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Graham Miles

Born	(1941-05-11)11 May 1941 Birmingham, England
Died	12 October 2014(2014-10-12) (aged 73)
Sport country	England
Professional	1971–1994
Highest ranking	5 (1976/77)
Best ranking finish	Runner-up (x1)

Graham Miles (11 May 1941 – 12 October 2014) was an English snooker player.

Career

Miles turned professional in 1971. He first gained recognition in 1974, when he reached the final of the World Championship, losing 12–22 to Ray Reardon. As he was left-eye dominant, the right-handed Miles developed an idiosyncratic sighting style with his cue crossing his chin on the left side. This style became more pronounced over time, to the point where the cue ran beneath his left ear.

Miles became one of the best known players in Britain, in an era when there was little televised snooker other than the Pot Black series. He won this tournament at his first attempt in 1974 (after entering as a late replacement for Fred Davis, who withdrew because of illness) and again in 1975. Other notable moments in his career included reaching the final of the 1976 Masters, where he again lost to Reardon.

The 1978/79 season saw something of a purple patch for Miles. At the 1978 UK Championship he defeated Rex Williams 9–8 and then easily beat Willie Thorne 9–1, which included what was then a championship record break of 139 in the last frame. However, he was then dispatched 1–9 by eventual winner Doug Mountjoy.

This form continued in January 1979, when he reached the final of the Holsten Lager International by defeating John Pulman, Dennis Taylor and Alex Higgins. He led John Spencer 7–6 in the final, having made a break of 107, but eventually lost 7–11 to take £2,000 as runner-up.

Miles led defending champion Ray Reardon 3–0 and 5–3 in the first round of the 1979 World Championship, but he came down with flu and lost 8–13. Straight after this, Miles defeated Doug Mountjoy 4–3 and Perrie Mans 5–2 in the group stages of the Pontins Professional Event. Miles then beat Steve Davis 4–0 in the semi-final but lost 4–8 in the final to Doug Mountjoy.

At the inaugural World Team Cup, Miles represented England along with John Spencer and Fred Davis, where they reached the final only to be beaten 3–14 by Wales. His last major victory was the 1981 Tolly Cobbold Classic, when he beat Cliff Thorburn 5–1 in Ipswich. During the 1980s he slid down the rankings, and 1984 saw his last appearance at the World Championship.

Personal life

After retiring from the game in 1992, he ran two snooker clubs at Sandwell, West Midlands, and one in Crewe, Cheshire. He came out of retirement to play at the Seniors Pot Black competition in 1997.

Miles died on 12 October 2014, aged 73.

Performance and rankings timeline

1. The event was also called the Dubai Masters (1988/1989)
2. The event was also called the Professional Players Tournament (1982/93–1983/1984)
3. The event was also called the Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
4. The event was also called the Thailand Masters (1983/1984–1986/1987) and the Asian Open (1989/1990–1993/1994)
5. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)
6. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
7. The event ran under different names as Australian Masters (1979/1980 to 1987/1988) and the Hong Kong Open (1989/1990).
8. The event was also called the Canadian Open (1978/1979–1980/1981)
9. The event was also called the Goya Matchroom Trophy (1985/1986)
10. The event was also called the British Gold Cup (1979/1980), Yamaha Organs Trophy (1980/1981) and International Masters (1981/1982–1983/1984)

Career finals

Ranking finals: 1

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1974	World Snooker Championship	Ray Reardon	12–22

Non-ranking finals: 9 (4 titles)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Winner	1.	1974	Pot Black	John Spencer	2-0
Winner	2.	1974	Burscough Professional	Unknown	Round–Robin
Winner	3.	1975	Pot Black (2)	Dennis Taylor	1–0
Runner-up	1.	1976	The Masters	Ray Reardon	3–7
Runner-up	2.	1978	Pot Black	Doug Mountjoy	1–2
Runner-up	3.	1979	Holsten Lager International	John Spencer	7–11
Runner-up	4.	1979	Pontins Professional	Doug Mountjoy	4–8
Runner-up	5.	1979	Golden Masters	Ray Reardon	2–4
Winner	4.	1981	Tolly Cobbold Classic	Cliff Thorburn	5–1

Pro-am finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Winner	1.	1973	Castle Open	Jim Meadowcroft	4–1

Team finals: 2

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Team/partner	Opponent(s) in the final	Score
Runner-up	1.	1975	Ladbroke International	England	Rest of the World	Cumulative score
Runner-up	2.	1979	World Challenge Cup	England	Wales	3–14

Notes

1. Round-robin with Ray Reardon, John Spencer, and John Pulman

References

1. Paul Suart. "Birmingham snooker star Graham Miles reveals truth about Alex Higgins". Birminghammail.net. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
2. ^ Everton, Clive (15 October 2014). "Graham Miles: Former World Snooker finalist dies aged 73". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
3. Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, January 1978, pp23-27.
4. Everton Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, February 1979, pp13-15.
5. Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1979, p13.
6. Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, June 1979, p21.
7. Everton, Clive (Ed.) Snooker Scene, December 1979, pp5-9.
8. Paul Suart. "Birmingham snooker pundit pays tribute to 'Hurricane' Higgins". Birminghammail.net. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
9. "Ranking History". Snooker.org. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
10. ^ "Miles top in best of four". Snooker Scene. January 1975. p. 19.
11. "Untitled article". Snooker Scene. December 1974. p. 21.
12. "Snooker prize for Miles". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 27 December 1973. p. 7.

• 1941 births
• 2014 deaths
• English snooker players
• Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands