, Billiards and Pool |publisher=Paul Hamlyn Pty |location=Dee Why West, Australia |year=1974 |isbn=978-0-7271-0105-1 |page=121}}</ref>
She was first woman to commentate on billiards for the [[BBC]], and wrote the "Billiards for Women" column in ''The Billiard Player'' magazine. She married Jimmy Seeor in 1939, and had one son, who was present for her 1950 Women's Professional Billiards victory<ref name="DUN50">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Thelma Still Champion|magazine=Dundee Courier|location=p.5 |date=23 June 1950|via=The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 19 August 2019.}}</ref> and died in 1989.<ref name="OBIT" /><ref>The Billiards Player, issues from January 1936 (Number 181) to December 1937, held at the [[British Library]].</ref>


==Titles and achievements==
==Titles and achievements==
[[File:Women's Billiards Association awards 1948.jpg|alt=Ten women, some holding trophies and flowers|thumb|The 1948 [[Women's Billiards Association]] awards ceremony. Pictured, (left to right), are [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]], Carpenter, [[Joyce Gardner]], [[Agnes Davies|Agnes Morris]], [[Valerie Hobson]], Evelyn Morland-Smith, Beryl Stamper, Joan Adcock, E. Peters. Back row: Gladys Burton.]]

'''Snooker'''
'''Snooker'''


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|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 1 || 1936 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1936 Championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 3–7 || <ref name="B3QQc">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Snooker Championship |magazine=The Times |issue=47365|location=p.5 |date=4 May 1936 |via=The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 17 August 2019.}}</ref>
|| 1 || 1936 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1936 Championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 3–7 ||<ref name="B3QQc">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Snooker Championship |magazine=The Times |page=5 |date=4 May 1936 }}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 2 || 1938 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1938 championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 2–11 || <ref name="a5bug">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Snooker Championship |magazine=The Times |issue=48001|location=p.16 |date=23 May 1938 |via=The Times Digital Archive. Retrieved 17 August 2019.}}</ref>
|| 2 || 1938 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1938 championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 2–11 ||<ref name="a5bug">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Snooker Championship |magazine=The Times |page=16 |date=23 May 1938 }}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 3 || 1939 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1939 championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 5–8 || <ref name="dHodW">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Ruth Harrison Wins Snooker Title |magazine=Daily Record |location=p.27 |date=17 April 1939 |via=The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 17 August 2019.}}</ref>
|| 3 || 1939 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1939 championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 5–8 ||<ref name="dHodW">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Ruth Harrison Wins Snooker Title |magazine=Daily Record |page=27 |date=17 April 1939 }}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 4 || 1949 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1949 Championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Agnes Davies]] || 15–16 || <ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bath City Signings|magazine=Snooker Title Won on Last Frame|location=p.5 |date=20 June 1949|via=The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 19 August 2019.}}</ref>
|| 4 || 1949 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1949 Championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Agnes Davies]] || 15–16 ||<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Bath City Signings|magazine=Snooker Title Won on Last Frame|page=5 |date=20 June 1949}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 5 || 1950 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1950 Championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Agnes Davies]] || 20–10 || <ref name="WDP50" />
|| 5 || 1950 || [[Women's Professional Snooker Championship#1950 Championship|Women's Professional Snooker Championship]] || [[Agnes Davies]] || 20–10 ||<ref name="WDP50" />
|}
|}


