Clive Everton dead: Legendary BBC snooker commentator dies aged 87 as emotional tributes pour in

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LEGENDARY BBC snooker commentator Clive Everton has died aged 87 – with emotional tributes pouring in.

Clive worked for the BBC for more than 30 years after joining the corporation in the 1970s.

a man in a suit and tie is holding a medal

Clive Everton has died aged 87[/caption]

a man in a suit is being presented with an award by a man in a military uniform

He was awarded an MBE by Prince William in 2019[/caption]

a man wearing headphones is talking into a microphone

Everton in the commentary box[/caption]

He also founded the Snooker Scene magazine, which he edited for half a century.

The World Snooker Tour said: “Everton was one of snooker’s greatest ever commentators and voice of the sport.

“Everton devoted his life to snooker and covered some of the sport’s most historic moments as a broadcaster and journalist.”

Snooker commentator Dave Hendon said: “The Voice of Snooker is silent now but will forever be remembered by the sport he loved.

“A giant of broadcasting and journalism. A much valued colleague and friend. We all owe him so much.”

Players at this week’s British Open in Cheltenham are battling for the Clive Everton Trophy, which was named in his honour two years ago.

Clive first covered snooker for BBC radio in 1972, when Alex Higgins won his first world title.

His network TV commentary career began at the 1978 World Championship.

Clive Everton, 'the voice of snooker', dies aged 87

By Joshua Hall

CLIVE EVERTON wasn’t only a superb commentator, but will go down as a snooker legend.

Dubbed “the voice of snooker”, Everton began his career commentating on the BBC back in 1978 and did so up until 2010.

Everton helped paint the picture of some of the greatest moments for the stars of the 80s, including Alex Higgins, Ray Reardon, Steve Davis and Jimmy White.

His commentary stood out from the crowd thanks to a 10-year playing career of his own that saw him achieve a world ranking of 47 in the game of snooker and world No.9 in billiards.

After guiding snooker fans through the electric era of the 80s, Everton was awarded with the position as the BBC’s lead snooker commentator.

But it wasn’t just his spoken word that was impressive, but his written work too.

Everton penned an incredible 20 books about cue sports throughout his career – including Ronnie O’Sullivan’s biography – while also working as the editor of Snooker Scene magazine from 1972 to 2022 – a publication he founded himself.

His status in the game even saw him earn the honour of having the trophy for the British Open named after him and given an MBE for services to snooker back in 2019

He was also a talented player – reaching the 1975 and 1977 world amateur billiards semi-finals and rising to ninth in the world rankings.

Clive also covered Wimbledon for The Times of India, rugby for the Sunday Telegraph and football for The Times.

He played tennis for Worcestershire for 13 years until 1974 and wrote a book with Ann Jones following her 1969 Wimbledon triumph.

Clive also managed Jonah Barrington when he was world squash number one.

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