06:53 AM
11/21/24
11/21/24
July 24, 2010
Snooker Legend Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins dies at 61: After a long battle with throat cancer, snooker's original troubled genius was found dead in his flat in Belfast today. World champion in 1972 and 1982, Higgins was never far from controversy, on one occasion headbutting a referee. Renowned for the speed of his play and his unorthodox playing style, he was a driving force behind snooker's surge in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s in the UK [When Snooker Ruled the World, wiki, most recent interview, documentary I'm No Angel].
From the article: The legendary Northern Ireland player had been suffering from throat cancer for more than a decade and he blamed his illness largely on the cigarette makers who sponsored his sport.
If this is a fair characterization of his position, even at age 61 he was young enough to have come of age when the risks of smoking were widely known.