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|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 1 || 1932 || [[World Women’s Billiards Championship]] (amateur) || Ethel Brown || 1,000-730 || <ref>{{cite magazine |title=Women's Billiards |magazine=The Billiard Player |pages=12|date=February 1932 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=18 January 1932|title=Women's Championship |work=The Manchester Guardian |page=4 |via=ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.}}</ref>
|| 1 || 1932 || [[World Women's Billiards Championship|Women's Amateur Billiards Championship]] || Ethel Brown || 1,000-730 ||<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Women's Billiards |magazine=The Billiard Player |pages=12|date=February 1932 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=18 January 1932|title=Women's Championship |work=The Manchester Guardian |page=4 }}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 2 || 1933 || [[World Women’s Billiards Championship]] (amateur) || Vera Seals || 1,000-552 || <ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Amateur Championship |magazine=The Billiard Player |pages=23|issue=February 1933}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's title retained |work=Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer |page=16 |date=30 January 1933 |via=British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 4 October 2019.}}</ref>
|| 2 || 1933 || [[World Women's Billiards Championship|Women's Amateur Billiards Championship]] || Vera Seals || 1,000-552 ||<ref name="AMB33">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Amateur Championship |magazine=The Billiard Player |pages=23|date=February 1933}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Title Retained |work=Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer |page=16 |date=30 January 1933 }}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 3 || 1934 || [[World Women’s Billiards Championship]] (amateur) || Vera Seals || 1,200–915 || <ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Amateur Billiard Championship |magazine=The Billiard Player |pages=5|date=February 1934}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=29 January 1934|title=Women's Championship final |work=The Manchester Guardian |page=3 |via=ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 4 October 2019.}}</ref>
|| 3 || 1934 || [[World Women's Billiards Championship|Women's Amateur Billiards Championship]] || Vera Seals || 1,200–915 ||<ref name="AMB34">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Women's Amateur Billiard Championship |magazine=The Billiard Player |pages=5|date=February 1934}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=29 January 1934|title=Women's Championship Final |work=The Manchester Guardian |page=3 }}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
!scope="row" style="background:#ffa07a;"|Runner-up
|| 4 || 1938 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship#1938 Championship|Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 1,824-2,313 || <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.world-billiards.com/?p=9757|title=World Billiards » Blog Archive » World Ladies Billiards Champions|website=www.world-billiards.com|language=en-GB|access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref>
|| 4 || 1938 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 1,824–2,313 ||<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.world-billiards.com/?p=9757|title=World Billiards » Blog Archive » World Ladies Billiards Champions|website=World Billiards|language=en-GB|access-date=22 March 2018|archive-date=19 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119044809/http://www.world-billiards.com/?p=9757|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 5 || 1940 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship#1940 Championship|Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 2,184-1,641 || <ref name="OBS">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=New Women's Billiards Champion|magazine=The Observer |location=p.16 |date=18 February 1940|via=ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Guardian and The Observer. Retrieved 19 August 2019.}}</ref>
|| 5 || 1940 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Ruth Harrison (snooker player)|Ruth Harrison]] || 2,184–1,641 ||<ref name="OBS">{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=New Women's Billiards Champion|magazine=The Observer |page=16 |date=18 February 1940}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 6 || 1948{{efn|No contest was held between 1940 and 1947}} || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship#1948 Championship|Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 2,659-1,670 || <ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=A Really Grand Finale! |magazine=the Billiard Player|issue=June 1948|page=8 }}</ref>
|| 6 || 1948{{efn|No contest was held between 1940 and 1947}} || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 2,659–1,670 ||<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=A Really Grand Finale! |magazine=the Billiard Player|date=June 1948|page=8 }}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 7 || 1949 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship#1949 Championship|Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 3,120-2,528 || <ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Still Champion|magazine=Western Morning News|location=p.6 |date=13 June 1949|via=The British Newspaper Archive. Retrieved 19 August 2019.}}</ref>
|| 7 || 1949 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 3,120–2,528 ||<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Still Champion|magazine=Western Morning News|page=6 |date=13 June 1949}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
!scope="row" style="background:#98FB98"| Winner
|| 8 || 1950 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship#1950 Championship|Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 1,978-1,374 || <ref name="DUN50" />
|| 8 || 1950 || [[Women's Professional Billiards Championship]] || [[Joyce Gardner]] || 1,978–1,374 ||<ref name="DUN50" />
|}
|}


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==External links==
==External links==
'''Videos'''
*[https://websfsnooker.com/tournaments/snooker/carpenter/thelmas-story/ Big breaks, battles and pneumonia: the unsung story of Thelma Carpenter’s glistening cue-sport career]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxrns_b8Pok Lady Champion Gets Good Billiards Tip] British Movietone. (Thelma Carpenter takes advice of Welsh expert in Bournemouth practice for coming contest.)
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV-yup5kdT0 Girl Billiards Champion] ''British Movietone'' (1931)
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV-yup5kdT0 Girl Billiards Champion] British Movietone. (Miss Thelma Carpenter, Amateur Billiards champion shows us some trick shots.)
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxrns_b8Pok Lady Champion Gets Good Billiards Tip] ''British Movietone'' (1933)


{{Women's world champions of English billiards|state=collapsed}}
{{Women's world champions of English billiards|state=collapsed}}
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[[Category:English snooker players]]
[[Category:English snooker players]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:1986 deaths]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Female snooker players]]
[[Category:Female snooker players]]
[[Category:Female players of English billiards]]
[[Category:Female players of English billiards]]

