Nottingham Snooker Legend Tony Hart passes away

Tony Hart, a big name in Nottingham snooker circles, has sadly passed away at the age of 85.

Tony burst onto the scene at the tender age of 15, when he won the 1955 Nottingham Youth Snooker Championship. He won that final 2-0 against a 17 year old Barry Cartwirght.

Just one year later, Tony went on to win the 1956 English Boys Snooker Championship at the prestigious Burroughes Hall in London, defeating David Bond in the final.

Tony Hart (left) defeated David Bond (right) to win the English Boys Snooker Championship in 1956 at the age of 16

Tony was also a dab hand at billiards and in 1964 he won the Nottingham & Notts Institutes Junior Billiards title at Bulwell Church Institute.

It was in snooker’s boom years of the 1980s and 1990s when Tony’s began to dominate the Nottingham tournament scene.

Tony won the Nazareth House Snooker League Singles Championship (now known as the Open Singles Snooker Championship) in 1980 and 1985. He was also a key member the Arnold Civil Defence snooker team that won the Nazareth House Snooker League no fewer than 13 times. The team finished champions four years running between 1978 and 1981. They did it again in 1996 before absolutely dominating the league between 2001 and 2009, finishing champions every year except one (in 2005 when they lost out to Sherwood Social Club).

One of Tony’s most impressive achievements is that he is one of only a handful of players to have won the Notts Amateur Snooker Championship on three occasions. He won it for the first time in 1986 before going on to win it again in 1995 and then retaining the title a year later in 1996. He defeated Long Eaton’s Ronnie Allen 4-0 in the final and after the match he said “I’m delighted, It’s quite a feat because there are a lot of young players around and they are out to beat you. They think you are over the hill at 50, but I’ve proved that is not necessarily the case.”

Tony continued to taste success for many years after that, winning the Seniors Snooker Championship four years running from 1995 to 1998 and then again in 2009 at the age of 69!

It is likely that Tony won far more than I’ve mentioned here, but sadly my historical archives are incomplete so I am only able to list the ones I have on record. But regardless of how many tournaments he won, there is no doubt that he was one of our most successful players and he will live long in the memory of all who had the pleasure of knowing him.

Steve Butler
Nottingham Snooker

Funeral Details

Monday 19 May 2025 at 11.30am
Wilford Hill Crematorium, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NG2 7FE

Followed by food and drinks at The Beeches Hotel, 65-69 Wilford Lane, West Bridgford, NG2 7RN

Please advise John Fountain if you will be going to The Beeches Hotel for food and drinks as they need to know numbers.