Thomas
Walston Patrick
Cleary
Born in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ancestors 
Son of Patrick Cleary
and Georgina (Findlay) Birch
Husband of
Esme Annie (Slattery) Cleary
— married
1927 in Victoria, Australia
[children unknown]
Died
at about age 77
in Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Profile last modified
| Created 7 Nov 2019
This page has been accessed 314 times.
Contents |
Biography
Thomas Cleary is Notable.
Birth
- Thomas Walston Patrick CLEARY was born 1907, PORT MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia
- Parents - Patrick Cleary & Georgina nee FINDLAY
Marriage
- Thomas Walston Patrick Cleary wed Esme SLATTERY in 1927, Victoria, Australia
Death
- Thomas Walston Patrick CLEARY died 1984, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Billiards Life
World Billiards Title
- Tom Cleary won the World Amateur Billiards Championship in Sydney in 1954 making a new world record break of 682. He also won twenty Victorian Billiards Championships and five Australian Billiards Championships between the years 1935 and 1967. Tom also made breaks of 435, 408, 413 (twice), and 432 in Australian Championships, six centuries in a two-hour session, and a four-hour match aggregate of 3185, a tick under 800 points per hour for four hours straight.
- An interview with Tom Cleary was conducted by Don Richter at the Victorian Club, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in July 1981. Full interview from the Billiards Australia website
- You played in seven world titles winning in 1954 and making a new world record break of 682.
- I finished third in 1938 and 1951. In 1954 it was played at the Sydney showgrounds and I beat Bob Marshall and made the 682 break in the next game against a chap called Taffy Reeves. I was playing my best ever billiards then.
- Is that your best break?
- No I’ve made a 781 here in the Victorian Club against a fellow named Bill Bailey from Ballarat.
- Your 682 break took 32 minutes. How do you maintain concentration shot after shot?
- In the big championships you’ve got to concentrate. You’ve got to be fit and concentrate on the easy shots. I used be at my glory in championships. Blokes would beat me in a club tournament but in championships I would make every post a winner. I would give them all a chance in club events and consequently I was beaten on occasion being too easy on them, but in championships I wasn’t easy. You’ve got to make yourself concentrate. You have to be fit. I used to walk my dog for miles around Royal Park where I live. I used to run and jog and do exercises. Blokes used to think I was mad. You’ve got be dedicated to the game you see. I used to think about five shots ahead all the time and by thinking five shots ahead it used to help my concentration.
- Did you have much to do with Walter Lindrum?
- I toured with him for three months in South Australia when he was playing to raise money for the fighting forces.
Australian Billiards title
Year Winner Runner Up Highest Break 1968 Jim Long (Vic) Tom Cleary (Vic) Tom Cleary (Vic) 332 1967 Jim Long (Vic) Tom Cleary (Vic) Jim Long (Vic) 472 1966 Tom Cleary (Vic) Jim Long (Vic) Tom Cleary (Vic) 376 1965 Tom Cleary (Vic) G Ammon (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) 184 1963 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 399 1962 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 407 1961 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 688 1959 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 619 1958 Tom Cleary (Vic) Ossie Pitman (Qld) Tom Cleary (Vic) 446 1957 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 596 1955 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 368 1954 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Tom Cleary (Vic) 408 1953 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 702 1950 Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) 432 1949 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 307 1948 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 540 1947 Tom Cleary (Vic) Arthur Bull (NSW) Tom Cleary (Vic) 435 1938 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 285 1937 Bob Marshall (WA) Tom Cleary (Vic) Bob Marshall (WA) 250 1935 Les Hayes (NSW) Tom Cleary (Vic) Les Hayes (NSW) 155
Victorian Billiards Title
Year Winner Runner Up 1968 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1967 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1966 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1965 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1964 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1963 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1962 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1961 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1960 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1959 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1958 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1957 Tom Cleary W H Carter 1956 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1955 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1954 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1953 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1952 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1951 Jim Long Tom Cleary 1950 Tom Cleary Jim Long 1949 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1948 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1947 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1941 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1940 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1939 Tom Cleary E N Bracy 1938 Tom Cleary C Sinclair 1937 Tom Cleary C Sinclair 1936 F Hancock Tom Cleary 1935 Tom Cleary Charles Norman
Victorian Snooker title
Year Winner Runner Up 1954 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1951 Tom Cleary George Ganim Snr. 1941 Tom Cleary 1940 Tom Cleary
Sources
- Victoria, Australia BDM Birth Reg #13405/1907 - Marriage Reg #4378/1927 - Death Reg #23149/1984
- Sample of newspaper articles from Trove NLA
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Tue 29 Aug 1933 Page 3 BILLIARDS
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Wed 27 Jun 1934 Page 7 STATE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Thu 22 Aug 1935 Page 4 AMATEUR BILLIARDS
- Sporting Globe (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954) Wed 18 Sep 1935 Page 11 HAYES AGAIN AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Thu 2 Sep 1937 Page 17 BILLIARDS TITLE
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Fri 3 Sep 1937 Page 17 BILLIARDS TITLE
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Mon 13 Sep 1937 Page 19
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Sat 3 Sep 1938 Page 28 CLEARY'S RECORD
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Wed 27 Aug 1941 Page 4 CLEARY WINS BILLIARDS TITLE
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Fri 15 Sep 1950 Page 18 Cleary Breaks Billiards Record
- The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Sat 16 Sep 1950 Page 20 Billiards Win for Cleary
- Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954) Wed 20 Aug 1952 Page 63 T. Cleary's 733
- Sporting Globe (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954) Sat 22 Aug 1953 Page 6 Tom Cleary Tom Cleary wanted to be a footballer
- Newspapers: Browse The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954) Fri 9 Jul 1954 Page 18 Billiards Win for Cleary
- Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954) Wed 6 Oct 1954 Page 90 TOM CLEARY
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Rejected matches › Thomas Robert McCleary (abt.1906-abt.1986)
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C > Cleary > Thomas Walston Patrick Cleary
Categories: Australia, Notables in Sport | Port Melbourne, Victoria | Parkville, Victoria | English Billiards | Australia, Billiards Players | Professional Billiards Players | Snooker Players | Notables