Latest revision as of 13:31, 30 August 2024

Thelma Carpenter
Carpenter in 1933
Born4 December 1911
Died1998 (aged 86)
Sport country England
Professional1934–1950
Tournament wins
World ChampionEnglish Billiards:1932, 1933, 1934

Thelma Carpenter (4 December 1911 – 1998) was an English player of English billiards and snooker player. She won the World Ladies Amateur Billiards Championship, now recognised as editions of the World Women's Billiards Championship, each year from 1932 to 1934. After turning professional in 1934, she won the Women's Professional Billiards Championship four times and the Women's Professional Snooker Championship once, retiring as the reigning champion of both games in 1950.

She opened a billiard academy for women in 1934, and in 1936 she was the first woman to commentate on sports for the BBC when she provided radio commentary for a billiards match. She died in 1998.

Early life and playing career

[edit]

Thelma Carpenter was born on 4 December 1911.[1] father, Brodie Carpenter, owned the Solent Cliffs Hotel in Bournemouth, which had two billiard rooms. Thelma Carpenter was educated at home, and never attended school. She met prominent snooker and billiards players including Joe Davis and Clark McConachy when they played exhibition matches at her father's hotel, which demolished in the 1970s and is now the site of the Bournemouth International Centre, which has hosted professional snooker tournaments.[1][2] She started playing billiards in 1926,[3] when she was 15.[4]

McConachy, who would become the World Professional Billiards Champion from 1951 until 1968, and Claude Falkiner (twice runner-up in the World Billiards Championship) both provided coaching to Carpenter,[1] as did Welsh champion player Tom Carpenter (no relation).[5] McConachy gifted his cue to Carpenter, although he may have regretted this; multiple-time men's professional champion Joe Davis later said that he felt McConachy never played to his full ability again.[6] The journalist and author Donald Trelford speculated that McConachy was "too gallant (or too stubborn or too shy)" to request the cue's return.[6] In 1933, Carpenter wrote that she used a cue weighing 19.5 oz., which was heavier than those traditionally used by professional male players whose cues generally weighed no more than 17 oz.[7] She felt that the extra weight of the cue helped with forcing and screw shots.[7] When training, she would practice and play for four to five hours a day.[4]

The Women's Billiards Association (WBA) was founded in May 1931, with the objective of controlling the amateur and professional English billiards and snooker championships for women, and promoting other tournaments and competitions. Teresa Billington-Greig, who had chaired the initial meeting, became acting honorary secretary, and Carpenter was among the other members appointed to the WBA Council.[8]

Carpenter won the WBA's World Ladies Amateur Billiards Championship three years consecutively, from 1932 to 1934.[2] There were 41 entrants in 1932, including Mrs McConachy, who was married to Clark.[9] Carpenter defeated Ethel Brown 1,000-730 in the final.[9] she defeated Vera Seals in the 1933 final, and, after recovering from pneumonia, which she had contacted in December 1933,[3] won the 1934 final against Seals.[3] The World Women's Billiards Championship is viewed as a continuation of this amateur championship rather than of the Women's Professional Billiards Championship.[10]

In December 1933, the Council of the WBA announced that any players entering open events not organised or sanctioned by the WBA would be prohibited from entering WBA competitions, that no permissions would be granted where tournaments differentiated between men and women, and that any players accepting payment would lose their amateur status.[11] Carpenter resigned from the Association in February 1934, as she was not granted permission to play in the Junior Amateur Championship organised by The Billiard Player magazine.[12][1] She claimed that the sport would not thrive under the Association's control.[13][12] In August, Carpenter declared that she was turning professional.[3] Her first professional match was the following month, against Sydney Lee at St Peter's Hall, Bournemouth.[14] Lee conceded a start of 2,500 points to Carpenter, but won the three-day match 4,030–3,955.[15] By January 1935, the WBA had affiliated to the Billiards and Snooker Control Council, and Carpenter accepted an invitation to play in the professional championship.[16]

Joyce Gardner playing billiards, with thelma Carpenter standing to the left and an unknown referee to the right
Joyce Gardner (in play) and Carpenter (right) in 1939

From 1936 to 1939 she was runner up to Harrison three times in four years in the Women's Professional Snooker Championship, and once to Gardner in the Women's Professional Billiards Championship. In 1940 she won her first professional title by beating Ruth Harrison 2,184–1,641 in the Billiards final,[17] and, the next time the event was held, in 1949, beat Gardner 3,120–2,518 to retain the title. 1949 also saw Carpenter lose for the fourth time in the Snooker final, this time 15–16 to Agnes Morris, despite having led for most of the match[18][19] The 1950 Billiards final featured the same finalists as in 1949, and had the same victor, with Carpenter beating Gardner 1978–1374 to win for a third time. A few days later, Carpenter won the Snooker Championship too, this time beating Agnes Morris 20–10.[18] Following the cessation of the women's professional snooker and billiards championships after 1950, Carpenter retired from competitive play, as the reigning champion in both events, and later moved to Mudeford.[1] By 1958, her parents had retired from managing their hotel, and Carpenter rarely played cue sports, but had taken up ballroom dancing.[20]

Non-playing career and personal life

[edit]

She wrote the "Billiards for Women" column in The Billiard Player magazine,[7] and in 1936 she was the first woman to commentate on sports for the BBC when she provided radio commentary for a billiards match between Ruth Harrison and Joyce Gardner.[21][22][23] She was also the first woman to play trick shots on a full-size billiard table as part of exhibition matches.[22]

She married Jimmy Seeor in 1939, and had a son, born in 1940,[3] who was present for her 1950 Women's Professional Billiards victory.[24] She appeared on BBC Television in 1947, giving a demonstration of billiards alongside Sydney Lee,[25] and again the following year when her match against Harrison was broadcast.[26] Her husband died in 1989, and she died in 1998, aged 86.[1]

Writing in 1974, former men's professional snooker champion Horace Lindrum described Carpenter as "A beautiful stylist, [who] did much to foster the women's amateur game."[27] He added that Carpenter's billiard academy for women, which she opened on 1 October 1934,[3][28] was "certainly the first in England, probably in the world".[27]

Titles and achievements

[edit]
Ten women, some holding trophies and flowers
The 1948 Women's Billiards Association awards ceremony. Pictured, (left to right), are Ruth Harrison, Carpenter, Joyce Gardner, Agnes Morris, Valerie Hobson, Evelyn Morland-Smith, Beryl Stamper, Joan Adcock, E. Peters. Back row: Gladys Burton.

Snooker

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent Score Ref.
Runner-up 1 1936 Women's Professional Snooker Championship Ruth Harrison 3–7 [29]
Runner-up 2 1938 Women's Professional Snooker Championship Ruth Harrison 2–11 [30]
Runner-up 3 1939 Women's Professional Snooker Championship Ruth Harrison 5–8 [31]
Runner-up 4 1949 Women's Professional Snooker Championship Agnes Davies 15–16 [32]
Winner 5 1950 Women's Professional Snooker Championship Agnes Davies 20–10 [18]

Billiards

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent Score Ref.
Winner 1 1932 Women's Amateur Billiards Championship Ethel Brown 1,000-730 [33][34]
Winner 2 1933 Women's Amateur Billiards Championship Vera Seals 1,000-552 [35][36]
Winner 3 1934 Women's Amateur Billiards Championship Vera Seals 1,200–915 [37][38]
Runner-up 4 1938 Women's Professional Billiards Championship Joyce Gardner 1,824–2,313 [39]
Winner 5 1940 Women's Professional Billiards Championship Ruth Harrison 2,184–1,641 [17]
Winner 6 1948[a] Women's Professional Billiards Championship Joyce Gardner 2,659–1,670 [40]
Winner 7 1949 Women's Professional Billiards Championship Joyce Gardner 3,120–2,528 [41]
Winner 8 1950 Women's Professional Billiards Championship Joyce Gardner 1,978–1,374 [24]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ No contest was held between 1940 and 1947

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Obituary of Thelma Carpenter Women's Snooker and Billiards Champion Whom Only the Best Men Could Beat". The Daily Telegraph. 15 May 1998. p. 31.
  2. ^ a b Everton, Clive (1985). Frei, Beatrice (ed.). Guinness Snooker – The Records. Enfield: Guinness Superlatives. pp. 154–156. ISBN 978-0-85112-448-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Big Breaks, Battles and Pneumonia: The Unsung Story of Thelma Carpenter's Glistening Cue-Sport Career". West of England Billiards and Snooker Foundation. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b Stanley, Ailsa (30 March 1953). "Ailsa Stanley's Spotlight on Women". The Nottingham Journal. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Billiards: Women's Amateur Championship". Gloucester Citizen. 3 February 1931. p. 12.
  6. ^ a b Trelford, Donald (1986). Snookered. London: Faber & Faber. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0-571-13640-7.
  7. ^ a b c Carpenter, Thelma (September 1933). "Billiards for Women". The Billiard Player. p. 4.
  8. ^ "Proposed Formation of Women's Association". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 12 May 1931. p. 8.
    "Women's Billiards. Association Formed to Control the Championships". Lancashire Evening Post. 1 October 1931. p. 10.
    "(Untitled Article)". Staffordshire Sentinel. 21 May 1931. p. 8.
    "Women's Billiard Association formed". The Billiard Player. No. June 1931). p. 2.
  9. ^ a b "Women's Billiards Championship". The North-China Herald and Supreme Court and Consular Gazette. 19 January 1932. p. 95.
  10. ^ "World Ladies Billiards Champions". World Billiards. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Women's Billiards. Rules Controlling Championship Entries". Leeds Mercury. 15 December 1933. p. 11.
  12. ^ a b "Miss Thelma Carpenter Resigns from Women's Billiards Association". Bournemouth Graphic. 10 February 1934. p. 13.
  13. ^ "Woman Champion". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. 6 February 1934. p. 9.
  14. ^ "A Billiards Trial". Daily Herald. 25 August 1934. p. 15.
  15. ^ "Lee Beats Miss Thelma Carpenter". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 30 August 1934. p. 4.
  16. ^ Carpenter, Thelma (January 1934). "Billiards for Women". The Billiard Player. p. 6.
  17. ^ a b "New Women's Billiards Champion". The Observer. 18 February 1940. p. 16.
  18. ^ a b c "Bath City Signings". Western Daily Mail. 25 June 1950. p. 5.
  19. ^ Dale, Dominic (July 2020). "Women's Snooker: 90 Years of Downs and Ups". Snooker Scene. pp. 9–11.
  20. ^ "Where Are They Now? No. 453". News Chronicle. 27 November 1958. p. 10.
  21. ^ "Saturday Contrast: 4". BBC Programme Index. 19 December 1936. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Bournemouth Lady Billiards Champion". Bournemouth Weekly Post and Graphic. 11 December 1936. p. 11.
  23. ^ "Wireless Whispers". Nottingham Evening Post. 14 December 1936. p. 6.
  24. ^ a b "Thelma Still Champion". Dundee Courier. 23 June 1950. p. 5.
  25. ^ "Billiards". BBC Programme Index. 19 July 1947. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Nomination Billiards". BBC Programme Index. 19 December 1936. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  27. ^ a b Lindrum, Horace (1974). Horace Lindrum's Snooker, Billiards and Pool. Dee Why West, Australia: Paul Hamlyn Pty. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-7271-0105-1.
  28. ^ Carpenter, Thelma (October 1934). "Billiards for Women". The Billiard Player. p. 4.
  29. ^ "Women's Snooker Championship". The Times. 4 May 1936. p. 5.
  30. ^ "Women's Snooker Championship". The Times. 23 May 1938. p. 16.
  31. ^ "Ruth Harrison Wins Snooker Title". Daily Record. 17 April 1939. p. 27.
  32. ^ "Bath City Signings". Snooker Title Won on Last Frame. 20 June 1949. p. 5.
  33. ^ "Women's Billiards". The Billiard Player. February 1932. p. 12.
  34. ^ "Women's Championship". The Manchester Guardian. 18 January 1932. p. 4.
  35. ^ "Women's Amateur Championship". The Billiard Player. February 1933. p. 23.
  36. ^ "Women's Title Retained". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer. 30 January 1933. p. 16.
  37. ^ "Women's Amateur Billiard Championship". The Billiard Player. February 1934. p. 5.
  38. ^ "Women's Championship Final". The Manchester Guardian. 29 January 1934. p. 3.
  39. ^ "World Billiards » Blog Archive » World Ladies Billiards Champions". World Billiards. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  40. ^ "A Really Grand Finale!". the Billiard Player. June 1948. p. 8.
  41. ^ "Still Champion". Western Morning News. 13 June 1949. p. 6.
[edit]

Videos

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